Pharmacy Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning

Aim: This study aimed to describe the perceptions of pharmacy students towards online learning in Saudi Arabia.

Methodology: This study included an online survey that was self-administered to be filled by pharmacy students. Results were downloaded and stored in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and the results were analyzed descriptively and represented by numbers and percentages.

Results: Most of the students said that they prefer viewing lectures by traditional in-class learning (66%). Only 40% said that they would be able to keep pace with the course by viewing lectures weekly for fully online courses that include lectures available only on blackboard. Additionally, 50% of the students prefer to attend pharmacy curriculum courses by both traditional delivered lecture style and blended online learning.

Conclusion: Pharmacy students showed some interest in online learning methods within the pharmacy curriculum but the majority of them preferred traditional dedicated-instructor delivered lecture style. It is important to use both the traditional learning with online learning during the Covid-19 outbreak.