1Pada tanggal 27 April 2020, sekitar 1,7 miliar siswa di Indonesia terkena dampak pandemi. Kebijakan yang diambil oleh pemerintah Indonesia untuk proses pendidikan bagi siswa yaitu menggunakan pembelajaran online. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui sejauh mana VCDLN menjadi media pembelajaran yang mampu menerapkan pembelajaran jarak jauh bagi para mahasiswanya yang berstatus sebagai guru guru untuk menempuh pendidikan di Institut Pendidikan Indonesia (IPI). Sebagai alasan kenapa menggunakan VCDLN, karena VCDLN merupakan model Virtual Community Digital Learning Nusantara yang ditujukan untuk layanan pembelajaran jarak jauh secara Blended, Mobile, mudah, murah, luas, dan jangkauannya luas ke seluruh pelosok nusantara. Teknologi yang digunakan oleh VCDLN bersifat multi-platform, seperti Android, IOS, Streaming, Live Campus Journalis, YouTube, dan TVUPI berbasis Satelit. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode survey dengan menggunakan Teknik pengumpulan data secara online melalui google form. Sumber informasi mencakup guru-guru yang berstatus sebagai mahasiswa Pascasarjana Magister Teknologi Pendidikan angkatan 16 dan 17 di Institut Pendidikan Indonesia sebanyak 54 orang. Hasil pengolahan data menunjukkan bahwa pemanfaatkan VCDLN sebagai platform untuk pembelajaran online, dinyatakan efektif dalam mendukung pembelajaran yang dilakukan, yaitu sekitar 70%. Sisanya sekitar 30% menyatakan kurang efektif. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa VCDLN dapat direkomendasikan efektif dalam mendukung pembelajaran secara oleh di Institut Pendidikan Indonesia.
2The world is being plagued by coronavirus pandemic or covid-19 that is deadly and crippling circles of society's activities. Covid has also changed the Education system worldwide, leading to the closure of schools from elementary school to university. As of April 27, 2020, approximately 1.7 billion students were affected by the pandemic. The disease has spread in other provinces in China, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea in less than a month. The samples studied showed the aetiology of the new coronavirus. Initially, the disease was named the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV), then announced as Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on February 11, 2020. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 virus (SARS-CoV-2). The virus can be transmitted from human to human and has spread widely.
3Covid is a mild to severe diseases, such as common cold and severe diseases like MERS and SARS. The transmission is high-speed and spreading worldwide, and the covid-19 pandemic cannot be controlled as soon as possible. So, it requires proper management from both the government and the public. One of the important actions taken by the public now is to stay at home to stop the spreading of covid by conducting lockdown and social distancing (Supriatna, 2020).
4Gewin (2020) stated that many universities have postponed or cancelled campus events, seminars, conferences, sports competitions, and other activities. The pandemic affects about 98.5% of the world's student population (UNESCO, 2020). Many countries, including Indonesia, must introduce policies by disbursing all educational activities, making the government and related institutions present alternative educational processes for students and students who cannot carry out the educational process at educational institutions (Purwanto et al., 2020).
5By avoiding all kinds of gatherings to prevent the COVID-19 transmission, all activities such as teaching and learning activities in schools and universities must be conducted at home while online to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The previous statement is one of the government's policies as a necessary measure to maintain a relatively safe condition for both students and teachers.
6In conducting online learning, some particular media are needed to smooth the learning process in school or university. In most universities, various ways are used for learning online. They use existing media such as google classroom, google meet, WhatsApp, zoom meeting, even YouTube. VCDLN existed to facilitate teachers by providing teaching materials needed for every subject that can be used in the form of learning videos. This platform is free and can be accessed by everyone who has been a member of this community.
7This research aims to determine how far VCDLN, as a learning medium, in the social distancing period for students who study at Indonesian Education Institute (IPI), affects their teaching method. In this online learning activity, we can find out how many teachers use this platform. Two theories can review the learning activities: first, the behavioristic theory emphasizes the formation of behaviours seen from the learning process results (Salamah et al., 2021). Second, the theory of scholarly communication is also a cornerstone in this study. Because in the learning process, there will be a communication process. In this study, whether the utilization of the VCDLN platform by the Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) is considered good enough in delivering the materials to the students. The benefit is to know the impact and response of every student who undergoes their study at the Indonesian Institute of Education (IPI) towards distance learning using the VCDLN platform.
8This research was conducted in 2021. the research method is the qualitative research method. Based on the Research Design Module (2019) published by Ministry of Educational Research and Technology qualitative research can be defined as a research procedure that utilizes descriptive data in the form of written or spoken words from people and actors that can be observed. Qualitative research is conducted to explain and analyze phenomena, events, social dynamics, belief attitudes, and perceptions of a person or group towards something. Thus, the qualitative research process begins by drawing up basic assumptions and thinking rules that will be used. The data collected in the research is then interpreted. (Raco, 2018).
9The data collecting technique used google form. Google form is used because it is faster and wider to spread the questionnaire to the subject; on the other hand, it is impossible to conduct the interview directly because of this social distancing policy. The research subjects were Educational Technology Program Class 16 and 17 post-graduate students of the Indonesian Institute of Education Garut domiciled in garut, Tasik, and Bandung. This research was conducted to determine how far VCDLN, as a learning medium, in the social distancing period for students studying at Indonesian Education Institute (IPI), affects their teaching method. The research design was conducted through several stages; (1) making some questions that were asked to students through a google form, (2) disseminated questions online through social media in the form of WhatsApp, (3) collected and filtered data that students had filled in for later analysis.
