Using SERVQUAL to assess the quality of e-learning experience

Distance learning programs have been dramatically expanding in accordance with demand. Assessment of the quality of e-learning has become a strategic issue, one that is critical to program survival. In this study we propose a modified SERVQUAL instrument for assessing e-learning quality. The instrument consists of five dimensions: Assurance, Empathy, Responsiveness, Reliability, and Website Content. Data analysis from 203 e-learning students shows that four out of these five dimensions (except Reliability) play a significant role in perceived e-learning quality, which in turn affects learners’ satisfaction and future intentions to enroll in online courses. Managerial implications of the major findings are provided.     

Effect of personal factors to use ICTs on e-learning adoption: comparison between learner and instructor in developing countries

This research investigated some key factors influencing an individual’s behavior to use e-learning in developing countries through social cognitive theory for examining the adoption of e-learning by instructors and learners, who are the key e-learning users. This paper focused on the personal capacity of Information and Communications Technologies and also investigated the mediating effects of computer self-efficacy (CSE) and performance expectation on intention to use e-learning. The results indicate that performance expectation and CSE were crucial factors influencing behavior intention to use e-learning systems for both instructors and learners. This study also found that computer experience and personal innovativeness in the domain of information technology were prominent factors for instructors. In addition, some differences and similarities were identified in the results for instructors and learners. This study used structure equation model, partial least squares, for data analysis, and data were collected from universities in Indonesia.     

An intelligent e-learning system based on learner profiling and learning resources adaptation

Taking advantage of the continuously improving, web-based learning systems plays an important role for self-learning, especially in the case of working people. Nevertheless, learning systems do not generally adapt to learners’ profiles. Learners have to spend a lot of time before reaching the learning goal that is compatible with their knowledge background. To overcome such difficulties, an e-learning schema is introduced that adapts to the learners’ ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) knowledge level. The IEEE Reference Model (WG 1) defined by the Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSA) is extended and used for this purpose. The proposed approach is based on the usage of electronic questionnaires (e-questionnaires) designed by a group of experts. Through the automatic analysis of the learners’ responses to the questionnaires, all learners are assigned to different learner profiles. According to these profiles they are served with learning material that best matches their educational needs. We have implemented our approach in five European countries and the overall case study illustrates very promising results.     

A proposal toward the development of accessible e-learning content by human involvement

Most of the existing efforts for supporting the design, preparation, and deployment of accessible e-learning applications propose guidelines that primarily address technical accessibility issues. Little, if any, consideration is given to the real actors involved in the learning experience, such as didactical experts and disabled learners. Moreover, implementing artifacts addressed to the e-learning world requires a wide range of particular skills which are related not only to technical but also to didactical, pedagogical, usability, and accessibility aspects of the produced material. This paper argues that the know-how of a number of stakeholders should be blended into a joint design activity, and that it should be possible to determine the role of each participant in the successive phases of the development lifecycle of e-learning applications. The paper sketches the methodological guidelines of a design framework based on involving the users with disabilities, as well as pedagogical experts, in the development process. The novelty of this proposal mainly stems from being built up around the core of strategies and choices specifically bound to accessibility requirements. Characteristic elements of learner-centered design are then further integrated into processes and methodologies which are typical of participatory and contextual design approaches. Following such guidelines, it will be possible to gain a deeper understanding of the requirements and of the operational context of people needing accessible material, either as learners or educators. The underlying objective is to increase the potential to realize learning systems that better meet different user needs and that provide a more satisfying learning experience. Moreover, when people get involved in the development process, they gain a sense of ownership of the system and are therefore more likely to accept and “promote” it.     

Computers and the Internet as a job assisted tool: based on the three-tier use model approach

Personal attitudes are a major factor to affect individual information technology usage. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of individual attitudes toward computers and the Internet usage for assisting job performance. This research applies the 3-TUM approach to understand individual attitudes toward computers and the Internet usage. After statistical analysis, the results provide a support that the 3-TUM is appropriate model for investigating faculty and staff perceptions toward computers and Internet. In addition, the results also support that using computers and the Internet may assist individual job performance. Furthermore; this study offer evidence that when individuals have more self-efficacy and feel computers and the Internet are more useful, then they have more behavioral intention to use and learn computers and the Internet for assisting their job performance.     

An activity-theoretical approach to investigate learners’ factors toward e-learning systems

The Internet and World Wide Web have provided opportunities of developing e-learning systems. The development of e-learning systems has started a revolution for instructional content delivering, learning activities, and social communication. Based on activity theory, the purpose of this research is to investigate learners’ attitude factors toward e-learning systems. A total 168 participants were asked to answer a questionnaire. After factor analysis, learners’ attitudes can be grouped four different factors – e-learning as a learner autonomy environment, e-learning as a problem-solving environment, e-learning as a multimedia learning environment, and teachers as assisted tutors in e-learning. In addition, this research approves that activity theory is an appropriate theory for understanding e-learning systems. Furthermore, this study also provides evidence that e-learning as a problem-solving environment can be positively influenced by three other factors.     

