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HOW PANDEMIC AND REMOTE LEARNING AFFECT STUDENTS’
STUDY AND LIFE AT UNIVERSITY
Meisam Taheri, Deniz Javeid
Faculty of Audiovisual Media and Creative Technologies, Inland Norway University
(NORWAY)
Abstract
Our life has drastically changed ever since the pandemic started. Most businesses and schools adopt
remote study and work ever since. Most companies were affected by this, as were schools. School is
an arena for students to socialize, create a network and of course get educated with the courses they
are taking. In this study, we conducted a survey to find out how students’ lives and studies have been
affected by the pandemic (Covid-19) in 2021 study-year at Inland Norway University (INN). Not many
studies have been done yet concerning the effects of pandemic on students’ mental health and the
learning outcome, therefore, we conducted this research to study and learn more about this matter.
Some of our students contacted professors and university personnel to express their feelings of isolation
and loneliness. Most of the students at INN were receptive to discussing their depression and difficulties.
Faculty members were present to speak with them as well. Surprisingly, the first-year student dropout
rate at game school was not high, and the number of applicants for the Game technology course rose
over the previous academic year. The reason for this will be another topic to be studied in future
research. The survey and the courses were both conducted online due to known circumstances. Fifty-
four students(N=54) contributed to this research by filling out an online survey which we evaluated and
analysed them in this study.
Students were successful in their studies despite not physically attending school for most of the year
2021, according to an unexpected outcome. The findings also revealed that some students had lost
interest and were considering dropping out because they did not see the value in attending courses
online. Unfortunately, several students were unable to cope with the stress of being secluded and were
unable to complete the academic year. We focused on how students handled their studies and adapted
to changes throughout the pandemic in our research. What was it that kept them going? What impact
did the epidemic have on their lives, mental health, and studies?
Keywords: Pandemic, remote learning, covid-19, online learning, mental health.
1 INTRODUCTION
Universities have always been a place for students and staffs to socialize and interact with each other,
however this unexpected pandemic has altered and challenged higher educational institutions. Based
on the guidelines and regulations coming from the Norwegian government, universities had to, and still
do take actions and make efforts to slow down the contagion of the virus. To keep the wheel of education
turning, new digital method and education system were introduced. These measures were not
specifically taken by INN or other universities in Norway. There are studies done by European University
Association (EUA) which shows they are working closely with members to find solution in these difficult
times. EUA also gathers useful information through their members to develop and share useful
information over its many communications channels [1].
In this study, we focus on how this pandemic affected study, life, and mental health of students, mainly
game school students at INN university. There are studies that show pandemic’s impact on students’
life. Tomihiro Kokubo who is a student’s counselling at JIAC (recruitment organization advising students
and universities) reported many students dropped out due to financial difficulties and lack of campus life
and loneliness in Japanese universities. One of the reasons of that is the majority of Japanese students
rely on part-time employment to sustain themselves while studying and living in Japan [2].
Jenny Lee conducted a survey on two hundred (N = 200) domestic U.S. college students who attended
school in person 4 years prior to the pandemic; The participants ages range from 18 to 24. According to
their findings, students who were closer to graduation had higher levels of anxiety (60.8%), loneliness
(54.1%), and depression (59.8%). Many students expressed concerns over health of loved ones
impacted their mental health (20.0%), and the need to take care of family affected their current and
Proceedings of ICERI2021 Conference
8th-9th November 2021
ISBN: 978-84-09-34549-6
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future plans (31.8%). Almost one-half of students exercised and engaged in physical activity to take care
of their mental health (46.7%). While a third did not have strained family relationships (36.5%), almost
one half did (45.7%). A majority found it harder to complete the semester at home (60.9%), especially
among those who had strained relationships with family (34.1%). During this pandemic,70% of them
spent their time watching television shows or movies [3].
Taheri's research is focused on how video games might aid students' learning. This could be crucial
because being isolated causes students to feel lonely and bored, and attending lessons online is neither
motivating nor enjoyable. Although creating a platform or an online multiplayer game where students
may connect and interact with one another is not the sole option, but research has been done in this
area to make remote learning more interesting and interactive for students [4].
