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40JournaloComputerInormationSystemsSpring2009
E-LEARNINGANDSTUDYEFFECTIVENESS
˘˘˘VIKTORIJASULCICDU
S
ANLESJAK
UniversityoPrimorskaUniversityoPrimorskaSI-6140Koper,SloveniaSI-6140Koper,Slovenia
ABSTRACT
Atertheinitiale-learningenthusiasm,wehavenallyreachedastageosobriety(similartotheburstothedot.combubbleinbusiness).Inthepaper,acaseoblendedlearningapproachinhighereducationispresentedthatispartoawidernationallynancedresearchprojectaboutICTande-learning.TheresearchresultspresentedinthepapershowedthatICTpersedoesnotimprovee-learningeectiveness.Onlytheuseodierentteachingstrategies(methodsoteachingandlearning)romthoseusedintraditionaleducationcanimprovestudyeectivenessine-learning.
Keywords:
InormationandCommunicationTechnology,HigherEducation,Europe,BlendedLearning
INTRODUCTION
E-learningisbecomingincreasinglyinterestingorsocietyandeducationalinstitutionsbecauseitsupportstheconceptolielonglearning[19,21]andbecauseknowledgeisbecomingmoreandmoreimportant,bothinSlovenia[15,16]andabroad[19]whichincreasesdemandorvariouseducationalormsandmeans.Increaseddemandordierenteducationprogramsworldwideiscateredorbyeducationalinstitutions,whichoernewormsoeducationthatarerequentlysupportedbyICT,and,aboveall,theInternet.Thee-learningmarketinNorthAmericaistheastestgrowingmarket[7].Substantialgrowth(85%averageannualgrowth)oexpensesore-educationwasalsoorecastedbytheIDC[8]in2003.ICTinrastructure,whichdiersromcountrytocountry[25],isoneotheprerequisitesore-learning.IntherstpartothepaperthedierencesbetweentheUSAandtheEuropeanUnion(EU)countriesarepresented.TheUSAspendsmoreonICT,thereore,itisnotsurprisingthattherearemoreInternetusersthanintheEUcountries.TheInternetisobligatoryie-learningisunderstoodasaweb-basedlearning.ButInternetpenetrationinthesocietycannotgiveustheassurancethatcomputerswouldbeusedmorerequently,whichisconrmedbythestatisticaldatainthepaperbelow.Eventhoughitseemsthate-learningcouldsolvemanyproblemsogainingknowledge[22],someresearchesstatedseriousproblemsconnectedwithe-learning—e.g.highdrop-outrates[10,4],nosignicantdierencesinacquiredknowledge[14,11]andunsuccessulnessoe-learningprojects[12].IntheHEbusinessschoolwithnomorethan3,000post-graduateandundergraduatestudents,inasmallcountrywithnomorethan2millioncitizens
1
,ablendedlearningapproachhasbeenimplementedandthroughtheevaluationprocesssomesignicantresultshavebeenoundout.Theresearchmethodology,hypothesisanddataanalysesarepresentedinthesecondpartothepaper.Ourresearchpresentedinthepaperprovedthatblendedlearning,whichinvolvesdierentteachingstrategiesthanthoseintraditionaleducation,improvesstudyeectivenessandrepresentsasuitablecoursedeliveryorpart-timestudents,mainlyduetotemporalandspatialadaptabilityothestudyprocess.
