Digitalization of the Quranic Reading Learning Program for Collage Students, Indonesia ^†

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the planning of an online Quranic Reading Learning (QRL) program for students, explain the implementation of the online QRL program, and reveal the students’ response on it. This study used a qualitative research approach. Data were collected using interviews, questionnaires, and observations that were conducted from July to October 2022. The results showed that the online QRL program was carried out as a response to the transition in lecturing mode from online to hybrid and fully offline. This program was attended by 4000 students programmed Islamic religious education courses and were guided by 50 teachers. Learning was carried out in eight online meetings. It progressed through a class grouping test, a grand opening, online learning, and a final evaluation. The identified problems were the large number of participants in a group, unequal assistance for individual participants, network constraints, noise that classical learning caused, and unclear articulation. The advantage of this program was the efficient cost, time, and place. All participants showed a positive response to the use of this program and suggested that it should be continued in the next semester with various improvements.

1. Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on all sectors of life, including education. Education and learning should not be prevented in any situation. Adapting to the pandemic using online learning with various media platforms is an option [1]. Post-pandemic, online learning is believed to be an alternative and needs to be continued. The pandemic, on the one hand, has contributed to the acceleration of the digitization of education [2]. In the context of learning in universities in Indonesia, Islamic Religious Education courses are courses that must be taken by Muslim students. This course is in the family of Personality Development courses. The orientation of Islamic Religious Education is to study Islam and to find out how to pursue the right religion and source of knowledge. This course is expected to add religious insight and influence student attitudes and behaviors to be better, more religious, and more moderate [3]. Islamic lectures occupy two credits with 16 face-to-face meetings. In addition, there is one component of lectures outside of learning with lecturers, namely the program on learning to read the Quran.

Before the pandemic, the Quranic Reading Learning (QRL) program at Universitas Negeri Surabaya was carried out face to face. Each teacher teaches 20 students at the campus mosque. During the pandemic, the QRL program was abolished because there was no proper formula for this learning. Starting from the 2022/2023 academic year, this program will be implemented again with an online system. This program is interesting to study as the Quran has strict provisions of pronunciation of each letter and reading law [4]. This uniqueness needs to be studied further if learning to read the Quran is carried out online. Hence, this study aims to describe the planning of the online QRL program, explain the implementation of the online QRL program, and reveal the student’s response to the implementation of the online QRL program to provide better improvements.

Research on learning to read the Quran online has been studied. Yahya researched an online learning mode of a Quran reading class during the pandemic. This study found that there was no significant difference between the student performance in the online and face-to-face learning modes. This study also looked at the saturation of online learning for longer periods of time [5]. In contrast to this research, this study explores the stages of implementing Quran reading education online and examine its problems in large class groups.

This research used a qualitative research approach. Data were collected using interviews, virtual observations, and questionnaires. The interviews were undertaken with the program management team on learning to read the Quran, teachers, and students as participants. The implementation of the Quran reading program was observed. And the questionnaire was given to the participants with a total of 1665 respondents. The research was conducted from July to October 2022 at Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia.

2. Discussion

2.1. Planning the Online Quranic Reading Learning

In Islam, the Quran is the guide for the life of a Muslim. For Indonesian Muslims, reading the Quran requires a gradual learning process because it is written in Arabic. It has different pronunciation rules from Latin letters. In ritual worship, such as prayer, Muslims use Arabic language Quranic sentences and verses, whether they can speak Arabic or not. The ability to read the Quran and read Arabic sentences is a necessity for every Muslim. Learning to read the Quran becomes an activity that is worthy of devotion and attention. This conception gives birth to the tradition of learning to read the Quran for Indonesian children from childhood to adulthood. Responding to these needs, various easier learning methods for reading the Quran have been developed, such as the Iqra’, Qiroati, Tilawati, and other methods. Each method emphasizes how to read the Quran according to the correct rules and proper pronunciation. A Quranic reader is required to follow the laws of pronunciation, the short length of reading, the articulation of pronunciation, and the nature of the letters correctly [6]. Reading the Quran is one of the mandatory and challenging tasks for most Muslim students in Indonesia.

Learning to read the Quran before the pandemic took place face to face in campus mosques in the form of study groups. The teacher classically gives an example of a correct reading and the student follows the reading by opening their textbook. For practice, the teacher calls the students’ names in turn and asks them to read the Quran. The teacher corrects their readings in terms of pronunciation and reading law.

Universitas Negeri Surabaya is one of the state universities in East Java, Indonesia. The Islamic Religious Education course is compulsory. Meanwhile, students of religions other than Islam follow the schedule of religious lectures according to their religion. Based on interviews with the Academic Division of the campus, it is known that in 2022, 10,452 undergraduates were accepted and spread across eight faculties, namely the Faculty of Sports Science, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Language and Arts, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, and Vocational Program. UNESA has two campuses, namely the Ketintang campus and the Lidah Wetan campus. Due to the large number of students, Islamic religious courses are issued in turn. Those who come from the Faculty of Education, Faculty of Language and Arts, Faculty of Sports Sciences, and Vocational Program participate at the same time. In even semesters, the course is conducted for those who are from Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, and Faculty of Social Sciences and Law.

Based on an interview with the management team of the QRL program, the number of students programmed Islamic Religious Education in the current semester is 4000 students. The rest will take this course in the even semester from January to June. One of the obstacles in the implementation of face-to-face learning mode is the availability of space and learning facilities.

The planning stages of the QRL program are described as follows.

• Program planning is prepared by the management team (Lecturer team and Student Activity Unit for Islamic Spirituality). In a meeting, the methods and textbooks used are discussed. There are various methods, but not all methods are easy to implement online and provide open access. Only the Iqra method provides open access for users and free downloads. The method consists of six Volumes of books (e.g., Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6). The books are organized based on the order of Hijaiyah letters, arranged from concrete to abstract, ranging from easy to difficult, and ranging from simple to complex. The Iqra method has wider advantages and it has been applied throughout Indonesia and several Asian countries for its flexible, easy, and affordable mode of implementation [7].
• Class mapping and coordination with the class leader are then conducted. Based on the incoming data, 4000 students take part in the program. They are divided into 100 study groups with 40 people and a teacher for each group.
• To meet the needs of teachers on the required qualifications, open recruitment is carried out. This utilizes WA and Instagram with registration via Google Forms.
• Tests and grouping of teachers are conducted. Teachers who have registered are tested online using the Google Meet platform. From the test results, they are grouped into four groups; Class A for Iqra 3, Class B for Iqra 4, Class C for Iqra 5, and Class D for Iqra 6.
• Teacher training is undertaken to provide QRL methods and good forms of communicating.

2.2. Implementation of the Online QRL Program

The QRL implementation information is submitted via Instagram: tqq.unesa.official, which is related to:

• The QRL registration link and contact person
• The QRL implementation schedule
• Management Team
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Implementation Guidelines
• Class and Teacher Grouping
• Activity Documentation

Based on the observation of the implementation of the program, it can be described as follows.

• Socialization and registration. Registration through Google Forms can be accessed on the Committee’s Instagram page.
• Class grouping test. The test is carried out online using Google Meet. Participants are asked to read several verses from the Quran to assess the correctness of their readings.
• Class and teacher determination. Based on the test results, students are grouped into four groups.
• The grand opening conducted online via Zoom and YouTube is attended by all participants.
• Implementation of learning with as many as six online meetings using Google Meet. The methods used include: (a) the teacher gives an example of the correct reading and the participants follow it; (b) the teacher calls participants’ names in turn to read the Quran; (c) the teacher evaluates the participants’ readings; and (d) 90 min of learning duration per meeting is undertaken.
• Evaluation. The evaluation includes the psychomotor aspects of reading ability. Participants are asked to read according to their learning achievements and memorize several letters in the Quran. Evaluation is continued until the end of the program.

Based on this description, it is known that the digital patterns used are still limited, including: (1) recruitment utilizing social media, (2) registration using online forms, (3) a grand opening via Zoom and YouTube, (4) online implementation using the Google Meet platform, and (5) online evaluation. Social media plays a very significant role in the management of online learning [8].

The digitization of this program is limited to the use of digital media in the delivery of information and implementation. In fact, this program can be managed using digital optimization, such as a Learning Management System (LMS) that allows all processes to be on one digital network. An overview of the implementation of QRL activities is presented in

Table 1. Learning schedule.

