Comparative analysis of three e-Learning platforms used by students during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the normal functioning of several areas of activity. Education and the education system underwent major changes during this period due to restrictions on the conduct of educational activities in the classroom. Under these conditions, efficient solutions were needed to carry out the teaching, learning and distance assessment processes. One of the solutions was the online development of teaching activities through e-Learning platforms. Therefore, a number of e-Learning platforms have proven their effectiveness in transmitting educational content to a large number of learners and in carrying out individual educational activities (MOOCs, online courses etc.). At the same time, the emphasis was on the development and improvement of tools for the synchronous implementation of teaching activities. However, many e-Learning platforms have a number of limitations and vulnerabilities, such as security issues and a lack of tools for collaborative activities. This paper presents the results of the comparative analysis of three e-Learning platforms frequently used by students during the pandemic, namely: Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. 112 students participated in this study and responded to a questionnaire that tried to capture both issues related to the quality and safety of using the 3 three e-Learning platforms analyzed and the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of solutions of e-Learning. The results of the study identified both, advantages and opportunities, as well as limitations and vulnerabilities of the use of the three e-Learning platforms by students.