International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) – eISSN: 1865-7923 – Vol  17 No  14 (2023) Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v17i14.41685 Rasha Mohamed Abdel Rahman1,2,3,4, Najeh Rajeh Alsalhi1,2,3(), Mohd. Elmagzoub Eltahir1,2, Soumaya Abdellatif 1,2, Ahmad Mohammad Alzoubi1,2 1 College of Humanities and Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE 2 Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center (HSSRC), Ajman University, Ajman, UAE 3 Ajman University, Ajman, UAE 4 National Center for Examination and Educational Evaluation (NCEEE), Cairo, Egypt n.alsalhi@ajman.ac.ae Abstract—This study examined the perceptions of faculty members at Ajman University during the period of COVID-19 to estimate the reality of the experi- ence of employing E-learn applied during the 2020/2021 academic year at higher education establishments in the UAE. A descriptive method was adopted in the research. The study participants consisted of all staff the faculty (274) of Ajman University who were selected from different faculties with different specializa- tions in the academic year 2020-2021. A questionnaire, consisting of (38) items, was developed as an instrument for the study after its validity and reliability were verified. The results indicated that faculty members' perspective of Ajman uni- versity as one of the UAE universities as being highly prepared, well trained, and equipped to apply online learning during the period of Covid-19. The findings also indicated that the faculty members’ perspective related to the process of teaching and learning via online learning reached a moderate level, and the ob- stacles encountering the application of online learning reached a high level, while their perspective concerning suggestions to develop the online learning experi- ence was at mid-level. Faculty members' responses regarding applying online learning differed according to the college variables came with favor for Medicine College, depending on the year of experience (in favor of 5- to less than 10 years), and depending on gender and academic rank of faculty members (the perspective of faculty members is statistically insignificant according to the gender and aca- demic rank variables). Keywords—online learning, COVID-19, faculty members, Ajman university, higher education 1 Introduction The emergence of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought almost all fields of our social life to a standstill such as political, social, educational, cultural, and economic needs. In order to combat the spread of this severe pandemic, the World Health Organ- iJIM ‒ Vol. 17, No. 14, 2023 19 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v17i14.41685 mailto:n.alsalhi@ajman.ac.ae Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak ization (WHO) stated social distancing. [1]. The world has witnessed the utmost exten- sive disruption in educational systems in history, involving 190 countries over the world, as face-to-face classes have been suspended around the world in early 2020.As much as 99% of the student population around the world has been affected by the clo- sure of academic institutions[2]. The social distancing measures have closed campuses around the world. UNESCO admits that about 91.3 percent of the world's students, or about 1.5 billion of the world's students, cannot attend school due to COVID-19, so online learning is replacing them[3]. Due to closing the schools and universities, the educational system was disrupted and academic institutions had to cope with online learning without adequate preparation time. Students and teachers faced many chal- lenges in transitioning and implementing the new teaching and learning model [4–6]. Many educational institutions have adopted online or distance learning as a solution to the covid-19 pandemic [7]. Many studies have demonstrated the importance of online education in a variety of universities around the world [8]. Among the most prestigious universities in developed countries, education has been delivered virtually for the last decade; traditional learning practices have been abandoned [4]. Many challenges had been identified due to the new model of teaching and learning. It therefore requires significant planning and organization to completely move to an online education [9]. Hence, to prepare for this and any future crises similar to it, educational institutions must assess the situation and identify their abilities, needs, and readiness [10]. Accord- ing to a study conducted among chief online officers at faculties, most of the faculty and students believed remote teaching was logistically successful, but they also acknowledged that it was difficult due to low levels of faculty preparation and readiness [11]. According to another survey conducted by the E-learning Research Practice Lab (2020) at Indiana University Pervasive Technology Institute, two thirds of instructors felt disconnected from their undergarduates and found teaching more challenging. Sim- ilarly, a similar number of students reported completing online assignments was more time-consuming. Studies have discovered that teacher self-efficacy influences students' confidence in their ability to learn and their beliefs about teaching methods [12]. In order to ensure qualified delivery of online courses, instructors should receive sufficient training. Using laptops, tablets, and smartphones, students can access the material wherever they are, even from