Search

More than a decade has passed since internationally recognized universities and colleges began using online teaching and learning methods to fulfill the needs of students who reside a long distance away from their places of higher education. Internet teaching and learning proved to be a lifesaver for many educational institutions and students during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2014. Students from universities and colleges around the country are participating in a poll to determine the success of online teaching and learning. An online survey will be conducted, and the findings will be made available to the community. It was decided to do this by developing a questionnaire circulated among college and university students. Approximately 500 students from various universities, engineering schools, and medical institutions participated in and submitted the survey results. In a study, it was discovered that the use of animation, digital collaboration with peers, video lectures by subject-matter experts, multiple-choice questions in online quizzes, student version software, a conducive learning environment at home, interactions by professors during lessons, and online materials provided by faculty could all help to improve online learning. Since they may all view PowerPoint presentations in front of them at any volume level, they wish while in an internet based classroom, students no longer have to walk or drive to class when in an internet-based classroom.

The main objective of Islamic religious education in Malaysian secondary schools is to inculcate Islamic teachings and values in Muslim students. However, recent studies indicate that students had lesser interest to learn the subject. In response to this phenomenon, this study was carried out to identify the factors that affect students’ interest in learning Islamic education in schools in Malaysia. Data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews with six Form Four students from a selected secondary school in the state of Selangor in central Malaysia. The findings indicate that there are two major factors affecting students’ interest in learning Islamic education which are situational factors and individual factors. The situational factors are: (1) the parents’ influence, (2) the Islamic education teacher’s influence and, (3) the Islamic education curriculum, whereas the individual factors are: (1) initial interest that resides within each individual and, (2) learner diversity in learning. The findings also revealed that the Islamic education teacher is the key factor in affecting students’ interest towards the subject. Keywords: Islamic education, students’ interest, religious education