Student Perceptions of Online Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Online lectures are considered the best solution for lecture activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The obstacle for online students is the difficulty of the network. The purpose of this study was to determine the tendency of students' perceptions of online lectures. This type of research is descriptive qualitative. The sampling technique was purposive sampling totaled 86 people. Data collection techniques by distributing questionnaires. The results show that the statement "online lectures can be accessed easily because of the support of the internet network" received an agree response; the statement "online lectures make it easier for students to understand the material" obtains an agreed response; the statement “the material presented online is in accordance with the lecture contract” obtaining an agreed response; the statement “students can submit questions and rebuttals during online lectures easily” obtains an agreed response; the statement "easiness in sending assignments" obtains an agreed response; the statement "lectures are carried out on time and according to schedule" received a strongly agree response; the statement "the lecturer responds to questions that arise during online lectures" obtains an agreed response; the statement “the lecturer always accompanies the online learning until it is finished” obtains a strongly agree response; the statement “the lecturer explains the directions and goals in each online learning” received a response of 48.84% agreeing; the statement "online lectures increase understanding of theory and skills" received an agree response.


Introduction
Coronavirus Disease or commonly known as COVID-19 is a new type of dangerous disease.WHO has instructed the entire community to maintain social distancing, reduce interactions between humans and interactions with animals to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 virus, immediately detect and isolate affected personnel, accelerate research and diagnosis, disseminate correct figures and statistics to the public to prevent unrest in society.According to Khan (2020) this pandemic has caused severe global socioeconomic disruption.Recent studies have shown high similarities between the genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and bat-derived coronaviruses.
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in every aspect of society.This has caused major disruption to the education system as governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions to contain the spread of the coronavirus (Heng, 2020).The spread of the Covid-19 virus is currently happening very quickly, this has an impact on the implementation of education, especially in Indonesia.The spread of COVID-19 also raises concerns for all parties, including the government, educators (lecturers), parents and students.According to Dhawan (2020) situations like this are challenging education systems around the world and forcing educators to switch to an overnight online teaching model.The Minister of Education and Culture, Mr. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, responded very quickly to preventing the transmission of the Covid-19 pandemic by issuing a policy regarding the implementation of education during the emergency period for the spread of the Covid-19 virus.Maris (2020) The policy explains the implementation of the Home Learning Process (BDR) in the form of learning carried out remotely or online.This is in line with Hermanto's opinion (2021) that current education services must adapt to online learning methods.
The lockdown or quarantine policy is carried out in an effort to reduce the interaction of many people who can provide access to the spread (Abidah, 2020).To break the Covid-19 chain of the Lubuklinggau city government, Mr. Prana Putra Sohe also issued a circular letter for the Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities.Following up on this, the Head of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau has issued a policy circular to maintain health while protecting the entire academic community in the STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau environment, then Work From Home is implemented, as well as the lecture process during the pandemic will be carried out online.
Online lectures are currently considered to be the best solution for lecture activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.This is because it can prevent the spread and spread of Covid-19 to lecturers, students and the entire academic community.Online learning is one form of using the internet that can increase the creativity of students and lecturers in the learning process.This is also supported by Swan (2017) stating that online learning presents challenges for lecturers because online learning requires a more sophisticated and proficient level of technological competence for lecturers.The requirements for online learning/lectures in practice require the support of mobile devices such as mobile phones, computers and laptops that can be used to receive lecture information at a flexible time and place, anywhere and anytime.
Online lecture facilities that are often used are via whatsapp group, telegram, google classroom, e-mail and zoom meeting.With the increasing use of Internet-based technologies to manage learning, higher education institutions claim that they are increasing participation in higher education (Willems, 2019).
One of the government's efforts to make online lectures successful is by providing free quota assistance to students, lecturers, school children and teachers.However, not all students can experience these facilities, because they are constrained by the network or signal.In general, during online learning, students return to their respective areas.Many students who live outside the area even live in remote areas, so they do not get network access.According to Riastuti (2021) effective learning is influenced by several other factors, namely internal and external factors.Furthermore, from the results of Pangondian's research (2019), one of the factors that influence the success of online learning is the support for network availability evenly in each region.
