Artículo Original

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM IN PROMOTING DISTANCE LEARNING EDUCATION: A SURVEY AT UNIVERSITY OF TABUK

EL PAPEL DE LA PLATAFORMA DE LAS REDES SOCIALES EN LA PROMOCIÓN DE LA EDUCACIÓN DE APRENDIZAJE A DISTANCIA: UNA ENCUESTA EN LA UNIVERSIDAD DE TABUK

B Al-judea, Mufleh Qublan

Mufleh Qublan B Al-judea

mg.alqahtani@ut.edu.sa

University of Tabouk Arabia Saudita

Revista de Investigaciones Universidad del Quindío

Universidad del Quindío, Colombia

ISSN: 1794-631X

ISSN-e: 2500-5782

Periodicity: Anual

vol. 34, no. 1, 2022

riuq@uniquindio.edu.co

Received: 25 September 2021

Accepted: 10 February 2022

URL: http://portal.amelica.org/ameli/journal/517/51731105173110030/

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33975/riuq.vol34n1.593

Non-profit publishing model to preserve the academic and open nature of scientific communication

ePub generated from XML JATS4R

Abstract: Background: Distance learning is gaining special significance today, as with the development of the Internet and students owning personal computers, the information exchange between teachers and students is improving.

Objectives: The current study aims at investigating the reality of educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on academic achievement before and after the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students.

Methods: The study sample consisted of (1000) students from Tabuk University divided into (427) males and (573) females of all levels of education. The researcher used the correlational descriptive-survey research method.

Result: The demographic study showed that there were statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 Pandemic at University of Tabuk. Further, the pandemic has increased the flow of distance learning in educational institutes of Saudi Arabia.

Conclusion: Future studies should also be conducted to explore the impacts of advance technologies on the training and development of connections in the education sector.

Keywords: Social media platforms, distance learning, Covid-19 pandemic, University of Tabuk.

Resumen: Antecedentes: El aprendizaje a distancia está adquiriendo una importancia especial en la actualidad, ya que con el desarrollo de Internet y los estudiantes que poseen computadoras personales, el intercambio de información entre profesores y estudiantes está mejorando.

Objetivos: El presente estudio tiene como objetivo investigar la realidad de las plataformas educativas en educación a distancia durante la pandemia COVID-19 y su impacto en el rendimiento académico antes y después de la pandemia COVID-19 desde el punto de vista de estudiantes universitarios de Tabuk.

Métodos: La muestra del estudio consistió en (1000) estudiantes de la Universidad de Tabuk divididos en (427) hombres y (573) mujeres de todos los niveles de educación. El investigador utilizó el método de investigación de encuesta descriptiva correlacional.

Conclusión: También se deben realizar estudios futuros para explorar los impactos de las tecnologías avanzadas en la capacitación y el desarrollo de conexiones en el sector educativo.

Palabras clave: Plataformas de redes sociales, la educación a distancia, Pandemia de COVID-19, Universidad de Tabuk.

INTRODUCTION

The current educational process cannot be imagined without the use of internet resources and internet technologies. The idea of distance learning and monitoring educational activities for students looks very promising. All this contributes to activating and modernizing the educational process. It is more than clear that a pandemic and its consequent quarantine present us with an educational challenge that we must bear in mind. The way to educate the students when they cannot attend school presents us with a difficulty, but also an opportunity. Studies have found that the use of educational technology has been increased for the educational process during the current pandemic (Wen & Kim Hua, 2020). Universities and Schools transferred their educational activities towards e-learning with the help of online learning management systems (LMS), applications such as Google Meet, Microsoft teams and zoom, social media sites, and other such technologies (Kang, 2021). The role of social media to enhance communication among students and teachers has also increased that ultimately enhanced the learning environment. In addition to that Hashim et al. (2020), in a study have found the interaction among the students has also been enhanced with help social media during the Covid-19. They have used social media networking sites to keep connected with each other and to discuss educational activities.