university campuses with adequate IT infrastructure and resources [13]. Beginning in March 2020, the UAE Ministry of Education and Etisalat Company worked together to implement continual online learning throughout COVID- 19 across all sectors of the education system, i.e. public and private schools and under- graduate institutions. As an important part of this precaution, we need to protect the targeted students against Covid-19 and ensure that the learning process is conducted with high-standard teaching methods in a suitable manner. During the COVID-19 pan- demic, we have implemented several measures to ensure success in the online learning process. In replying to the directive of the UAE Ministry of Education, Ajman Univer- sity started implementing the online learning system in order to restrict the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus recognized as (COVID-19). Although many studies over the past decades indicated the importance of online learning, but it has been ignored for long time, considering it as a useless and noneffec- tive means of learning, But now it is clear that he has become the main forces in learning 20 https://www.i-jim.org Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak in all over the world As of 17 April 2020, [13], polls asserted that nearly 91.3 percent or around 1.5 billion students around the globe cannot attend school due to COVID-19 spread, which has caused unique challenges worldwide. And the closing of schools as a precaution to stop the spread of infection. Where it was logistically viable, institutions switched to emergency online learning to maintain educational continuation, without given anytime for preparation [14]. Online learning is considered one of the most ex- panding trends in the use of technology in education [15]. The goal of online education, a form of distance learning, has always been to provide students with access to a learn- ing environment that is as flexible as possible in terms of time and location as opposed to campus-based education. [16]. This indicates that online learning, which often occurs in a synchronous or asynchronous manner through the Internet rather than in a class- room, is an efficient process. Through a number of practical means, such as real-time assessments, real-time questions and responses, surveys, and practice sessions, syn- chronous learning takes place directly between professors and students. [16]. Mean- while, [17] pointed out that there are several advantages to online learning, such as raising student cognitive levels, encouraging reflection and data processing, and level- ing the action field for participants. Furthermore, [16] mentions some advantages of online learning for students and instructors, for example students are easy access the online materials anytime, providing real-time interaction between students and teacher, the accessing up-to-date and related learning subjects, and They have access to special- ists in the subject matter they are studying. Additionally, since learners can access ma- terials online, it is simpler for professors to direct them to pertinent information de- pending on what they need. Online learning systems can be employed to detect learners' requirements and assign suitable resources for learners to choose from, enabling learn- ers to achieve their learning objective. [18]. Also, [19] pointed out that online learning gives accessibility, online Learning enables people to organize and guide their own learning, may help instructors improve their cognitive skills, and provides opportunity for them to become proficient in the use of Information and Communication Technol- ogy (ICT). On the other hand, many previous studies pointed that there are several risks, issues, and challenges associated with transferring and implementing the modren teach- ing and learning format for both instructors and students. [4–6]. COVID-19 had spread online learning culture across the countries, A lot of universities in different developing countries are not adequately equipped to teach online efficiently, even in development countries the situation was not much different, A report that published by University of Houston’s in 2020 summarizing the faculty’s perceptions concerning the transition to online learning at the period of COVID_19 has found that most people acknowledge that there is at least some difficulty when it comes to the deployment of technological tools and the manner of instruction due to the low levels of faculty and student readi- ness. [7]. Many previous studies investigated the faculty perception towards online learning, and indicated to how much faculty supporting the traditional education and explained the importance of online learning but it asserted that cannot replace tradi- tional education [20–22]. Other studies have indicated while the online learning has been a quick and great solution for educational institution during COVID-19, But as a result faculty was facing many challenges in online teaching including, lack of tools iJIM ‒ Vol. 17, No. 14, 2023 21 Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak and skills need for online teaching process, IT skills and teaching strategies that en- courage students to interact with their teachers during online classes [5, 10]. Further, numerous studies have stressed the importance of providing faculty with adequate sup- port: different kinds of training and workshops are suggested, engagement tools are developed for online teaching processes that emphasize student interaction and moti- vation, advanced assessment tools are developed, various technologies are provided to facilitate the delivery of content and materials online, and a good internet connection is provided [20, 23–25]. 