E-learning Technology Related Implications - Research Paper Example

6.3 Implications of the study 6.3.1 Elearning technology related implications The findings of this research can be used in finding ways to increase the use of elearning technology among female academics in Saudi Arabian universities. In particular, one major finding of the research is that a significant number of participants in the study were of the view that elearning technology (Blackboard in this context) is the future of higher education in Saudi Arabia and were therefore willing to use the technology in their work, as discussed in section 5.2.1. Yet, a previous research study had indicated that the number of female academics who use elearning technology is lower than that of male academics who use LMSs (Al Balawi, 2007). The implication of this is that since there many female members of faculty who believe that the use of elearning technology is the future of higher education but few of them actually use the technology, there is an opportunity to increase the adoption of technology. In section 4.4.3.2, the research participants noted that increasing the number of computer laboratories as well as the necessary technological infrastructure and providing technical support to enable the use of Blackboard would make them use the technology more. Therefore, the adoption of elearning technology by female academics can be increased by: Specifically targeting female academics with the required elearning equipment and infrastructure such as computers (both desktops and portable computers, smartphones) computer laboratories and Internet infrastructure to ensure that the members of faculty have unrestricted access to the elearning facilities that they need. For instance, providing female academics smartphones or laptops that they can use to monitor students’ work online (instead of requiring the academics to buy their own devices) can act as an incentive for more women faculty members to use elearning technology. Providing technical support at all times to ensure that female academics remain motivated to use learning management systems. As discussed in section 4.4.3.2, ensuring that technical support is provided whenever female academics need it would make the use of learning management systems easier and the elearning technology more accepted, which would attract more female academic staff to use the system. Dealing with “software problems and inadequate technical support, system failure” as discussed in section 4.4.2.2 can help enhance the use of LMS among female members of the university teaching staff. For instance, ensuring that the elearning system is always up and running and making sure that there is someone to contact whenever there is a problem can assure the female academics that the LMS technology is easy to use. In accordance with the TAM theory (section 3.3), the more users believe that a technology is easy to use, the more they will adopt the technology. 6.3.2 Academic related implications One of the major findings in the research is that older female academics with higher academic qualifications (master’s degree or higher) and higher job positions (lecturers, assistants and full professors) use LMS more vis-à-vis younger academics with lower academic qualifications and lower teaching positions (sections 4.2.6 and 4.2.7). The implication of this observation is that LMSs are likely to be used by older members of faculty with more knowledge on how the systems works. In section 4.3.3.3, it was indicated that most of the research participants were of the standpoint that they can use Blackboard more if the system was useful to their work and/or makes the teaching process easier. That is, in accordance with the TAM theory, the actual use of a technology depends on the technology’s perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Therefore, making LMS more useful to all female members of faculty, regardless of their age, academic qualifications and teaching position will make utilisation of elearning technology more accepted by a wider section of female academics. Making LMS more useful to all female academics can be achieved in the following ways: Specifically targeting female members of faculty when providing training on the use of elearning technology. Having training on the use of LMS that specifically targets female academics will help in ensuring that more female academics get to use LMSs in their work. Such an arrangement is particularly important given the scenario in Saudi Arabia’s higher education that is gender segregated. Specifically, it was noted in the review of literature that segregated learning in KSA seems to support gendered perceptions that women are inferior to men (Jamjoom & Kelly, 2013), meaning there are likely to be gendered differences in regard to the extent to which male and female academics use LMS. Therefore, specifically targeting female academics with training will help bridge the gap between male and female academics’ use of LMS. Inducting younger female academics into the use of elearning technology as soon as they take teaching jobs at universities. Given that it was found in the research that younger female academics (those of ages 26 to 30 years) tend to use LMS to a lesser extend compared older female academics (those 40 years or over) (see section 4.2.8), there is need to ensure that female academics start using elearning technology as soon as they take their jobs. This can be achieved through provision of on the job training as soon as female academics are recruited and start teaching. The training can be provided as part of the job induction activities. 6.3.3 Student-related implications The research noted that having students with knowledge on how to use elearning technology, in this case Blackboard, can encourage members of the teaching staff to use the system more (see section 4.4.3.4). The implication of this finding is that much as attention is paid on whether members of faculty are able to use learning management systems, there is need to also pay attention to the needs of students when looking at the extent and actual ways in which a technology is used. As discussed in the review of literature (section section 2.3.3.3), students’ acceptance of a learning management system can result in an increase in the usage of the LMS given that students are the key recipients of the instruction that is delivered through such systems. The implication of the two key findings regarding students’ use of LMS, both in the results of this study and in the literature review is that student acceptance of elearning technology is an important factor that can help increase the adoption of LMS among students and female members of faculty. The following steps can be taken to increase students’ acceptance and use of LMSs in Saudi Arabian universities: Providing training to students on how to use LMS and the usefulness of the system. In the review of literature (e.g. Fathema et al. 2015), it was noted that the usefulness as well as ease of use of LMSs are good determinants of the student acceptance of elearning technologies. As posited in the TAM theory, both how easy an elearning technology is perceived to be and how useful the technology is regarded to be have an influence on the behavioural intention to use an LMS and the actual use of the system. Therefore, making students have positive attitudes towards LMS by offering training on the use of LMS will help demystify any challenges related to the system in regard to whether it is useful and easy to use. As