Coronavirus Impacts on the Education System

At the end of February, when the global alarm for the coronavirus began with greater intensity, the crisis is not equally serious for all countries (Fauci et al., 2020). The first case was reported in Wuhan, China and in no time the virus turned to be a global epidemic. It has significantly impacted all the sectors and the sector of education was also not exempted. Not only because of the differences in the speed of contagion but and, above all, because of the infrastructure and resources that each country has. Past health emergencies show us that the impact on education is likely to be most devastating in countries with low learning outcomes, high dropout rates, and low resistance to shocks. While school closings are a logical solution to enforcing social distancing within communities, prolonged closures tend to have a disproportionately negative impact on the most vulnerable students. According to Tarkar (2020), the closure of the educational institution to control and contain the pandemic has impacted the education system significantly. In many countries on more unequal continents, children go to school to have a proper diet.

Furthermore, in these countries children have fewer opportunities to learn at home and their time outside of school can present an economic burden for parents who probably face difficulties finding long-term child care or even providing adequate nutrition in the absence of programs. School feeding. Hard-won improvements in access to education could stagnate or be reversed as school closings spread and access to alternative education options, such as distance learning, for those without the means to connect. In the medium term, this can cause a further loss of human capital and a decrease in economic opportunities (Singhal, 2020).

Educational Technologies

It is difficult to imagine the modern world without computers, information technology, and the Internet, they have already occupied a special place in everyone’s life especially students. Educational technology describes a set of hardware and software tools for teaching and learning being utilized by educational institutions. The major aim of educational technologies which is also known as Ed Tech is to enhance the teaching and learning experience. It offers improved teaching and learning and ultimately improves the learning outcomes of students. Studies have found the educational technologies increase class participation for students as well. As of its earliest impacts, Covid-19 impacted the education system terribly. Schools and colleges went closed to maintain social distancing to contain the pandemic. Using the latest available technologies enabled educational institutes, students, and teachers to continue the educational activities during the pandemic. Communication among teachers and students is enhanced, as well as commination between students via social media. Tools and techniques of cloud computing helped teachers to upload the class material to the universities databases and students were able to use these databases to access the material with the internet from anywhere.

Social Media Platform

According to Tabatabai (2020), it has prompted the use of educational technologies by the education department. The major education technologies include the meeting application for classrooms, learning management systems, social media, and streaming educational content online via Television. Social networks are among the educational tools for communication between students and teachers. We create accounts and visit our pages at least a few times a week. Now it became necessary to use it to learn. However, scientists are increasingly concerned about the impact of social networks on students (Terra, 2020). Young people, being so familiar with them, will feel more comfortable and less obliged to have a closer relationship with their teachers, and also, everything will flow more naturally (Alfredsson & Hemmingsson, 2020). They are not only used for the teacher-student relationship in the same center but are also essential for communicating with experts in specific subjects or students from other centers. They enable students to develop skills and abilities such as socialization, teamwork, or the importance of sharing. Studies have found that one of the major impacts that the recent pandemic had over the education system is the lack of relationship between students and teachers, which is why social networks in the classroom will increase the feeling of an educational community due to the closeness produced by channels such as Facebook or Google+ (Mirbabaie, 2020; Terra, 2020). Social networks as developed as Facebook allow creating private groups for each class or each subject, which makes it easier for students to solve their doubts through the networks. Social Media also allows us to centralize in a single place all the educational activities, teachers, and students of an educational center. (O’Neil & Ewing, 2020). Social networks are based on personal relationships and are the current way of transmitting personal to others (Guillasper & Oducado, 2020). Undoubtedly, social networks are a magnificent opportunity for the learning, education, and professional development of students as well as a place for the exchange of experiences. (Alaimo & Valderrama, 2020).

Social media can be used as a tool for self-development. Here you can watch educational films, listen to good music, read interesting books, and learn foreign languages. Interest groups have been created on social networks, where you can find information that interests you, for example, videos with fitness classes or with guitar lessons. Along with this, social media can help during the learning process. With their help, you can exchange lecture notes, laboratory assignments and other useful information. There is also an opportunity to join a community of a specific topic and study in detail questions about history or improve knowledge of a foreign language. To do this, in social networks there are links to the necessary literature, photo and video materials, you can discuss problematic issues with other members of the group. Due to the abundance of entertaining, superficial and often unnecessary garbage information, the time spent on the social network increases significantly. Such a pastime can adversely affect our health, because a large amount of information often tires and burdens the nervous system. Also, hormonal levels may change as a result of Internet dependence. For example, when social media is checked, the hormone oxytocin is released, which is responsible for feelings of empathy (Goodwin et al., 2008: Liaw &Huang, 2011).

The downside is that a person loses the skill of real communication, because used to online communication. When texting on social media, people often do not follow the rules of grammar and punctuation, use a poor vocabulary, emotions are replaced by emoticons - all this negatively affects communication in the real world. But in general, the Internet is a positive and necessary for the student’s life (Al-Khazaaleh, Al-Khalfan, 2015).

Cloud Computing

In addition to social media, another educational technology is cloud technology. Cloud technology enables students to access the learning material, notes, books, and guidelines anytime from anywhere using the internet. It enables teachers and instructors to upload the material over a database on the internet where students can access it readily and easily ( González-Martínez et al., 2015). According to Agrawal (2021), during the present pandemic studies have found that universities and schools established their online databases and uploaded all the study material there. Cloud computing also enhances connectivity. An application of cloud computing is the blackboard. Studies have found that when educational institutions decided to offer online learning opportunities, the blackboard was one of the widely used tools. Blackboard connects students and educational institutions and corporations together to enhance the learning outcomes remotely. The recent pandemic of Covid-19 has prompted the use of cloud networks. However, cloud computing was already popular and is widely used among educational institutions before the pandemic. The demand for cloud computing is increasing day by day in educational institutions and offers opportunities for learning students as well as for educational institutions and teachers. Studies have found that by 2021 the worth of educational-focused cloud technologies is estimated to be $25 billion (Sony, 2020). Tools of cloud computing facilitate learning and collaboration among the students. It enables teachers to store and create digital class material, e-books, e-lessons, marking attendance, assigning tasks and home works to students, taking tests and quizzes, and obtaining real-time test results in no time ( González-Martínez et al., 2015). For example, Google Classroom which a cloud-based system for learning has been widely used during the current pandemic. Google Classroom is a part of the application developed by Google particularly for educational activities and learning. This cloud-based application allows students to approach the educational material using their tablets, computers, and smartphones.

Distance Learning

The evolution of technology and advances in the science of learning have driven the development of distance education within a framework of quality teaching like never before. And Covid-19 has spawned a global need for technologies that enable rapid communication and scientific discourse. Distance education presents characteristics of its modality that those who access this type of learning highly value its advantages (Byrnes et al., 2020). Also known as online or remote education, it is an innovative way of learning and teaching that brings the dynamics of a traditional classroom, to the digital world. In this way, from anywhere in the world, students and teachers will be able to connect in a virtual environment on their computers through the Internet, making intensive use of the facilities provided by new digital technologies (Zhou et al., 2020). Flexibility: students access content and classes from any device, anywhere. Collaborative Learning: Students learn from both their teachers and their peers. Autonomy and responsibility: the distance-learning student develops autonomy and responsibility as he chooses how to study adapting his time according to his professional responsibilities and family requirements. Student-focused teaching: students are the protagonists of their education within the framework of active and participatory learning (Al awamrah 2015).

The growing need to incorporate knowledge throughout the different professional stages, optimizing the use of time and in a personalized teaching framework offers unique advantages and characteristics. Studying online at the distance courses at the university is a unique and enriching experience, with its teaching and learning model that is different from the rest of the existing proposals, characterized by: Student-centered teaching and participatory methodologies Students are the protagonists of their education within the framework of active and participatory learning (Akande et al., 2020; Al awamrah, 2015). Students train to analyze, argue, debate, and make decisions, using cases, simulations, and other participant-centered learning tools, with real-life problems and applications. Collaborative learning. Students learn from both their teachers and their peers (Zhou, et al. 2020). Technology is a means (and not an end in itself) to ensure educational quality and expand access to education. The educational platform and the different tools used encourage communication and interactions. Students access content and classes from any device, anywhere (AL-Salahat, 2016).