1.1 Research questions The main questions of research are as following RQ1: To what extent the UAE universities are ready, trained, and technically sup- ported for online learning at for the period of the COVID-19, as perceived by faculty of Ajman University? RQ2: How satisfied are students with the online learning environment at institutions in the UAE during the COVID-19, as perceived by the faculty of Ajman University? RQ3: How did Ajman University faculty members perceive the online learning ap- plication? RQ4. How can Ajman University faculty members improve their experience of us- ing online learning RQ5. Does the faculty’s level of perspective concerning the skill of online education application at the period of the COVID-19 differ according to gender, college, academic rank, and year of experience? 1.2 Research importance ─ The study will focus on how professors really experienced online learning at the period of COVID-19. ─ Owing to the spread of the COVID-19 around the world, the UAE Ministry of Higher Education has prioritized updating university teaching methods and strategies. ─ The study may provide an accurate picture of the challenges and difficulties faculty face during online learning. 2 Methodology 2.1 Approach of the study A questionnaire instrument will be used in this study as a data collection tool for a descriptive study. 22 https://www.i-jim.org Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak 2.2 Study participants Ajman University's faculty members from different colleges with different speciali- zations are targeted for this study during the academic year 2020-2021. There are 284 in total. (274) faculty members participate in the research because 25 faculty members were used for the experimental study to calculate the credibility coefficient. Table 1 and Figure 1 show the Demographic Data. Table 1. Participants' demographic data Study Variables Variables levels Frequency (f) Percentage (%) Gender Female 144 52.6% Male 130 47.4% Total 274 100% College Faculty of Dentistry 35 12.8 College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences 34 12.4 College of Engineering and Information Technology 51 18.6 College of Architecture, Art, and Design 33 12.0 College of Business Administration 16 5.8 Faculty of Law 15 5.5 College of Mass Communication 21 7.7 College of Humanities and Sciences 45 16.4 College of Medicine 24 8.8 Total 274 100.0 Academic rank Professor 49 17.9 Associate Professor 78 28.5 Assist. Prof. 95 34.7 Lect. 52 19.0 Total 274 100.0 Experience Less than 5 years 62 22.6 5-10 years 124 45.3 More than 10 years 88 32.1 Total 274 100.0 iJIM ‒ Vol. 17, No. 14, 2023 23 Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak Fig. 1. Participants' demographic information 2.3 Instrument Faculty members were sent the survey in the second term of academic year 2020/2021, when COVID-19 spread during the second term. There were two parts to the questionnaire. The first part of this survey collected the basic information about the faculty, while the second part consists of (38) items aimed at clarifying the faculty's goal. 2.4 The validity and reliability of the instrument The adequacy of questionnaire items to the study aims was evaluated by a panel of adjudicators ten faculty members from UAE universities who had extensive knowledge of the field of learning. The recommendations of the academic experts have been taken into consideration, and deletions, revisions, and additions have been made, resulting in a questionnaire with (40) items after modification to fulfill the study objectives. Cronbach's alpha was employed to detect the validity and reliability of the study instru- ment. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was computed on a pilot study requiring (25) faculty members outside of the study sample (0.862). 2.5 Analytical measures of the data An analysis of five dimensions is carried out as shown in Figure 2. 24 https://www.i-jim.org Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak Fig. 2. It shows the Analytical Measures of the data 3 Findings 3.1 RQ 1 Study findings RQ1: To what extent the UAE universities are ready, trained, and technical sup- ported for online learning at the period of COVID-19, as perceived by faculty of Ajman University? Each entry (1-7) of the tool was analyzed in descendent order in accordance with the Arithmetic mean presented in table five in order to respond to RQ1. The researchers calculated the means and standard deviations for the sample of research for faculty members. All questionnaire elements (1-9) were calculated to have a mathematic mean of (3.45), while the standard deviation was (0.84). Ajman University demonstrated high levels of readiness and training for online learning at the period of COVID-19 pan- demic. As illustrated in Table 2, students' responses to Item 8 " Technical support ser- vices are provided by the University quickly " had the highest average (3.99). A second- high level of rating is evident from the students' responses to item 9, which was rated as having an average of 3.93, a high level, for " It is easy and clear to connect to our online learning system.". Item 7 “The University provides various ways to communi- cation with the university technical