The existence of various obstacles faced by students makes students feel difficult and hampered in participating in the online lecture process.This is what causes the emergence of various perceptions of students who are different from one another.Perception is a process of organizing, grouping the stimulus received by an individual so that it becomes something meaningful.Responses from various student perceptions can take various forms.Based on this, the ability to think, feel, and even the experiences possessed by students are not the same, so in perceiving a stimulus, the perception results will definitely differ from one student to another.Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the tendency of students' perceptions of the Biology Education Study Program STKIP PGRI Lubuklinggau towards online lectures during the Covid-19 pandemic.This can be an evaluation material for both lecturers and students to improve the implementation of the next lecture process.

Methods
This type of research is descriptive qualitative.Qualitative research is used to understand social phenomena from the participant's perspective/point of view with the aim of describing.Descriptive research is done by explaining or describing variables that occurred in the past and present.The population in this study were all students of the STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau Biology education study program, with a sample of students of the STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau Biology education study program in semester II, IV and VI of the 2020/2021 academic year during the Covid-19 pandemic.The sampling technique was purposive sampling, namely students in semester II, IV and VI with a total of 86 students.Data collection techniques by distributing questionnaires to 86 students.The components in the questionnaire consist of student identities and 10 statements to find out the obstacles faced by students in online learning.The questionnaire used used a Likert scale consisting of 5 answer choices.Furthermore, the data collected is grouped in tables, percentages, then analyzed and then described

Results and Discussion
The results of distributing student questionnaires for the Biology Education Study Program STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau with a total of 86 students consisting of 36 semester II, 27 semester IV and 23 semester VI.Students conduct online lectures from various places, some are in their respective homes, some are riding to a friend's house and some even have to go to the market to get a signal/network.Students come from various districts and cities in Lubuklinggau, namely in Musi Rawas district 38.7%, North Musi Rawas district 29.4%, Empat Lawang district 2.3%, Rejang Lebong district 9.1% and Lubuklinggau City 20, 5%.
The perception of the distribution of the STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau Biology student questionnaire on online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic can be seen in the table 1. Lecturers explain the directions and goals in each online learning 24 42 14 6 0 10 Online lectures increase theoretical understanding and skills 18 20 35 11 2 Information: SS: strongly agree, S: agree, RR: undecided, TS: disagree, STS: strongly disagree Based on the results of the research, the data obtained using a questionnaire consisting of 10 statements and 5 answer choices to determine the tendency of students' perceptions of online lectures shows that for statement 1 "regarding online lectures can be accessed easily because of the support of the internet network" received 17.44 responses.% of students stated strongly agree, 22.09% answered agree, 39.53% answered doubtful, 19.77% answered disagree, and 2.33% answered strongly disagree.
It can be said that students tend to have a perception that online lectures are easily accessible and a small proportion answered disagree and strongly disagree due to the limitations of the internet network, internet quota, or inadequate gadgets/laptops.These results are supported by several research results, including: according to (Kuntarto, 2017) online learning is learning to bring together students and lecturers in carrying out learning interactions with the help of the internet; according to Willems (2019) electronic access to course materials and activities allows many students to be unable to participate in oncampus activities; According to Astuti (2019), online learning has weaknesses, one of which is when the internet network is weak, and lecturer instructions are poorly understood by students.The results of the study (Noer et al., 2021) state that online learning through the WhatsApp platform has weaknesses related to unstable networks and the lack of direct experience obtained through observations related to the material being studied which requires direct practice in the field.Basri (2018) in his research stated that technology helps in overcoming obstacles during the Covid-19 pandemic.A strong Information Technology infrastructure is a prerequisite for online learning.Infrastructure must be strong so that it can provide services without obstacles during the covid-19 pandemic and after the Covid-19 pandemic ends.Effective e-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic like this requires the use of technology more efficiently, namely the use of technology that has minimal procurement and maintenance costs but can facilitate the educational process effectively.The positive and negative impacts need to be considered before selecting and implementing e-learning technology.
