Digital teaching 2020: Online teaching receives a better assessment than face-to-face teaching

Background Due to the corona pandemic, face-to-face teaching was no longer permitted in the summer semester 2020 and online alternatives were quickly found. Objective In our article, we illustrate the switch from face-to-face to online teaching in ophthalmology at the University of Lubeck and compare online teaching with face-to-face teaching. Methods The central teaching evaluation takes place every semester with a standardized questionnaire. Based on the evaluation of these questions, a direct comparison of the attendance semester of the winter semester 2019/2020 with the online semester of the summer semester 2020 was carried out. Results The structure (p = 0.003), the organization (p = 0.001), the resources made available (p = 0.034), the attendance of the lectures (p < 0.001) and further dates (p = 0.041), the increase in interest (p = 0.039) and learning (p = 0.001) were rated better in the online semester than in the face-to-face semester. Overall, the digital summer semester 2020 (p < 0.01) received a significantly better overall grade than the face-to-face semester in winter 2019/2020. Conclusion The structure of our courses has also been proven online. The theoretical content could be excellently mediated; however, practical exercises are not possible online. For the learning of practical skills, face-to-face instruction is still necessary.