ICTINSOCIETYInternetPenetrationandICTExpenditures
Theactionplan
e
Europe[5]promotesintensiveICTusageinallEUcountriestomodiytheireconomiesintoknowledge-basedsocieties.E-learningbecomesmoreandmoreimportantbecausetheemployeescannotleavetheirworkplacesandreturnbacktotheschoolsandacquiretheaccurateknowledgethatisneededoractiveandsuccessulparticipationintheknowledge-basedsociety.E-learningoersemployeesafexible,timeandplaceindependent,wayostudy.Theimplementationoe-learningrequiressomeprerequisites—anappropriateICTinrastructure,inadditiontocomputerandInternetliteracy,whichareobviouslytwootheundamentalbutnotthemostimportantactorsorthee-learningsuccess.ThesuitableICTinrastructurehastobeprovidedbyagovernmentorbybusinesses.TheendeavorsosomenationaleconomiescanbeseenromthecomparisonbetweenEuropeancountriesandtheUSpresentedbelow.AccordingtotheWDIdata[24]somesignicantdierencesbetweenSlovenia,theEuropeanMonetaryUnion(EMU)
2
countriesandtheUSAexistedin2005(Table1).IntheUSA,ICTexpendituresweremuchhigherthanintheEMUcountriesorinSlovenia.ThereoreitisnotsurprisingthatmorehouseholderswereconnectedtotheInternetintheUSAthanintheEMUcountriesorSlovenia(Table1).Eurostatstatistic[6]reported55%otheInternetaccessintheUSA,intheEMUcountries40%and43%inEU15
3
in2003.In
1. In Slovenia, enrollment in higher education institutions be-tween 2000 and 2004 increased aster than in other EU states,and reached, on average, 5.6% annually (compared to the EU 25 with 3.3% and in the EU 15 with the average 2.4% annualincrease) [6].2.
 EMU — European Monetary Union or the euro area isthe area comprising European Union Member States inwhich the Euro has been adopted as the single currency. In 2000, the euro area comprised Austria, Belgium, Fin-land, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain. Greece became a member o the Euro area on 1 January 2001. Slovenia became amember o the Euro area on 1 January 2007.
3. The number o member countries in the European Union prior to the accession o ten candidate countries on 1 May 2004 (Aus-tria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Swe-den, United Kingdom) [13].
 
Spring2009JournaloComputerInormationSystems41
thisyear,EurostatdidnotreportanydataorSlovenia.DataaboutICTexpenditureromEurostat[6]diersromWDIstatisticsabitaswell.AccordingtoEurostat[6]EU15countriesspent2.7%oGDPonICT,inSlovenia2.2%andintheUSA3.3%oGDPin2006althoughtheorderisnotchanged—theUSAportionoGDPorICTexpendituresisgreaterthanintheEUcountries.From2000to2007thesignicantInternetusergrowthisrecorded;thehighestgrowthisstatedinSlovenia(263.3%),thelowestinNorthAmerica(117.2%)wheretheportionotheInternetusersinthemiddleo2007ismuchhigher(70.2%)thaninSlovenia(55.5%)atthesametime.IntheEUcountriestheInternetusergrowthis170.8%[10].Itisinterestingthatin2007inSloveniamoreInternetusersarerecorded(55.5%)thanintheEUcountries(51.8%),whichwasnotthecasein2005.SloveniaisaheadotheEUaveragewhenwecompareddataaboutstudentcomputerusageinthelast3months.AccordingtotheEurostat[6].86%oSlovenianstudentsusedcomputerinthelast3monthscomparedtothe84%otheEUstudents.InSlovenia,adultpopulationwithhighereducationismostrequentcomputerusers.BasedontheInternetpenetrationandextensivecomputerusageamongSlovenianstudentswesupposedthattherewerenolimitationorcontinuinge-learningenlargementinSlovenia.Thereisoneamongmanyproblemsconnectedtoe-learningimplementationthatneedsspecialattention,namelythewayoteachingandlearningneedtobechangedandadaptedtothee-learningenvironmentanditscharacteristics[18,20].
ICTinSlovenianHigherEducationInstitutions
Intheacademicyear2005/2006,anextendedresearchprojectaboutICTusageinSlovenianhighereducation(HE)institutionswasconducted[23].ThequestionnairethatollowedtherequirementotheEurostatagencywasusedorcollectingindicatorsotheEU[23].ThequestionnairewassentviaregularmailtoallHEinstitutionsinSlovenia.Theresponsewas92.9%dueto2cyclesoadditionalcontactinacaseaHEinstitutiondidnotrespondtoregularmail.AccordingtoHEinstitutionsICTusagehadanimpactmoreontheimprovementintheresearcharea(M=4.1)andontheadministrationarea(M=4.0)thanonotherinstitution’sactivityareas(Table2).ICTcansupporteducationalprocessesindierentways.Forsomeinstitutionswebpagesonwhichstudentscanndneededinormationisinawaye-learning.Forothersonlywhenalearningenvironmentisused,e-learningcanbementioned.InSlovenia,acommerciallearningmanagementsystems(LMS)suchasWebCTorBlackboardisusedandrecentlyopensourcecoursemanagementsystem(CMS)Moodlebecamemoreandmorepopularamonginstitutionsatalleducationlevels[20].IntheTable3,theresponsesaboutwebpagesandLMS/CMSusagearepresented.PrivateHEinstitutionsandeconomicsandbusinessschoolsuseICTtosupporttheireducationalprocessesmoreintensivelythanthepubliconesandthoseromothersstudyareas.