support service.” With a grade of 3.92, this third level is the most ready, with very good training, and with a great degree of technical support for online learning. Moreover, it is also clear from the faculty members' re- sponses as shown in Table 2, that all other items 3, 4, 6, and 5 scored came at the level of moderate. iJIM ‒ Vol. 17, No. 14, 2023 25 Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak Table 2. shows the means, standard deviations, and technical assistance for implementing online learning No Items Mean S. Deviation Description 1 The University provided enough number of training work-shops on the online learning system for all faculty members 3.74 0.68 High 2 The University provided comprehensive and qualified train-ing on online learning for all faculty members 3.74 0.68 High 3 The University held clarification meetings about online learning policy and procedures. 3.25 0.66 Moderate 4 Detailed instructions were provided by the University for how to use the online learning system. 3.30 0.67 Moderate 5 The University provides direct technical support service be-fore or while teaching from within the university 2.53 1.23 Moderate 6 The University provides technical support service for fac-ulty members in their homes or at off-campus locations 2.67 1.29 Moderate 7 The University offers different ways to communication with the university technical support service. 3.92 1.00 High 8 Technical support services are provided by the University quickly 3.99 0.71 High 9 The online learning system adopted by our university pro- vides stress-free and clear connectivity (Blackboard - We- bEx - Zoom ….) It is easy and clear to connect to our online learning system. 3.93 0.67 High Total mean for Items 3.45 High Standard deviation 0.84 3.2 RQ 2 Study findings RQ2: How satisfied are students with the online teaching and learning process at UAE institutions at the period of COVID-19, as perceived by the faculty of Ajman University? As shown in Table 3, writers calculated the means and standard deviations of the responses for each item of the tool (10-20) from the study example of students. All items (10-20) in Table 3 had a mean (4.03) and a standard deviation (0.72), re- spectively. According to the findings of this study, faculty members of Ajman Univer- sity have been high satisfied with the processes of teaching and learning via online learning. In Table 3, the highest average rating (4.61), as well as a high level of satis- faction, is shown for Item 12- "Online learning takes in consideration individual differ- ences". Moreover, based on the respondents' responses to item 18- "Online learning increases the spirit of cooperation among students.", this paragraph had the 2nd highest level, with 4.13. As far as the teaching and learning process through online learning is concerned, item 13- “Online learning increases the effort made by a faculty member” showed the third highest level of satisfaction from faculty members of Ajman Univer- sity with 4.12 Avg score, and the overall level of satisfaction was high as well. Simi- larly, items: 14, 19, 20, 10, 15, 17, 16 and 11 with their respective average values of 4.10, 3.99, 3.93, 3.91, 3.91, 3.91, 3.89 and 3.88 all were at highly satisfied. 26 https://www.i-jim.org Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak Table 3. Means and standard deviation of satisfaction for the process of teaching and learning by online learning No Items Mean S. Deviation Description 10 Online learning organizes a faculty member's time 3.91 0.73 High 11 Online learning develops a faculty member's skills in the use of information technologies 3.88 0.73 High 12 Online learning takes in consideration individual differ-ences. 4.61 0.49 Very High 13 Online learning increases the effort made by a faculty member. 4.12 0.76 High 14 Online learning doesn’t add to the faculty member any new skills 4.10 0.78 High 15 Working with online learning is comfortable for the fac-ulty member. 3.91 0.73 High 16 Online learning allows fast and reliable communication with students. 3.89 0.73 High 17 Online learning promotes interaction and discussion with students. 3.91 0.78 High 18 Online learning increases the spirit of cooperation among students. 4.13 0.77 High 19 Online learning improves self-learning skills 3.99 0.71 High 20 Faculty members use all applications available in the online learning system. 3.93 0.67 High Overall mean for items 4.03 Moderate Standard deviation 0.72 3.3 RQ 3 The findings of the study RQ3: How did Ajman University faculty members perceive the online learning ap- plication? The mean and standard deviation were calculated for the items (21-33). The results were shown in Table 4, with means illustrated in descending order. The Table 4 shows a mean of 3.98 and a standard deviation of 0.79 for all items (21- 33. According to this data, the online learning application at Ajman University faced significant challenges from the faculty members' perspective. A faculty member's re- sponse to item 25 (network failures or slowness - audio outages) is also shown in Table 4 had the greatest average (4.70) and was at a very high level for the obstacles. Like- wise, item 27-"Online learning increases cheating chances during tests" came at a very high level, with an average rating of 4.68, indicating that this item was rated highly by faculty members. As assessed by Ajman University faculty members, item 23- "sing online learning is a weakness for students." came in third place with a 