Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal
1-17
Leveraging Virtual Learning Environment to Scale Up Quality
Teaching and Learning in Malaysia
Soon Seng Thah, Ph.D
Educational Technology Division Ministry of Education, Malaysia
Abstract
Malaysia is currently implementing the use of
the Frog Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in all
government schools in the country. This paper
outlines the basis for introducing the VLE in
leveraging teaching and learning in Malaysian
schools. It discusses the state of current literature
associated with the use of VLE. In addition, it
articulates the need for programme evaluation as a
means for decision-makers to plan and take
necessary corrective action to better implement
VLE among teachers and students in schools. To
sustain the implementation of this endeavour, a
monitoring and evaluation mechanism must be put
in place. This would determine how the VLE is
performing and ascertain key success factors with
the use of the Frog VLE among teachers and
students. For this purpose, a survey research was
undertaken using a sample comprising 426 teachers
and 223 students from primary and secondary
schools throughout the country. Reliability
computations show Cronbach alpha values greater
than .90 for the various constructs in the scaled
items of the teachers and students questionnaires.
The key findings of the study show significantly
different perceptions (p < .05) in the use of Frog
VLE as a learning tool between primary pupils and
secondary students with significantly higher
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Vol.10, No. 1, 2014, pp.
perceptions from secondary students on all aspects
ranging from ease of use of Frog VLE to using
Frog VLE as a collaborative tool for interaction
within and outside the classroom. Factor analysis
via the Principal Component Analysis method
shows 3 critical success factors cited by teachers in
the use of Frog VLE. The first factor concerns the
functionality of VLE as a pedagogical tool; the
second is associated with the user-friendliness of
the VLE; and the third concerns the VLE as a tool
for collaboration. An analysis of ranks derived from
the mean computations of the variables within the
first factor shows the VLE provides a platform for
teachers to share ideas and opinions being ranked
first. This is followed by VLE being used by
students to obtain learning materials, which is
ranked second. Third, the VLE being used by
teachers to source for new teaching materials.
Other major findings include issues associated with
slow and unstable internet connectivity where
secondary schools fared worse compared to
primary schools and that rural schools tended to
have more problems in connectivity as compared to
urban schools. This paper puts forth a proposition
that educational technology needs continuous
monitoring and evaluation and effective change
management is imperative to attain success in its
implementation.
Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal
1. Introduction
Malaysia introduced the 1BestariNet initiative in
2012 to leapfrog technology-based teaching and
learning in sync with the needs of 21st century
knowledge and skills. 1BestariNet comprises three
components: i. broadband connectivity, ii. Virtual
Learning Environment (VLE), and iii. management.
Under the broadband connectivity component, all
schools are provided with either broadband access of
between 2 to 4 Mbps using VSAT technology or
between 4 to 10 Mbps via 4G technology. VSAT
technology schools are mostly located in rural areas
while 4G technology schools are located in urban and
sub-urban areas. On the other hand, the virtual
learning environment is provided for all schools
through the use of Frog VLE. Every head
teacher/principal, teacher, student and parent in
Malaysia is provided with an ID to access Frog VLE.
The third component, i.e. management concerns the
setting up of a project management office entrusted
with the responsibility of overseeing the
implementation of the 1BestariNet initiative as a whole.
2. The 1BestariNet Initiative
The need to undertake a quantum leap in
Malaysias education system necessitates a paradigm
shift in the approaches towards teaching and learning.
The Malaysia Education Policy Review conducted by
UNESCO (2012) noted the following:
Malaysia is in fact lagging behind in this area
(ICT in education) in comparison to many other
economies in the region (e.g. Singapore,
Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR)
even in terms of student : computer ratio. The
ICT infrastructure standard for schools has not
2
improved since the launch of the Smart School
programme (program). In fact the situation for
many of the early starters have (has) become
worse because of the aging equipment.
Further, most of the cases have not gone much
beyond the use of ICT as an instructional tool,
using programs such as PowerPoint. There is
little evidence that ICT is being used to foster
students creativity, problem solving, critical
thinking and communication skills. p.105
Revisions needed above, but since this is a
quotation taken from another source, I am
unclear if the errors are a part of the original
document, or were made by the article author.
Against this evidence, MOE Malaysia
incorporated ICT in Education under Shift 7 in the
Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2013 2025 (2013).
Shift 7 emphasises on leveraging ICT to scale up
quality learning across all 10,000 schools in the
country by providing internet access and a virtual
learning environment via the 1BestariNet Initiative.
This would augment online content to share the best
materials, starting with a video library of the best
teachers delivering lessons in science, mathematics,
Bahasa Malaysia and the English language. This shift
also entails maximising the use of ICT for distance and
self-paced learning to expand access to high quality