TABLE1:InternetaccessandICTexpenditurein2005
InternetaccessICTexpenditureInternetSchoolsUsersconnectedto%o$per(%)theInternet(%)GDPcapita
Slovenia40.0963.1532EMU43.9NA5.41,726USA63.01008.83,690
 Legend: NA — not available Resource: WDI [24]
TABLE2:ImpactoICTusageintheSlovenianhighereducationinstitutionsICTusageinfuencetheprocessimprovementontheMSD
…researcharea4.11.0…administrationarea4.01.1…educationarea3.91.0…managementarea3.81.0…environmentrelationshiparea3.81.0
 Resource: Vehovar et al. 2006 [23]. Legend: M = average, SD = standard deviation: 1=a lower impact, 5=a huge impact.
TABLE3:WebpagesandlearningenvironmentsatSlovenianHEinstitutionsWebpages
(%HEinstitutions)
LearningHEInstitution/educationareaenvironmentsWithbasicinormationUp-to-datedInteractive
(%HEinstitutions)PropertyPublic70542510Private72723116MedicineandHealth455543EducationSocialscienceandEducation7554303areaEconomicsandBusinessscience72683726TechnicalandNaturalScience71602711Humanities664440
Average—2005/200670582612Average—2004/2005695220–
 Resource: Vehovar et al. 2006 [23].
 
42JournaloComputerInormationSystemsSpring2009PROSANDCONSOFE-LEARNING
E-learningislearningduringwhichstudentsgettheirstudymaterialsthroughelectronicmedia(theInternet,intranet,extranet,satellites,audio/videoequipment,CDs)[9].Thestudybecomeeasilyaccessibletostudentswhocouldnotattendclassicallecturesbecauseothedistanceorotherdailyduties(workandprivate—amilyresponsibilities).BecauseotheICT(e-)studybecomesmoretimeandspacefexiblewayostudythantraditionalstudy.Butweaknessesoe-study(e-learning)shouldalsobepointedout.Growinge-learningande-coursesmarketdoesnotmeanthattheeducationsupplyisbeingimprovedandthatthepossibilitiesoracquiringnewknowledgearebecomingmorevaried.AccordingtoresearchcarriedoutbyOverton[14],orexample,60%oprojectsrelatedtoe-learningintroductioninBritishbusinessenvironmentswereunsuccessul.Furtheron,Mungania[11]statesinherresearchrelatedtobarriersine-learningthat70%oparticipantsine-learning,whichiscarriedoutinAmericancompanies,areorvariousreasonsunlikelytonishtheire-learning.Withregardtotechnologicalcomplexityoe-learningsuchlackosuccessrepresents,ontheonehand,negativepromotionore-learningingeneraland,ontheotherhand,economicallyunjustiedinvestmentonthepartotheeducationprovider.DespitetheactthatICTrepresentstheundamentalmaterialconditionore-learning,itdoesnothaveastatisticallysignicantinfuenceontheeectivenessoe-learning.In1983,Clark[3]expresseddoubtsbyclaimingthatICTrepresentsonlythemediumorthematerialsdistributionandnotthemeansortheimprovementolearningoutcomes.SimilarresultsareoundinthedetailedstudyoRussell[15,12]whooundoutthattherearenostatisticallysignicantdierencesbetweenclassicalandonlinelearning.ThereoreRussellsuggestedthatclassicalcontents(courses)shouldbeadequatelyadaptedore-delivery[15].Ally[1]oundoutthatteachingstrategies,i.e.methodsandwaysoteachingaswellastestingandassessmentmethodsaremuchmoreimportantthantheuseoICTineducation.Teachingstrategiesdependonanumberoactors,aboveallontheparticipantsineducation,theleveloeducation,contentsandthepurposeoeducation(e.g.ormalorinormaleducation).Intheirresearchonthereasonsorhugedropoutratesinonlineeducation,DaggerandWade[4]ascribedittostudentnon-participationinthelearningprocess.Eventheintroduc-tionoadaptedmultimediamaterialsdidnotimprovestudentsuccessrates,whichurtherconrmstheimportanceoteach-ingmethodsinon-lineeducation.Thereoreteachingmethodsandteachingstrategiesareinvestigatedinourresearchaswell.