4.25 average, ranking very high among the faculty members concerning education process via online learning. Moreover, item 30- "Students are facing difficulties in dealing with online tests." has a rating of 3.99 out of 5, and from the faculty's perspective scored well. Similarly, items: 29, 21, 22, 26, 31, 33, 28, 24 and 23 with the respective average values of 3.92, 3.91, 3.88, 3.81, 3.81, 3.78, 3.64 and 3.54 were also at a high level concerning the challenges. iJIM ‒ Vol. 17, No. 14, 2023 27 Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak Table 4. Arithmetic means and standard deviation of online learning application challenges No Items Mean S. Deviation Description 21 Online learning takes more time and effort than traditional learning 3.91 0.73 High 22 Proficiency in using online learning is lacking among faculty members 3.88 0.73 High 23 Using online learning is a weakness for students 4.25 0.44 Very High 24 Weakness and Delay of technical support services 3.64 1.04 High 25 Lecture problems (network failures or slowness - audio out-ages) 4.70 0.46 Very High 26 Faculty and students rarely communicate directly 3.81 0.83 High 27 Online learning increases cheating chances during tests 4.68 0.47 Very High 28 Online learning applications are difficult for faculty members to use 3.78 0.89 High 29 Online learning increases the teaching load for a faculty member 3.92 1.01 High 30 Students are facing difficulties in dealing with online tests 3.99 0.92 High 31 The weakness internet available for some students at home. 3.81 0.83 High 32 Student home environments are unsuitable for online learn- ing . 3.54 1.01 High 33 Students are less motivated to learn when they learn online 3.79 0.90 High Total mean for items 3.98 High Standard deviation 0.79 3.4 RQ 4 Study findings How can Ajman University faculty members improve their skill of using online learning? According to Table 5, the researcher calculated the mean and standard devi- ation of the faculty members’ replies for the items (34-38). Table 5. Means and standard deviation of the ideas for enhancing the effectiveness of online learning No Items Mean S. Deviation Description 34 Training in a variety of methods (on campus/online/vid-eos) for different and updated online learning applications 3.92 1.01 High 35 Continuously enhancing online learning programs 3.16 1.34 Moderate 36 Providing technical support quickly and continuously 2.93 1.38 Moderate 37 Making changes to the assignment, quiz, and exam distri-bution 3.11 1.37 Moderate 38 Establishing an effective and continuous online learning program in collaboration with the communications net- work 3.29 1.15 Moderate Total mean for items 3.28 Moderate Standard deviation 1.25 28 https://www.i-jim.org Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak A mean of 3.28 and a standard deviation of 1.25 can be illustrated in the above Table 5 for all items (21-33). According to this finding, faculty members from Ajman Uni- versity offered moderate feedback and suggestions for improving online learning. Table 5 also illustrates that faculty members responses to item 34- “Training in a variety of methods (on-campus/online/videos) for varying and updated online learning applica- tions” has the greatest average (3.92) and were at the top level when it came to sugges- tions for improving online learning. Moreover, item 38- “Establishing an effective and continuous online learning program in collaboration with the communications net- work” It has an average of 3.29 with moderate level concerning suggestions to develop the skill of employing online learning from the faculty members viewpoint. Similarly, items: 35, 37 and 36, with the values of respective average of 3.16, 3.11 and 2.93, were at a moderate level. 3.5 RQ 5 Study findings RQ5. Does the faculty’s level of perspective regarding online learning application skill during the COVID-19 differ based on sex, faculty, academic rank, and year of experience? A mean score and standard deviation were calculated to respond the re- search 5th question. Tests like the T test, averages, and others were identified using different methods. LSD test was adopted for hoc comparisons to assess the significance of mean differences. Based on the study variables, here is a summary of the responses from the participants • Variable of Gender: The independent sample test (T) was employed to ascertain the significance of dif- ferences in averages concerning the utilization of online learning at the period of COVID-19 depending on the gender variable, as shown in Table 6. Table 6. The means and standard deviation of the faculty members responses depending on their sexes Gender N Mean Std. Deviation T. Value Sig (tailed) Sig. level female 144 3.7981 0.56322 0.895 0.186 Not Significant Male 130 3.7340 0.60178 In the table above, the 0.895 calculated value of T indicates that there was no signif- icant change in significance (2.186), which is less than the calculated value of T which shows that there was no significant difference. Furthermore, this value is larger than 0.05, which is the mean without any favoritism of the two genders arithmetically. • College Variable: Based on the faculty members' answers, the results of the ANOVA test are illustrated in the following table. iJIM ‒ Vol. 17, No. 14, 2023 29 Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak Table 7. One-way ANOVA analysis of variance based on college variable * Statistically significant at (α 0.05 ≤ ) As shown in the table