Educational institutions have to do a lot of research when choosing the right technology for different educational initiatives.There should be proper clarity about the purpose and context of applying the technology.Several factors influence the selection of certain technologies such as security features, availability, and laboratory conditions, internet speed, internet access, digital literacy level of beneficiaries, and so on.E-learning can help in providing inclusive education even during the Covid-19 pandemic.Such a system needs to be developed in educational institutions to ensure that no students lose their education due to location, social class, ethnicity, and so on.Online learning methods support and facilitate teaching and learning activities, but there is an urgent need to consider the positive and negative impacts of technology and exploit its potential.The Covid-19 pandemic can create many problems, therefore, there is an important need to study technology in depth and thoroughly test it to balance problems during the covid-19 pandemic.
The results of the data analysis of statement 2 regarding the statement "online lectures make it easier for students to understand the material" obtained a response as much as 12.79% of students stated strongly agree, 24.42% answered agree, 43.02% answered doubtful, 19.77% answered disagree, and 0.00% answered strongly disagree.This shows that online learning cannot be maximized as well as offline lectures (face to face) both in understanding the material.In online lectures, students have difficulty understanding the material because the delivery of material is sometimes not optimal.such as a power outage.Then the results of Sadikin's research (2020) also reported that not a few students had difficulty understanding lecture material given online.This agrees with the results of Damayanti's research (2020) which states that more students are related to lessons in class, because they feel more interested, better understanding of the material, student class interactions with lecturers are more lively so they can enjoy lessons and prefer offline learning rather than learning.by online.Based on research (Sadikin & Hamidah, 2020) during online learning, there is no guarantee that students are serious in listening to material explanations from lecturers.
The results of the data analysis of statement 3 "material presented online in accordance with the lecture contract" obtained a response of 18.60% of students stating strongly agree, 65.12% answered agree, 19.77% answered doubtful, 0.00% answered disagree, and 0.00% answered strongly disagree.This shows that although learning is carried out online, the course lecturers still carry out lectures in accordance with the lecture contract that have been distributed to all students and delivered at the first meeting of lectures during the lecture contract agreement between lecturers and students.
As a plan, lecture contract is a lecturer's effort to plan teaching and learning activities so that the process runs well.According to the results of Ilmiani's research (2020) it is stated that the semester learning plan is a projection of activities that will be carried out by lecturers and students in the learning process/lectures in the classroom.Therefore, the Semester Learning Plan is an integral part that cannot be separated from "learning/lectures". Lehmann, Blumschein, & Podolskiy (2017) in their book say that lesson planning is defined as a systematic procedure in which education and training programs are developed and structured with the aim of substantially improving learning.
In this case, planning is a conscious effort to engineer in such a way that learning is effective where all components work in unison towards the expected goals.Teaching and learning activities are a process of regulating the environment so that students learn, and each learning process will be different because it depends on the achievements of a course, as well as what material will be taught.In this process a teacher or lecturer makes a learning plan to maximize existing learning resources.
The results of the data analysis of statement 4 regarding the statement "students can submit questions and rebuttals during online lectures easily" obtained a response of 15.12% of students stating strongly agree, 22.09% answered agree, 47.67% answered doubtful, 15, 12% answered disagree, and 0.00% answered strongly disagree.This shows that in online lectures a discussion and question and answer process is still carried out, namely submitting questions and rebuttals.The discussion and question and answer process is usually carried out through WhatsApp Groups, Zoom, Telegram which begins with presentations of assignments that have been made by students, both individually and in groups.Daniel (2020) in his research states that capacity building in distance learning in schools and universities must utilize asynchronous learning so that it can increase the closeness between lecturers and students and direct communication can minimize differences in understanding.As with normal classroom subjects, teaching must cover a wide range of assignments and work that places COVID-19 in a global and historical context.This was also conveyed by Tull (2017) in his research stating that the combined use of social media and e-learning to support teaching, learning, communication and practices of educational organizations or related educational institutions.This can foster resilience for students, staff and organizations in times of crisis.The recommendations presented are relevant for educational organizations or educational institutions that could be affected by a crisis event.
