The Postgraduate Students’ Viewpoint on the Implementation and Launch of Virtual Learning; A Case Study of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objective: Given the importance of its achievements and endless and low-cost expansion of the educational system, virtual education is considered as one of the issues raised by the information communities. The purpose of this study was to examine the viewpoint of postgraduate students about the implementation of virtual education, which will play a decisive role in the success or failure of this type of learning. Materials and Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study which was conducted on 275 postgraduate students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences who were selected by stratified random sampling. The data collecting tool was a questionnaire and data were analyzed in descriptive statistics methods (mean, standard deviation, frequency percentage) and inferential statistics (Spearman correlation and regression coefficients) by using SPSS v.20 software. Results: The results of this study revealed that the average of overall viewpoint in postgraduate students toward virtual education at university was 3.82 ± 0.57. The instructors’ guidance-based learning environment dimension acquired the highest score (4.11±0.61) and the independent learning environment dimension gained the lowest score (3.56±0.88) among the studied dimensions on the assessment of students’ viewpoints. As well as, factors such as independence, instructors’ guidance and multimedia education were the most important variables that affecting their viewpoint regarding the effectiveness of virtual education. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the students have a positive viewpoint on the implementation and launch of virtual education at the university. Therefore, this type of training at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences can be implemented with appropriate initialization, providing the educational, cultural and technological infrastructures.