teaching regardless of location or student level.
3. Broadband Connectivity to
Schools
The Ministry of Education initiated broadband
connectivity to all schools prior to the implementation
of 1BestariNet. However, most of these schools were
provided with 1 Mbps broadband connectivity.
Having a low-level broadband connectivity was not
ideal for technology-driven teaching and learning,
 Leveraging Virtual Learning Environment to Scale Up Quality Teaching and Learning in Malaysia
hence the need for better broadband internet
connectivity to leverage teaching and learning via ICT.
It is with this in mind that the MOE felt the need to
implement a national programme to connect all
schools with fast internet access to address issues
related to access, equity, and quality education. By
providing all schools, whether urban, rural or interior,
with high-speed internet access, this will lead to
narrowing of the digital divide and bringing rural and
interior schools to be on par with their urban
counterparts. This will address the issue of access to
digital services and ensuring equity in educational
opportunities between the rural-urban schools. In this
respect, MOE hopes to provide quality education in all
schools irrespective of location.
Under the 1BestariNet initiative, a major
challenge is to provide the necessary broadband
infrastructure to all schools. While urban schools are
definitely easier to develop as they have better
accessibility to good physical infrastructure, the rural
schools are frequently more difficult to develop due to
their isolation and, in certain circumstances, the
extreme lack of telecommunication infrastructure. The
issue is how can the MOE bring about equittable
development in both rural and urban schools? The
solution lies in using VSAT technology in rural
schools and 4G technology in urban and sub-urban
schools. While VSAT technology has certain
limitations, such as the need for a configured
contention-ratio in terms of accessibility, 4G schools
can only be provided when there is a good fibre
backhaul and availability of a sufficient number of
transmission towers to ensure sufficient broadband
coverage in these schools. In Malaysia, the
construction of transmission towers, in some cases,
faced objections from the community and schools. In
addition, the cost of building a sufficient number of
towers is high. There is a need for systematic planning
to take place at the central level and appointment of a
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vendor to undertake a coordinated planning effort
towards realising the objective of ensuring quick
internet connectivity in all schools. At the moment,
approximately 90% of schools in the country have
been provided with Customer Premise Equipment to
allow school administrators, teachers, students and
parents to access the VLE.
4. The Frog Virtual Learning
Environment
The virtual learning environment under the
1BestariNet Initiative uses Frog VLE as a teaching and
learning platform in government schools. Frog VLE
was chosen for its proven ability in leveraging teaching
and learning among teachers and students in many
countries, specifically the United Kingdom. In
addition, students can learn collaboratively and
effectively within the virtual learning evironment.
Frog VLE brings this collaborative learning
environment one step further by involving parents to
participate directly in the educational pursuits of their
children.
The Frog VLE (Frog Asia, 2014) is a web-based
learning system that replicates real-world learning by
integrating virtual equivalents of conventional
concepts of education. For example, teachers can
assign lessons, tests, and marks virtually, while
students can submit homework and view their marks
through the VLE. Parents can view school news and
important documents while school administrators can
organise their school calendars and disseminate school
notices via the Internet.
According to Wikipedia (2014), a virtual
learning environment, or learning platform, is an e-
learning education system based on the web that
models conventional in-person education by providing
equivalent virtual access to classes, class content, tests,
homework, grades, assessments, and other external
Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal
resources such as academic or museum website links.
It is also a social space where students and teachers
interact through threaded discussions or chat.
Through a VLE, virtual learning can take place
synchronously or asynchronously i.e. in synchronous
systems, participants meet in real time and teachers
conduct live classes in virtual classrooms.
Learning virtually is a key to ensuring no child is
left behind. MOE Malaysia is of the opinion that
schools must be provided with a VLE to enable
learning to take place anywhere and anytime in line
with the concept of ubiquitous learning. The virtual
learning environment must be able to take cognisance
of this ubiquitous paradigm and provide the necessary
driving force for effective instruction to take place
thats paramount in ensuring access, equity and quality
education, the cardinal principles enshrined in the
Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2013 2025. To
facilitate ubiquitous learning, there must be sufficient
mobile devices and for this reason MOE Malaysia is
providing Mobile Labs for both primary and
secondary schools via the Chromebook programme.
Chromebooks being portable and linked to the internet
can be used as a repository of knowledge where
teachers and students are able to get that knowledge
via Frog VLE.
5. Literature on Virtual Learning
Environment in Teaching and
Learning
The currrent literature review points to the VLE
as being a tool with multifarious applications in
teaching and learning. Hanna (2003) describes the
impact of the Internet and virtual learning on distance
education as follows:
The development and deployment of the
