Abstract
As online class offerings continue to proliferate and more students take at least one online class in college, more research is needed to explore factors that impact students’ perceptions of their online classes. Past research has found a positive relationship between students’ computer self-efficacy and their satisfaction with online learning, but little research has explored how learning management system and online learning self-efficacy relate to perceptions of satisfaction and perceived usefulness of online classes. In addition to confidence, students must also implement and apply their learning skills in an online environment; thus self-regulation and time management as well as past online learning experience are additional factors that have been shown to be related to satisfaction with and usefulness of online learning. This study explores how students’ confidence regarding their ability to use online learning platforms, utilize self-regulation strategies, and their confidence in their ability to learn in online classes predict both their satisfaction with and perceived usefulness of online classes. Multiple regression analyses revealed that students’ confidence to learn online was the strongest positive predictor of satisfaction and usefulness of online classes. The results indicate that exploring students’ purpose and reasons for taking online classes, beyond a students’ skill set and learning strategies, are fruitful directions to pursue when assessing evaluations of online classes.
Highlights
As online class offerings continue to proliferate and more students take at least one online class in college, more research is needed to explore factors that impact students’ perceptions of their online classes
The current study focuses on students’ beliefs about their abilities and their use of learning strategies to evaluate how these relate to perceptions of both satisfaction and usefulness
The current study answers the call for more research into self-efficacy within online learning (Alqurashi, 2016), exploring two less studied aspects of self-efficacy: online learning platform and learning online. This project aims to explore how students’ confidence regarding their ability to use online learning platforms, utilize self-regulation strategies, and their ability to learn in online classes predict both their satisfaction with and perceived usefulness of online classes
Summary
As online class offerings continue to proliferate and more students take at least one online class in college, more research is needed to explore factors that impact students’ perceptions of their online classes. Students must implement and apply their learning skills in an online environment; self-regulation and time management as well as past online learning experience are additional factors that have been shown to be related to satisfaction with and usefulness of online learning. In a quasi-experimental study, students enrolled in an online psychology course earned similar grades on all assignments, except scoring significantly lower on a group presentation, compared to those enrolled in a face-to-face version of the class. Both groups reported being satisfied with their respective classes, but the rates of withdrawal and failure were more than twice as high in the online class (Garratt-Reed, Roberts, & Heritage, 2016). Students who struggle with navigating the online platform, gaining access to the course content and who find that online classes call for a different skill set that does not necessarily translate from traditional face-to-face classes may be less satisfied with their online experience and find online classes to be less useful
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