We conducted a survey to get insight and feedback from our students about this difficult and unexpected
situation in order to better grasp the problem. Our study participants attended school both in person and
online, which could provide us with more diversified data. In this research, their personal experiences
and feelings have also been considered.
2 RESEARCH METHOD
In this research we reviewed the recent articles on how pandemic(covid-19) affected students in lower
and higher educational life and study. We conducted a survey at Inland Norway university and
participants are game school students. At the time of this research, students were on their summer
vacation, also because students were not present at school during the pandemic, it compelled us to
conduct the qualitative research online. Interviewing students or staff would not be possible due to
circumstances. Fifty-three students (N=53) participated in this study where 79.6% are male and 13%
are female and 7.4% are others.
3 RELATED RESEARCH (LITERATURE REVIEW)
M. Kaffenberger’s model suggests that there will be devastating long term repercussions for children’s
learning, where todays grade 3 students losing as much as 1.5 years’ worth of learning (or more) by the
time they reach grade 10 as a result of their time out of school [5]. On top of that, commentary by W.
Cullen argues that people with pre-existing mental health and substance use disorders will be more
vulnerable to the negative physical and psychological effects result by the pandemic, among other
things[6].
In addition, an online survey was carried out by S. Rudenstine between April 8th and May 2nd, 2020,
that is associated with this research. Participants in this research are adult students (N = 1,821) across
the CUNY system found that “in April 2020 (i.e., 2–3 months after the beginning of the COVID-19
pandemic in the United States and during the peak of infections and deaths in New York City, 50.3% of
the sample met the PHQ-9 clinical cutoff for depression and 41.3% met the GAD-7 clinical cut off for
anxiety”. Furthermore, “access to fewer resources was associated with a higher prevalence of clinically
significant levels of both depression and anxiety symptoms”. Showing that households with savings
less than $5,000 experienced significantly more individuals met the clinical cut off for depression [7].
4 SURVEY REVIEW AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Survey’s Participants
Game school at inland Norway university organized into two disciplines; Game Technology and
Simulation (GTS) where students learn about computer game development, informatics, computer
science, computer programming, system thinking and game design. Animation and Digital Art (ADA)
where students learn more about creativity, computer skills, 3D-modeling and digital content creation.
36 students out of 54 respondents are GTS students and 18 of them belong to ADA department. Forty-
three male students (N=43), seven female (N=7) and four other genders (N=4) participated in this study.
The number of male students is higher since most GTS students are male. Students are primarily from
the academic years 2018 to 2021; at the time of this research, students from the 2017 and 2018
academic years had already graduated, making it more difficult to locate them.
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4.2 Digital education is better than conventional education?
Fig.1 illustrates that majority of students disagree with the fact that digital learning is better than
conventional education system. 9 students one the other hand, agreed that digital learning is a form of
learning that is not as bad as one might believe. Apart from the social aspects of digital education, 29.6%
of students (16 students) had an indifferent attitude toward it and found no significant differences in their
learning outcomes. Those students who answered, “strongly disagree” and “disagree” to this question did
not feel comfortable in online classes. “It feels unmotivated and dull to participate in a lesson like this,” they
remarked. Why should someone who signed up for a school on campus and its social milieu must take
lessons online, they argue? This was indicated in their comments that they can learn better when there is
someone in front of them who they can easily see and talk to. Unfortunately, our school, like other schools
and institutions, was not prepared for such a drastic transformation. Educators and professors had to
adjust to the new hasty regulations and procedures as well. Some teachers said, "It's like teaching in the
dark and talking to a blank screen while teaching." The biggest issue that was noticeable among teachers
and students was a lack of human interaction and communication; certain students suffer more than others
due to their mental state and other factors that we will discuss in this study.
Most pupils felt separated from their classmates and teachers, while some students were just as
engaged as they were in the classroom.
Figure 1: To what degree do you agree that digital education is better than conventional education system
4.3 Being a remote student discouraged you with your study?
This question was posed to see if students' education was impacted by their participation in home-based
online courses. Students had to either stay in their own flat or return to their relatives when courses were
solely available online. As a result, some students who take lessons from home are prone to distractions.
