Google Classroom: Malaysian University Students’ attitudes towards its use as learning management system

Abstract

Education in the 21st century is heavily influenced by information and communication technology. The advancement of the Internet has enabled learning to be conducted online, which offers many advantages. Online learning is commonly managed using a learning management system (LMS), the most widely used being Google Classroom. Studies have shown that Google Classroom’s ease of use, usefulness, and helpfulness have been viewed by learners around the world positively. However, studies involving Malaysian learners are sparse. To close the gap in the literature, the present study examined Malaysian university students’ attitudes towards the use of Google Classroom as LMS. Research method employed was quantitative descriptive research. Participants were 89 students from a public university in Terengganu, Malaysia, who were taking an English course. They were mostly female (71%) and between 20 and 23 years old. They had attended face-to-face learning sessions for five weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated the classes to be held online completely. Participants then completed nine weeks of online learning on Google Classroom. To obtain participants’ feedback, they were requested to fill out a Google Form questionnaire, which asked them to rate on a five-point Likert scale their perceptions of Google Classroom’s ease of use and usefulness as well as their intention to continue using the platform. Based on the results, participants’ views of Google Classroom were very positive. It can be suggested that participants found Google Classroom easy to use, useful, and worth using.