The materials used for the classes are produced and selected jointly by the teachers of each faculty and the team of the Department of Online Education, a group of instructional designers, librarians of digital resources, content and video editors, and producer’s audiovisuals. Videos, activities, materials, content, and bibliography specially designed for distance education are developed, using the latest advances in the science of learning in the design of the courses. Each subject is developed by an interdisciplinary group of teachers and professionals, to provide the best educational experience. The team is made up of professionals from different areas and academic backgrounds, dedicated to reinventing education (Mirbabaie et al., 2020; Alaimo, 2020). The teachers of online careers are the same as those who teach in face-to-face careers, trained to take advantage of the pedagogical tools provided by technology and new ways of communicating. The team of tutors and Help Desk is always present, accompanying the students throughout their course, resolving concerns, and supporting their studies (Zhou, et al. 2020).

Possible Solutions

The virus outbreak and nationwide lockdowns could be used as the best way to test the effectiveness of educational technology interventions for distance learning. Unfortunately, few systems are fully prepared. China is one of the countries where education continued, regardless of school closings, through the Internet and distance learning. Other countries or school systems are less prepared. Access to technology in most households can vary, and access to high-bandwidth internet or smartphones is related to socioeconomic status, even in middle-income countries. Therefore, programs that can quickly target those most in need are crucial. Educational interventions during a crisis can support public health prevention and recovery while mitigating the impact on students and their learning.

When health facilities are scarce, schools can become makeshift shelters. All of this must be taken into account in planning. It is also worth noting that education has the potential to contribute to the protection of children and young people; it helps them cope or maintain some normalcy during the crisis, and to recover more quickly, if possible, with some useful new skills (i.e., acquiring distance learning skills and developing digital skills, where appropriate). Furthermore, in some low-capacity settings, especially infringes in Sub-Saharan Africa, schools are often the only permanent government structure in rural villages and can serve as makeshift crisis response centers. According to (Murphy & Michael, 2020) teachers, often among the most educated in these hard-to-reach areas, can be trained to serve as contact trackers and support in communication campaigns.

Handicapped Students

Schools perform many functions beyond education. They provide a haven, a social environment, and, for families with children with special needs, offer individualized life support. But online learning in comparison does not have these functions. Many websites and programs are simply not accessible to blind or deaf students. We have the technology to ensure that visually impaired students can study in normal schools and to use online study materials in different formats, such as scanned versions that convert texts into sound or Braille characters, and some countries already do so. However, because of the school closures around the world, some teachers are going the extra mile using video conferencing to try to teach Braille. (Horn, 2017; Al-Salahat, 2020). Those who have some type of cognitive disability can spend many hours with their families and caregivers in front of the television. From this habit, they have developed the ability to learn with the content that appears on television, something that has been called T-Learning or Television learning. This T-Learning can be transferred to a computer screen to ensure that these people, through video modules, can evolve in their professional or personal training. The only point that should be taken into account is that of access to the tools that allow this kind of training videos to be viewed. The ALPE (Accessible e-Learning Platform for Europe) project is one of the plans that have been devised to implement e-Learning, which has been developed by some of the largest universities on the European continent, in the learning processes of people with disability.

This project, led by Indra within its Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, provides a set of courses accessible to people with cognitive, visual, and hearing disabilities. (Horn, Annemarie, 2017). It covers a wide range of basic skills that they need to acquire to function properly in their jobs and society in general. Some of the lessons that these courses collect are the improvement of the reading capacity, the writing in their mother tongue, and the internalization of how they must carry out certain steps and activities that they will find in their daily lives. (AL-Salahat, 2016). These types of tools are undoubtedly very positive for people with disabilities who must acquire certain knowledge to apply it in their daily life and routine. There are a large number of courses, both paid and free, offered by various websites and organizations that are dedicated body and soul to the development of people with disabilities (AL-Salahat, 1988).

Importance of the Study

The recent pandemic of Covid-19 has significantly impacted the education sector. Schools, colleges, and universities went to online activities and remote classes to minimize physical contact. Studies suggest that since the first wave universities in China were closed after a few months when the spread of the virus become uncontrolled. In January 2020, universities in the city of Wuhan were closed with a government notification and were asked to transfer their educational activities remotely using social media and educational technologies (Yang et al., 2020). Later on, the education sector globally has followed similar methods and closed the educational institutes. Additionally, the closure of educational institutions prompted the authorities to investigate ways to continue education. Applications such as zoom and others have been remarkably used for classroom meetings. Websites of the universities were updated using technology to upload assignments and papers (Kedraka& Kaltsidis, 2020). The means of technology have been significantly impacting the learning environment for individuals at home.

The Study Problem

The recent pandemic of Covid-19 has impacted the education sector badly when considering the social distancing and isolation schools and other educational institutions went closed. This at the one hand was a good practice to contain the pandemic and to reduce the physical contact among the students; on the other hand, it reduced the learning opportunities for the students as well. It has created serious problems to continue the education activities particularly in developing and underdeveloped countries where the school and education department is majorly dependent on the manual framework and use of technology in this sector is restricted. This had prompted the education system to consider new available technologies and use them for learning purposes. However, the adoption of the educational technologies was not rapid, yet they potentially contributed to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic over the education sector and offered new learning opportunities and platforms.

METHODOLOGY

To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher relied on the correlational survey descriptive research method, which is the most appropriate approach for this study, as he defines each of: The descriptive approach as an approach based on gathering facts and information, then comparing, analyzing and interpreting them to reach acceptable generalizations.

The Study Hypothesis

The hypotheses of the current study are considered a temporary answer to the research questions posed by the study problem. They are formulated in a form of a relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable, or they could be particular expectations of the researcher conceptualized through the variables of the research problem. The hypotheses of the study have been formulated as follows: 1. There are no statistically significant differences on the Scale of Educational Platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students according to certain variables (gender, theoretical/ practical specialization, educational stage, location of study, special needs in teaching). 2. There are no statistically significant differences on the Scale of Educational Platforms in distance education and the impact of those platforms on academic achievement before and after the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students.

The Study Sample

The study was applied to students of Tabuk University (at the university’s headquarters - branches of the University of Tabuk). The study sample reached (1000) students divided between males and females, (427) students, (573) students from the University of Tabuk in all levels of education. Ages of the sample ranged from 20 years to 45 years. Table No. (1) Distribution of the study sample according to the variables (gender - theoretical / practical specialization - stage of study - location of the study - special needs in teaching.

Table 1

Distribution of the Study Sample

The Study Tools

The current study sought to measure the reality of educational platforms in distance education through the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of the students of the University of Tabuk, and the study tool consisted of a scale that includes (20) paragraphs, and the researcher reviewed a number of studies and related research, as a study Both (Al-Juda, 2017. Zhou, Wu, Zhou, Li, 2020. Al-Awamrah, 2015) and, the scale consists of two parts:

A) Preliminary information: It is considered as the variables of the study.

B) The paragraphs of the questionnaire: which express the reality of educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of the students of the University of Tabuk.

Verification of the validity and reliability of the scale

To check the validity and reliability of the scale was applied to measure a sample of 200 students from the University of Tabuk, and the results were as follows: A- Reliability Statistics: The scale was calculated using Cranach’s Alpha Coefficient, where the reliability coefficient for all paragraphs was (.937), which reassures the researcher to use the study tool as a tool to collect information to answer the study questions and to trust the results of its application.

Table 2

Reliability Statistics

The reliability of the scale was also calculated because the variance is equal here using Split Half Reliability in a way Correlation between Forms It was a coefficient of stability (0,891). B- Validity of the scale: This was verified using Internal Consistency. The internal consistency of the scale was made by calculating the correlation coefficient between the scores of individuals on each of the scale statements and the total score of the scale.