As previously said, students lost contact with their classmates and teachers because they were unable
to communicate with them when the class was conducted online. During the lecture, students were
mainly muted, but they might converse in the breakout rooms or during the breaks.
The Zoom app's breakout room has been helpful in resolving this issue, but only if the teachers are
aware of how to use them. Because neither college students nor teachers had received sufficient training
or instruction in the use of online tools, it was difficult for everyone to accept the abrupt change to learn
about online platforms in a short period of time, causing a lot of stress among teachers and students.
Students and faculty members were both perplexed and frustrated about how to use technology to
improve communication with students. Over time, the difficulty faded a little, and everyone gradually
learned how to utilize online tools. Students at this institution used Zoom or Discord to have amicable
talks or group meetups. Discord is a communication application that allows users from all over the world
to chat while playing online games or as a regular conversation app [8].
Research shows that Learning is cognitively constructive behavior. In other words, people are actively
constructing meanings as they learn. This view of how people learn is called individual cognitive
constructivism and is based on Piaget's cognitive development theory [9]. Cognitive constructivism
shows that everything an individual learns can be traced back to the mental plans we construct when
we interact with the environment [10]. Learning is nearly always a social activity and viewing learning as
a personal cognitive structure is incomplete, because most of the academic learning of students occurs
through reading and social interaction [11]. Bergin in his study argues that an individual can develop
interest in a topic by interacting with others, either teachers, family, friends or fellow classmates [12].
This means, by limiting students’ connection we take away a valuable resource where they might
develop ideas, be creative, or be curious about what others know or do.
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Consequently, many of participants in this study found it hard to study and get education at home.
According to one of the participants, “we have simply not adapted to this and since we are now at the
age where we cannot easily reform our mindset, this is almost an impossible task, especially with
students suffering mental disorders like ADHD or similar”. The result of Stephen’s study shows that
adolescents with ADHD had fewer routines and more remote learning issues than adolescents without
ADHD. Due to COVID19, fewer daily activities, higher negative effects, and more difficulty concentrating
are related to greater distance learning difficulties among adolescents with ADHD [13].
Not all students are unsatisfied with distance learning and working from home, as demonstrated in Fig.2.
Some students mentioned that it is good to have a permanent place to work at home, however it is good
to participate in some school activities, gatherings and socializing events as well. One of the students
mentioned that constant worrying about getting infected, influenced his mental state while he was at
school. Therefore, staying home eased the situation and helped him to be less stressed. Students were
assigned group assignments in which some students gathered on campus or other public places where
they could meet and work on their homework.
However, since most students returned to their hometown, they worked remotely on their tasks. One of
the students made an intriguing point about how group work and chatting to one another has helped
them with their mental state and learning.
Figure 2: Being a remote student discouraged you with your study?
One student's response to this question was that being a remote student had no negative effects on
them because school resources were available online. Teachers may be reached more easily online
than they could in person. Some students claimed that taking classes online rather than in person
allowed them to manage their time better.
Quotes from participants:
• “I believe digital education could be as or even more effective than traditional education, but it
needs to be designed from the bottom to be digital. I think it made everything easier as long as
you did the necessary work.”
• “On one hand, the lack of a physical presence made the lesson less engaging, on the other hand
being comfortable at home made it easier to concentrate. For a person struggling with anxiety, it
was a lot easier to perform well when I was able to do so from home. Being surrounded by
familiarity was very comforting during stressful times.”
• “Had more time on my hands for studying, instead of travel/spending time at school. Although,
the studying did not feel as satisfying as school and free-time blurred.”
• I won't rule out that online classes have been beneficial to some, but I struggle with ADHD, which
among other things means I have trouble getting motivated to study at home.
• Being away from the classroom made me more distant from all my classmates except the few in
my close friend group. This makes my social life more limiting, and I had less people to easily
gain feedback about my work from. Also doing classes online makes it harder to talk to teachers
about smaller, more generic things about the subjects as well as asking for feedback for our
projects require more steps when online.
• I think that the online classroom is a great tool that, while it can't replace a real-life classroom, it
is also an important tool and is useful for presentations and lectures, while it lacks a little when it
comes to lab work.
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4.4 Do you think you would do better in school if you were physically present?