Internet has radically altered the technological
4
environment for distance learning, opening up
many new possibilities for connecting learners
and teachers. The Internet has enabled an
efficient way of distributing information and
sharing knowledge globally, which has led to
virtual interactions among people. The
interactions first began with simple e-mail,
added power with the growth of listservs?, and
have since evolved into numerous strategies for
creating powerful new opportunities for online
interaction. [...], there is little disagreement that
its arrival has opened up many new possibilities
for delivering education. pp. 73-74
Volery & Lord (2000) stated that this technological
progression serves as a means for interactive learning
where course materials are more widely and
effectively distributed. Researchers further believe that
the current method of online learning easily brings
participants together as a networked community
through the use of the Internet and multiple
technologies, thereby enhancing interaction with
course content and communication with fellow class
members. Wilson (1996) described the online learning
environment as a relatively open system that facilitates
access to resources and encounters with other
participants. In addition, learners can access content on
their own time and follow different paths to get
through the academic materials, and online learning
extends the ability for participants to communicate
through interactions and discussions (Bouhnik &
Marcus, 2006).
Amongst the many benefits cited by researchers,
a major reason for the growth in virtual learning has
been due to its ability to transcend the boundaries of
time and place. Students have the benefit of retrieving
learning materials at their convenience in terms of
when, where, which content, and how much (Bouhnik
& Marcus, 2006; Liaw, 2007).
 Leveraging Virtual Learning Environment to Scale Up Quality Teaching and Learning in Malaysia
Virtual learning is no longer an individual endeavour
as the learner takes advantage of the widely available
network infrastructure to leverage the many-to-many
relations among learners and with instructors (Piccoli,
Ahmad & Ives, 2001). Virtual learning allows students to
have more time to reflect on the materials at hand and
collect their thoughts (King, 2002). This makes
discussions more succinct and focused, with opportunities
to collaborate and easily share information (Capper, 2001).
According to Naidu (2003), students in online learning
and other flexible learning environments often work
independently with self-instructional study materials.
A major characteristic of virtual learning
environment is that it follows the Self-Directed
Learning (SDL) Process Model. SDL originated from
the research of John Dewey, focusing on the
experience of the learner. SDL is a learning process
where students develop skills to take ownership of
their learning activities. The distinguishing
characteristic of SDL is that students play a significant
role and accountability for their own learning. SDL
serves as a means to illustrate the phases of learning
activities thereby facilitating an active learning process
that improves self-management and self-monitoring of
activities to meet individual learning goals.
Kim (2010) puts forth a theroretical model of
virtual learning via a number of phases. The first phase,
known as establishing learning goals, involves the
learner identifying what he or she hopes to accomplish
from a given learning experience and their
participation in a course. The learner's goals may
include earning a good grade, mastering course
content, and learning information relevant to one's
career goals. The second phase is known as locating
and accessing resources this phase involves the
student identifying what resources he or she may need,
and accessing them for use as part of the learning
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activity. Resources may include textbooks, learning
materials from the instructor, the Internet, the library,
online discussions with peers, and interactions with the
instructor. The third phase, called adopt and
executing learning acitivities involves the student
deciding on a specific plan of action that is aligned
with the established goals and use of available
resources. The fourth phase, called monitoring and
evaluating performance entails the student tracking
and measuring actual performance of results to
previously established learning goals. The fifth and last
phase is called reassessing learning strategies and
involves the learner self-reflecting and re-examining
the various phases completed to determine ways in
which the student can improve his or her learning
experience. Kims five-phase process can be seen as
an interactive flow of activities to fit the learner's needs.
The primary concept of the model is based on research
findings that students must be proactive in managing
their learning processes rather than wait for learning to
be passed on by the instructor.
The literature on the role of parents in fostering
learning via VLE varies. Henderson & Mapp (2002)
assert that parental involvement has a myriad of
stellar outcomes, including greater standardized test
scores, higher grades, better attendance, improved
social skills and a greater likelihood of admission to
postsecondary institutions. p. 9 Strom & Strom
(2003) highlight the role of parents within the context
of home-school communications, i.e. when parents
and teachers fulfill complimentary roles, they can
improve student social development and academic
achievement. p. 2 Kallis (2004) notes that studies
consistently show that parent involvement raises the
achievement of children, improves the childs attitude
toward school, and enables parents and children to
communicate by letting parents understand and
support the work of the school. p. 3
Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal

6. Survey on the use of Frog VLE 6.2 Evaluation Framework

in Malaysian Schools
The study used a program evaluation conceptual
framework based on the constructs outlined above and
6.1 Methodology following the Scriven (1967) evaluation paradigm as
used in formative - summative evaluation
A survey was undertaken by the Educational
classification. The primary purpose of formative
Technology Division, Ministry of Education to study
evaluation is to provide information for program
the use of Frog VLE among teachers and students in
improvement. On the other hand, summative
primary and secondary schools. The sample
evaluation is concerned with providing information to
comprised 426 teachers of which 254 were primary
serve decisions or assist in making judgments about
school teachers and 172 secondary schools teachers.
program adoption, continuation, or expansion. This
In addition, 223 students, comprising 134 primary
study follows the framework used in formative
school pupils and 89 secondary school students were
evaluation.
also included in the survey sample. A stratified
Scriven put forth a list of concerns and checklists
random sampling method was used to select
related to the formative-summative paradigm and
respondents from all states in Malaysia.
outlined the criteria for evaluating educational product as
Two questionnaires were administered, i.e. i.
comprising: i. Evidence of achievement of important
Teacher questionnaire, and ii. Student questionnaire.
educational objectives, ii. Evidence of achievement of
The teacher questionnaire comprised 9 sections: i.
important non-educational objectives (e.g. social
School information, ii. School dashboard, iii. Login ID,
objectives), iii. Follow-up results, iv. Secondary and
iv. Departmental sites, v. School VLE usage analytics,
unintended effects (e.g. effects on teachers, school, other
vi. Characteristics of Frog VLE, vii. Usage of Frog
students), v. Range of utility (e.g. for whom it will be
VLE, viii. Development of web sites for teaching and
useful), vi. Moral considerations (e.g. controversial
learning, and ix. Problems related to the use of VLE.
content), and vii. Costs.
The student questionnaire comprised 3 sections: i.
Scriven (1967) defines evaluation as judging the
Student demographics, ii. Use of Frog VLE, and iii.
worth or merit of something. Others such as
Characteristics/features of VLE.
Fitzpatrick, Sanders & Worthen (2004) define
A Likert-type scale was used to elicit responses
evaluation as the identification, clarification, and
from both students and teachers on the use of VLE via
application of defensible criteria to determine an
a 5-point rating scale with 1 corresponding to
evaluation objects value (worth or merit) in relation to
Strongly Disagree, 2: Disagree; 3: Somewhat
those criteria.
Agree; 4: Agree and 5: Strongly Agree.
Basically, the evaluation uses inquiry and
Cronbach alpha reliability statistics show the
judgment methods such as: i. Determining standards
scale items from the teacher questionnaire attained a
for judging quality and deciding whether those
reliability coefficient (alpha) of .973 (24 items) for the
standards should be relative or absolute, ii. Collecting
5-point rating scale construct pertaining to
relevant information, iii. Applying the standards to
characteristics of Frog VLE . The student scale items
determine value, quality, utility, effectiveness, or
in the questionnaire on characteristics of Frog VLE
significance, iv. Evaluation leads to recommendations
attained a reliability coefficient of .918 (8 items).
intended to optimize the evaluation object in relation to

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 Leveraging Virtual Learning Environment to Scale Up Quality Teaching and Learning in Malaysia

its intended purpose(s) or to help stakeholders
determine whether the evaluation object is worthy of
adoption, continuation, or expansion.
7. Findings from the study
primary school pupils. Table 1 shows the mean value
of the construct on VLE use for secondary students is
higher (mean = 4.18; S.D. = .713; n = 89) compared to
primary pupils (mean = 3.81; S.D. = .789; n = 134).
The Levene statistic shows equality in the variances
between the two groups of respondents. The finding

The findings are divided into two sections, i.e. i. shows that the means for primary and secondary pupils

Students perceptions, and ii. Teachers perceptions. are significantly different at a confidence interval of

The study shows a generally successfully implementation 95%. From Table 2, it can be concluded that the the 2

of Frog VLE. Only key elements are presented in this groups means are significantly different (t= -3.593;

paper. For the teachers perceptions, factor analysis df=211; p < .05). The question is why is there a

was used to ascertain salient factors of teachers significant difference? The ratings for secondary

perceptions with regard to the use of Frog VLE. Other students are significantly higher as compared to

pertinent issues are also discussed, such as the primary pupils because VLE is more profoundly used

broadband connectivity, user IDs, school dashboard, by secondary students, hence the higher mean values.

and learning sites.
7.1 Students Peceptions of VLE
From the students perspectives, secondary
students tended to perceive significantly higher than
This can also be attributed to VLE being better utilised
at the secondary school level as the construct is based
on the use of VLE as a learning tool.
Differences in the perceptions of primary and
secondary students in use of VLE are shown in Table
1 below:

Table 1 : Descriptive Statistics of Primary and Secondary Students Perceptions

Std.
Type of Schools N Mean Std. Error Mean
Deviation

Primary Schools 134 3.8110 .78930 .06819

Secondary Schools 89 4.1844 .71345 .07562

Table 2: t-test Computations for Differences between Primary and Secondary Students
Levene's Test for
Equality of t-test for Equality of Means
Variances
Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error
F Sig. t df
tailed) Difference Difference
Equal variances assumed
2.699 .102 -3.593 221 .000 -.37336 .10392

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 Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal

Table 3 shows the statistical computations
comparing the mean ratings of primary and secondary
students for each item in the construct. Of the key
elements, students perceived highest in the VLE being
an interesting tool for learning (mean=4.29; n=223;
SD=.788) while collaboration among peers in doing
assignments both within the classroom and outside the
classroom is rated lowest, i.e. with mean=3.79 (n=223;
SD=1.02) for collaboration within classroom and
mean = 3.79 (n=223; SD=1.03) respectively.