Knowledge maps for e-learning

Maps such as concept maps and knowledge maps are often used as learning materials. These maps have nodes and links, nodes as key concepts and links as relationships between key concepts. From a map, the user can recognize the important concepts and the relationships between them. To build concept or knowledge maps, domain experts are needed. Therefore, since these experts are hard to obtain, the cost of map creation is high. In this study, an attempt was made to automatically build a domain knowledge map for e-learning using text mining techniques. From a set of documents about a specific topic, keywords are extracted using the TF/IDF algorithm. A domain knowledge map (K-map) is based on ranking pairs of keywords according to the number of appearances in a sentence and the number of words in a sentence. The experiments analyzed the number of relations required to identify the important ideas in the text. In addition, the experiments compared K-map learning to document learning and found that K-map identifies the more important ideas.     

The evaluation of the student teachers’ attitudes toward Internet and democracy

The aims of this study are to find out (1) how student teachers’ attitudes toward Internet affect their attitudes toward democracy, (2) how student teachers’ attitudes toward democracy are in terms of their purpose of using Internet and (3) benefits provided by the Internet. The research is carried out in Ziya Gokalp Education Faculty at Dicle University during 2005–2006 academic year by the participation of 440 student teachers in total. “Likert Type Attitude Scale Toward the Use of Internet”, was used to determine the student teachers’ attitudes toward the Internet and “The Attitude Scale Toward Democracy” was used to find out the attitudes of the student teachers toward democracy. The data are analyzed by using variance analysis and correlation (Pearson) techniques. Scheffé test is used for significance test.     

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.     

A meta-analysis of e-learning technology acceptance: The role of user types and e-learning technology types

Existing literature in the field of e-learning technology acceptance reflects a significant number of independent studies that primarily investigate the causal relationships proposed by technology acceptance theory, such as the technology acceptance model (TAM). To synthesize the existing knowledge in the field of e-learning technology acceptance, we have conducted a systematic literature review of 42 independent papers, mostly published in major journals. Furthermore, in order to view the research context by combining and analyzing the quantitative results of the reviewed research studies, a meta-analysis of the causal effect sizes between common TAM-related relationships was conducted. The main findings of this study, which is the first of its kind, are: (1) TAM is the most-used acceptance theory in e-learning acceptance research, and (2) the size of the causal effects between individual TAM-related factors depends on the type of user and the type of e-learning technology. The results of the meta-analysis demonstrated a moderating effect for user-related factors and technology-related factors for several evaluated causal paths. We have gathered proof that the perceived ease of use and the perceived usefulness tend to be the factors that can influence the attitudes of users toward using an e-learning technology in equal measure for different user types and types of e-learning technology settings.     

Using management procedure gaps to enhance e-learning implementation in Africa

Management of Universities in Ghana have established good rationale for embracing e-learning as a new paradigm of educational delivery, and have demonstrated commitment by investing and building technology infrastructure necessary for e-learning. However, the approach to evaluate the institutional context as guide to successful e-learning implementation remains a problem. In the absence of standards for evaluation to guide the implementation process, this research investigated management approaches to facilitating e-learning implementation at a leading university in Ghana. To gain depth in understanding activities that support e-learning, a pilot survey was conducted. This was used to refine the research instruments. The survey questionnaire, interviews conducted, and institutional documents on e-learning activities provided depth of management practices that supports e-learning. The management procedures were then compared with some e-learning implementation best practice, and gaps were established.This paper has demonstrated that by using dimensional tools to establish procedure gaps in e-learning implementation, the short and long-term strategic plans will be put in perspective. The tool show how the university is moving from its current practices of educational delivery to e-learning or some blend. Universities with problems as discussed in this paper may achieve success by assembling an implementation team and a leader, determining the appropriate learning technology, clearly outlining the process of implementation and having an ongoing evaluation process to institutionalise the innovative e-learning approach. The policy and strategy document, showing the institutional position must include the pedagogical goals, infrastructure requirements, evaluation, collaboration with stakeholders, quality control, technical support, budget and funding and resource planning.     

The influence of technology readiness on satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward self-service technologies

Today’s competitive world is increasingly characterized by technology-assisted services and transactions. Self-service technologies (SSTs) continue to be a critical component of customer–firm interactions but not all customers like to use SSTs or are ready to use them. In this study, we examine the role of customer’s technology readiness (TR) and assess the influence of TR on both satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward SSTs. We first review the relevant literature on technology readiness, satisfaction and behavioral intentions, then explore their relationships, and present our research framework and hypotheses. This model was tested with a sample of 413 consumers. The hypothesized model was statistically significantly supported, indicating that TR does influence customer satisfaction and behavioral intention with SSTs. Implications of the results are then discussed.     

The teacher, the learner and the collective mind

This paper deals with techniques for tapping processes of self-organisation in adult learning. It looks at systems that make use of evolution and stigmergy (communication through signs left in the environment) to generate a kind of group mind, which both influences and is influenced by the actions of its constituents. Such systems exhibit both high structure and high dialogue, constraining choice and providing freedom at the same time. This makes them very interesting educationally as theory suggests that such opposites cannot co-exist. The paper describes two such systems, exploring their strengths and weaknesses and identifying potential future avenues of research.     