Table 3

The internal consistency of the scale phrases

Figure (1) shows the internal consistency of the scale between each phrase and the total score of the phrases, and the extent of the correlation between the coefficients and their height, which makes the phrases consistent.

Figure 1
The internal consistency of the scale phrases

It is evident from the table that all transactions values correlation functions at the level of statistical significance (0.01). It is also evident that there is a range for respondent’s response to each phrase, which increases the scale reliability, thus the correlation coefficients being high and strong. By the completion of verifying the internal consistency, the scale has become internally consistent; its dimensions are consistent in measuring the degree of the reality of educational platforms in distance education through the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

The First Question

The question states (What is the reality of educational platforms in distance education during the pandemic Corona COVID-19 from the point of view of the University of Tabuk students?) To answer this question, the statistical properties of the descriptive responses sample calculation on the reality of educational platforms scale in distance education.

Table 4

Descriptive Statistics

The previous table shows the extent of benefiting from distance education in light of the Corona pandemic, all expressions were high, as the challenge was great in the importance of using and benefiting from distance education, so the phrases (18, 9, 16, 11, 19) were ranked high the phrases (7, 5, 3, 1) were ranked the least high in the terms of the potential impact of covid-19 on education. The variable terms are covid-19, educational technology, education and the students. Where the academic performance is the dependent variable and Scale of Educational Platforms in distance education.

Research Variables
Independent | Dependent
Scale of Educational Platforms in distance education | Academic performance

Figure (2) provides a description of the responses and frequencies in the study sample in light of the Corona pandemic. All phrases were high in ranking, and most of the responses were high, which demonstrates a great challenge regarding the importance of using distance education and benefiting from it being an important factor in educational process.

Figure 2
Descriptive Statistics of the phrases ranking

The Second Question

The question states (Are there statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of the University of Tabuk students in light of some variables (gender - specialization theoretical / practical - school stage - location of study) - Students are students with special needs for teaching?) To answer this question, a T-test and one-way analysis of variance were used, and the following tables illustrate that: For the gender variable: Table No. (5) The table shows the differences between the average degrees of males and females in the use of educational platforms in distance education.

Table 5

Mean Differences based on Gender

It is evident from the previous table that there are statistically significant differences in the use of educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students (male/female) suggest that females tend to use the technology more than males. Regarding the variable of specialization in the faculty theoretical / practical: Table No. (6) The table shows the differences between the average degrees of specialization in the college, theoretical / practical, in the use of educational platforms in distance education.

Table 6

Mean Differences among Specialization

It is evident from the previous table that there are no statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students according to the faculty variable, whether theoretical or practical, which indicates that everyone uses remote educational platforms. For the variable stage of study: Community / Bachelor’s degree / Postgraduate. Table No. (7) The table shows the differences between the mean degrees of the educational stage variable in the use of educational platforms in distance education.

Table 7 y Table 8

Mean Differences based on Educational Level y Results of ANOVA

It is evident from the previous table that there are no statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the Corona pandemic from the viewpoint of the students of Tabuk University. According to the school stage variable, and that all academic levels use educational platforms in distance education. For the study location variable: Table No. (9) The table shows the differences between the mean degrees of the study location variable in the use of educational platforms in distance education

Table 9

Mean Differences based on Study Location

It is evident from the previous table that there are statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the Corona pandemic from the viewpoint of the students of Tabuk University according to the variable of the academic headquarters (the headquarters of the university / the headquarters of the university branches) in favor of the headquarters of the branches most used for educational platforms in distance education. For variable students with special needs in teaching: Table No. (10) The table shows the differences between the mean degrees of a variable. Students who have special needs for teaching in the use of educational platforms in distance education.

Table 10

Mean Differences based on Special Needs

It is evident from the table above that there were no statistically significant differences on educational platforms scale in distance education during the pandemic Corona from the point of view of students of the University of Tabuk, according to a variable to teach students with special needs. This shows that the special needs of the students were not addressed and considered while using educational technologies and social media.