Table 3 : Students Perceptions in Key Areas of Frog VLE

Collaboration
Used Collaboration with peers in
for with peers in doing
Society & As a doing assignments Used for
Easy to Easy to Club resource assignments in outside the completing
Statistics Intere-sting use update activities respository the classroom classroom homework
Primary Mean 4.172 3.873 3.806 3.686 3.964 3.648 3.633 3.707
Schools N 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134
Std. Deviation.8274 .9689 .9922 .9208 .9047 1.0348 1.0295 1.1021
Secondary Mean 4.475 4.225 4.281 4.169 4.304 4.011 4.034 4.112
Schools N 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89
Std. Deviation.6908 .8223 .8117 .9322 .8171 .9593 .9937 .8718
Total Mean 4.293 4.014 3.995 3.878 4.100 3.793 3.793 3.869
N 223 223 223 223 223 223 223 223
Std. Deviation.7883 .9275 .9515 .9532 .8848 1.0189 1.0321 1.0337

7.2 Key Success Factors cited by Teachers in Adequacy (MSA) is used to quantify the degree
the use of Frog VLE
of inter-correlations among the variables and the
Factor analysis was used to determine the key
appropriateness of factor analysis. The MSA value is
success factors cited by teachers. The data structure is
very high, i.e. .962 indicating that factor analysis is
tested for suitability for factor analysis via the Principal
appropriate.
Component Analysis method. The appropriateness of
On the key success factors, the latent root
using factor analysis is tested using Bartletts test of
criterion is used. This is the most commonly used
sphericity which is a statistical test for the presence of
technique. With Principal Component Analysis, each
correlations among the variables. The Bartletts test of
variable contributes a value of 1 to the total eigenvalue.
sphericity shows a significance level of less than .05
Thus, only factors having latent roots or eigenvalues
(chi-sq=10156.698; df=276; p<.001). This means that
greater than 1 are considered significant and all factors
the data structure of the variables is appropriate for
with latent roots less than 1 are considered
factor analysis. In addition, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
insignificant and disregarded (see Figure 1).
Measure of

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 Leveraging Virtual Learning Environment to Scale Up Quality Teaching and Learning in Malaysia
Figure 1 : Scree Plot of Components/Factors
The findings also show that the percentage of
variance criterion jives well with the latent root method
in the extraction of factors. The variance criterion
method is an approach used for achieving a specified
cumulative percentage of total variance extracted by
successive factors. The purpose is to ensure practical
significance for the derived factors by ensuring that
they explain at least a specified amount of variance.
Using the percentage of variance criterion, the first
factor is labelled as Functionality of VLE as a
pedagogical tool and this contributes 62.60% to the
variance, the second factor is labelled as Physical
attributes of VLE and it contributes 5.11% and the
third factor is labelled as Tool for collaboration and
this contributes 4.21% of the variance. Specifically, an
analysis for the congruence of factors indicates that the
first factor concerns the development of resources,
curriculum management and ubiquitous learning. The
second factor concerns user-friendly graphical user
interface leading to ease of use and it must be
interesting. The third factor concerns communication
9
among teachers, parents and students in a
collaborative virtual environment.
An analysis of ranks in the mean values derived
from the factors is shown in Tables 4 (a) and 4 (b)
below. Within items in the first factor, the first rank
goes to VLE providing a platform for teachers to
share ideas and opinions (mean = 3.79). The second
rank goes to VLE as a portal for students to obtain
learning materials (mean = 3.71). Third on the rank is
the item VLE is used by teachers to recommend
teaching resources (mean = 3.67). For the second
factor (see Table 5), rank 1 concerns the Resources in
VLE are interesting (mean = 3.80). The second rank
concerns VLE being used by teachers for sharing
lesson plans and resources (mean = 3.76). Third is
Teaching and learning occurs any where and any
time (mean = 3.68) which is synonymous with the
ubiquitious nature of VLE. For the third factor (see
Table 6), the item which is ranked first is Parents find
VLE easy to use (mean = 3.57), the second rank is
 Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal

Parents feel they are a part of the school community monitor progress of children (mean = 3.28).
(mean = 3.49). The third rank goes to Parents can

Table 4 (a) : Items within the First Factor

Students can Serves as a Students can
Students collaborate portal for collaborate
can with friends students to with friends Students Allows
Use Frog obtain in doing obtain in doing can sharing
VLE for revision homework learning homework personalise Of
homework materials after school materials during school self-learning ideas
Mean 3.5078 3.6293 3.5844 3.7050 3.5607 3.5857 3.7857
N 426 426 426 426 426 426 426
Std. Deviation .78774 .73386 .73840 .69107 .75000 .68924 .61398
Rank 11 5 8 2 9 7 1
Factor Loading .788 .786 .758 .750 .747 .736 .683

Table 4 (b) : Items within the First Factor

Monitor Teachers Teachers can
Teachers can teaching Help Manage can Teachers discuss with
recommend & Allows teachers societies involve can students in a
teaching learning self- assess And students in personalise secure
resources quality evaluation students clubs class lessons environment
Mean 3.6667 3.4625 3.6120 3.5141 3.6438 3.4437 3.5857 3.5298
N 426 426 426 426 426 426 426 426
Std. Deviation .63121 .73493 .65668 .69568 .70525 .83594 .69264 .69531
Rank 3 11 6 12 4 13 7 10
Factor Loading .659 .659 .650 .617 .593 .553 .542 .531

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 Leveraging Virtual Learning Environment to Scale Up Quality Teaching and Learning in Malaysia

Table 5 : Items within the Second Factor

Can be used in Teaching and
Resources in Sharing of multiple learning occur
Easy to update VLE are lesson plans devices and any where and
materials Easy to use interesting and resources mobile phones any time.
Mean 3.5483 3.5745 3.7950 3.7571 3.2759 3.6770
N 426 426 426 426 426 426
Std. Deviation .74755 .78021 .70037 .69332 .86735 .76759
Rank 5 4 1 2 6 3
Factor .852 .793 .730 .629 .582 .522
Loading

Table 6 : Items within the Third Factor

Parents can Parents feel they
monitor progress are a part of the Parents find VLE
of children school community easy to use
Mean 3.2808 3.4860 3.5745
N 426 426 426
Std. Deviation .79707 .78843 .78021
Rank 3 2 1
Factor Loading .867 .785 .730

7.3 Findings on Broadband Connectivity From the perspectives of urban-rural schools in

From the teachers responses, it is obvious that
connectivity in schools is an important issue which
must be resolved quickly. Using a scale of 0 to 4,
where 0 means No Connectivity and 4 means
Stable Connectivity, the findings (as shown in Table
7) show an average of 2.04 (n=254; SD=.975) for
primary schools and 1.97 (n=172; SD=.982) for
secondary schools giving an overall mean of 2.01
(n=426; SD=.977) for all schools. Based on the
frequency counts as shown in Table 8, 4.2% (18)
indicated No Connectivity, 29.8% (127) indicated
Not Stable, 30.8% (131) indicated Fairly Stable,
another 30.8% (131) indicated Stable and 4.5% (19)
indicated Very Stable.
terms of broadband connectivity (see Table 9), the
findings show that urban schools have slightly better
stability, i.e. 2.05 (n=162; SD=.951) as compared to
rural schools with mean of 1.99 (n=264; SD=.994).
Overall, the mean is 2.01 (n=426; SD=.977). Table 10
shows the frequency counts based on the stability
index. A total of 4.2% (18) teachers indicated No
Connectivity, 29.8% (127) indicated Not Stable,
30.8% (131) indicated Fairly Stable, 30.8% (131)
indicated Stable and 4.5% (19) Very Stable. It can
be seen that most of the responses are clustered around
the 3 response points, i.e. No Connectivity, Less
Stable and Fairly Stable.

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Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal

Table 7 : Broadband Connectivity by Type of Schools

Type of Schools Mean N Std. Deviation
Primary Schools 2.04 254 .975
Secondary Schools 1.97 172 .982
Total 2.01 426 .977

Table 8 : Frequency Distribution of Broadband Connectivity by Type of Schools

Rating Scale
1 2 3 4 5
Type of Schools
No Not Fairly Stable Very
Connectivity Stable Stable Stable Total
Primary Schools Frequency 10 73 79 80 12 254

% 3.9% 28.7% 31.1% 31.5% 4.7% 100.0%

Secondary Schools Frequency 8 54 52 51 7 172
% 4.7% 31.4% 30.2% 29.7% 4.1% 100.0%
Total Frequency 18 127 131 131 19 426
% 4.2% 29.8% 30.8% 30.8% 4.5% 100.0%

Table 9 : Broadband Connectivity by School Location

School Location Mean N Std. Deviation
Urban 2.05 162 .951
Rural 1.99 264 .994
Total 2.01 426 .977

Table 10 : Frequency Distribution of Broadband Connectivity by School Location

Rating Scale
School Location 1 2 3 4 5
No Not Stable Fairly Stable Very
Connectivity Stable Stable Total
Urban Schools Frequency 0 60 43 50 9 162
% .0% 37.0% 26.5% 30.9% 5.6% 100.0%
Rural Schools Frequency 18 67 88 81 10 264
% 6.8% 25.4% 33.3% 30.7% 3.8% 100.0%
Total Frequency 18 127 131 131 19 426
% 4.2% 29.8% 30.8% 30.8% 4.5% 100.0%

12
 Leveraging Virtual Learning Environment to Scale Up Quality Teaching and Learning in Malaysia

Table 11 shows the contents created in the
School Dashboard. The majority of school teachers
indicated that they had uploaded contents which were
useful for those who had access to their school
websites. Of the contents created, a large majority of
schools had school address and telephone contacts
(87.1%) and also mission and vision statements of the
school (83.6%). School song (55.2%) and school
Heads remarks (57.5%) seemed to be the least
emphasis given by the schools.

