From Student’s Experience: Does E-learning Course Structure Influenced by learner’s Prior Experience, Background Knowledge, Autonomy, and Dialogue

Hassan Abuhassna,Abdelsalam H Busalim,Fareed Awae,Megat Aman Zahiri Megat Zakaria,Noraffandy Yahaya,Babakura Mamman,Qusay Al-Maatouk

doi:10.30935/cedtech/11386

Abstract

Background: E-learning is increasingly becoming a preference in higher education institutions worldwide; this is intended to assist educational institutions in achieving objectives to meet the proportion of individuals with their educational opportunities. Nevertheless, instructors and students frequently have concerns with their capacity to succeed in E-learning environments. Objectives: This study aimed to presents common eLearning challenges in regard to e-learning courses structure and its relations to various factors, for instance; students’ autonomy, prior knowledge and experience, students- students dialogue, and students- instructor dialogue, and proposes solutions to these challenges based on the transactional distance theory. Moreover, this study presents evidence from Malaysian higher institutions based on theoretical models for e-learning course structure and its relations to the factors mentioned above. Methods: Data have been collected from 680 university learners all over Malaysia. Data were then examined using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling employing Smart PLS 3.0 software. Results and conclusion: Research findings indicated that e-learning course structure was affected by all dimensions of overall path analysis findings: student autonomy, students background, student-instructor dialogue, and student-student dialogue. However, the e-learning course structure showed insignificant with students’ prior experience. Implications: Implications for universities are discussed accordingly. Such findings provide vital support to the integrative association among collaborative control (CC) and transactional distance theory (TDT) regarding e-learning environments experience, which might support universities administrators in the higher education industry to implement, plan and evaluate online learning platforms applications in their institutions.

Highlights

E-learning offers access to higher education institutions to a wide variety of students
Research findings indicated that e-learning course structure was affected by all dimensions of overall path analysis findings: student autonomy, students background, student-instructor dialogue, and student-student dialogue
The current study focuses on e-learning course structure and the approaches that situate both instructors with their learners to have a practical e-learning experience

Summary

Introduction

E-learning offers access to higher education institutions to a wide variety of students. Including face-to-face learners on campus, students who are working; looking for opportunities to pursue their degree or post-degree through their working experience to be able to switch their career path, individuals who are looking for a flexible time scheduling possibility, those who choose not to take part in face-to-face environments, and those who have abnormal circumstances, for instance, nowadays COVID-19 outbreak that affected all worldwide educational systems. E-learning offers a real chance for learners with various lifestyles to make it possible to study without restrictions in a safe and secure atmosphere (Bradford et al, 2007; Chawdhry et al, 2011; Heirdsfield et al, 2011). Instructors and students frequently have concerns with their capacity to succeed in E-learning environments

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion