The paradigm shift from industrial society to knowledge-based one has accelerated the change of education from instructor-centered education to learner-centered one, and e-learning is prevailing in universities in line with changing educational enviro...
The paradigm shift from industrial society to knowledge-based one has accelerated the change of education from instructor-centered education to learner-centered one, and e-learning is prevailing in universities in line with changing educational environments. The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness of learners on e-learning and their needs for that and to suggest some of the right directions for the development of university e-learning.
The subjects in this study were 510 students at five different universities in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, who ever took e- learning courses. A survey was conducted using questionnaires that covered motivation of taking e-learning courses, satisfaction level with e-learning and opinions on reform measures. The major findings of the study were as follows:
First, the most dominant motivation that made the undergraduate students take e-learning courses was that it's possible to take the courses at their convenience, and the second most dominant motivation was that it's possible to do that at any place. The third most common motivation was that it's easy to take the courses repeatedly. There were significant gender gaps between the male and female students in that aspect.
Second, interactive learning was identified as the factor that had the largest impact on satisfaction with e-learning. It indicates the importance of prompt feedback by instructors toward the questions of learners, of dynamic communication between instructors and learners, and of notice and information on lectures. There were significant differences in satisfaction level according to gender, academic year, major and frequency of taking e-learning courses.
Third, concerning reform measures for the improvement of university e-learning, the largest group considered it necessary for instructors to update their classes, and the second biggest group deemed it necessary to put general education courses above courses for major. The third greatest group considered it necessary to boost instructor-learner communication. They had significantly different opinions about what improvements should be made according to their frequency of taking e-learning courses.
The other opinions on the improvement of e-learning were related to the necessity of an approved attendance period, the introduction of on-line evaluation, the improvement of tests and the introduction of blended learning that combined online and offline learning, which were all expected to boost the educational effects of e-learning.