Multi-dimensional students’ evaluation of e-learning systems in the higher education context: An empirical investigation

There has been little research on assessment of learning management systems (LMS) within educational organizations as both a web-based learning system for e-learning and as a supportive tool for blended learning environments. This study proposes a conceptual e-learning assessment model, hexagonal e-learning assessment model (HELAM) suggesting a multi-dimensional approach for LMS evaluation via six dimensions: (1) system quality, (2) service quality, (3) content quality, (4) learner perspective, (5) instructor attitudes, and (6) supportive issues. A survey instrument based on HELAM has been developed and applied to 84 learners. This sample consists of students at both undergraduate and graduate levels who are users of a web-based learning management system, U-Link, at Brunel University, UK. The survey instrument has been tested for content validity, reliability, and criterion-based predictive validity. The analytical results strongly support the appropriateness of the proposed model in evaluating LMSs through learners’ satisfaction. The explanatory factor analysis showed that each of the six dimensions of the proposed model had a significant effect on the learners’ perceived satisfaction. Findings of this research will be valuable for both academics and practitioners of e-learning systems.     

Multi-dimensional students’ evaluation of e-learning systems in the higher education context: An empirical investigation

There has been little research on assessment of learning management systems (LMS) within educational organizations as both a web-based learning system for e-learning and as a supportive tool for blended learning environments. This study proposes a conceptual e-learning assessment model, hexagonal e-learning assessment model (HELAM) suggesting a multi-dimensional approach for LMS evaluation via six dimensions: (1) system quality, (2) service quality, (3) content quality, (4) learner perspective, (5) instructor attitudes, and (6) supportive issues. A survey instrument based on HELAM has been developed and applied to 84 learners. This sample consists of students at both undergraduate and graduate levels who are users of a web-based learning management system, U-Link, at Brunel University, UK. The survey instrument has been tested for content validity, reliability, and criterion-based predictive validity. The analytical results strongly support the appropriateness of the proposed model in evaluating LMSs through learners’ satisfaction. The explanatory factor analysis showed that each of the six dimensions of the proposed model had a significant effect on the learners’ perceived satisfaction. Findings of this research will be valuable for both academics and practitioners of e-learning systems.     

Antecedences to continued intentions of adopting e-learning system in blended learning instruction: A contingency framework based on models of information system success and task-technology fit

The objective of this study is to propose a research framework that investigates the relation between perceived fit and system factors that can motivate learners in continuing utilizing an e-learning system in blended learning instruction. As learners have the face-to-face learning opportunity in interacting with lecturers, the study aims at investigating the critical features the e-learning system can provide in assisting learning. Both quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus group interview) methods are applied in this paper. Results reveal that the information quality and task-technology fit influence the confirmation of system acceptance. Perceived usefulness and system satisfaction have major impacts on continuance intentions. Notions from contingency theory are used to interpret these findings.     

Performance measurement of e-learning using student satisfaction analysis

The purpose of this paper is to analyze e-learning system quality through the analysis of student satisfaction and the usage of learning materials. This analysis takes into consideration both online and traditional students who are using the same e-learning system. The goal of the analysis is to identify factors which influence student satisfaction and to address heterogeneous styles and needs of both groups of students, so that future pedagogical and motivational methods in teaching and learning can be appropriately selected, developed and implemented. It was of particular interest to explore student satisfaction with quality of an e-learning system and online study approach. Reasons that may influence opinions of online and traditional students are examined and presented. The results are used to give recommendations for e-learning improvements and to propose the model with 4 groups of dimensions for performance measurement each of which best represents satisfaction of both groups of students.     

An empirical investigation linking learners’ adoption of blended learning to their intention of full e-learning

Learning management system (LMS) is playing a major role in higher academic institutions worldwide. Even though full e-learning is becoming a feasible strategy for a number of institutions in the world, some institutions, especially those in developing countries, are resisting a full e-learning environment. Consequently, these academic institutions initially adopt LMS for blended learning to assess their readiness for full e-learning transformation. There are a number of studies that investigate the determinants of full e-learning, but very limited studies investigate the link between learners’ perception of blended learning and full e-learning. The objective of this study was to link learners’ adoption (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness (PU) and satisfaction) of LMS in blended learning and their personal characteristics (self-efficacy, technology experience and personal innovativeness) to their intention to use full e-learning. Data were collected through a questionnaire from 512 learners in Oman. The study found that personal innovativeness, PU and satisfaction of LMS in blended learning are significant to learners’ intention to engage in full e-learning. Thus, learners’ adoption of LMS in blended learning boosts their intention to full e-learning. The results provide useful insights for practitioners and researchers on full e-learning planning and strategy.     

