Understanding the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on Brunei students learning activities: A data analytics approach

This empirical study investigates the digital transformation imposed by COVID-19 pandemic and various restrictions following it on the mode of teaching and learning activities in the schools and higher learning institutions of Brunei Darussalam. A primary survey was conducted from the students and the public of Brunei Darussalam to study on how the COVID pandemic restrictions imposed the vital changes in the mode of learning from the transitional physical mode to online mode. Based on the data collected and the data analytics performed, we found that majority of students and parents preferred to have physical learning instead of online learning since only some students have become familiar with online education platforms such as Skype, Zoom, Google meets, Microsoft Teams. The empirical findings of this study through a primary survey enable the authors to accept the alternative hypothesis for e-learning benefits while rejecting the alternative hypothesis for the e-learning challenges. Besides that, a control variable, namely, home-schooling experience also has a significant effect on students’ e-learning process. These students might have experienced some challenges adapting to some of the popular online e-learning platforms.