B model: A browsing behavior model based on High-Level Petri Nets to generate behavioral patterns for e-learning

As Internet use has proliferated, e-learning systems have become increasingly popular. Many researchers have taken a great deal of effort to promote high quality e-learning environments, such as adaptive learning environments, personalized/adaptive guidance mechanisms, and so on. These researches need to collect large amounts of behavioral patterns for the verification and/or experimentation. However, collecting sufficient behavioral patterns usually takes a great deal of time and effort. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a browsing behavior model (B² model) based on High-Level Petri Nets (HLPNs) to model and generate students’ behavioral patterns. The adopted HLPN contains (1) Colored Petri Nets (CPNs), in which colored tokens can be used to identify and separate student, learning content and assessment, and (2) Timed Petri Nets (TPNs), in which time variable can be used to represent the time at which a student reads learning content. Besides, to validate the viability of the B² model, this paper implements a B² modeling tool to generate behavioral patterns. The generated behavioral patterns are compared with actual behavioral patterns collected from elementary school students. The results confirm that the generated behavioral patterns are analogous to actual behavioral patterns.     

Users’ attitudes toward Web-based collaborative learning systems for knowledge management

The Web-based technology is a potential tool for supported collaborative learning that may enrich learning performance, such as individual knowledge construction or group knowledge sharing. Thus, understanding Web-based collaborative learning for knowledge management is a critical issue. The present study is to investigate learners’ attitudes toward Web-based collaborative learning systems. Based on this research, the results of factor analysis show that five attitude factors (system functions, system satisfaction, collaborative activities, learners’ characteristics, and system acceptance) should be examined at the same time when building a Web-based collaborative learning system. The results also provide an acceptance model for understanding users’ behavioral intention of facilitating Web-based collaborative systems.     

Psychopedagogical components and processes in e-learning. Lessons from an unsuccessful on-line course

In this study we are reporting the results of an external evaluation carried out on an experimental on-line course developed as part of the European project Multidimensional Approach for Multiplication of Training Environments (MAMUT) (E/99/1/61440/PI/III.3.a/CONT). The aim was to identify psychopedagogical processes that might influence the dynamics of the on-line course and to detect unexpected results. Qualitative analysis of the content of the three hundred and fifty six (356) messages written by the participants in the virtual environment was undertaken. The aspects analysed were: Adaptation to Virtual Environment, Content, Resources, Timing, Tasks, Students’ characteristics, Students’ interaction, and Students-Facilitator interaction.     

Explaining and predicting users’ continuance intention toward e-learning: An extension of the expectation–confirmation model

Although e-learning has been prompted to various education levels, the intention to continue using such systems is still very low, and the acceptance-discontinuance anomaly phenomenon (i.e., users discontinue using e-learning after initially accepting it) is a common occurrence. This paper synthesizes the expectation–confirmation model (ECM), the technology acceptance model (TAM), the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and the flow theory to hypothesize a theoretical model to explain and predict the users’ intentions to continue using e-learning. The hypothesized model is validated empirically using a sample collected from 363 learners of a Web-based learning program designed for continuing education. The results demonstrate that satisfaction has the most significant effect on users’ continuance intention, followed by perceived usefulness, attitude, concentration, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control as significant but weaker predictors. The implications of these findings for e-learning practitioners are discussed at the end of this work.     

Usability, quality, value and e-learning continuance decisions

Previous research suggests that an eventual information technology (IT) success depend on both its initial adoption (acceptance) and subsequent continued usage (continuance). Expectancy disconfirmation theory (EDT) has been successfully used to predict users’ intention to continue using information technologies. This study proposed a decomposed EDT model to examine cognitive beliefs and affect that influence users’ continuance decision in the context of e-learning service. The proposed model extended EDT by decomposing the perceived performance component into usability, quality, and value. Research hypotheses derived from this model are empirically validated using the responses to a survey on e-learning usage among 183 users. The results suggest that users’ continuance intention is determined by satisfaction, which in turn is jointly determined by perceived usability, perceived quality, perceived value, and usability disconfirmation.     

An intelligent tutoring module controlled by BDI agents for an e-learning platform

INES (INtelligent Educational System) is an operative prototype of an e-learning platform. This platform includes several tools and technologies, such as: (i) semantic management of users and contents; (ii) conversational agents to communicate with students in natural language; (iii) BDI-based (Believes, Desires, Intentions) agents, which shape the tutoring module of the system; (iv) an inference engine; and (v) ontologies, to semantically model the users, their activities, and the learning contents. The main contribution of this paper is the intelligent tutoring module of the system. Briefly, the tasks of this module are to recognize each student (checking his/her system credentials) and to obtain information about his/her learning progress. So, it can be able to suggest to each student specific tasks to achieve his/her particular learning objectives, based on several parameters related to the existing learning paths and the student’s profile.