Introduction
The 2020 COVID-19 crisis, which was officially declared a pandemic by the World
Health Organisation (WHO) on 11 March 2020,1 had a major impact across government
sectors, including education. Globally, the pandemic resulted in a mandatory shift from
traditional face-to-face education methods to electronic learning (E-learning) and
teaching. E-learning is defined as learning supported by digital electronic tools and
media.2 E-learning has gained popularity, and has become the modus operandi for
educational institutions insofar as it enables learning to continue across time and space.
This means that E-learning was able to minimise the risk for exposure to COVID-19. 3 In
response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) closed
international borders and implemented a nationwide distance learning policy for the
education sector from March 2020 until the completion of the academic year in July
2020. This decision affected all UAE public and private schools as well as higher
education institutions, and was congruent with the WHO’s recommendations for
preventive measures during the pandemic. Other measures included personal
protective equipment, the use of hand sanitizers, handwashing and social distancing.
However, the immediate challenge this mandate posed for higher education was
ensuring continuity of the teaching and learning process from the classroom to the
virtual model.
E-learning has technologically advanced in various fields over the last two decades,
including in higher education.4 There are various approaches to E-learning, including
courses or programmes delivered fully online, as is the case with the Open University
and Massive Open E-Learning Courses. E-learning can also operate as a blended model,
where an E-learning component supports and supplements face-to-face campus
teaching. E-learning therefore offers higher education students a flexible and
convenient means of obtaining their qualifications.
Campus learning refers to instruction that occurs at the physical site of an institution,
such as in classrooms, lecture halls and laboratories, where students have direct access
to and contact with their instructors. It is generally agreed that the face-to-face
element of campus learning with human interaction, eye contact, facial expressions and
verbal cues is vital in promoting student-lecturer interaction and engagement in the
learning process.5 E-learning depends on interactive nature of the virtual classroom is
central. This helps in maintaining positive and productive experiences for learners and
instructors, while simulating the face-to-face experience. 6 Consistency of the instructor-
student interaction is crucial to maintain students’ motivation for learning. As it was
important to maintain and continue learning during a crisis such as the COVID-19
pandemic, higher learning institutions needed to have the resilience to maintain that
continuity4. Organisational resilience is defined as an organisation’s ability to survive a
crisis and thrive in a world of uncertainty; this resilience requires cooperation,
preparedness and readiness from both educators and students. 7
Theoretically, while the need to move from traditional face-to-face on campus learning
to virtual mode was urgent, a number of pedagogical considerations were made to
examine course design and management. The asynchronous classes were designed
around constructivist and instructivist paradigms where the instructivist theory was
followed in proving the learners with a clear course structure, learning objectives,
course materials and periodical assessments for the learners to determine their
progress. Whilst, constructivist theory was considered to perceive learners as active
rather than passive.8 This approach allowed opportunity for students to participate in
collaborative activities using discussion board and break out rooms. Learners can make
use of recorded lectures for revision if necessary.