The results of data analysis from statement 5 regarding "the ease of sending assignments" obtained a response of 17.44% of students stating strongly agree, 20.93% answered agree, 38.37% answered doubtful, 23.25% answered disagree, and 0.00% answered strongly disagree.Some students when submitting assignments feel that it is still quite difficult to send them because they are constrained by internet quotas, internet networks, gadgets/laptops, and power outages.This is in accordance with the results of Kosassy's research (2020), which states that currently many students complain of a lot of assignments.Assignments can be sent via WhatsApps Group media.
In an effort to strengthen the assessment, the teacher also adds assignments in the form of a Google Form.Some other students agreed because they felt it was easy to send assignments during lectures online.The results of research by Almendingen (2021) stated that the most pressing concern among students was the lack of socialization, interaction or information delivery.This is also supported by the results of research (Adi et al., 2021) in their research that online learning is more practical and relaxed, information delivery is faster and can reach many students, students are more interested in doing assignments.Lecturers give policies to students in submitting assignments that are late in deadlines, they can still be collected and accepted on the condition that students must provide information to lecturers regarding assignments that have been submitted or not.
The results of data analysis statement 6 regarding "lectures are carried out on time and according to schedule" obtained a response of 5.81% answering disagree, and 0.00% answered strongly disagree.This shows that online lectures are carried out on time according to a predetermined schedule.However, there are several factors that prevent lectures from being carried out according to the existing schedule due to an inadequate internet network when the electricity goes out.Furthermore, the results of research by Almendingen (2021) state that the housing situation is not suitable for home office purposes, including inadequate data control and a sense of motivation to learn and work as a whole.Based on the results of Sadikin's research ( 2020) online learning has specific challenges, in the form of separate domicile locations for students and lecturers which cause lecturers to not be able to supervise directly during the lecture process.
The results of data analysis statement 7 regarding "Lecturers respond to questions that arise during online lectures" get a response as much as 20.93% of students stated strongly agree, 50.00% answered agree, 19.77% answered doubtful, 9.30 % answered disagree, and 0.00% answered strongly disagree.This shows that during the lecture process, lecturers always provide opportunities for students to ask questions and have opinions, so that the discussion process runs and students understand more about the material.Time for questioning and discussion is given after the student in charge of presenting and presenting the results of his paper is complete.Students can ask if there are things that have not been understood related to the material that has been presented and explained by other students.
The discussion took place through an application that had been agreed upon before the lecture started, which consisted of several applications including: WhatsApp Group, Zoom, Google Meet, Telegram .All students have the opportunity to ask questions and all will get answers from students who serve as presentations and other students who do not present.At the end of the lecture, the lecturer adds material that has not been conveyed and clarifies the results of the discussion.This is supported by (Sudarwati & Khanafiyah, 2017) which states that discussion is a visual process of two or more individuals interacting verbally and with each other face-to-face about the intent or purpose that has been determined by exchanging information, maintaining opinions or solving problem.
Discussions can encourage interaction between students and between students and lecturers.With this interaction, students will have the opportunity to express their opinions and hear the opinions of their friends so that they know various points of view to solve problems.According to Johanes (2018), the role of lecturers in student-centered learning shifts from being a lecturer to being a facilitator.The facilitator is a person who provides facilities in the learning process for students.In addition to facilitators, lecturers are also determinants or providers of facilities that can inspire students to think actively, creatively, and innovatively.
The results of data analysis statement 8 regarding "the lecturer always accompanies when learning online" until it finishes getting a response as much as 70.93% of students stated strongly agree, 12.79% answered agree, 11.63% answered doubtful, 4.65% answered disagree, and 0.00% answered strongly disagree.It can be said that during the online lecture process, the lecturer always participates both in delivering the material and as a facilitator during the discussion process.
The results show that only some students are active in the online lecture process, some other students just listen.This is because the lecture time is too long so that some students find it difficult to maintain their concentration.This is in line with research (Syahri, 2021) that in time management, students are required to be balanced in managing and managing time.(Tonks et al., 2021) in his research stated that in addition to the ability of students, the role of parents and families to invest significant time also plays an important role in influencing online learning.This is also in line with Khlaif's (2021) research that teacher presence and timely feedback in synchronous online sessions strengthens student engagement in an emergency remote teaching environment.Online learning requires an increase in the professionalism of educators in using technology so that learning is not boring.
