Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 24, Special Issue 1, 2021

#7 THE BRIGHT SIDE OF COVID-19: IMPLICATIONS OF

THE PANDEMIC ON E-LEARNING AND THE
EDUCATIONAL SECTOR- A DEEP LOOK INTO THE
ACTION PLAN OF THE JORDANIAN MINISTRY OF
HIGHER EDUCATION
Hadeel Abdellatif, Applied Science Private University (ASU)
Fadi R. Shahroury, King Abdullah II School of Engineering, Princess Sumaya
University for Technology (PSUT)

ABSTRACT

A plethora of research have been published on COVID-19 focusing only on its negative
impact on every aspect of our lives. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has been one of the worst health
emergencies that caused millions of deaths around the world and disastrous effects on economies
and various sectors. However, research so far has completely ignored the other part of the story.
Therefore, this study turns the scales upside down and focuses on the bright side of COVID-19 by
exploring its positive impact on e-learning and the educational sector in Jordan. This study
discusses the action plan for e-learning set by the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education for the
period 2021-2023. The results demonstrate that COVID-19 has done to e-learning more than any
strategy or plan by the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and all higher education
institutions. It has opened the eyes on the potential and promises of e-learning for the higher
education sector in Jordan.

Keywords: E-learning, Covid-19, Education, Jordan, Higher education

INTRODUCTION

The outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019, has been considered one of the most
severe global health emergencies (Abdellatif & Shahroury, 2021). By 11th March 2020, the
WHO declared it as a pandemic. With over 196 million confirmed cases and over 4.2 confirmed
deaths globally as announced by WHO in 30th July 2021. This virus is highly infectious were
patients experience various symptoms ranging from flu-like to life-threatening (Basheti et al.,
2020). Until now there is no specific treatment for this virus. Therefore, countries all over the
world have taken very strict procedures for the aim of controlling the spread of this virus. These
procedures vary widely between countries and range from social distancing, to quarantine and
complete lock down (Abdellatif & Shahroury, 2021). Face-to-face activities were prohibited
including all forms of education at all levels (Iivari et al., 2020). By 13th March 2020, over 60
countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, North America and the Middle East, have
announced university closures as reported by the UNISCO. Thus, more than 1.725 billion
learners all over the world were affected by this emergency (Abdellatif & Shahroury, 2021).
Nevertheless, the teaching process continued were all types of educational institutions converted
to e-learning to be able to deliver educational materials during the dramatic circumstances caused
by the COVID-19 (Bao, 2020; Nogales et al., 2020; Lepp et al., 2021).
E-learning has its roots in distance learning which has been around for more than a
hundred years during which the teaching process has moved from traditional face-to-face, chalk-
and-talk classes into synchronous and asynchronous online sessions (Abdellatif & Shahroury,

Business Ethics and Regulatory Compliance 1 1544-0044-24-S1-294

Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 24, Special Issue 1, 2021

2021; Dietrich et al., 2020). Historically, distance learning was offered to students with special
conditions; for instance those who do not have access to educational institutions, or have health
or psychological conditions that hinder their ability to attend the conventional educational
environment (Casanova et al., 2006 & Moore, 1973). E-learning has been transformed over the
past few years due to the vast advancements in technology such as; smartphones, portable
devices, internet connection, videoconferencing and most recently social media (Abdellatif &
Shahroury, 2021; Choudhury & Pattnaik, 2019; Barakat, 2016). In the last decade, many
educators have introduced many innovative tools to the field of e-learning to create an interactive,
collaborative and engaging learning atmosphere such as; the use of videos, simulation, real-time
experiments, games with educational objectives, virtual reality and augmented reality (Belton,
2016; Jordan et al., 2016; Dietrich, 2019; Miller et al., 2019; Bib et al., 2019).
Some researchers claim that in e-learning environment, students retain 25-60% of the
course material compared to 8%-10% in the traditional classroom environment and require
approximately 40%-60% less time to learn (Gutierrez, 2021; Chernev, 2019). These astonishing
percentages could be explained by the fact that “students can learn at their own pace, when they
want, going back and rereading, skipping, or accelerating” (Dietrich, 2019). Despite these
promising numbers, this method of learning comes with its own challenges; as the roles of tutors
and learners differ from those in the traditional learning settings. Tutors are now seen as
facilitators who support students during the learning process instead of being the sole owners of
knowledge and providers of learning material, while, learners are now required to develop their
collaborative efforts (Dietrich, 2019). Thus, designing, delivering and assessing the learning
material become a major issue especially in developing countries which lack the knowledge,
experience and infrastructure to implement e-learning (Almajali, 2021).
The outbreak of COVID-19 have massively promoted the application of e-learning all
over the world. Some educators claimed that “The coronavirus will have done more for e-learning
and online training than all the plans and strategies of states and institutions of higher education”
(Dietrich, 2019). Another commented that “without the outbreak of the pandemic, our schools
and universities would not have practiced distance learning in such a fluent way” (Oraif & Elyas
(2021). However, it has also presented colossal challenges to educators to urgently adapt their
course materials into distance learning to ensure the continuity of the teaching process at the same
quality level. The Ministry of Higher Education in Jordan launched an action plan for higher
education institutions to ensure the continuity of the education process, guaranteeing that all
institutions are offering their courses online and setting guidelines for e-learning in all Jordanian
higher education institutions for the period of 2021-2023. This paper explores the action plan of
e-learning of the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and discusses its implications on the
education and recruitment process in the higher education sector in Jordan.