An empirical examination of factors affecting college students’ proactive stickiness with a web-based English learning environment

Drawing on the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Uses and Gratifications (U&G) theory, this study develops a conceptual model to investigate the determinants of college students’ proactive “stickiness” with a web-based English learning (WBEL) environment. The model was validated using a cross-sectional survey of 306 college students. The partial least squares (PLS) method was applied to validate the measurement properties and proposed hypotheses. Overall, the empirical results show that computer self-efficacy, system characteristics, digital material features, interaction, learning outcome expectations and learning climate are critical affecting factors in determining student learning gratifications with WBEL, which is crucial to a college student’s proactive stickiness with the WBEL system. This study demonstrates the value in integrating findings from cognitive science and mass communication research to understand the WBEL processes involved. The findings provide initial insights into those factors that are likely critical antecedents for promoting college students’ English learning effectiveness through web-based technologies.     

The impact of transactional distance dialogic interactions on student learning outcomes in online and blended environments

This study measured how student interactions (as captured by Transactional Distance dialogue (Moore, 1993)) in online and blended learning environments impacted student learning outcomes, as measured by student satisfaction and student grades. Dialogue was measured as student interactions with other students (student–student interaction), the technologies used (student–technology interaction), the instructors (student–teacher interaction), and the course contents (student–content interaction). In addition, moderating effects of media and modality of interactions and individual differences on student learning outcomes were also measured. Data was obtained from 342 online and blended students between 2010 and 2013. Findings indicate that student–content interaction had a larger effect on student learning outcomes than other forms of dialogue. Implications for educational policies that require teacher-presence (student–teacher) and student–student interactions in distance learning environments are also discussed.     

Instructional video in e-learning: Assessing the impact of interactive video on learning effectiveness

Interactive video in an e-learning system allows proactive and random access to video content. Our empirical study examined the influence of interactive video on learning outcome and learner satisfaction in e-learning environments. Four different settings were studied: three were e-learning environments—with interactive video, with non-interactive video, and without video. The fourth was the traditional classroom environment. Results of the experiment showed that the value of video for learning effectiveness was contingent upon the provision of interactivity. Students in the e-learning environment that provided interactive video achieved significantly better learning performance and a higher level of learner satisfaction than those in other settings. However, students who used the e-learning environment that provided non-interactive video did not improve either. The findings suggest that it may be important to integrate interactive instructional video into e-learning systems.     

User sensitive research in e-learning: exploring the role of individual user characteristics

The increasing need for active and accessible learning in the inclusive knowledge society drives the demand for e-learning that engages users much more effectively than ever before. In this context, it is crucial to conduct research that embraces innovation in user sensitive design, or else influential individual user differences may be overlooked. The objective of this paper is to explore the creation of successful e-learning systems that are able to increase users’ learning performance and enhance their personal learning experiences. The paper reports two converging and complimentary approaches, namely case studies and experimentation. First, case studies are used to explore the extent to which effective e-learning systems comply with eight specific factors. Of the eight, accessibility, individual differences and student modeling turn out to be the weakest points in current practice. Second, an empirical study investigates the influences of user individual user differences on users’ learning outcomes in an e-learning environment. The experiment found that individual differences in motivation to learn and expectations about e-learning significantly impacted users’ learning achievements. Third, based on these studies, improvements in research methodology are identified towards greater consideration of user sensitive research issues, thus enabling us to outline improved experimental procedures. Further experiment results should provide us with better insights into the arguments needed to carefully assess benefits of developing and involving a user model in an e-learning application. Consequently, evaluation and justification could now encompass both system performance as well as user performance.     

