Perception, Enjoyable Aspects and Barriers of immunology course e-Learning between Al-Qunfudhah medical students, Saudi Arabia

This cross-sectional study evaluated the perceptions, advantages, and barriers of online blackboard teaching for immunology courses among second- and third-year preclinical students. A sample of 163 students was selected from a total of 492 using the Raosoft program, ensuring a 95% confidence interval and a 5% margin of error. The data of our study were collected through an online questionnaire distributed through WhatsApp, which included students’ demographic information, immunology course perceptions, and satisfaction with the immunology course online teaching. Our data were analyzed via IBM SPSS Statistics version 27.0. Categorical variables were analyzed via descriptive analysis. The associations between variables were assessed with chi-square tests, with a p value < 0.05 indicating statistical significance. The results of our study revealed that 60.1% of the students were satisfied with online immunology course teaching, citing flexibility (65.6%), comfort (64.5%), and cost-saving advantages (68.1%) as positive keys. However, 60.7% of the students highlighted the necessity of face-to-face interaction. Compared with female students, male students (60.6%) and second-year students (65.9%) had more positive perceptions (56.3% had poor perceptions) and third-year students (58.7% had poor perceptions), with significant differences in terms of gender (p value = 0.035) and educational level (p value = 0.002). The present study concluded that while an immunological course offers various benefits, addressing areas of dissatisfaction and enhancing opportunities for direct interaction are crucial for improving the overall learning experience.