Synchronous E-learning in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, students around the world have seen their schooling completely disrupted. Their teachers had to reorganize in a hurry to be able to give their classes synchronously but at a distance. Thanks to strong political incentives, both at the national and university levels, many tools have been massively deployed: digital learning management systems (e.g. Moodle), collaborative digital platforms (e.g. Google Meets, Microsoft Teams and Zoom), social networks (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) and even the telephone. While the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the essential role of digital technologies in higher education, major issues arise regarding the quality of distance education, the learning process itself and the assessment of knowledge and skills. In this study, 81 engineering students in France were followed during several periods of containment in order to provide some answers to these questions. The results of the various knowledge tests carried out at a distance show that the students obtained local scores similar to those expected from face-to-face teaching. According to the results of the satisfaction surveys, for 91.4% of students who had sufficient hardware and software resources, the synchronous approach to e-learning presented few barriers. For the 8.6% of students affected by the digital divide, telephone communications and social networks played a major role in the learning process.