The Action Plan of E-learning of the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education

This action plan was developed by the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education as a
response to the emergency situation caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 and in light of the
vision of his Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein to incorporate technological tools into the
traditional higher education system to transform it into full e-learning system or blended learning
system. Thus, improve the level of higher education and upgrade it to match the best practices
used in the most prestigious international universities. It was available online on 5th January
2021. The aim of the plan was to incorporate technology into the traditional education system, to
shift systematically from instructor-centric to interactive student-centric education system to
achieve better learning outcomes, to overcome the challenges of the traditional education system
which hinder the ability of disabled students or those who live in rural areas to continue their

Business Ethics and Regulatory Compliance 2 1544-0044-24-S1-294

Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 24, Special Issue 1, 2021

higher education and to ensure the continuity of the education process during exceptional
circumstances that could prevent students from reaching the university campus.
The plan discussed the experience of Jordanian universities in e-learning prior and during
the COVID-19. It highlighted that prior COVID-19, e-learning in Jordanian higher education
institutions was practiced in varying degrees but mostly unregulated and did not rise to the
practical and scientific standards required for e-learning. Most of it were left to faculty members
to practice as they wished without agreed pedagogical references, without standard criteria,
without a unified format and without a clear structure. It was mostly activities, tasks, scattered
videos, PDF texts and slides used to reinforce or enrich the course material but in an unattractive
manner and were not essential to the course. Moreover, some universities have introduced one or
more e-learning courses, with a focus on the asynchronous part, but it was closer to e-learning in
its general sense than to interactive e-learning. As for blended learning, it was not familiar to a
large number of universities and was implemented in an unstructured and immature manner. In
short, prior COVID-19, traditional face-to-face education was dominant and entirely favoured
and e-learning was partially, irregularly, immaturely practiced.
With the advent of the COVID-19, all higher education institutions were forced to
suddenly switch to full e-learning, which surprised most of them and caused confusion and
disruption for many of them in addition to educational losses in varying degrees. However, most
of them quickly adapted to the new situation, especially those that had a fairly mature experience
in blended learning and those who were more successful in applying different forms of e-
learning. Moreover, the plan emphasized that most of the institutions still practicing e-learning in
its general and loose sense and lack a clear structure and methodology for e-learning despite
practicing it for five semesters since the outbreak of COVID-19. Therefore, the plan came into
existence to regulate e-learning in the Jordanian higher education institutions and to set a clear
and organized format for e-learning to link accurately and professionally between the two main
dimensions of successful e-learning: the educational dimension (pedagogical) and the technical
dimension, which was almost absent so far.
The plan suggested the use of two e-learning formats; full e-learning or blended learning.
As for full e-learning, the entire course is taught completely online with the use of virtual learning
platform used by the university without any face-to-face activities. This form of e-learning could
be administrated synchronously or asynchronously either (2:1, 1:2 or 1:1) (synchronous,
asynchronous) based on the nature and requirement of the course. As for blended learning it
includes both online and face-to-face sessions to enhance the engagement and interactivity in the
course. This form of e-learning could be administrated either (2:1, 1:2 or 1:1) (face-to-face,
asynchronous) based on the nature and requirement of the course. Moreover, the plan has set the
following timeframe for all higher education institutions:
1. Second and Summer Semester 2020/2021
a) High-risk epidemiological situation: full e-learning (synchronous, asynchronous) for all courses
and all exams to be conducted online.
b) Medium-risk epidemiological situation: full e-learning (synchronous, asynchronous) for limited
number of courses and blended learning (face-to-face, asynchronous) for the majority of the
courses. All exams to be conducted on campus unless the epidemiological situation worsen.
c) Low-risk epidemiological situation: blended learning (face-to-face, asynchronous) for the
majority of courses and full e-learning (synchronous, asynchronous) for limited number of course
upon the decision of the institution. All exams to be conducted on campus taking all health and
safety procedures.
2. First and second semester 2021/2022:
a) Acceptable epidemiological situation: Hybrid education system for all degrees and programs; full
e-learning (synchronous, asynchronous) for 10% of the program, blended learning (face-to-face,
asynchronous) for 10%-20% of the program and traditional face-to-face learning for the rest of the
program. All exams to be conducted on campus.
3. First and second semester 2022/2023:

Business Ethics and Regulatory Compliance 3 1544-0044-24-S1-294

Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 24, Special Issue 1, 2021

a) Normal life: Hybrid education system for all degrees and programs; full e-learning (synchronous,
asynchronous) for 20% of the program, blended learning (face-to-face, asynchronous) for 30%-
40% of the program and traditional face-to-face learning for the rest of the program. Exams for
full e-learning courses to be conducted online and all other exams will be conducted on campus.
4. After 2023:
a) Hybrid education system for all degrees and programs; full e-learning (synchronous,
asynchronous) for 20%-25% of the program, blended learning (face-to-face, asynchronous) for
the rest of the program with the possibility of traditional face-to-face learning for less than 20% of
the program. Exams for full e-learning courses to be conducted online and all other exams will be
conducted on campus.
Further, the plan suggest that based on the success and excellence of the institution in
implementing full e-learning and blended learning system within the timeframe set in the plan, it
can start offering one or more complete programs on the principle of full e-learning or one or
more programs on the principle of blended learning after obtaining the necessary approvals.

Implications of the Action Plan

The plan pears several practical implications on both the education process and the
recruitment process in the higher education sector. As for the education process, first, all higher
education institutions are required to restructure all their academic plans to suit the requirements
of incorporating e-learning into programs and to develop measurement tools of the learning
outcomes and aligning them with the requirements of the labour market. Second, all higher
education institutions are required to design all their educational course pages and asynchronous
interactive activities between the student and the content on e-learning platforms for both full e-
learning and blended learning courses. Third, all higher education institutions are required to
provide their academic staff with the appropriate training to equip them with sufficient skills for
e-learning in its synchronous and asynchronous format and introduce them to various tools such
as; flipped learning, project-based learning, connected learning and others. Fourth, all higher
education institutions are required to form technical support teams with expertise in e-learning
and management of e-learning platforms to be able to provide support to academic and
administrative staff when needed. Fifth, all higher education institutions are required to provide
extra support and training to all students to be able to cope with the changes associated with the
new e-learning system to maintain the continuity of the education process and achieve the desired
learning outcomes.
As for the recruitment process, the action plan will have a massive impact on the job
description and requirements for both academic and administrative staff. Currently, anyone who
wishes to join any higher education institution is required to show excellent knowledge and skills
in computing, learning management system, e-learning platforms and e-learning content
management. In addition to capability and willingness to learn about new technologies and
improve their skills. It is unsurprising that all higher education institutions will be thriving to
search for those instructors who demonstrate excellence in their technical and cognitive abilities
in the field of e-learning. Any previous experience in preparing synchronous and asynchronous
educational content would be an added advantage over other candidates. Moreover, the action
plan has opened a new horizon for potential jobs in the higher education sector such as;
programming, security, databases, content management, mobile applications, animation and
montage, filming and technical support. These jobs will flourish and enrich the higher educational
sector.