above, the statistically significant difference is 0.00, that is less than 0.05, the the required statistical significance level. This is centered on the staff perspective on the collage variable. LSD test are conducted to detect the reasons of the differences and to compare them, and the results can be found in the table. Table 8. Results of the LSD test to understand the reasons for variances in faculty members answers based on college variables (I) The college (J) The college Mean Difference (I-J) Sig. dentistry Pharmacy &Health Science 0.20726 0.057 Business Administration -0.07202 0.610 Engineering and Information Technology -0.10723 0.308 Architecture, Art and Design .84640* 0.000 Humanities & Sciences .88266* 0.000 Medicine -0.13781 0.416 Mass Communication -0.02729 0.832 Law -0.08040 0.656 Pharmacy &Health Science dentistry -0.20726 0.057 Business Administration -.27929* 0.033 Engineering and Information Technology -.31449* 0.001 Architecture, Art and Design .63913* 0.000 Humanities & Sciences .67539* 0.000 Medicine -.34508* 0.033 Mass Communication -.23455* 0.046 Law -0.28766 0.096 Business Admin- istration dentistry 0.07202 0.610 Pharmacy &Health Science .27929* 0.033 Engineering and Information Technology -0.03521 0.783 Architecture, Art and Design .91842* 0.000 Humanities & Sciences .95468* 0.000 Medicine -0.06579 0.721 Mass Communication 0.04474 0.762 Law -0.00837 0.966 Engineering and In- formation Technol- ogy dentistry 0.10723 0.308 Pharmacy &Health Science .31449* 0.001 Business Administration 0.03521 0.783 Architecture, Art and Design .95363* 0.000 Humanities & Sciences .98988* 0.000 Sig. level Sig (tailed) F Mean Square df Sum of Squares Significant 0.000 9.113 2.525 8 20.196 Among the Groups College 0.277 265 73.414 Within Groups 273 93.610 Total 30 https://www.i-jim.org Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak (I) The college (J) The college Mean Difference (I-J) Sig. Medicine -0.03058 0.847 Mass Communication 0.07994 0.483 Law 0.02683 0.875 Architecture, Art and Design dentistry -.84640* 0.000 Pharmacy &Health Science -.63913* 0.000 Business Administration -.91842* 0.000 Engineering and Information Technology -.95363* 0.000 Humanities & Sciences 0.03626 0.870 Medicine -.98421* 0.000 Mass Communication -.87368* 0.000 Law -.92679* 0.000 Humanities & Sci- ences dentistry -.88266* 0.000 Pharmacy &Health Science -.67539* 0.000 Business Administration -.95468* 0.000 Engineering and Information Technology -.98988* 0.000 Architecture, Art and Design -0.03626 0.870 Medicine -1.02047* 0.000 Mass Communication -.90994* 0.000 Law -.96305* 0.000 Medicine dentistry 0.13781 0.416 Pharmacy &Health Science .34508* 0.033 Business Administration 0.06579 0.721 Engineering and Information Technology 0.03058 0.847 Architecture, Art and Design .98421* 0.000 Humanities & Sciences 1.02047* 0.000 Mass Communication 0.11053 0.528 Law 0.05742 0.790 Mass Communica- tion dentistry 0.02729 0.832 Pharmacy &Health Science .23455* 0.046 Business Administration -0.04474 0.762 Engineering and Information Technology -0.07994 0.483 Architecture, Art and Design .87368* 0.000 Humanities & Sciences .90994* 0.000 Medicine -0.11053 0.528 Law -0.05311 0.775 Law dentistry 0.08040 0.656 Pharmacy &Health Science 0.28766 0.096 Business Administration 0.00837 0.966 Engineering and Information Technology -0.02683 0.875 Architecture, Art and Design .92679* 0.000 Humanities & Sciences .96305* 0.000 Medicine -0.05742 0.790 Mass Communication 0.05311 0.775 iJIM ‒ Vol. 17, No. 14, 2023 31 Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak According to the college variable, the above table illustrates the study results for identifying the main causes of the variances. A favorable outcome came out of the study for the Medicine college. • Academic rank Below is a table that illustrates the results of the One-Way ANOVA for the academic rank variable for the staff. Table 9. Analysis of variance based on the academic rank variable by One Way ANOVA test The preceding table demonstrates that there are no statistically significant differ- ences in staff’s opinions related to the variable of academic rank since the value of P is equal to 0.515, which is more than the value of 0.05. • Year of experience. Based on the faculty members' answers, the results of the ANOVA test are illustrated in the following table. Table 10. One-way ANOVA analysis depending on the variable year of experience * Statistically significant at (α 0.05 ≤ ) As shown in the table above, the statistically significant difference is 0.00, that is less than 0.05, the required statistical significance level. This depends on the faculty members perspective on the year of experience variable. LSD test are conducted to detect the reasons of the differences and to compare them, and the findings can be found in the below table. According to the year of experience variable, the table illustrates the study results for identifying the main causes of the variances. A favorable outcome came out of the study for the experience (5- to less than 10 years). Sig. level Sig (tailed) F Mean Square df Sum of Squares Insignifi- cant 0.515 0.764 0.263 3 0.788 Among the Groups Computer skills 0.344 270 92.823 Within Groups 273 93.610 Total Sig. level Sig (tailed) F Mean Square df Sum of Squares Significant 0.000 10.443 3.349 2 6.698 Among the Groups College 0.321 271 86.912 Within Groups 273 93.610 Total 32 https://www.i-jim.org Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak Table 11. Results