CASE STUDY SCES 1134

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ONLINE LEARNING IN MALAYSIA Interview session

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This

case

study

is

about

the

development

and

implementation of online learning in Malaysia. This case study involves an expert in the field of education as a learning partner, Encik Muhammad Nur Hafiz bin Ahmad.

Conducting interview sessions, and analyzing articles and statistics are the methods used to conduct this case study. The main objective of this case study is to focus on the implementation of home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) that is conducted online, the challenges faced by students and teachers, as well as the pros and cons of the implementation of PdPR.

INTRODUCTION In the last decade, the development and implementation of e-learning, called online learning have become a requirement for the academic institution. Home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) that is conducted online is a form of teaching and learning delivered through the use of digital internet technology. Online teaching and learning can be defined as a face -to -face learning that uses gadgets or computer equipment as a medium of learning which allows students to see and hear from a distance. (Stefan Hrastinski, 2019). Teaching and learning at home are one of the alternative measures by the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) to help teach new norms that occurred due to the pandemic COVID 19.

Through the guidelines presented by the MOE, PdPR can be carried out through three approaches, namely the online PdPR approach, the approach PdPR offline, and PdPR approach off-site. The online PdPR approach is related to internet access, device usage, and real-time learning using various applications such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Google Classroom. Further, the offline PdPR approach refers to the use of device tools such as tablets and computers without the use of internet access. While the off-site PdPR approach is teaching and learning activities carried out by the community center or permitted location. (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2020). However, the reality the implementation of PdPR is not easy to implement. If there is one student who can go through PdPR successfully, there are ten more students who face various challenges as well as the challenges that teachers have to face. However, PdPR also brings various benefits to students and also has its disadvantages.

BACKGROUND PdPR in Malaysia started when the virus led to a health disaster named COVID-19 also known as Corona Virus began to spread in Malaysia. The spread of the Covid 19 epidemic throughout Malaysia caused the 8th Malaysian Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to announce a movement control order (MCO) throughout Malaysia which came into effect on 18 March 2020. MCO is the Malaysian government's first step to curb the spread of the epidemic Covid 19 in the country. The spread of the COVID 19 epidemic in Malaysia is affecting various fields, especially the field of education. The implementation of the MCO ordered all schools to be closed and learning sessions continued online held at home.

According to Mohamed Khidhir, Nazeer, and Vijayan (2020), online PdPR is the most appropriate approach when students had to stay home to study due to this pandemic.

DISCUSSION 4.1 CHALLENGE OF IMPLEMENTING ONLINE LEARNING The first challenges students face during online learning are poor internet connectivity at home and disruption to disconnected and unreliable internet. (Noor Syaheerah & Tajul, 2021). In this context, students face difficulties in participating in teaching and learning processes held online.

This can happen due to the location of students who are in rural or urban areas. It is common knowledge that rural areas have unstable internet access and are difficult to find due to the lack of internet broadband installation in those areas. This also causes students to face difficulties in gaining internet access.

According to Sinar Harian (2020) there are three siblings in Sabah had to climb a hill to get internet access to follow the PdPR process. This clearly shows the difficulties that students According

have to

to

experience

Official

Data

of

in

seeking

the

knowledge.

National

Science

Department (2019), there is no direct improvement in internet access in rural and urban areas that has been proven since 2016. (Anuar Ahmad, 2020). Pupils living in rural areas have difficulty getting stable internet access and this requires them to choose a network line that has good access in residential areas.

Therefore, students need to buy the latest software to access their online programs such as buying internet data or paying extra money to upgrade the internet to high-speed internet such as Unifi. This may make it difficult for students who are less able to buy internet data due to its high price and at the same time make it difficult for students to attend online classes that require a lot of internet data usage.

Further, the problem of scarcity and lack

of

smart

digital

devices

is

a

challenge that students have to face in the PdPR process. According to Anuar Ahmad

(2020),

online

learning

is

confrontational the two main constraints are no internet access, weak or unstable, and

maternal

digital

ability

devices

or

fathers

gadgets

provide such

as

personal computers as well as tablets. In this context, less affluent parents cannot afford to buy gadgets such as laptops for the

convenience

of

their

children

to

attend classes online because of the high price and causing their children to use mobile phones to follow the learning process.

According to UNESCO (2020) shows as many as 9 out of 10 children use mobile phones as a tool for online teaching and learning while 8 out of 10 children do not have access to a computer. In this case, most of the students had to use their parents ’mobile phones or share mobile phones with siblings to attend class online. The sharing of digital devices such as mobile phones makes it difficult for students to follow all the online learning undertaken by the teachers as they have to wait for the turn of other siblings to spend their study time as soon as they can use their mobile phones. In the meantime, students who use their parents' mobile phones also face difficulties because the mobile phones brought by their parents to work cause their children to miss learning time as well as information presented in class. This at the same time causes students to lag in learning compared to their peers who have sufficient and perfect equipment to follow the PdPR process.