E-LEARNINGINPRACTICE—THERESEARCHBlendedLearningApproachatHEInstitutions
E-learningdiersromtraditionaleducationinthatitincludesICTinthelearningprocess.Duetosomedisadvantagesoonlinelearning(eelingoisolation,lackointeractionwithellowstudentsandteachers,hugedropout)wedecidedtoblendonlinelearningwithtraditionalormsolearning,knownasablendedlearningapproach.Inourcase,weusedane-classroom,whichwasthenamegiventotheweb-basedcoursemanagementsystemMoodle(www.moodle.org).Whenoutliningthecoursedeliveryweplannedtocombineace-to-acemeetingswithe-classroomactivities.Therequencyoace-to-acemeetingsdependsonthetypeocourseandthetypeostudy.Forcompulsorycourses,attendedbyull-timestudents,weplanned50%oace-to-acesessions,whereasorpart-timestudentsweplannedonlytwoace-to-acesessionsineightweeks,namelytheintroductorymeetingandthelastsession.Thecombinationoace-to-aceandonlinesessionswasnottheonlydierenceintroducedinoureducationprocess.Wetriedtomakeadetailedplanoallstudentactivitieswhenpreparingtheplanorthecoursedelivery,takingintoaccountcriteriaorcreditassignmenttocoursesaccordingtoECTS(EuropeanCreditTranserandAccumulationSystem),whichstatesthatanaveragestudent(oranaveragegrade)shouldspendbetween25and30hoursotheirworkor1ECTScreditpoint.Thestudentworkloadincludesace-to-acesessions,independentworkathomeoratschool—thestudyoliterature,homeassignments,rehearsal,groupwork—planningandguidinggroupwork,eldworkandotheractivitiesstatedinthedeliveryplanoracertaincourse,aswellasassessmentandtesting.
ResearchMethodologyandResearchHypothesis
Thesuitabilityoblendede-learningwasstudiedusingdatacollectedduringthecoursedeliveryandthussummarizesthecharacteristicsothedeliveryitsel.Next,westudiedtheinfuenceothesecharacteristicsorthecourseevaluationandtheopinionabouttheacquiredknowledgeastheoutputotheeducationprocess(theinfuenceontheeectivenessotheeducationprocess).Datawerecollectedbymeansoquestionnaires,whichweredeliveredtopolledstudentselectronically(throughthee-classroom).Ourcontributionshowstheresultsoourresearchthatwascarriedoutduringtheacademicyear2005/2006amongthestudentsattendingtheE-businesscourse(electivecourse,6ECTS,109studentsenrolled,averageresponse94.5%)andamongthestudentsattendingtheBusinessinormaticscourse(compulsorycourse,4ECTS,125studentsenrolled,averageresponserate78.0%).Datagatheredrome-questionnaireswereenteredinExcelandlaterimportedinSPSS.Duringdataprocessingweusedmethodsodescriptivestatisticsandthemethodocorrelationtogetherwiththemethodolinearregression(Stepwisemethod).Becausetheblendedmethodostudywasdealtwithromvariousviewpoints,wegroupedindividualvariablesduetotheirlargenumber.Icalculatedparametersallowed(Alpha<0.80;KMO<0.6;Bartletttest:Sig.>0.05),wegroupedvariablesbymeansothemethodomaincomponents.Inourresearch,theollowinghypothesesweretested:H1:E-learningrequiresarenewalothelearningprocess—coursesshouldbedeliveredbyusingdierentteachingstrategies.H2:Blendeddeliveryenablesstudentstoacquiremoreknowledgeanddierentknowledgethanintraditionallydeliveredcourses.H3:Students,whohavetheopportunitytoexperiencemoreace-to-acesessionswiththeirellowstudentsandteachersbecomemoreeectivethantheirellowstudents,whoaredeprivedosuchopportunities.
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