Saudi academic perceptions of e-learning systems

Abstract

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has seen a growing interest in the uptake of cloud-based educational technologies in the university sector in recent years. In order to better understand the potential of cloud-based opportunities, it was considered important to first investigate the experiences of academic staff in their current use of e-learning systems. A survey was undertaken to explore whether current e-learning systems were serving tertiary learning requirements as articulated by those academics teaching and providing the e-learning services in Saudi Arabian universities. The online survey collected 55 responses. Findings contrasted with earlier studies critical of the country's e-learning provision and suggest that Saudi Arabian universities may now have a sounder e-learning infrastructure in place. Shifting e-learning services into the cloud was identified as a new opportunity that may allow academics to leverage the benefits of cloud technologies and to address some of the challenges they face.