Fig.3 illustrates the responses to the question: Do you think you would do better in school if you were
physically present? Figure below shows that some students still believe that physically attending school
nor doing classes online affect their performance in general when it comes to their learning outcome.
Some students believe that if they had regular physical lectures, they would be able to focus better on
their studies and be less distracted by outside distractions. In terms of performance-based outcomes,
distant courses appear to be comparable to face-to-face courses, according to a meta-analysis
conducted by Allen et al. (2002) [14].
Figure 3:Would you perform better if you were physically attending school?
Levy and Simpson found that the satisfaction levels of students enrolled in distance courses is much
lower than students studying in a face-to-face environment, suggesting that these students are more
likely to drop-out [15,16].
Quote from one of the students “it is possible that I performed better at home with digital lessons instead
of attending school, but I think this also depends on the lessons we receive. I don't think that the place
we have lessons in is much of a problem to me, I think the bigger problem for me would be most of the
lessons themselves, for example how some of the teachers teach things, the talking tempo and, etc.
What I like about digital lessons is that, by not having to go to school and then home again, I have some
time to either relax or work. And since I know that I don't need to go to school the next day too, I am
able to stay awake much longer and get more things done if necessary”.
Another student expresses how lonely and isolated they felt as a result of pandemic, as well as the
negative impacts that it had on their study and life. “It did not have much negative impact on my studies,
but more on my life. It is hard to not be able to be socially active, get to know people, or get to know
people in your class very well. From when we started up to date, almost none of us in my class have
gotten to know each other well enough to become friends. And on social media where all the first-year
students are communicating, there has been some negative discussions and other negative things going
on which haven't really made the mood any better. Because of the pandemic, I have not really been
much outside. Sometimes it was hard to differentiate days from each other because all of them seemed
kind of the same to me. Doing the same things repeatedly, having the same routines and seeing the
same four walls for many months gets tiresome. There were no activities for people, no meetings, no
nothing. There was nothing going on and there were not many places you could go to either. It was
either home or the grocery store. Because of social distancing, masks, etc., it has become like a habit
to avoid people. Not avoiding people will definitely be something hard to get used to.”
As shown in Fig. 4, roughly 14.8 percent of respondents strongly believe that the epidemic has had an
impact on their lives and studies, and half of respondents agree to some extent.
Figure 4: Has pandemic had a negative effect on your study and life?
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Some students claimed that maintaining a healthy routine helped them get through this effortlessly and
that they did not feel as much pressure as the other students did. There are also signs of negative impact
of changing the normal routine or habits that make students feel less motivated. Waking up early, eating
breakfast and physically commuting to school are examples of good habits. With digital school the
chances for students to meet up was much lower and most of the routines were already abolished. This
may be beneficial for some people, but it had detrimental influence on the student’s lives, since it forced
them to change their habits and routines, making them feel more lethargic and less driven.
Brad Brenner in his article discusses the benefits of having a daily routine. We may set aside time to
take care of responsibilities and focus on our mental and physical wellness by developing a daily routine.
Routines are necessary at every stage of life, from childhood to adolescence and adulthood. They aid
in the adjustment to change, the development of good habits, the enhancement of interpersonal
connections, and the reduction of stress. Daily routines have been proven to have far-reaching mental
health benefits, from alleviating bipolar disorder and preventing substance abuse to management of
symptoms of other mental disorders [17].
New habit takes 21 days to form, and the same is true for new routines. Anyone who commits to a new
plan for three weeks may find it to become a ‘second nature’, but 21 days may vary depends on the type
if habit and situation [18].
4.5 Did Pandemic have any positive impact on your mental health, study, and life?
Fig.5 and 6 illustrate if there were any positive impact on students’ life, study, and mental health during
pandemic and study from home. Majority of the respondent answered neutral for this question. This
might imply that being isolated and study from home had no effects on their study, life, or health. Not
being around others, according to some of them, helped them deal with their social anxiety. Working
from home was also thought to be less stressful and taxing. Some student claimed they learned far more
than they would have in a normal study year. Some of the positive benefits they noted in their feedbacks
were having more privacy, not being around others, less noise, having more personal space, and better
hygiene in general. One of the main reasons students were negatively affected by pandemic was their
inability to meet and connect with their peers.