No.	Time	Activities
1	First 5 min	The introduction consists of greetings, praying together, motivation Classical
2	10 min	Classical repetition of material
4	50 min	Today’s material (classical and individual)
3	20 min	Assignment (memorizing prayers and short letters from the Quran)
4	Last 5 min	Prayer

.

2.3. Responses and Problems in Program Implementation

Participants responded on the QRL program by providing answers to the following items:

• I find it easy to follow QRL Online.
• I find it difficult to interact with teachers when learning QRL online.
• Online learning has more disadvantages than advantages.
• I feel more time and effort efficient with online QRL.
• The online platform determined by the committee is easy to run.
• Online learning requires more preparation in learning.
• I easily understand the correction of qur’anic readings delivered by the teacher in the online QRL.
• I easily understand the correction of the Tajwid of the Qur’an that the teacher delivered in the online QRL.
• I find classical learning easy to implement in online QRL.
• I would recommend online QRL be implemented in next semester.
• Iqra book is read clearly in online QRL.
• I feel I can follow the teacher’s Quranic reading in the online QRL.
• I feel that learning is more effective in offline QRL than online QRL.
• I feel that the set time duration is appropriate.
• I feel that individual mentoring in online QRL is adequate.
• Prayer and Memorization are easy to follow.

An overview of participant’s responses of QRL activities is presented in Figure 1 and Figure 2.

Positive responses that showed approval above 75 percent included the following: (1) easy to follow QRL online; (2) efficient use of time and effort; (3) easy platform; (4) understanding reading correction; (5) understanding tajwid correction; (6) easy classical learning; (7) recommending online QRL; (8) reading the Iqra book clearly; (9) easy to follow teachers’ explanation; (10) appropriate duration; (11) sufficient for individual assistance; (12) and ease in following prayers and memorization.

The negative responses to items that received less than 25 percent agreement were these: (1) difficulty interacting with the teacher and (2) many disadvantages to online QRL. A negative response on online learning about requiring more preparation received approval from 59 percent of the respondents and offline QRL was suggested to be more effective by 54 percent.

In general, participants gave a positive response to the implementation of the online QRL. This is in accordance with the results of research by A. Odeh and I. Keshta that confirms that the pandemic has given new life to effective online learning [9].

Based on the responses and suggestions of the participants related to problems and suggestions for improving the program implementation, several findings can be mapped, namely: (1) the number of participants in one group is too large. This has an impact on mentoring participants individually less evenly and the time required becomes longer; (2) the network and sound are sometimes broken and unstable; (3) classical learning involves a lot of vocal noise, so that articulation is not clear; (4) in the learning of makhraj (articulation of Arabic letters), the participants experience difficulties because errors cannot be corrected directly. There is a time lag for corrections, so it cannot be implemented maximally. Most of the participants were off-camera on the grounds of network constraints, thus making it difficult to correct readings, and (5) participants struggled to conduct independent learning.

Suggestions for the program implementation encompass the following: (1) learning with small groups of 10–15 participants per group should be undertaken; (2) the Iqra book should be given to the participants; (3) it is necessary to structure the material of the tajwid; (4) the correction of readings is not optimal, so there need to be face-to-face meetings (a combination of online and offline learning); (5) the provision of time for rote memorization should be added since not all young people have the ability to “memorize quickly”; (6) the program planning has developed, so that there are not many changes needed to the concept that has been promoted; (7) the number of teachers should be considered so that individual mentoring is more evenly distributed; and (8) the timing of the implementation should be well managed.

Participants also give a positive response to online learning as it has its advantages. Both teachers and participants can meet on one platform from different regions. This minimizes distance, weather, and space/location constraints, and reduces costs. Participants with ill health can still take part in learning. The challenges include unstable network connection and bad weather making the voices of the participants or teachers indistinct. This is in accordance with previous research on the effectiveness of online learning [10].

3. Conclusions

Based on these findings, it is necessary to develop a more comprehensive online system. The system should allow all processes to be on one website, starting from participant and teacher registration, class grouping tests, teacher grouping tests, teacher graduation announcements, class divisions, learning schedules, and learning links, as well as textbooks. At the next stage, mobile learning should be developed with an application system that can be downloaded on Play store. Currently, mobile Quranic learning applications have begun to be developed. This research makes a valuable contribution to improving the effectiveness of Quran reading classes in situations that forces learning to continue to be conducted online.