10Data analysis techniques in this research used descriptive qualitative analysis techniques. This research process was conducted by coding and categorizing data on the phenomenon of VCDLN platform usage by Post-Graduate students of Education Technology Class 16 and 17 IPI Garut on distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the data analysis, the research used grounded theory, starting with the open coding process in which (1) identify the phenomenon of VCDLN platform usage by Post-Graduate students of Education Technology Class 16 and 17 IPI Garut in Garut, Tasik, and Bandung during on distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) through categorization and decomposition of symptoms contained in the interview results through google form and WhatsApp.
11Then after the open coding stage, followed by the axial coding stage, which at the axial coding stage brings together various categories of research in the form of arrangements and this is a combination of inductive and deductive ways of thinking to respond to the phenomenon of VCDLN platform usage by Post-Graduate students of Education Technology Class 16 and 17 IPI Garut on distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. And the last step that the research conducted was selective coding. Selective coding aims to select core categorizations and connect other categories to VCDLN platform usage by Post-Graduate students of Education Technology Class 16 and 17 IPI Garut on distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
12This research was conducted on 54 students of classes 16 and 17 of IPI Post-graduate program (Institut Pendidikan Indonesia). The research was titled "VCDLN (Virtual Community Digital Learning Nusantara) in Online learning During Pandemic Period" Data retrieval was used in this study using interviews and observations in online classes through Zoom Meeting.
Table 1
Number of Respondents
No
|
Year
|
Number of Students
|
1
|
16
|
25
|
2
|
17
|
29
|
Total
|
54
|
13Learning activities usually conducted conventionally in the classroom changed by the Covid-19 Pandemic; now, learning can be conducted online, using the internet, and through various existing platforms. The learning activities are variously carried out by schools depending on their respective policies. The learning activities conducted during the pandemic utilized several platforms. Among the class of 16th and 17th, almost all of the courses they teach used videos from the VCDLN platform. Out of 54 post-graduate students, they have used VCDLN as a platform to teach their pupils during online learning. So, it can be concluded that all respondents are a group of the same character (they have used VCDLN as a platform to teach).
14Based on the observations, before starting the online course through Zoom Meeting, the class leader and teachers prepared a link to carry out the learning, then shared it with the other students so that they could prepare before starting the lesson. There was usually a predetermined schedule for each lesson so that students were not left behind in attending the lesson. Then during the lesson period through Zoom Meeting, students participated in the learning process enthusiastically, and some of them seemed interested when the teacher shared a learning video from the VCDLN platform. Students asked opinions and questions during the lesson. This phenomenon was seen in various meetings; even in group discussions or presentations, students were more active in discussing and expressing opinions. So, it can be concluded that the learning videos from the VCDLN platform were quite adequate for teaching in online classes because the teaching activities that were usually conducted conventionally in the classroom can be represented by using learning videos.
15The results obtained in this study were based on interview questions conducted online on Post-graduate program students of classes 16 and 17 of IPI (Institute Pendidikan Indonesia) as follows.
Table 2
Student Opinion on The Effectiveness of the VCDLN platform
No
|
Student Opinion
|
percentage
|
1
|
effective
|
70%
|
2
|
Ineffective
|
30%
|
Total
|
100 %
|
16Based on Table 2 shows that 70% of students of Post-graduate program students of classes 16 and 17 thought that the use of learning videos from the VCDLN platform is effective for online teaching activities. The results showed that the use of learning videos from the VCDLN platform is quite effective in learning, namely:
17It can be accessed easily
18Presentation of the material is delivered well
19Teachers can present the lesson material in a way that more interesting to their students
20Learning activities conducted online at home or other places require several supporting tools, such as smartphones or personal computers. Being able to access the VCDLN platform certainly requires an internet network. However, some students who attend the lesson have difficulties in this matter, and they believe that the use of learning videos from the VCDLN platform is considered less effective due to several factors, namely:
21Inadequate gadgets
22Internet network that was sometimes unstable, so it became a nuisance to follow some of the material that has been delivered
23In some classes that require hands-on practice became elusive.
24Lessons conducted online, facilitated by VCDLN platform are concidered to be effective during the Covid-19 Pandemic, but students prefer to go to the school face-to-face, attending the class conventionally because it is more effective than online. But because of the current situation, it is recommended to study at home, making the VCDLN platform one of the alternatives in delivering lesson materials during online classes. Although there are various platforms or other applications that support learning activities, the VCDLN platform is valuable and helpful in delivering lesson materials.
25It can be concluded that the VCDLN platform can be used during the social distancing period that requires students to study online. Some of the subjects delivered using learning videos are considered less effective, especially for courses that require direct practice; there are often network or internet signal disturbances for students who do not use Wi-Fi that will later impact the quality of learning they receive. But the advantages of using learning videos from the VCDLN platform are considered practical and efficient for teachers because using it makes the lessons delivered to the students from the teachers more interesting than delivering the materials conventionally by verbal or only textbook.
26Although the VCDLN platform is considered less effective for some cases, on the other hand, the learning videos that this platform offers are considered to be more efficient and practical for students; therefore, the VCDLN platform is expected to help teachers and students in terms of online-based learning. Hopefully, teachers students can make the most of this platform.
27Hence, the teachers and their students must understand each other in distance and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic to create a synergy that leads to an ideal online course where a quality learning process can be achieved. Although COVID-19 Pandemic has made millions of people experience hard times, this phenomenon is a step of encouragement to every Educational Institution in utilizing technology-based learning and is also a step towards the industrial revolution 4.0.