The influence of system characteristics on e-learning use

The benefits of an e-learning system will not be maximized unless learners use the system. This study proposed and tested alternative models that seek to explain student intention to use an e-learning system when the system is used as a supplementary learning tool within a traditional class or a stand-alone distance education method. The models integrated determinants from the well-established technology acceptance model as well as system and participant characteristics cited in the research literature. Following a demonstration and use phase of the e-learning system, data were collected from 259 college students. Structural equation modeling provided better support for a model that hypothesized stronger effects of system characteristics on e-learning system use. Implications for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Virtual reality for collaborative e-learning

In the past, the term e-learning referred to any method of learning that used electronic delivery methods. With the advent of the Internet however, e-learning has evolved and the term is now most commonly used to refer to online courses. A multitude of systems are now available to manage and deliver learning content online. While these have proved popular, they are often single-user learning environments which provide little in the way of interaction or stimulation for the student. As the concept of lifelong learning now becomes a reality and thus more and more people are partaking in online courses, researchers are constantly exploring innovative techniques to motivate online students and enhance the e-learning experience. This article presents our research in this area and the resulting development of CLEV-R, a Collaborative Learning Environment with Virtual Reality. This web-based system uses Virtual Reality (VR) and multimedia and provides communication tools to support collaboration among students. In this article, we describe the features of CLEV-R, its adaptation for mobile devices and present the findings from an initial evaluation.     

The student experience of a collaborative e-learning university module

The aim of this paper is to present a picture of student experience of a collaborative e-learning module in an asynchronous e-learning environment. A distance learning module on music education worth five credit points for a bachelor online degree for primary school educating teachers was assessed using a self-evaluation questionnaire that gathered quantitative and qualitative data about student satisfaction of the collaborative e-learning activity. The quantitative part of the questionnaire consisted of 27 closed questions on a 10-point Likert scale and offered data about satisfaction with the module. The qualitative part of the questionnaire provided an insight into the participant perspective of the online collaborative experience. General open questions on satisfaction and dissatisfaction were analyzed with an inductive analysis which showed the evaluation criteria used by 92 students. Results of the analysis showed five themes of the participants’ perspectives, which were interpreted by the researcher as: teamwork, cognitive, operating, organizing, and emotive/ethic for the positive aspects and teamwork, operating, organizing, and emotive/ethic for the aspects to be improved. The aspects that were associated with satisfaction include: collaborating, comparing ideas, sharing knowledge and skills to support each other, peer learning, analyzing and integrating different points of view, the usability of the platform, group planning and workload management. Aspects of the student learning experience that should inform the improvements of e-learning include: more collaboration between students since some students engage differently; more coordination and organization, the workload management in the group activities, some technical problems such as updating modifications. The participants’ results in the module increased their didactic potential as primary school teachers. The findings are discussed in relation to their potential impact on developing collaborative activities addressed to teacher education in distance learning. Implications for future research are also considered.     

Blended Learning to Increase Student Satisfaction: An Exploratory Study

Undergraduate nursing research courses are often difficult to teach due to the challenging content and lack of student satisfaction. To address this issue, two nursing instructors and a librarian embedded online discussions into an accelerated format, introductory nursing research course. The study was conducted over two semesters with two different instructors. The researchers investigated if using the blended learning strategy of discussion boards enhanced the learning experience and tested their theory with two measures: a weekly qualitative questionnaire and a post-study survey. Results suggested that asynchronous online discussions increased student satisfaction in introductory nursing research course work.     

Investigating students’ perceived satisfaction,behavioral intention,and effectiveness of e-learning: A case study of the Blackboard system

Although the benefits of e-learning have been discussed in various previous studies; it is a critical issue of better understanding the reasons why some learners are dissatisfied with the e-learning experience. Therefore, this research investigates learners’ satisfaction, behavioral intentions, and the effectiveness of the Blackboard e-learning system. A total of 424 university students were surveyed using a standard questionnaire. The results showed that perceived self-efficacy is a critical factor that influences learners’ satisfaction with the Blackboard e-learning system. Perceived usefulness and perceived satisfaction both contribute to the learners’ behavioral intention to use the e-learning system. Furthermore, e-learning effectiveness can be influenced by multimedia instruction, interactive learning activities, and e-learning system quality. This research proposes a conceptual model for understanding learners’ satisfaction, behavioral intention, and effectiveness of using the e-learning system.     

An empirical examination of factors contributing to the creation of successful e-learning environments

Although existing models of e-learning effectiveness in information systems (IS) have increased our understanding of how technology can support and enhance learning, most of our models do not take into account the importance of social presence. Thus, this study extends previous research by developing a model of e-learning effectiveness which adds social presence to other oft studied variables including application-specific computer self-efficacy (AS-CSE), perceived usefulness, course interaction, and e-learning effectiveness. Using data from 345 individuals, this model was validated through a field study in an introductory IS survey course. Results indicate that AS-CSE and perceived usefulness were related to course performance, course satisfaction, and course instrumentality. In addition, course interaction was related to course performance and satisfaction. Finally, social presence was related to course satisfaction and course instrumentality. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Open corpus architecture for personalised ubiquitous e-learning

