E-LEARNING PLATFORM: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ON TIME MANAGEMENT

Abstract

More than half of the university students start learning or actually learn with less than one week before exams period. Overwhelmed by the volume of learning material and the short period available, they fail in reaching the standards. E-Learning demands learners to have the ability of operating their own time, processing information, as well as planning time resources. E-learning platforms include instruments which can improve time management behaviors, through the process of setting goals, monitoring the time management practices, and receiving feedback. The study design is correlational, aiming to identify aspects of e-learning which can improve time management for university students enrolled in online courses. We also discuss the disadvantages of e-learning on time management. We started from the main hypothesis that the use of Moodle e-learning platform has efficient effects on time management strategies. The participants were students at the University Transilvania of Brasov, from several faculties. Two questionnaires were administered: - The Use of E-Learning Platform Questionnaire (aiming to identify dimensions such as: frequency of use, facilities, number of hours per week, type of applications, number of online curses attended, etc). - Time Management Questionnaire - assessing time management behaviors, such as setting goals and priorities, scheduling and planning behaviors, perception of control of time. The time management Questionnaire was also administered to a sample of students not-enrolled in online curses, in order to assess the differences between the enrolled and not-enrolled students regarding the strategies of time management. The results showed that students enrolled in online learning have a more efficient time management than those not enrolled. The associations were higher when frequency of use of e-learning was included in the analysis. The results showed that e-learning platform has advantages on time management for those students who are advanced users, but it is time consuming for those who are beginners. The results highlight the fact that not all students are familiar with the use of platform and that they are using limited applications which does not improve significantly their time management strategies. The data from the time management scale was also correlated with academic achievement measures, showing that academic achievement is positively associated with efficient time management, especially for the students enrolled in online courses.