An assessment of online instructor e- learning readiness before, during, and after course delivery (original) (raw)

Assessing E-learning Readiness of Instructors in Turkey

Istanbul Journal of Innovation in Education (IJINE), 2015

As more and more universities worldwide have been offering e-learning environments for their course and program delivery, researches in e-learning subjects are interested to examine whether instructors are ready for the new e-learning environment. E-learning readiness (e-readiness) is a critical component in evaluating the effectiveness of online course delivery at the institutional and the instructor level. E-readiness is already well covered in the literature and several models are suggested. This study aims to measure e-learning readiness of instructors in Turkey. Based on the existing e-learning readiness assessment models in literature, the authors designed e-learning readiness measurement instrument. This research study adopted a survey method to conduct the study of e-learning readiness of instructors in various universities in Turkey. A questionnaire was sent to 144 instructors during January 2014 – March 2014. All items were measured on a five-point Likert scale, with 5 as strongly agree and 1 as strongly disagree. 144 were completed and returned are found valid. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Independent-Samples T Test, and multinomial logistic regression will be applied to analyze the data. Data has been collected from 144 instructors across several universities in Turkey using a questionnaire survey instrument. The preliminary findings suggest that although instructors have been using electronic gadgets for their day-to-day activities and have been comfortable in using technology, however, they have a lack of awareness in using various technology tools that can help the instructor improve engagement and learning. Although universities have made investments in e-learning environment of one or the other kinds, however, majority of instructors are still at the initial stage of employing e-learning in their daily teaching and learning activities. The instructors also lack the requisite formal training for e-learning thus affecting their e-readiness. It seems that universities needs to invest more in training instructors on a continuous basis so that instructors are well versed with state-of-art instructional tools to bring pedagogical innovations in their e-learning instructions. The low e-readiness of instructors in Turkey could impact the quality of delivery of online programs.

An Investigation of Factors Affecting Instructors' Usage of E-Learning Systems at the University of the West Indies

International Conference on eBusiness, eCommerce, eManagement, eLearning and eGovernance 2014, 2014

This study seeks to explore the factors that determine the level of instructors' acceptance of the e-learning platform at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Campus. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was used to evaluate responses from over 600 instructors. Four important factors, i.e. subjective norms, facilitating conditions, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were core to the UTAUT model. After using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling three of the four factors emerged as significant; facilitating conditions, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness.

Instructors' Role in the e-Learning Environment: The Case of Kuwait

The International Journal of Business & Management

Instructors' Role in the e-Learning Environment: The Case of Kuwait 1. Introduction The practices of human resource management (HRM) work towards the achievement of organizational goals by implementing suitable initiatives and providing guidance and support for the organization's employees. The crucial role of HRM has become glaringly obvious during the COVID-19 crisis, when education was upended-practically from one day to the next. With students and instructors unable to meet face-to-face, education had to shift to e-learning, and developing countries such as Kuwait were no exception. This shift launched a host of new ways to acquire knowledge and skills, and even though it was the only way to feasibly continue education, the readiness for e-learning was not universal. The role of instructors thus emerged as particularly critical to successful e-learning outcomes, however, especially in developing countries, instructors had almost no opportunity to prepare for this change. Instructors who had previously had confidence in their classroom teaching abilities likely became disenchanted by their online teaching efforts. Overall, while the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning are still being explored, it is likely here to remain for the foreseeable future, not only in the education sector but also in different organizations. E-learning and the concepts underpinning it have a long history. In 1960, the first true e-learning took place on intranets, referring to a set of linked computer terminals that allow students to access academic material (Tom, 2021). Following the widespread adoption of the Internet in 1994, academia saw an opportunity to extend its reach, offering online courses and modules for which students could receive formal accreditation. The final step was the introduction of mobile devices, which uncoupled students from their desks, and social media, which gave them wide-ranging access to tailored learning experiences (O'Doherty, Dromey, Lougheed, Last, & McGrath, 2018). The introduction of e-learning meant that students were no longer tied to their locations or time zones and could learn at their own pace, empowering them to take control of their own learning. However, throughout this history of e-learning, not every organization has been able to fully take advantage of online instruction, especially in less developed countries, which have less-advanced internet infrastructure. Despite this, the realities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that, temporarily at least, conventional learning modes were unavailable, and e-learning was the only way. As instructors play a crucial role in e-learning environments, the current work aims to offer guidance for instructors to use e-learning in ways that engage students more effectively (Yengin, Karahoca, Karahoca, & Yucel, 2010). The ability of instructors to adapt to the e-learning environment relates to their understanding of the concept of e-learning as well as its boundaries, such as the work processes at play. The administrators of educational institutions can also benefit from an understanding of some of the basic e-learning concepts, while key decision-makers can use it to inform their decision on whether to implement e-learning in their institutions. Crucially, this decision will also be shaped by the instructors themselves, particularly with regards to digital transformation (Yengin, Karahoca, Karahoca, & Yucel,

Preparedness for the Introduction of E-learning in Higher Education-The Case of Oman

Journal of Social Sciences, 2005

The use of Web-based instruction (WBI) and with the availability of well-structured Course Management Tools there seems to be a prospectus of improving both the classroom and distance educations using e-Learning principle [1,2]. As the instructor community plays a central role in all education processes we are motivated to study the level of their cooperation with respect to applying WBI through Course Management Systems (WBI-CMS) to current education. Particularly, instructor awareness of the use of the Internet in the current education and secondly their vision towards augmenting current education using WBI-CMS are vital factors in the augment process. This study presents the results of a survey conducted across the academic community of the Science Faculty in Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Sultanate of Oman. Survey outcome positively indicates that the overall instructor community with the science background is aware of the importance of computers in both their personal and professional use. Majority of science instructors have positively shown their mandate for the use of computers in facilitating the educational process, a proof for the basic hypothesis in this research.

