Impacts and preferences study for e-HO as a holistic learning environment complementary to e-Learning

Abstract

We present in this study the significance and impacts of an innovative e-HO as a holistic and horizontal platform complementary to e-Learning to help realize transdisciplinary learning and foster integration of knowledge in higher education. A comprehensive investigation of a survey conducted among 647 university students for e-HO is presented with detailed studies on students’ preferences toward e-HO with respect to various demographic variables including gender, access frequency, grade level, discipline and access route concerning the five scales extracted in this particular survey. No significant gender difference surfaced, whereas access frequency turned out to be the most influential and decisive variable that has resulted in significant differences on all the scales involved, especially the characteristic ‘Leisure climate’. Further significant differences appeared on different scales with distinct natures for different demographic variables other than gender and access frequency, indicating the multidimensional characteristics of the whole endeavor and that care must be taken whenever a learning environment like this is constructed in higher education.