As the e-learning area matures, there are a growing number of e-learning content providers that produce and distribute material that covers a large range of topics, differs in quality and is represented in various formats. Lately, different devices and various network technologies allow extensive user access to educational content almost anywhere, anytime and from any device. Ubiquitous e-learning has the potential to provide continuous and context-based, educational material to human learners anytime, anywhere and on any device. Since each person has different expectations related to the content, the performance of the delivery and display of that content, it is desirable for an ubiquitous e-learning environment to provide user-oriented personalisation of e-learning material. However very often there are multiple sources of e-learning material at various web locations (open corpus resources) that cover the same topic, but differ in terms of quality, formatting and even cost. It is very difficult for learners to select the content that best suits their interests and goals, characteristics of the device used and delivery network as well as their cost budget. This paper proposes an innovative ubiquitous e-learning environment called Performance-based E-learning Adaptive Cost-efficient Open Corpus frameworK (PEACOCK) that provides support for the selection and distribution of personalised e-learning rich media content (e.g. multimedia, pictures, graphics and text) to e-learners such as it will best suit users’ interests and goals, meet their formatting preferences and cost constraints, while considering the limitations introduced by the end-user devices and the delivery networks to the user. PEACOCK’s main goal is to maximise the users’ e-learning experience and increase their learning satisfaction and learning outcome.     

Moodle在支持Blended Learning模式中的满意度研究

Moodle作为混合式学习的支持平台,越来越受到教师们的推崇,但在实际应用中,学生对于Moodle的认知度与接受度如何则很少被人提及。本研究以信息技术所采用的技术接受模型作为理论基础,以个案学校采用的Moodle支持的混合式学习模式为例,探讨学生对于在Moodle支持的混合式学习模式中对于新的网络教学支持系统Moodle的满意度(接受度),以了解学生目前应用的意见,作为提升教学成效的参考。     

Enhancing Employee Job satisfaction via E-learning: The Mediating Role of an Organizational Learning Culture

Although e-learning systems have been widely employed to develop employee learning at a workplace, discerning what influences the interaction between employee acceptance of an e-learning system within an organizational learning culture (OLC) and the resultant impact on job attitudes remains under-researched and requires further investigation. This study examined the relationship between employee perceptions of an e-learning system, the existing OLC, and job satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze data collected from 297 employees of a telecommunications company. The results suggest that employee acceptance of e-learning is a positive predictor of the OLC and employee job satisfaction. OLC mediates the relationship between the use and acceptance of e-learning by employees and their job satisfaction. Recommendations and implications are subsequently provided in terms of the future for human resource development researches and practices.     

Face-to-face,blended, flipped,or online learning environment? Impact on learning performance and student cognitions

This study compares four learning environments: face-to-face learning (F2F), fully e-learning (EL), blended learning (BL), and flipped classroom (FC) with respect to students' learning performance. Moreover, this present research studies changes in perceived flexibility, intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy beliefs of students, and the interaction effects in these student variables on learning performance. Two learning environment design elements: (1) lectures (2) group discussions building on guiding questions, were manipulated to create the four learning environments. Third-year undergraduate students (n = 106), enrolled in the “Animal and Human Physiology” course at CanTho University (Vietnam), were randomly assigned to one of the four learning environments. The results suggest a significant positive differential effect on learning performance when studying in a FC and BL setting. No significant interaction effects could be observed regarding changes in perceived flexibility, intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy. However, significant differences between learning conditions were observed in perceived flexibility. Analysis of focus group data corroborate the finding that students experience more flexibility in time and place when studying in FC, BL and EL environments. In addition, students in a FC environment reflect significantly larger positive changes in their self-efficacy. But, the qualitative data show how positive perceptions about flexibility, motivation and self-efficacy are often cancelled out by negative perceptions.     

Students’ expectations of,and experiences in e-learning: Their relation to learning achievements and course satisfaction

Within only a few years, the use of e-learning has increased rapidly in Austria. In certain subjects, up to 60% of university students report using e-learning platforms at least ‘sometimes’ or ‘frequently’ (Unger & Wroblewski, 2006). Yet, which aspects of e-learning do students consider important for their learning achievements and course satisfaction? This question was addressed by surveying 2196 students from 29 universities in Austria about their expectations of, and experiences in e-learning. Multiple regression analyses using Mplus 4.21 were carried out to investigate how different facets of students’ expectations and experiences are related to perceived learning achievements and course satisfaction.