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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions around the world have been closed as a precautionary measure by governments to halt future expected waves. This closing has affected students and has had a negative impact on institutions (Mukhtar et al., 2020, Sharma & Bumb, 2021), like schools, colleges, and universities have been compelled to transition to complete e-learning (Landrum et al., 2021). This transition was a challenge for the global education system, which worked hard to move to online teaching in a short time. Most educational departments that were previously reluctant to shift their new education approach were forced to turn completely into online educational institutions (Dhawan, 2020). The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic provide an incentive to restructure the current traditional classroom system (Rajhans et al., 2020).
The e-learning approach involves education using electronic resources, where students acquire skills and knowledge through the Internet. It has become common at universities as a cutting-learning technology that aids in building student-centered learning paradigms during lockdown situations (Quadir & Zhou, 2021). Moreover, e-learning has proven to be a leading educational method in academic institutions, whereby a teacher can host, for example, a scientist and specialist from any other country as a guest in the lecture. Here, students can acquire new educational skills and knowledge that contribute to their scientific and personal development (Adel & Dayan, 2021). Moreover, e-learning transfers the students from their school or home to any virtual laboratory in the world to acquire new information (Abdullah & Ward, 2016; Mishra et al., 2020), whereas blended learning is a novel education method that combines traditional (face-to-face educational methods) and digital learning models together. Blended learning not only improves the convenience and flexibility of e-learning and traditional learning but also advances innovation in the education process (Adel & Dayan, 2021). The advantages of e-learning thus include remote learning, comfort, and accessibility, while the limitations relate to inefficiencies and difficulty in maintaining academic integrity (Mukhtar et al., 2020).
In terms of information and communication technology (ICT), information technology (IT) applications and ICT methodologies impact educational training programs and environments at various educational levels. The introduction of IT tools improve the quality of e-learning outcomes (Amir et al., 2020; Castro & Tumibay, 2021). Furthermore, through the lenses of e-business, the incorporation of ICT into business and services has revolutionized the interactions between service providers and individuals (Arjunan, 2016). Thus, e-learning takes the form of e-commerce or e-business, where “E-business is defined as doing business electronically, while online learning is defined as the use of computer networks to provide access to learning materials, activities, and support. Online learning is a sub-set of e-learning and flexible learning” (Mitchell & John, 2003, p.6). The consequent advantages of the e-learning process are the ability to upload large amounts of data on educational platforms and the interactivity between users. Therefore, these platforms require an e-business model to enable e-learning to be accessible and effective (Kannan & Jothi, 2018; Stanescu, 2018).