Appraising the e-readiness of online learning facilitators: key human factors

Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 2008

Appraising the e-readiness of online learning facilitators: key human factors Higher education institutions in South Africa have undergone a number of changes over the past few years. These changes brought about inter alia changed work environments and job demands. One of the new job demands is the need to incorporate technology in teaching and learning, viz. e-learning. Not all job incumbents, however, adapted successfully to these changes, particularly with regard to e-readiness. Such a lack in e-readiness is likely to influence the effectiveness with which an academic employee will fulfil his/her online learning duties. Therefore, it is important to find solutions to overcome the lack of e-readiness. This article will focus on the role of human resource appraisal, in order to assess the e-readiness of online learning facilitators with a view to improving their online skills and capacity. A number of human factors that can play a role in employee performance and motivation, namely learning styles, personal profile patterns, and pace and style of technology adoption will be briefly outlined, in order to determine the role that these factors could play in assessing the e-readiness of online learning facilitators.

The Reality of Using E-Learning Applications and the Readiness of Faculty Members: A Case Study

International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science, 2020

E-learning has a significant role in motivating the faculty members in higher education, so the objective of this study is to investigate the real implementation of e-learning tools, and the readiness of faculty to experience e-learning in their educational activities, and how that motivates them. Faculty members of Qassim University (QU), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) participating in the research confirmed that elearning is an element that affects their motivation and they have a favourable attitude towards the use of E-learning to enhance the educational activities. A questionnaire was applied to collect data from faculty members questioning the computer knowledge, knowledge of requirements of e-learning, the readiness of faculty members to use e-learning in teaching, and knowledge of e-learning tools that being able to use in teaching. The statistical method including comparing means and Pearson's correlation coefficient used for data analysis. The outcomes of this paper give a view of the real use of e-learning and its tools in normal teaching activities, and explore the readiness towards that. Over 90% of faculty members have the needed equipment, over 70% have the ability to use any LMS to deal with their courses, and over 95% can use good communication tools. Well, that entire represents attitude towards readiness of using e-learning applications based on their high knowledge of needed information and tools, this helps the institute to develop new techniques and methods for educational activities in higher education.

Assessment of instructors’ readiness for implementing e-learning in continuing medical education in Iran

Medical Teacher, 2010

Back ground: E-learning provides new levels of flexibility in learning and teaching. This contribution of e-learning is dependent on the levels of readiness in several critical factors particularly in an educational organization. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess instructors' readiness and to identify the most important factors that affect their readiness in e-learning in CME programs in order to use the effective opportunities that facilitate e-learning in CME programs. Methods: A 5-point Likert scale instrument consisting of two domains (technical and pedagogical) was constructed according to four subdomains (knowledge, attitude, skills, and habits) and distributed to 70 faculty members. A factor analysis was employed to extract significant factors. Results: The results revealed that the mean of readiness on e-learning for faculty members was 3.25 AE 0.58 in technical and 3.37 AE 0.49 in pedagogical domains on a 5-point Likert scale (1-5). The factors such as ''familiarity with learning management system,'' ''willingness to teach by adopting a new technology,'' ''willingness to use e-learning as a viable alternative,'' ''ability to deliver e-material and to provide e-content for teaching,'' and ''being accustomed to the virtual environment and utilization of the computer and the internet'' were extracted on technical readiness domain. In addition, the pedagogical readiness factors were: ''familiarity with online teaching principle and method,'' ''willingness to use technology in instruction and material development,'' ''ability to design content for e-material and online course evaluation,'' and ''being accustomed to providing information back up regularly and employing eclectic methods and multiple approaches in teaching.'' Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that training should be offered to instructors on a continuous, rather than a one-off basis so that their IT knowledge and skills are upgraded over time. In addition, results indicate that pedagogical innovations are required to develop and implement an effectiveness e-learning program.

A snapshot of online learners: e-Readiness, e-Satisfaction and expectations

The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 2015

The popularity of online programs that educational institutions offer is continuously increasing at varying degrees, with the major demand coming from adult learners who have no opportunity to access traditional education. These adult learners have to be sufficiently ready and competent for online learning, and have their own varied expectations from the online learning process. Hence, this mixed method study is conducted to explore the participants’ readiness and expectations at the beginning and their satisfaction levels at the end of an online learning experience. An e-readiness scale and an e-satisfaction scale was administered as quantitative measures, with open-ended questions gathering qualitative data. Participants of the research were registered to different e-learning programs at Ankara University Distance Education Center, Turkey, during the 2013-2014 academic year. Analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data revealed facts about online learners, which should prove...

An Investigation of Instructors’ Online Teaching Readiness

TechTrends

It was the purpose of the study to investigate the readiness of faculty members at two private universities in the United States to teach online when a pandemic caused a shift to emergency remote or online teaching. Results show that instructors were somewhat ready to accomplish tasks related to online teaching. Participating instructors reported they felt most competent with course communication and least competent with time management. Significant differences in responses were found based on online teaching experience prior to the pandemic and years of online teaching experience. Results show that instructors who had confidence in online teaching were more prepared for the task than those who were not confident. This study has implications for online instructors, support staff who provide professional development opportunities and training for instructors, and administrators who provide resources for faculty and staff to support quality online course and program offerings at their institutions.