Student Feedback About Online Learning

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Universities across Japan implemented online learning to various degrees. While Japanese universities did not face the same long-term closures experienced in other countries (UNESCO), they were shut down for several weeks in April and May of 2020, and periodically since that point. Institutions used Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Moodle and a range of applications such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom to accommodate distance learning. This paper reports on focus group data collected from students detailing their experience and opinions of online learning. The research was exploratory and sought to understand the merits and demerits of online learning from the students' perspective. The results show that students had more negative than positive experience with online learning. Isolation and inadequate communication with professors were among the main difficulties. This is important to understand, not only in case of future disruption, but because many of the tools that teachers acquired during the pandemic will be useful moving forward. The data also provides qualitative feedback for faculty at Naruto University of Education and may also be relevant elsewhere.