The challenge that teachers need to face in implementing the online learning and teaching process is to adapt themselves to the advances of the modern era in the use of modern and sophisticated ICT tools and facilities during the teaching process. In this context, digital devices and ICT facilities are seen to be evolving with the passage of increasingly modern times. Such things make it difficult for teachers to do the teaching process because they are less skilled in the use of laptops and also less skilled in accessing ICT such as zoom applications and google meet. This results in teachers having to spend their time researching and knowing in-depth about the proper use of ICT facilities. This causes teachers to have to use the previous method of teaching that is by using the old method like textbooks. Such a learning process does not attract the interest of students and causes students to feel bored during learning.

4.2 IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS FOR ONLINE LEARNING

The use of online learning applications is one of the steps in improving PdPR effectively. In this context, the development of technology and communication (ICT) in Malaysia helps the online teaching process. This is because various mobile learning applications have been developed aimed at facilitating teaching and learning between teachers and students

Among the examples of online learning applications that can be used by teachers are such as Google Classroom, Zoom education, and Google Meet. For example, the Google Classroom app used by teachers is very helpful to organize students ’daily activities smoothly when teachers can distribute learning materials such as timetables, school work, and additional notes. So, students can follow the learning process perfectly.

In addition, apps like google meet help teachers to hold classes online as they can generate two-way communication between teachers and students. During the learning process, teachers can use the share screen filter to present teaching materials such as slides online. Students can also ask the teacher by using a virtual hand-raising filter to ask questions to the teacher. This proves applications like this help the learning process run smoothly.

In the meantime, teachers can also renew teaching techniques by applying gamification learning techniques. According to Deterding et al., (2011), gamification is defined as the use of games that have design elements in a non-game context. Nowadays, gamification and game-based learning are often used in the learning process in the 21’st century.

Through this gamification-based learning, traditional learning can be converted into a more interactive and engaging form of learning. (Farber, 2015).

In this context, teachers can perform forms of gamification such as Quizzes, Kahoot, and Google Forms during the learning process.

Activities like this attract the interest of students as well as make students feel fun to learn because the forms of gamification such as Kahoot and Quizzes are equipped with musical elements and interesting colour displays. In addition, the use of gamification in learning also helps students understand the topics studied well and effectively and can also produce a high spirit of motivation in students because they will be more interested in interacting with interactive mediums than learning in the classroom.

4.3 ADVANTAGES OF IMPLEMENTING ONLINE LEARNING TO STUDENTS The advantages of the implementation of online learning for students are to help improve students’ skills in the use of electronic platforms in the future. This is because, today's students are educated and exposed to various online platforms such as Google Classroom, Google Meet, Zoom, Telegram and so on which are used as the main platform by the school to conduct learning sessions. This can raise students’ skills in using various platforms and applications during the learning session. For example, students will learn how to use Google Meet properly which is equipped with various filters such as "raising hand" and so on. It provides new knowledge to students as well as gives an advantage in the process of finding a job and success in the future because the skills and sophistication of a person in the use of ICT are highly regarded and needed. In addition, the implementation of online learning can also save students time in finding learning materials.

This is said so because students only need to access information on the internet in a short time compared to having to come to the library to find learning materials that actually require more time.

4.4 DISADVANTAGEOUS OF IMPLEMENTING ONLINE LEARNING TO STUDENTS The implementation of online learning also gives disadvantages to students.

Among them is that students feel stressed due to not being prepared to use new learning strategies. (Panteli & Panaoura 2020).

This is because students are accustomed to the old way of learning which is using face-to-face methods compared to the new method of learning which is online. In this context, online learning requires students to face and spend their time with gadgets such as laptops and mobile phones over long periods. This in turn brings a sense of boredom to students because they do not do active physical activities causing their bodies to feel lethargic and weak.

The implementation of online learning that takes a long time causes students not to focus fully on the learning that takes place.

Moreover, an unconducive learning environment causes students to lose concentration in learning. For example, noisy home conditions with the presence of many siblings, gadgets that need to be shared with siblings as well as uncomfortable study places cause them not to focus on the information conveyed by the teacher. As a result, it can affect student performance in academics

5.0 CONCLUSION In conclusion, teaching and learning done online are an alternative to the education of the new norm. Thus, this case study shows that the acceptance of the new norm of online education is increasingly accepted by teachers and students. Cooperation from all parties is highly expected to improve the education system in Malaysia. After all, online teaching and learning is the best learning method for producing quality and excellent students.

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

Interview session with an expert