Given the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across the world moved to remote education to enable students to continue their studies (Remuzzi & Remuzzi, 2020). In many countries, remote education has become the only option for learning. However, developing countries are still in the early phases of moving from face-to-face learning to remote education modes. To promote successful adoption, execution, and use of remote education technologies, it is vital to understand the predictors for acceptance by students (Abuhammad, 2020; Muflih et al., 2021). Based on existing studies, it is apparent that students frequently encounter challenges with remote education because they lack training on how to use the technology (Abuhammad, 2020; Althunibat, 2015) and because of inadequate assets and infrastructure in many areas (Althunibat, 2015).
The situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to investigate the challenges that students face while utilizing remote education (Paudel, 2021). It is critical to understand these challenges because of their impact on educational institutions and implications for student learning. The research was designed to explore the acceptance of remote education from the perspective of undergraduate nursing students in various universities in Jordan. By determining and promoting strengths and examining and excluding weaknesses, it will be possible to facilitate the successful adoption, execution, and use of remote education. The objective of this study was to describe the acceptance of remote education among undergraduate nursing students and determine predictors of acceptance. The outcomes of this research will be important for decision-makers in both government and private universities in Jordan.
METHOD AND DESIGN
A cross-sectional technique was utilized to invite undergraduate nursing students to participate in an online survey aimed at investigating the attitudes of students toward remote education. All Jordanian undergraduate nursing students who met the participation criteria were considered eligible to participate in the study. The authors sent surveys to various private and public universities in all Jordanian cities.
Procedure
The researcher used an online questionnaire to collect the data for this research. Before contacting potential respondents, the researcher sought and received approval to carry out the research from the institutional review board at Jordan University of Science and Technology. The online questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample population of undergraduate nursing students. The research package, which included a consent form and the refined version of the survey, was sent to eligible participants by email or social media to facilitate the confidential gathering of information. The researchers obtained online consent from subjects by guiding them to read the informed agreement form and clicking the "agree" button to indicates they were ready to take part in the research. The consent form had information regarding the study, including goals, advantages, potential dangers, and procedures; it indicated participation was voluntary and would not impact the status or rights of the subjects in any way.
Instrument and Data Analysis
The Technology Acceptance Model Questionnaire with 20 modified elements was utilized to assess the acceptance of remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This questionnaire, which is designed to elicit participants' core reasons for technology acceptance, depicts recognized benefits and recognized ease of utilization (Malhotra & Galletta, 1999). Cronbach's alpha scores for the reliability of this instrument have been determined to range between .68 and .97 (Guritno & Siringoringo, 2013).
SPSS Version 25 was used to analyze all the statistical data. An alpha level that did not exceed .05 indicated a significant result in the bivariate and descriptive investigation. For continuous measures, standard deviation, range, median, and mean were employed; frequency and percentage were utilized for grouped measures. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine predictors for remote education acceptance.
RESULTS
Five hundred surveys were sent to nursing students at various universities in Jordan; a total of 344 students completed the survey for a response rate of 69 percent. Demographic details about the respondents are outlined in Table 1, which is available as Supplemental Content at http://links.lww.com/NEP/A344.
The responses indicated that undergraduate nursing student respondents were unsatisfied with remote education for many reasons. Many students (n = 188, 55 percent) strongly agreed with the statement, "There are problems and obstacles encountered when studying the subject electronically" (see Supplemental Content for Table 2 with detailed responses, available at http://links.lww.com/NEP/A345).
Multiple regressions were conducted to determine the factors that had an impact on the level of student acceptance of remote education. The model was significant (F = 3, 98, p = .01). The factors that most impacted the acceptance of remote education were educational level (B = .169, p = .01), device used (B = .219, p = .001), and Internet reliability (B = -.209, p = .005). The other factors were not found to be predictors of remote education acceptance (see Supplemental Content for Table 3, available at http://links.lww.com/NEP/A346).
DISCUSSION
This study aimed to determine the acceptance and predictors of remote education through Internet-based learning tools among undergraduate nursing students in Jordan. The study revealed that despite remote education having positive benefits, undergraduate nursing students largely indicated their dissatisfaction with this mode of learning and instruction. This finding was expected because students and faculty were not adequately prepared for the swift shift from traditional teaching and learning methods. The study results support previous findings. For example, Rogo and Portillo (2014) found that lack of nonverbal gestures in remote education is a barrier to interpreting lecturers' postings compared to face-to-face interactions. Additional skills are required to understand online cues.
Our study revealed that students were concerned about the provision of timely and effective feedback. Students expected to receive timely feedback while studying online because of their ability to access content at any time. Barnard-Ashton et al. (2017) argued that students and faculty should communicate their expectations to eliminate disappointments and misunderstandings. As stated by Camacho et al. (2016), faculty with experience in using an online platform can guide and aid students to help them adjust to the online environment. In addition, a multidisciplinary team, including instructional designers, can support faculty in designing and delivering courses and ensuring that students can access quality remote education (Rogo & Portillo, 2014). Assistance in the design and technical aspects of remote education and institutional and infrastructural support are needed to ensure that faculty are trained efficiently and receive support for course management activities.
The results of the multiple regressions performed for the current study illustrated that demographic variables (level of education, device used, and Internet access) had an insignificant relationship with learning predictors of participants. In contrast, Minuti et al. (2018) found that gender, unreliable Internet connectivity, computer literacy, inadequate information technology competence, and Internet facilities influenced remote education acceptance among students. Likewise, lack of adequate learning devices and trained professors negatively influenced the provision of high-quality education.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION
Faculty play an essential role in the satisfaction of students with remote education. Effective course design, delivery of instructions, and inclusion of relevant content for remote education can help achieve student satisfaction. It is therefore essential that instructors use learning programs that meet the needs of undergraduate nursing students while maximizing interaction in virtual learning settings. Although some students participating in this study stated they were motivated to engage in online studies, most encountered challenges that influenced their perceptions of the effectiveness of remote education compared to other learning methods.
REFERENCES