The Transition from In-class to Online Lectures during a Pandemic: Understanding the Student Experience

In light of Covid-19, McMaster University abruptly transitioned all classes to an online format in Winter 2020, with online classes continuing through the Winter 2021 term. To improve our existing technological framework for the delivery of online courses, we surveyed undergraduate students in McMaster University's engineering program to assess their online learning preferences and their experience of the transition from in-class to strictly online learning. We identified student preferences for educational video type, number, duration and identified barriers to an online learning environment. In addition to outlining the students' perspective, we present our findings in the context of the students' learning by contrasting student learning in the online environment with the learning of earlier cohorts in the in-person environment (i.e., before the pandemic). We assess learning via student performance in exams and assignments for each course. After considering the student's perspective and learning outcomes, we provide recommendations for an optimal content delivery methodology in an online learning environment.