EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF MS TEAMS IN CONDUCTING WEBINAR: EVIDENCE FROM INTERNATIONAL ONLINE PROGRAM CONDUCTED IN OMAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 159-175
Author(s):  
Shad Ahmad Khan ◽  
Hesham Magd

The quick adoption of digital platforms in the education sector will always give credit to covid-19. The imposition of lock downs and closure of border as remedial measures forced educational institutes to shift to online platforms for their routine teaching and learning activities. The higher education institutes (HEIs) were found to be more dynamic, as they utilised their online presence in interacting with external members by way of other online activities predominantly webinars. The researchers suggest that online learning will remain to be a vital part of higher education and is going to stay along with other online activities like webinar as it is flexible, accessible, and convenient for the larger section of the students. This study examines the MS team’s platform from the learner’s perspective through technology acceptance model. The 320 responses were gathered from the participants of 22 countries who participated in one-week international webinar organised by two leading HEIs in Oman an online feedback form was analysed through PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 3.3.3. The study aimed to test the degree to which the participants were able to accept MS teams, a popular online learning platform in Oman, as a suitable webinar platform. The results indicate that MS teams is found to be a sufficiently good platform to conduct webinars however, it lags in terms of ease of use or user-friendliness. The study also confirms that attitude towards e-learning influences behavioural intention that subsequently influences the actual use of the platform.

Author(s):  
Domingos Santos Martinho ◽  
Eulália Maria Santos ◽  
Maria Isabel Miguel ◽  
Dina Sousa Cordeiro

A research about factors that lead students to choose online courses, as well as the acceptance of these courses, can provide very relevant information for higher education institutions’ decision makers to amend these offers to students’ interests and needs. An investigation through questionnaire was developed involving students who attended online post-graduate courses. It was intended to know which factors affect students' decision to opt for postgraduate online courses. A model, based on the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model), was tested to find out what factors determine the intention to use online learning. The results shows that most respondents favour online courses and that their decision, when choosing this type of course, is mainly influenced by time management flexibility, avoiding going to school and the course curriculum interest. The test of the model, with structural equations, shows that attitude regarding online courses and perceived usefulness are factors that predict the intention to use. It was also concluded that the perceived ease of use induces a direct and indirect effect on the intention to use. The most significant results are consistent with published studies and can help the higher education institutions to define offer and communication strategies to reach a greater number of candidates for online learning.


Author(s):  
Soni Ariawan

The present study is aimed to investigate EFL students’ perception on the use of Google Classroom as an online learning platform and their expectation on an ideal online learning. 112 EFL students at State Islamic University of Mataram responded the survey study which was designed with open-ended questions. Students’ responses were qualitatively analyzed to find the main themes and sub-themes. The finding reveals that most students, 67%, perceived the use of Google classroom negatively due to the potential problems such as technical and financial problems  that lead to misunderstanding on materials delivered by the teachers. On the other hand, 27% of the students have a positive perception in terms of the ease of use and its flexibility and accessibility. The least perception from the students is neutral especially from those who play safe by perceiving the perception from both positive and negative side. Furthermore, the students proposed an ideal online learning that employ an effective teaching method and curriculum, provide such complete facilities as well combine both online and offline mode (blended learning).


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4672
Author(s):  
Ivonne Angelica Castiblanco Jimenez ◽  
Laura Cristina Cepeda García ◽  
Federica Marcolin ◽  
Maria Grazia Violante ◽  
Enrico Vezzetti

Supporting education and training initiatives has been identified as an effective way to address Sustainable Development Challenges. In this sense, e-learning stands out as one of the most viable alternatives considering its advantages in terms of resources, time management, and geographical location. Understanding the reasons that move users to adopt these technologies is critical for achieving the desired social objectives. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) provides valuable guidelines to identify the variables shaping users’ acceptance of innovations. The present study aims to validate a TAM extension designed for FARMER 4.0, an e-learning application in the agricultural sector. Findings suggest that content quality (CQ) is the primary determinant of farmers’ and agricultural entrepreneurs’ perception of the tool’s usefulness (PU). Furthermore, experience (EXP) and self-efficacy (SE) shape potential users’ perceptions about ease of use (PEOU). This study offers helpful insight into the design and development of e-learning applications in the farming sector and provides empirical evidence of TAM’s validity to assess technology acceptance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5471
Author(s):  
Chuan-Yu Mo ◽  
Te-Hsin Hsieh ◽  
Chien-Liang Lin ◽  
Yuan Qin Jin ◽  
Yu-Sheng Su

In order to enable online learning to continue developing when the COVID-19 pandemic passes, this study aimed to identify the critical factors that affected the use of e-learning by university students during the pandemic. These critical factors will help to increase the efficiency of future development and deployment of online learning systems. Through a literature review, this study employed the technology acceptance model, social support, and task–technology fit as the theoretical basis to establish the framework of the online learning environment with regards to the technology acceptance model in the context of emergency management. A questionnaire survey was administered to students in universities that had implemented online teaching during the pandemic, and 552 valid responses were collected. The survey explored the factors affecting the willingness of higher education institution students to continue using online learning, and the following conclusions were drawn. (1) The easier an online learning platform was to navigate, the better it was perceived by the students, and thus the students were more willing to use it. (2) Ease of use and usefulness were associated with the teachers’ choice of platform and their ability to achieve a satisfactory fit between the course design and platform navigation, which thereby affected the students’ learning outcomes and attitude towards use. (3) The positive attitude of teachers towards teaching increased the students’ perceived ease of use of online learning. (4) During the pandemic, family support—a major support for teachers in online teaching—enhanced teachers’ attitudes towards, and willingness to provide, online teaching. A high level of support showed that the parents urged the students to learn and complete online learning tasks as instructed by the teachers, implying that family support could affect the students’ habits towards, adaptation to, and identification of online learning. The study results provide insights into the factors affecting the willingness of teachers and students to continue using e-learning platforms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Iswadi Iswadi ◽  
Apriyanto Apriyanto