The Third Question

The question states (Are there statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in education and their impact on academic achievement before and after the Corona COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students?

Table No. (11) The table shows the differences between the mean scores in the use of educational platforms in distance education and its impact on academic achievement before and after COVID-19 pandemic.

Table 11

Means Differences based on Covid-19 Pandemic

It is evident from the previous table that there are statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the Corona pandemic from the point of view of Tabuk University students according to the academic rate before and after the Corona pandemic in favor of the post-academic average of the Corona pandemic, which indicates that the Corona pandemic has effectively contributed to increasing the school average.

DISCUSSION

General Comments on the Results

The importance of using educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students is generally positive. During the pandemic educational technologies have been used such as social media platforms and cloud computing for educational purposes. These tools and technologies have advanced the communication and connectivity of the staff and the student as well as allowed them to upload and view educational material online with the help of the internet anywhere. Results of the study found that there were statistically significant differences in the use of educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students (males/ females. Females were more likely to favor the educational platforms and technologies in distance education. Males were however less likely to favor these platforms- There were no statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students regarding the variable of faculty, whether theoretical or practical, which indicates that everyone uses remote educational platforms. - There were no statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the Corona pandemic from the viewpoint of the students of Tabuk University regarding the educational stage variable, which indicates that students from all educational stages use educational platforms in distance education. There were statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the Corona pandemic from the viewpoint of the students of Tabuk University regarding the variable of the academic headquarters (the headquarters of the university and the headquarters of the university branches) in favor of the headquarters of the branches; as they were more likely to use educational platforms in distance education.

There were no statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the Corona pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students regarding the variable of teaching students with special needs. This indicates that all students use educational platforms in distance education equally. There were statistically significant differences on the scale of educational platforms in distance education during the Corona pandemic from the viewpoint of Tabuk University students regarding the academic rate before and after the Corona pandemic in favor of the post-academic average, which indicates that the Corona pandemic has effectively contributed to increasing the use of educational technologies. These results are consistent with what has been confirmed by the studies of both Akande et al. (2020) and Al awamrah (2015). Studying online through distance courses provided by the university is a unique and enriching experience, with its model of teaching and learning which is different from other existing proposals, that characterized by Student-centered teaching, participatory methodologies, students being the protagonists of their education within the framework of active and participatory learning, teams of tutors and Help Desk being always present; accompanying students throughout their course, addressing their concerns, and supporting their studies (Zhou, et al. 2020).

CONCLUSION

The results of the study have concluded that the use of educational technologies during the pandemic of the Covid-19 has increased. The educational sector has adopted various cloud-based and social media technologies for educational purposes. Furthermore, the results of the study concluded that from the opinion of the students’ females are more likely tended to use educational technologies than male students. There are various reasons behind this. In addition to that results have concluded that teachers and faculty members at the university also tend to use the educational technologies for their communication and for the class material. Teachers particularly use cloud-based technologies to post the educational material and class notes for the students. Additionally, the results have found that the special needs of the students however were not considered and addressed. The headquarters were likely to use the educational technologies, as well as the results and discussion, have concluded. From the above results and the conclusion future research in this field is inevitable. Particularly to address the special needs of the education and to address the differences among female and male students regarding the use of technology for distance education. Future research may address this concern that why female students tend to use educational technologies more than male students. In addition to that future study may also investigate that to what extent the Ministry of Education has been successful for developing the databases for education and what still is needed to complete the databases. In this regard, future studies may adopt a way to collect primary data directly from the Ministry to address the concern.

In addition to that, the current study did not investigate the training of the teachers and faculty with the use of technology. Future studies are appreciated to explore that to what extent teachers and faculty are familiar with the educational technologies to how their skills can be improved. Training of the teachers and faculty are very important for better outcomes for the students. Future studies may also investigate that to what extent the rare specializations are getting distance learning and should prompt it.

Author Note

We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the University of Tabouk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mufleh Qublan B Aljudeaa, Institute of Educational Technology Institute, University of Tabouk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,

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