Figure 5: Did the Pandemic have a positive impact on your study and life?
Figure 6:Did the Pandemic have a positive impact on your mental health?
ª
Quote from students:
“College is a social environment as much as it is an educational environment. Many students including
I felt lonely and depressed. I already struggled with depression from before, and the pandemic did not
help and instead, made it much worse for me. Depression and other mental issues within my mind have
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made it almost impossible to get enough motivation to get out of bed in the morning to receive online
education. It simply does not really work at all which further destroys my mentality and mental health as
I continuously think I am a failure which further kills my motivation”.
This question has elicited a favourable answer from another student:
“As an anxious person, it was a lot easier to perform well when I was able to do so from home. Being
surrounded by family was very comforting during stressful times”.
Another student's very positive and related feedback: “I feel that the pandemic also had a lot of positive
impact on my mental health because I got to be able to solely concentrate on doing work, which has
given me more confidence in my abilities. It has also helped me value relationships more, as I feel that
the pandemic has forced us all to feel lonely. And, in retrospect, I think this has made me appreciate a
lot more things that I would take for granted before the pandemic”.
The fact that pandemic affected students’ mental health and life negatively is evitable. According to
students’ input on this subject, some took advantage of circumstances and managed their studies in a
more convenient manner. Those who relied on others' assistance and support for their studies were less
motivated than others.
4.6 How did you stay motivated to achieve your best and finish the previous
academic year?
What was it that kept students motivated throughout the school year? Why did students perform as good
as they did in the years prior the pandemic? There are several questions that authors of this paper
questioned and for which they were seeking for answers in this study. In this section, we look at some
of the students’ explanations for why and how they managed to cope with all difficulties and sudden
changes they faced during the past study year (2021-2022).
One of the students stated that one reason that kept them motivated while doing a group project was
proving themselves that they could do what was required of them. They also wanted to show
appreciation to their teachers and show them that their efforts were not in vain. This statement shows
the significance of keeping students motivated during difficult times, as well as the effect of a teacher
on a student's life and studies.
Some students set a goal for themselves to complete their projects, which assisted them in completing
them to their full potential. Some students said that practical assignments and tests were more
stimulating than wiring tasks, and that thinking about how many practical courses they would have next
year kept them going. Studying what they enjoy the most and creating a rivalry among their housemates
and classmates was one of the ways they found inspirational and useful.
ª
Quotes from students:
“I enjoy working, learning, and creating. I really love programming and I want to work with it in the future.
The topics were interesting, and I was grateful for every moment I learned new techniques and improved
my skills in these areas.”
Students had a group project last school year, which most students claim it kept them motivated to work
hard since they did not want to disappoint their teammates. They communicated frequently and worked
together on projects, some remotely and others in person, as a result, they felt less lonely and isolated.
Group projects have shown to be a highly successful way of keeping students in contact with their
professors and classmates in a situation like this.
A quote from one of the students on this matter: “I was able to find group mates that I get along with
well. We pushed each other forwards. Also, during the spring 2020 term, when the pandemic first started,
I thought for sure I would fail my classes, but was somehow able to get through with good enough
grades. Since then, I've had some sort of blind faith that my outlook on my own grades is worse than
what is actually true, which has turned out to be true for autumn 2020 and spring 2021 as well (I feared
failing but was able to pass all my classes again). I'm looking forward to going back to classroom
learning”.
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5 CONCLUSION
A combination of digital and on campus education can be an effective teaching approach depending on
the type of education. Being present at school allows students to get to know their peers and instructors
better, as well as deal with difficulties like getting feedback from classmates or professors, game testing,
and group work that they cannot simply solve or work on digital platforms. Group projects have shown
to be a highly successful way of keeping students in contact with their professors and classmates in a
situation like this. Students felt lonely and isolated as a result of the pandemic, and it had a negative
impact on their study and life. Those with a history of ADHD or mental health issues had a harder time
staying focused and managing their schoolwork. This study also finds that changing the normal routine
or habits make students feel less motivated. The results of our research show that students were
successful in their studies despite not physically attending school for most of the year 2021. This study
also shows that some were considering dropping out because they did not see the value in attending
courses online, and some students quit the school in the middle of the course.
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