Table 11 : Contents Created in School Dashboard

Contents Frequency
Yes No
1 Opening Remarks by School Head 245 (57.5%) 181 (42.5%)
2 School Address and Telephone Number 371 (87.1%) 55 (12.9%)
3 School History 295 (69.2%) 131 (20.8%)
4 Mission and Vision 356 (83.6%) 70 (16.4%)
5 School Song 235 (55.2%) 191 (44.8%)
6 Organisational Chart 279 (65.5%) 147 (34.5%)
7 School Events 294 (69.0%) 132 (31.0%)
8 Booking Calendar 261 (61.3%) 165 (38.7%)

Under the VLE component of 1BestariNet, a
total of 10 million unique IDs had been given to school
administrators, teachers, students and parents. The
school community needs to log-in to the VLE using
their individual IDs. The findings of this study (see
Table 12) show that a significant number of teachers
had received thier IDs (396 (93%)). However, many
students and parents did not receive their IDs. The
percentage of students who did not receive their IDs is
45.1% (192) as against 54.9% (234) who indicated
they had received their IDs. The findings from parents
seem rather disappointing, i.e. only 25.1% (107) of the
parents had received their IDs as compared to 74.9%
(319) of parents who had not.

Table 12 : IDs Received by Teachers, Students and Parents

Groups Frequency
Yes No
1 Teachers 396 (93.0%) 30 (7.0%)
2 Students 234 (54.9%) 192 (45.1%)
3 Parents 107 (25.1%) 319 (74.9%)

The creation of subject-based sites is an
important feature of Frog VLE. The study shows that
the majority of teachers had indeed created sites (>
60%). Malay/Bahasa Malaysia had the most number
of departmental sites, i.e. 296 (69.5%) of teachers
indicating Yes for this subject. This is followed by
Mathematics comprising 279 (65.5%). Table 13
below shows the frequencies and percentages of
departmental sites created.

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Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal
Table 13 : Departmental Sites in VLE
Groups
1 Malay
2 English
3 Mathematics
4 Science
The majority of the teachers indicated that the
departmental sites had been created to serve as a
channel for the dissemination of information. Findings
from the study reveal that 75.1% (320) of the teachers
stated Yes for this purpose as compared to 24.9%
(106) who responded No. As to the question of
whether students could view these departmental sites
which had been created, again the majority i.e. 73%
(311) indicated Yes while 27.0% (115) indicated
No.
7.4 Use of VLE for Teaching and Learning
Findings from the study show varying degrees of
uses for VLE in teaching and learning. The majority of
teachers (65.2%; n=208) stated that they use VLE for
teaching and learning while 34.8% (111) stated they
did not. Only 47.5% (152) of teachers stated they used
VLE as a medium to send homework to students as
compared to 52.5% (168) who stated they did not. The
majority of teachers, i.e. 67.1% (214) stated that
students did not use the VLE to send assignments as
compared to only 32.9% (105) who stated they did. In
relation to the question whether teachers checked the
assignment of students using VLE, a majority i.e.
68.6% (218) stated No while only 31.4% (100)
indicated Yes. The survey also studied the use of
teaching and learning resources in the Frog Store for
teaching and learning and a majority i.e. 51.7% (164)
teachers stated they did not while 48.3% (153) stated
they used those resources in the Frog Store for
teaching and learning.
7.5 Website Development within Frog VLE
14
Frequency
Yes No
296 (69.5%) 130 (30.5%)
269 (63.1%) 157 (36.9%)
279 (65.5%) 147 (34.5%)
266 (62.4%) 160 (37.6%)
The development of websites is important in
virtual learning. Websites provide the opportunity for
teachers to develop their instructional materials and
upload them for use by students and other teachers.
From the study, it is noted that 88.5% (285) of teachers
continuously updated their personal dashboard while
11.5% (37) did not. The majority of teachers, i.e.
77.6% (250) had used the VLE to develop resources in
Frog VLE as compared to 22.4% (72) who did not. On
the sharing of sites, 64.8% (208) teachers indicated that
they shared teaching and learning sites with others in
the school as compared to 35.2% (113) who did not.
As to the question whether teachers shared their sites
in Frog VLE through the MOE repository, a large
number of the teachers, i.e. 72.4% (233) said they did
not while only 27.6% (89) said they did.
8. Monitoring of VLE Key
Performance Indicators
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) were set to
monitor the progress of: i. Quality of broadband
services ii. Number of learnng sites uploaded to the
VLE and iii. VLE usage among students. For a project
of this scale, the KPIs must be outcome-based and
measurable. Weekly reports were made to a specially
established body called the Performance and Delivery
Unit to map the progress. The Performance and
Delivery Unit coordinates all initiatives under the
Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2013 2025.
 Leveraging Virtual Learning Environment to Scale Up Quality Teaching and Learning in Malaysia

