Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Use, Features and Acceptance of Digital Learning Tools

Abstract

Dealing with digital learning tools has become our new daily routine, as the COVID-19 pandemic restricts our mobility and limits our social contacts. Despite the omnipresence of the topic, little is known about how students experience distance learning with digital learning tools, how they evaluate the tools' features, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. An online survey was distributed in a Latvian higher education institution in late autumn 2020, and data of 104 students, both from Bachelor as well as from Master studies of the University of Latvia, were collected. The results of the present study highlight that motivation and engagement, as well as communication and interaction are important factors with regards to students' perceptions of and attitudes towards the distance learning mode. This exploratory research provides first evidence of perceptions and attitudes of Latvian university students concerning distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.