Usability of Cloud-based Learning Management Systems Among the Selected Higher Education Institutions in Negros Occidental: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The current public health emergency led many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to use online solutions, such as cloud-based Learning Management Systems (LMSs), in delivering instructions. With this abrupt transition from traditional classrooms to online learning, it is necessary to explore and understand users’ perceptions, especially the students, about the usability of LMSs that HEIs are using. The primary purpose of this descriptive study is to determine the subjective usability of Google Classroom, Canvas, and Edmodo using the Usefulness, Satisfaction, and Ease of Use (USE) questionnaire. These are the three topmost LMSs preferred by HEIs in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines, according to the initial survey of 40 college teachers. For usability assessment, 165 college students were recruited, of which 88 (53.3%) were male and 77 (46.7%) were female. The student participants were divided equally into three groups with 55 members each, and each group was assigned to evaluate one of the three selected LMSs. The collected data were processed and analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. The results show that the usability of the three LMSs is acceptable based on the perception of the student participants, with Google Classroom achieving the highest usability score, followed by Edmodo and Canvas in respective order. In addition, this study found that the differences between the three LMSs in terms of usefulness, ease of use, learnability, and satisfaction are statistically significant. This result implies that the three LMSs are equally acceptable in subjective usability; however, the student participants highly preferred using Google Classroom. This preference is mainly due to the growing perception that Google Classroom is more practical, easier to utilize and learn, and more satisfying.