Table 11 Academics’ responses regarding the potential benefits of employing telepresence robots in virtual transnational education
Potential benefits | % Academics identified as | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Strongly disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly agree | M | SD | |
Pb1 Make virtual international education feel a little more like face-to-face transnational education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (6.5%) | 34 (93.5%) | 4.93 | 0.250 |
Pb2 Help remote students to stay connected to educators and other students | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (6.5%) | 34 (93.5%) | 4.93 | 0.250 |
Pb3 Enhance and improve educational experiences for remote learners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 (17.4%) | 38 (82.6%) | 4.83 | 0.383 |
Pb4 Promote collaborative learning in an authentic and interactive environment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 (17.4%) | 38 (82.6%) | 4.83 | 0.383 |
Pb5 Enable remote international students to exchange their ideas and opinions with their peers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (19.6%) | 37 (80.4%) | 4.80 | 0.401 |
Pb6 Develop positive attitude about virtual transnational education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (19.6%) | 37 (80.4%) | 4.80 | 0.401 |
Pb7 Help students to gain the skills they need for living and working in the digital age | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (19.6%) | 37 (80.4%) | 4.80 | 0.401 |
Pb8 Encourage students to pursue their international education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 (23.94%) | 35 (76.1%) | 4.76 | 0.431 |
Pb9 Can tackle the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on international students | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 (28.3%) | 33 (71.7%) | 4.72 | 0.455 |
Pb10 Improve technology literacy of academics and students | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 (45.7%) | 25 (54.3%) | 4.54 | 0.504 |
Pb11 Empower international students to learn with their peers, despite geographic distance | 0 | 0 | 1 (2.2%) | 22 (47.8%) | 23 (50.0%) | 4.48 | 0.547 |
Pb12 Can tackle the challenges of virtual internationalism of higher education | 0 | 0 | 3 (6.5%) | 21 (45.7%) | 22 (47.8%) | 4.41 | 0.617 |
Pb13 facilitate teaching and learning activities | 0 | 0 | 3 (6.5%) | 27 (58.7%) | 16 (34.8%) | 4.28 | 0.584 |
Pb14 Offer new opportunities for academics to be learning facilitators rather than knowledge providers | 0 | 0 | 3 (6.5%) | 27 (58.7%) | 16 (34.8%) | 4.28 | 0.584 |
Potential benefits | 4.67 | 0.442 | |||||