Implications for the use of Distance Online Learning in Colleges of Media and Communication: Survey results

In light of the sudden shift towards distance education called for by the global Covid-19 pandemic, questions are raised about the extent to which Arab universities are prepared for such a stepin terms of infrastructure, the level of mastery of distance learning techniques among professors, and the implications of the Internet environment on the educational process. This paper presents the results of an opinion poll for Media and Communication professors in the Arab region conducted in June and July 2021. First, the level of information and communication technology (ICT) proficiency among the participants was addressed to measure their willingness to ensure online distance learning (DOL). Second, a special focus has been placed on potential technological factors to determine the most widely used DOL platforms.Third, the perception of Media and Communication professors participating in the survey about the implications of using DOL technologies was tracked to measure their effects on the educational operations. The findings show a good level of ICT proficiency, but with some differences in terms of the technical tools exploited, depending on the geographical area; the Zoom platform is the most used in the Arab region, mainly in the Arabian Gulf as well as social media (particularly in the Maghreb and North Africa); Microsoft Teams and Blackboard are exploited sometimes, while Moodle and Edmodo are rarelyutilized.DOL technologies have implications for the educational process such as diversifying learning strategies, updating course materials content, enhancing interaction, and designing an online lecture with DOL technologies in mind. However, neutral feedback was shown about whether or not research-based assignments, learner-centered educational content, and continuous formative assessment of all CLOs were systematically adopted.