فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

CONTEXT: Virtual learning is not without challenges. It can cause stress, lack of motivation, and socialisolation. Due to COVID‑19 pandemic, our college shifted from face‑to‑face to virtual teaching–learningstyle. the aim was to find out the barriers in virtual learning among medical students and providesolutions to overcome them.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was conducted among 3rd‑ and 4th‑yearBachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students in 2020. Prevalidated electronic survey formson institutional barrier, technical barrier, and individual barrier were sent to students, 160 studentsresponded. SPSS version 12 was used to calculate descriptive statistics and independent t‑test.RESULTS: The students had the highest mean score in individual barrier(mean: 2.82 [standard deviation (SD): 0.72]) followed by institutional barrier (mean: 2.79 [SD: 0.74])and technological barrier (mean: 2.72 [SD: 0.75]). Regarding technological barriers, 38.6% of thestudents agreed difficulty in procurement of the laptop and 66.4% faced slow Internet connection.Regarding institutional barriers, 75.9% were stressed to join one lecture to another lecture as thelectures were continuous, 69.6% had limited opportunity to interact with lecturers, and 62.7% hadpoor communication between lecturers and students. Regarding individual barriers, 74.1% of thestudents were not motivated for online learning, 71.5% of the students could not learn as well asthey were in the classroom, and 58.2% disagreed taking online courses in future.CONCLUSION: Low motivation, communication, Internet connectivity, and technical problems werethe main barriers. Smaller size class, highly motivated and well‑trained lecturers, and interactivelectures may help in breaking the barriers of virtual learning.