Learning Innovation through Online Lectures: A Study on Two-way Real-Time Lectures via Zoom

This study analyzed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education in Japan by conducting a student opinion survey on Zoom lectures. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit Japan, almost all universities in Japan shifted their conventional face-to-face lectures to online lectures, including Zoom lectures. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only a limited number of universities provided online lectures. As a result, neither professors nor students were familiar with online lectures at the university level. However, the COVID-19 pandemic required university professors to launch online lectures without enough time for preparation; similarly, students were also required to receive online lectures without enough preparation. This study’s results provide suggestions and recommendations for both universities and students to improve online lectures at universities during and after the COVID-19 era.