Administering Online Environment Pedagogies for Science and Technology Undergraduate Students under COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This article establishes an online environment planning and management for science and technology instruction that can be carried out as effective as off-line learning in Thailand. An undergraduate online environmental model is devised alongside the off-line counterpart to compare their viability from the corresponding environmental aspects. Four administrative factors, namely, number of students per section, subjects taken, assignments, and frequency of students’ participations are employed as the bases for determining the optimal class size that is suitable for online environment planning with the help of the well-established Linear Programming technique. We find that financial support on training, equipment, network and infrastructure to institution, instructors, students, and out-of-school connectivity are the critical success factors for a fruitful online environment in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. In addition, some student’s behavior, study preparation, and attitude are also revealed. The psychological impacts on student’s life are utmost important that the university must heed. Consequently, administration must not emphasize too much on study results and overlook this human aspect.