more students start using LMS, it can be expected that more and more female academics will be motivated to use elearning technology in their work. Provide the necessary supports to students. Supports such as devices and seamless access to technology can undoubtedly help students to be more receptive of LMS and hence motivate female academics to use the system. As noted by Charnkit (2010) and Yamani (2014), younger people are more adept at using technology and learn quite easily to use different devices. The aforementioned point by Charnkit (2010) and Yamani (2014) can be used as a basis for providing the different kinds of supports that students require so as to effectively use LMS. 6.3.4 Saudi higher education/institutions implications One of the key findings of the research was that institutional support for students and academic staff is required to ensure that elearning technology is accepted and used in higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia (see section 4.4.3.1). Specifically, it was mentioned that there is need to provide training on LMS use, increase the number of training courses related to using LMS, and to educate students on the importance of Blackboard. Regarding academic staff, it was noted that there is need to for universities to train and encourage members of faculty to use Blackboard. The implications relating to the findings on institutional support for faculty members and students to use LMS are as follows. First, when training and support relating to LMS use are provided, more female academic staff members will be motivated to use LMS having got the skills to use the system and understood the importance of using LMS. Secondly, more students will also be encouraged to use LMS, and this is important for increasing LMS adoption by female academics and is significant for the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education, which has been promoting the use of LMS. Thus, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education and the institutions higher learning in the country could take the following steps to increase the uptake of LMS by female academics: Focus on increasing the level to which LMSs such as Blackboard is used. It was noted in the research that the current use of Blackboard is largely teacher-centred, meaning that the usage of the LMS revolves around what academics can do with the technology rather than the full capabilities of the technology (Alshammari, 2015). According to the SAMR model, the current usage of Blackboard is only at the substitution level (Puentedura, 2006, cited by Phillips, 2015), meaning that faculty members use Blackboard for basic functions such as uploading learning materials for students. However, the LMS can also be used to augment, modify and redefine the manner in which teaching and learning is done using Blackboard (Puentedura, 2006, cited by Phillips, 2015). Therefore, in the future, universities and the Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia need to find ways through which they can make LMS to be used at the levels of augmenting, modifying and redefining instruction delivery and learning. This requires provision of training and all the support (in terms of technology, facilities and policies) that can enable students and female academics to use LMS more. The Ministry of Higher Education can also consider rewarding universities that extensively adopt the use of LMS as a way of motivating the universities to encourage their faculty members to adopt the use of elearning technology on a larger scale. 6.4 Contribution to new knowledge 650 words The main focus of the research has been on the factors that influence the adoption of LMS by female members of faculty in universities in Saudi Arabia. The research has helped in gathering new knowledge in the area of LMS use, particularly along the theme of why fewer female academics use LMS compared to their male counterparts. The study extended research on why fewer female academics use LMS as was found by Al Balawi (2007), and applied the TAM theory to investigate the factors that affect female academics’ utilisation of LMS. The study has added new knowledge on what is known about the ways and extent to which female academics in Saudi Arabian universities use LMS. The research has found that overall, female academics in the universities that were the subject of the study use Blackboard for basic functions such as uploading learning materials for students and administering tests and quizzes. This is an important revelation given that Alshammari (2015) also found that academics in Saudi Arabian universities use LMSs for “only one or two functions“(p. 146). Therefore, the findings of this study, when considered together with the findings of other authors such as Alshammari (2015), indicate why there is need to increase awareness about the usefulness of LMS functionalities so that academics, especially female ones, are able to use LMS more. Another contribution of the research is in relation to the different perceptions that exist regarding the age groups of people who use actually use LMS. While it would be expected that younger people are more adept at using technology and are therefore likely to use LMS more as suggested by Charnkit (2010) and Yamani (2014), the current study found that older faculty members make use of Blackboard more compared to their younger counterparts. Since the findings of this study are in agreement with those of another study that was conducted by Alghamdi and Bayaga (2016), the results help in reinvigorating the debate on how age, experience and academic qualifications affect faculty members’ use of LMS. The study also contributes to the knowledge regarding LMS usage through the finding that female academics who teach courses in vocational education use LMS the least compared to academics in other departments. This finding forms a basis for further research to understand why there is low adoption of LMS by female academics in the area of vocational education. Another significant contribution of the research is the finding regarding external and internal factors that affect faculty members’ usage of LMS. Whereas significant research has been carried out in this area (e.g. Alghamdi & Bayaga, 2016; Alharbi & Drew, 2014; Alshammari, 2015), this study’s contribution is unique because of the focus on female academics. In particular, the study has made it possible to understand some of the enablers as well as barriers to the use of LMS from the perspective of female academics. Based on the contributions of the current study, the following are some recommendations for future research: There is need for further research studies on why the use of LMS in Saudi Arabia is largely teacher-centred and focusing on the utilisation of only a few of the LMS’s functionalities. Such a study will help reveal the barriers that limit the extent of use of LMS by female academics. Another area that needs further research regards how faculty members’ age affects usage of LMS. Since there are different research findings regarding how age influences the use of LMS, the issue is worth exploring further in order to find ways in which younger female academics can be encouraged to use LMS more. Future research could also focus on elearning models that are appropriate for use in vocational education since the research found low usage of LMS by academics in this particular discipline and the review of literature revealed that there has been little research on elearning models that fit the discipline. Read More