The quality of broadband services is measured
against the Service Level Agreement (SLA) agreed
upon between the supplier and the Ministry. For
schools connected via 4G technology, there is an SLA
for broadband speed of between 4 to 10 Mbps. To
determine this KPI, weekly measurements are carried
out on randomly selected schools (3,200 and 3,500) on
a weekly basis. Broadband connectivity speeds are
measured between 1 to 15 times weekly to determine
this. Results show more than 99% of the sample
schools attain broadband speeds of between 4 to 10
Mbps on a weekly basis.
VLE usage among teachers and students is
monitored on a weekly basis to determine the progress
achieved thus far and to ensure that the learning sites
developed by teachers are fit for purpose. Fit for
purpose means that the learning sites must be of good
quality for instructional purposes. A team comprising
evaluators from the relevant divisions in the MOE has
been entrusted to vet and make recommendations on
the learning sites uploaded onto VLE. The KPI set is
10,000 learning sites developed by teachers in 2014.
As of the 4th week of August, the Learning Site
Dashboard shows a cumulative total of 11,578 sites
have been developed by teachers and uploaded onto
the VLE. Of this figure, 9,567 had been published
while 55 were still in the pending stage. A total of
2,011 sites had to be declined because of quality issues.
Constant monitoring of VLE is imperative to
ensure optimum usage among teachers and students.
Of the teachers who have been provided with IDs, the
VLE Dashboard shows 75% of them had actually
logged into the VLE and used it for teaching purposes.
For students, monitoring is done also on a weekly
basis and reported to the Performance and Delivery
Unit. For the last week of August 2014, a total of
160,702 primary and secondary school students had
actually logged onto the VLE. Of this number, 84,104
students logged onto the VLE for more than 30
minutes while 76,598 students logged on for less than
30 minutes per week. This constitutes 52.34%.
9. Quality of Service
An independent quality of service study was
undertaken to gauge the quality of service of internet
connectivity over a period of time. Among the aspects
studied includes i. Latency of network ii.
Throughput/Bandwidth iii. Packet Loss iv. Jitter dan
v. Mean Opinion Score (MOS). The findings show
satisfactory results of the above measurements. These
results were then used for planning purposes to
improve network capabilities.
10. Impact of Study
A project of such magnitude affecting all school
principals, teachers, students and parents must lead to
the desired outcomes. Hence it is imperative that the
MOE engage an independent party to conduct an
impact study. The impact, of measures currently
undertaken, would look at programme effectiveness,
cost-effectivess and cost-benefit issues of the VLE and
other parameters of the initiative during the two and a
half years of implementation. What is important is that
this impact study will provide informed decision-
making on the future direction of the 1BestariNet
initiative in which the VLE is a major component.
11. Discussion
The findings support previous research in this
area, indicating that functionality and usability of the
VLE (as shown by good VLE attributes) and the
ability to faciliate collaborations are what a VLE
should be. For the implementation of VLE to be
successful, it is important that a good broadband

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Asia-Pacific Collaborative education Journal
connectivity be provided. Resources within the VLE
must be plentiful for teachers and students to leverage
on teaching and learning. On top of that, the
introduction of a project of such magnitude must lead
to positive outcomes in teaching and learning.
To successfully implement the VLE, it is very
important that there is buy-in from all stakeholders.
Very frequently, change management is not
implemented effectively, resulting in poor adoption
and buy-in. But the Frog VLE has a change
management component built into its implementation.
Carnivals, briefing sessions, hand-holding activities
and promotions on a nation-wide basis are imperative
to disseminate the use of Frog VLE as teaching and
learning portal.
Another important issue is motivation. How can
we motivate teachers and students in using the VLE?
Continuous professional development must take place
in phases. The MOE implements training in phases
and create a core group of Champion Schools which
serve as catalyst schools for others to emulate.
Therefore, it is imperative that a VLE must be
effective, reliable, operable, functional, learnable,
memorable, and efficient. Students and teachers must
feel comfortable with the system in order to focus on
learning the contents. Since usability was found to be a
significant contributor to teachers needs, it is of
utmost importance for schools to consider leveraging
virtual learning environments in teaching and learning.
The MOE is planning for the establishment of virtual
schools to leverage on ICT in education and upscale
teaching and learning. Indeed the Malaysia Education
Blueprint, 2013 2025 emphasises the need to upscale
teaching and learning through ICT.
12. Conclusion
Learning needs to be placed in the correct social
context - educational methods must be socially
16
relevant in order to be effective and this means using
current communication technologies to leverage
teaching and learning. In other words, students need to
see that education is keeping up with their culture. If
education is perceived as consisting of old ideas and
old ways of learning, and have little or no relevance to
what is happening in the contemporary world, then
students are less likely to engage with them. The
1BestariNet is expected to result in fundamental shifts
in the provision of a technologically-endowed and
innovative way of delivering instruction.
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