of the LSD test to understand the reasons for variances in faculty members answers based on year of experience variables (I) Experiences (J) Experiences Mean Difference (I-J) Sig. Less than 5 years 5- to less than 10 years -.36874* 0.000 more than 10 years -0.09533 0.278 5- to less than 10 years Less than 5 years .36874* 0.000 more than 10 years .27341* 0.001 more than 10 years Less than 5 years 0.09533 0.278 5- to less than 10 years -.27341* 0.001 4 Discussion From the perspective of faculty members at Ajman University, the results related to the first research question indicate that UAE universities are capable of preparing for, training for, and providing tech-support to online learning at the period of COVID-19 pandemics at a high level, as illustrated in Table 2. Based on this result, Ajman faculty are satisfied and convinced that their university is prepared, trained, and equipped to support online learning at the time of COVID-19. The results of this research are con- sistent with recent studies that have looked at universities' preparedness, training, and supporting technically when it comes to adopting online learning at the period of Covid- 19 from the perspective of their faculty members [4, 9, 10]. Based on these results, faculty members and students can adjust to up-to-date learning methods in the future, like blended learning and online learning entirely. According to chief online officers at colleges and universities, the results of the study in the first question contradicted that study in question 11, which argued that although the majority of administrators re- garded remote teaching as a logistical success, they also acknowledged that there were some challenges, including a lack of preparedness among universities, faculty, and stu- dents. As well, according to another study conducted by [12], two-thirds of faculty members felt disconnected from their undergraduates, and teaching was becoming in- creasingly challenging. A similar number of students reported that completing their course assignments took more time after online learning was introduced. From the per- spective of Ajman University faculty members, the 2nd research question examines the extent of satisfaction concerning online learning. Table 3 indicates that it achieved a high degree of satisfaction, with an arithmetic mean of 4.03 and a standard deviation of 0.72. Accordingly, the majority of items had a great mean, and this shows that most faculty members selected high in most cases, indicating that the degree of approval is high. According to Ajman university faculty members, the teaching and learning pro- cess in their university is highly satisfied and convincing following COVID-19 pan- demic. Researchers found Ajman University's faculty members had good instructional methods and well-designed courses, along with experience teaching online courses. They may also have good technical experience and a teaching method that is well suited to online learning. A good faculty member should design and organize courses with clear goals, according to[26]. Students and faculty could benefit from this strategy in order to be as prepared as possible before their courses. Moreover, according to [27], iJIM ‒ Vol. 17, No. 14, 2023 33 Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak faculty should be prepared to provide students with emotional, pedagogical, and tech- nological support. In several studies, faculty members were found to be moderately satisfied with the process of teaching and learning via online learning [28]. In the third study, students at Ajman University discuss the challenges they face with the online learning application. In Table 4, you can see that the results came at high levels, with total mean of 3.98 and a standard deviation of 0.79. The high means of most items indicate that respondents have high levels of difficulty encountering the online learning use. Based on the findings, faculty at Ajman University believe that online learning application challenges will remain moderate during COVID-19. Results presented in Table 4 indicated that technical difficulties during lectures (network failure, slowness, audio outage) were the biggest challenges facing online learning. Access to the online learning atmosphere must be available to the students. Regardless of the reason, other- wise, eligible students will not be able to take part in the course due to lack of access. Rural areas and neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status face this problem. This result may also be explained by slow internet connectivity and problems with commu- nication software, two of the most frequent technical issues I encountered throughout the whole courses. It was also noted as seen shown in Table 4 also that online learning increased the chances of cheating during exams. The reason, according to researchers, may be a weak investment in online learning programs in technology such as learning management systems (LMSs). These systems can integrate with other fraud detection technologies that provide identity verification and other features designed to thwart fraud. Moreover, the results indicate that from the faculty members' perspective, one of the challenges in implementing online learning is that students' skills in using online learning are weak thus students may struggle to understand course materials because of this. As part of this research, a fourth question was asked about providing suggestions to improve and develop the