A qualitative study to understand the benefits and difficulties of virtual teaching and learning: the perspectives of students and faculty

Although the adoption rate for online teaching and learning is on the rise, qualitative studies to unearth factors that facilitate or inhibit its adoption, particularly from the perspectives of both lecturers and students have received limited scholarly attention. The study conducted focus group discussions and interviews to collect data from the respondents to understand factors facilitating or inhibiting adoption of virtual education. The study identified the ability to organise group discussions virtually, decrease in stress and transportation expenses, minimised classroom distractions from peers, comfort and flexibility as key benefits of online classes. The result further showed distraction/diminished focus, technical expertise, lack of illustration/demonstration, limited social interaction and technological issues (device incompatibility, weak internet connectivity, unstable power supply, and exorbitant data cost) as key challenges for virtual teaching and teaching. From lecturer's perspective, the key challenges of the virtual teaching are non-interactiveness, poor internet connectivity and lack of response from students.