<p><em>E-learning during covid-19 pandemic gives positive and negative effects on students’ psychology. One of the effects of E-Learning is students whose negative and positive perception towards the process of E-Learning. The objectives of the study are to know (1)  The difference perception between male and female EFL post-graduate students of the use of online learning platforms? (2). Impacts psychologically of E-learning during Covid-19 to female and male EFL students in higher education. The method of the study is mixed research with the explanatory sequential design. The participants were 31 EFL postgraduate students in PGRI Indraprasta University. The data collection technique of the study was questionnaires with a Likert scale and an open interview. The data analysis technique of the study is an independent sample t-test with SPSS 22.0 version and collection, reduction, display, and conclusion. The results of the study are: (1) There is no significant difference perception between male and female EFL postgraduate students of the use of online learning platform because the significance value (0.695) which is bigger than 0.05. (2)  E-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic did not  give anxiety, fear, fatigue, and saturation to female and male EFL students in higher education. Implication of this research is University must develop LMS (Learning Management System) for teaching EFL students</em></p>


Author(s):  
Quinie Ong Kooi Loo ◽  
Kathleen Dass

Edmodo is a free online learning platform for teachers to communicate and collaborate with students. It is a digital communication tool that has been designed to work across a range of devices, suitable for blended learning. To maximize learning and meet the challenges of the current digitalized classroom, supplemental blended learning was adopted in an English literature course in an institute of teacher education in Kedah, Malaysia. This chapter describes how Edmodo was used to manage blended learning, with the focus on online activities created in posts, small groups, assignment tool, and polling tool. The activities were planned based on the five ingredients on blended learning by Carman. The result of a poll done in Edmodo showed 74% of the students agreed that they were able to explicate Shakespeare after attending the course, and 81% opined that the course was effectively organized in Edmodo. Based on the positive feedback, Edmodo is recommended for subsequent blended learning courses.


Author(s):  
Goh Lay Huah

This action research reports the experiences of introducing blended learning in the delivery of a post-graduate course to students in the university. The research conceptual framework is adapted from the technology acceptance model. The objective is to assess the level of acceptance of online learning and to document the attempts of the facilitator to create an independent, student-directed, and student-centered learning environment. This is the fourth quadrant learning typology. The research participants were a group of Masters in Education students who registered for the course “Strategies for Teaching and Learning.” Blended learning was introduced as a variant from the standard face-to-face instruction. This proved to be a valuable learning experience for both participants and lecturer. The perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of online learning was not matched with the behavioral intention.


Author(s):  
Sami Saeed Binyamin ◽  
Malcolm Rutter ◽  
Sally Smith

Although learning management systems (LMS) have been widely adopted by higher educational institutions in many countries, they are considered an emerging technology in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that the students’ use of them is not always satisfactory. This quantitative study investigated the factors that affect the students use of LMS in higher education by extending the technology acceptance model (TAM) and adapting eight external variables. Based on the probability multi-stage cluster sampling technique, online surveys were sent by email to 2000 students registered in three public universities in Saudi Arabia. 851 responses were submitted by participants, and 833 responses were used for data analysis. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equations Modeling (PLS-SEM), the results revealed that perceived ease of use is affected by six factors (content quality, system navigation, ease of access, system interactivity, instructional assessment and system learnability). The findings confirmed that perceived usefulness has five determinants (content quality, learning support, system interactivity, instructional assessment and perceived ease of use). This research is relevant to researchers, decision makers and e-learning systems designers working to enhance students’ use of e-learning systems in higher education, in particular where there is not yet widespread adoption.


Author(s):  
Dana Indra Sensuse ◽  
Darmawan Baginda Napitupulu

<p>E-learning is a model of delivering learning content electronically with the help of computers and multimedia. ABC University has implemented the e-learning system for two (2) years in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning process. This study aims to determine the level of user acceptance, especially from the perspective of students. In other words, this study also wants to evaluate the implementation of e-learning systems in higher education as well as identifying any factors that encourage students to use e-learning system especially in ABC University. The research method used was survey with the approach of TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) as the technology acceptance evaluation model consisting of two main factors: perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The results showed perceived usefulness significantly positive influence on user acceptance, while perceived ease of use did not significantly influence on user acceptance. The perceived ease of use also significantly positive influence perceived usefulness. The variance of user acceptance could be explained by two factors about 50.5%. </p>


Author(s):  
Nauman Saeed ◽  
Sukunesan Sinnappan

Second Life is a three dimensional multi-user virtual environment within the Web 2.0 suite of applications which has gained wide spread popularity amongst educators in the recent years. However, limited empirical research has been reported on the adoption of Second Life, especially within higher education. The majority of technology adoption studies concentrate on analysing effects of utilitarian variables on adoption of a new technology however one should also focus on the hedonic effects when it comes to the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies which are highly interactive, involving, multi-user and entertaining. In this paper, the authors analyse the effect of utilitarian and hedonic behaviours on adoption of Second Life in a higher education context. To achieve this goal the authors propose an extension to Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by including emotional and imaginative responses as hedonic behaviours and usefulness, ease-of-use and computer self-efficacy as utilitarian behaviours. Empirical evaluation of the proposed model suggests that hedonic behaviours, emotional responses in particular, emerged as the strongest predictors of Second Life adoption. The study findings further suggest that traditional technology acceptance approaches may fall short in being able to explain the usage of today’s highly interactive, multi-user and entertainment-oriented technologies.


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