The results of data analysis statement 9 regarding "the lecturer explains the directions and goals in each online learning" obtained a response of 27.91% of students stating strongly agree, 48.84% answered agree, 16.28% answered doubtful, 6.98% answered disagree, and 0.00% answered strongly disagree.This shows that before the lecture process takes place, the lecturer conveys the learning objectives at the beginning of the lecture and directs the lecture process until the material is completed.
The purpose of learning exists because it provides students' mindsets to focus on the material being studied, and so that students can easily achieve the goals contained in the material.Learning objectives are also a requirement that must exist in an RPS that must be submitted by each lecturer before learning takes place.According to (Widiastuti. R, Syafryadin, 2021) teachers must be able to interpret and implement the objectives contained in the syllabus into learning activities properly and create appropriate situations in the classroom.The results of the study (Faulconer, 2017) state that it is important for students to know the learning objectives so that students get the benefits and expectations of the learning materials well.Another purpose of a learning objective is to familiarize students with communicating with one another about the ongoing material.Many sources identify the importance of aligning a learning objective with assessment techniques and instructional strategies.
The results of data analysis of statement 10 regarding "online lectures increase understanding of theory and skills" obtained a response of 20.93% of students stating strongly agree, 23.26% answered agree, 40.70% answered doubtful, 12.79% answered no agree, and 2.33% answered strongly disagree.This shows that online learning cannot be maximized as well as offline lectures, both in understanding theory and in improving skills (practice).In online lectures, students have difficulty understanding the material because the delivery of material is sometimes not optimal.Likewise with practicums that cannot be carried out in the laboratory so that students have limitations both in terms of tools and materials in the practicum.
Online lectures are expected to help students during the Covid-19 pandemic, because good and correct lectures will help students improve their understanding and knowledge.The number of students who do not have an adequate internet network in their area but does not reduce the enthusiasm to take online lectures.Students use electronic devices such as gadgets/laptops in participating in the online lecture process.According to Basilaia (2020) in his research states that the results of a fast transition in the form of online learning run smoothly and successfully, the experience gained during the learning process can be used in the future.
Learning done online is good, but sometimes students find difficulties in understanding some of the things in the power point which can usually be explained face-to-face by way of demonstration and observation.Especially in courses that require you to do practical work both in the laboratory and in the field, because it takes more time to understand yourself.Cannot discuss freely because online is quite limited, and cannot do practicum and observations in the field.In addition to this, network disturbances occur due to certain things, among others, due to the distance where students live from urban areas, and power outages.Online learning is still constrained by limited internet access, especially in affiliate areas and the limited economic conditions of students so that they do not have adequate tools to access applications for online learning.
Based on the results of the study, it was obtained that the overall perception of students of Biology Education STKIP PGRI Lubuklinggau towards the implementation of online lectures could be categorized as good or agree.However, there are several things that still need to be a concern for lecturers, both in the teaching and learning process and lecturer competencies.This is in line with research (Coman et al., 2020) which identified ways of learning at universities in Romania revealing that higher education institutions in Romania are not exclusively ready to implement online learning.The technical problems faced were the most important followed by the lack of technical skills of the teachers and their teaching styles which were not well adapted to the online environment.

Conclusion
Based on the discussion above, it can be concluded that students' perceptions of online lectures during the pandemic are categorized as good.The results show that the statement "online lectures can be accessed easily because of the support of the internet network" received an agree response; the statement "online lectures make it easier for students to understand the material" obtains an agreed response; the statement "the material presented online is in accordance with the lecture contract" obtaining an agreed response; the statement "students can submit questions and rebuttals during online lectures easily" obtains an agreed response; the statement "easiness in sending assignments" obtains an agreed response; the statement "lectures are carried out on time and according to schedule" received a strongly agree response; the statement "the lecturer responds to questions that arise during online lectures" obtains an agreed response; the statement "the lecturer always accompanies the online learning until it is finished" obtains a strongly agree response; the statement "the lecturer explains the directions and goals in each online learning" received a response of 48.84% agreeing; the statement "online lectures increase understanding of theory and skills" received an agree response.