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Background: Online classes have resumed in many colleges amidst the COVID-19 lockdown. Our study aimed to evaluate the opinions of medical teachers who conducted online classes and determine their views on the viability of these classes in a post-COVID-19 era. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study using an online survey. Teachers working in medical colleges who conducted online classes during the COVID-19 lockdown were included. Questionnaires were shared in WhatsApp groups of the medical teachers belonging to the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. Sampling was consecutive and convenient. Results: Respondents were 101 teachers, among which 89 were included in the analysis. The majority of the teachers gave classes after intense preparation. The participants felt that the quality of their work would have been better with enhanced Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. One of the major reasons for favoring online classes was the opportunity it gave them to access the content later (56.2%, n=50). More than half (63%, n=56) of the teachers faced network issues and felt discouraged by the lack of interaction. Thirty-six percent (n=32) of the teachers opined that online classes were very poor compared with regular classes. However, 49.4% (n=44) favored the continuation of online classes after the COVID-19 lockdown. Conclusion: Despite experiencing problems, most participants wanted to continue online classes in the future. The participants felt that the classes were less interactive and educational institutions should improve their IT infrastructure to address the increasing need for online education.

Background: In view of COVID-19 lockdown in India, many colleges started online classes. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of, and the factors affecting, medical students attending online classes during lockdown. Methods: We designed an online questionnaire with open-ended, close-ended, and Likert scale questions. Links to the questionnaires were shared with the medical students who have attended at least one online class during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Respondents were 1061 participants from 30 medical colleges from the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India. Results: The majority of students – 94% (955/1016) – used smartphones to attend online classes. ZOOM/ Skype – by 57.1% (580/1016) – and Google platforms – by 54.4% (553/1016) – were commonly used. Learning at leisure – 44.5% (452/1016) – was the top reason why students liked online classes, whereas network problems – 85.8% (872/1016) – was the top reason why students disliked them. Lack of sufficient interaction – 61.1% (621/1016) was another reason why students disliked online learning. More than half the participants – 51.7% (526/1016) – did not want to continue online classes after COVID-19 lockdown. More students – 55% (558/1016) – favored regular classes than online classes. Conclusion: Students in our survey did not seem favorably disposed to online classes. Network problems experienced by students should be addressed. Furthermore, teachers should try to make the classes more interactive and educational institutions should address the problems pointed out by the students in order to make online classes more effective in the future.