CONCLUSION

This research discussed the action plan for e-learning set by the Jordanian Ministry of
Higher Education for the period 2021-2023 and its implications on the education and recruitment

Business Ethics and Regulatory Compliance 4 1544-0044-24-S1-294

Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 24, Special Issue 1, 2021

process in the higher education sector in Jordan. It has demonstrated that Jordan is walking
forward with steady steps in incorporating e-learning into all higher education programs and
degrees. It has also suggested that all higher education institutions are required to restructure its
programs to fit with the new requirements of e-learning in its two formats full e-learning and
blended learning. Further, it has shed the light for the promises that e-learning holds for the
higher education sector in Jordan in opening a new horizon of potential jobs that could enrich this
sector.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are thankful for Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan for
supporting this research paper.

REFERENCES
Abdellatif, H., & Shahroury, F.R. (2021). Workplace safety in higher education institutions during COVID-19
epidemic: Insights from a developing country. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 24(1).
Basheti, I.A., Nassar, R., Barakat, M., Alqudah, R., Abufarha, R., Muqatash, T., & Saini, B. (2020). Pharmacists’
readiness to deal with the coronavirus pandemic: Assessing awareness and perception of roles. Research in
Social and Administrative Pharmacy.
Iivari, N., Sharma, S., & Venta-Olkkonen, L. (2020). Digital transformation of everyday life–How COVID-19
pandemic transformed the basic education of the young generation and why information management
research should care? International Journal of Information Management.
Bao, W. (2020). COVID-19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking University. Human
Behavior and Emerging Technologies.
Nogales-Delgado, S., Roman Suero, S., & Martin, J.M.E. (2020). COVID-19 outbreak: Insights about teaching tasks
in a chemical engineering laboratory. Education Sciences, 10(9).
Lepp, L., Aaviku, T., Leijen, A., Pedaste, M., & Saks, K., (2021). Teaching during COVID-19: The decisions made
in teaching. Education Sciences, 11(47).
Dietrich, N., Kentheswaran, K., Ahmadi, A., Teychene, J., Bessiere, Y., Alfenore, S., & Hebrard, G., (2020),
Attempts, successes, and failures of distance learning in the time of covid-19. Journal of Chemical
Education.
Casanova, R.S., Civelli, J.L., Kimbrough, D.R., Heath, B.P., & Reeves, J.H. (2006). Distance learning: A viable
alternative to the conventional lecture-lab format in general chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education,
83(3).
Moore, M.G. (1973). Toward a theory of independent learning and teaching. Journal of Higher Education, 44(9),
661-679.
Choudhury, S., & Pattnaik, S. (2019). Emerging themes in e-learning: A review from the stakeholders’ perspective.
Computers & Education, 104.
Barakat, S. (2016). Education and the internet of everything. International Business Management, 10(18), 4301–
4303.
Belton, D.J. (2016). Teaching process simulation using video enhanced and discovery/inquiry-based learning:
Methodology and analysis within a theoretical framework for skill acquisition. Education for Chemical
Engineers, 17, 54-64.
Jordan, J.T., Box, M.C., Eguren, K.E., Parker, T.A., SaraldiGallardo, V.M., Wolfe, M.I., & Gallardo-Williams, M.T.
(2016). Effectiveness of student-generated video as a teaching tool for an instrumental technique in the
organic chemistry laboratory. Journal of Chemical Education, 93(1), 141-145.
Dietrich, N. (2019). Chem and roll: A roll and write game to illustrate chemical engineering and the contact process.
Journal of Chemical Education, 96.
Miller, J.L., Wentzel, M.T., Clark, J.H., & Hurst, G.A., (2019). Green machine: A card game introducing students to
systems thinking in green chemistry by strategizing the creation of a recycling plant. Journal of Chemical
Education, 96(12), 3006-3013.
Bibic, L., Druskis, J., Walpole, S., Angulo, J., & Stokes, L., (2019). Bug off pain: An educational virtual reality game
on spider venoms and chronic pain for public engagement. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(7), 1486-
1490.
Gutierrez, K. (2021). Facts and stats that reveal the power of elearning.
Chernev, B. (2019). 21 Astonishing e-learning statistics for 2020 tech Jury.

Business Ethics and Regulatory Compliance 5 1544-0044-24-S1-294

Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 24, Special Issue 1, 2021

Almajali, D., Hammouri, Q., & Barakat, S., (2021). E-learning through COVID-19 crisis in developing countries.
International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 13(1).
Oraif, I., & Elyas, T. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on learning: Investigating EFL learners’ engagement in
online courses in Saudi Arabia. Education Sciences, 11(3).

Business Ethics and Regulatory Compliance 6 1544-0044-24-S1-294