skill of employing online learning from the aspect of Ajman University faculty members. According to Table 5, the obtained outcomes demon- strated that the result had 3.28 of arithmetic mean and 1.25. of standard deviation Thus, most items have a moderate mean, indicating that the respondents are moderate willing to suggest ways to improve online learning. Studies have found that faculty members are moderately satisfied with the process of education via online learning from own perspective, which agrees with several studies that have maintained this level [29-40]. The 5th research question is raised to determine the difference in the faculty mem- bers' responses depending on their genders, college, academic rank, and year of expe- rience. Our findings, illustrated in Table 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, showed that the difference of responses of faculty members' regarding of adopting online learning during a COVID-19 according to the college variables came in favor for Medicine college, de- pending on year of experience (in favor of 5- to less than 10 years), and depending on gender and academic rank of faculty members (there is no statistical significance from the perspective of staff based on the gender and academic rank variables). 34 https://www.i-jim.org Paper—Faculty Perceptions of Online Learning During the Coronavirus Outbreak 5 Limitations Some limitations, however, were also identified in the study. This research was lim- ited by the use of non-probability sampling, and the fact that only one UAE university was involved in the research. The findings therefore are unable be generalized to all UAE higher education institutions. A longitudinal study would be valuable to identify how universities modified to exclusively online education. The degree to which teach- ers interact with students, how the students are progressing, how well their academic performance has improved, the extent of teacher-student interaction, and how well stu- dents' attitudes towards online learning have improved. 6 Recommendation • Develop and improve online learning platforms according to modern educational technologies. • Implementation of training and professional growth programs for faculty members in universities. • Teaching at the period of pandemics such as the Covid-19 requires faculty members to be open to changing and to try novel ways of teaching. • The need to work on developing the infrastructure necessary to obtain a high-quality educational system, such as the availability of all requirements for online learning, such as the availability of a strong internet network, sufficient devices, the presence of technical support teams, and other requirements. 7 Delimitations of study • Subject limits: Considering Ajman University is one of the United Arab Emirates' higher education universities, the study focused only on online education at Ajman University. • Human limits: Members of the faculty at Ajman University, United Arab Emirates • Spatial limits: Ajman University in the United Arab Emirates. • Time limits: Second semester of academic year 2020-2021 8 References [1] W. 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Kadhim, "Secure Code Generation for Multi-Level Mutual Authentication," TELKOMNIKA (Telecommunication Computing Electronics and Control), vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 2643-2650, 2018. https://doi.org/10.12928/telkomnika.v16i6.10437 9 Authors Dr. Rasha Mohamed Abdel Rahman, College of Humanities and Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE; Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center (HSSRC), Ajman University, Ajman, UAE (Email: r.abdelrahman@ajman.ac.ae). Dr. Najeh Rajeh Alsalhi, Deanship of Research and Graduate Studies at Ajman University. Also, at Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center (HSSRC), Ajman University, Ajman, UAE (Email: n.alsalhi@ajman.ac.ae). Dr. Mohd. Elmagzoub Eltahir, College of Humanities and Sciences, Ajman Uni- versity, Ajman, UAE; Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center (HSSRC), Ajman University, Ajman, UAE (Email: m.babiker@ajman.ac.ae). Dr. Soumaya Abdellatif, College of Humanities and Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE; Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center (HSSRC), Ajman Uni- versity, Ajman, UAE (Email: s.abdellatif@ajman.ac.ae). Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Alzoubi, College of Humanities and Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE; Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center (HSSRC), Ajman University, Ajman, UAE (Email: a.alzubi@ajman.ac.ae). Article submitted 2023-04-24. Resubmitted 2023-06-03. Final acceptance 2023-06-04. Final version pub- lished as submitted by the authors. 38 https://www.i-jim.org https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i16.24195 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i16.24195 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i13.22331 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i13.22331 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i13.24185 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v15i16.24557 https://doi.org/10.21533/pen.v10i1.2577 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v14i04.13243 https://doi.org/10.12928/telkomnika.v16i6.10437 mailto:r.abdelrahman@ajman.ac.ae mailto:n.alsalhi@ajman.ac.ae mailto:m.babiker@ajman.ac.ae mailto:s.abdellatif@ajman.ac.ae mailto:a.alzubi@ajman.ac.ae