scholarly journals Saudi EFL Students’ Use and Perceptions of Blackboard before and during Online Learning Amid COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-37
Author(s):  
Zainab Alsuhaibani

Online learning becomes the means of education during COVID-19. Blackboard is one of the learning management systems that has been widely used before and during the pandemic. This study focuses on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard. It explores and compares EFL students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard considering three phases: before COVID-19 in 2019, during online learning in 2020, and during online learning in 2021. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. A total of 381 Saudi EFL students participated in the study. The results show that there are statistically significant differences in EFL students’ use of Blackboard between the three phases. EFL students’ use of Blackboard increased during online learning in 2020 compared to 2019, especially concerning the frequency of visiting Blackboard and the time students spent using it. Further, EFL students’ use of Blackboard increased significantly during online learning in 2021 compared to 2019 with regard to visit frequencies, time spent, and Blackboard tools used. Considering perceptions, the results indicate that there are statistically significant differences in students’ perceptions of Blackboard in terms of easiness and usefulness between the three phases. Interestingly, students had more positive perceptions of Blackboard before COVID-19 in 2019 and during online learning in 2021. The technical problems that students faced while using Blackboard during 2020 might have affected their perceptions. The study results of students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard are discussed in light of institutional policies and support.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zainab Alsuhaibani

Online learning becomes the means of education during COVID-19. Blackboard is one of the learning management systems that has been widely used before and during the pandemic. This study focuses on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard. It explores and compares EFL students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard considering three phases: before COVID-19 in 2019, during online learning in 2020, and during online learning in 2021. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. A total of 381 Saudi EFL students participated in the study. The results show that there are statistically significant differences in EFL students’ use of Blackboard between the three phases. EFL students’ use of Blackboard increased during online learning in 2020 compared to 2019, especially concerning the frequency of visiting Blackboard and the time students spent using it. Further, EFL students’ use of Blackboard increased significantly during online learning in 2021 compared to 2019 with regard to visit frequencies, time spent, and Blackboard tools used. Considering perceptions, the results indicate that there are statistically significant differences in students’ perceptions of Blackboard in terms of easiness and usefulness between the three phases. Interestingly, students had more positive perceptions of Blackboard before COVID-19 in 2019 and during online learning in 2021. The technical problems that students faced while using Blackboard during 2020 might have affected their perceptions. The study results of students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard are discussed in light of institutional policies and support.


Proceedings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Cemal Aktürk ◽  
Ceren Çubukçu

The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic required changes to be made, especially in formal education processes. In order for the students to stay safe and healthy, many educational institutions switched to the distance learning method for the rest of the semester and continued their education without any intermission. Due to this switch, there has been a rise in the usage of learning management systems, and as a result, students started to encounter technical problems, especially during the exam periods, or they simply wanted to obtain more information about academic or administrative issues. This study used frequency and percentage analysis methods and examined the support request tickets opened up by students during distance education. Resolving the encountered problems quickly and effectively is very important in order to protect the motivation of the learners and ensure their successes. It was seen in the study that the majority of the problems reported by the students were related to internet connection or to the problems occurred during exams. This study aimed to share experiences with the researchers and technical and administrative staff working in this field and to contribute to the current distance learning literature.


Author(s):  
Reza Dashtestani

This study focused on the acceptance level of higher education stakeholders of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) of online courses in Iran and pre-service teachers’ learning achievement in online courses. Three cohorts of participants who were teaching or learning in online courses included pre-service teachers of TEFL (n=104), TEFL university instructors (n=23), and heads of TEFL departments (n=10). A questionnaire was designed. The Kruskal Wallis test was used to detect differences among the perspectives of the participants. Semi-structured interviews were also utilized. Results indicated that there were significant differences among the perspectives of the three groups of participants about online courses. The pre-service teachers appeared to be relatively positive about online learning, while the university instructors and heads of departments showed a lower level of satisfaction. The participants pointed out several challenges, including the lack of rigor of online courses, the incredibility of the certificates, the lack of technological infrastructures, technical problems, the impractical content of the lessons, the lack of human interaction, the low competence levels of online learning students, and employers’ lack of interest in employing graduates of online courses. The participants also mentioned that pedagogical and technological training was required for both university instructors and pre-service teachers of TEFL. The comparison of pre-service teachers’ mid-term and final scores in the online courses showed a significant difference and improvement of students’ learning achievement in online courses with medium to large effect sizes. In the interviews, the participants also confirmed that online courses could improve student learning.


Author(s):  
Wu Bing ◽  
Teoh Ai Ping ◽  
Ye Chun Ming

Following the rapid development of open distance education and the enrichment of online resources and Learning Management Systems in Asia, the quality of interactions amongst learners and online content, teacher and peers has become one of the imperative factors in determining the efficacy of web-based teaching-learning. Online learning is distinctive as compared to face-to-face interaction in terms of how the course material is presented, the nature of interactions, and overall learning experience. This case study explores the understanding, expectation and experience of learners from China and Malaysia based on vital aspects of learning in the web-based environment such as the concept of teaching and learning, the role of the teacher, communication patterns in the virtual classroom, relationships with the teacher and the classmates, and attitudes towards learning achievement. These are reflected in the learning patterns and behavior of online learners as observed in their interaction with the web-based content and participation in the online forum discussions within the online Learning Management Systems. In addition, this case highlights the influence of national culture towards learners’ interaction as displayed in their online learning activities.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1582-1601
Author(s):  
Kathleen Bastedo ◽  
Jessica Vargas

For those with disabilities, distance-learning courses can provide access to a world that was once inaccessible. Online learning becomes a possibility and for many a gateway to contributing to the world around them. However, there are many points to consider when ensuring accessibility in distance-learning courses. By exploring the current research and trends, this chapter reviews learning management systems, learner interaction styles and tools, and methods to design accessible course materials. It provides the educator with not only a working vocabulary but also with strategies and implementation methods for ensuring accessible content in online learning.


Author(s):  
Abdeleh Bassam Al Amoush ◽  
Kamaljeet Sandhu

Digital learning management systems (DLMSs) are an important and necessary educational tool for learning activities. Universities are using the Digital LMS tools that are unique to their environment. Different universities have different DLMS tools that are software driven and allow the users (management, instructors, and students) to use them for regular tasks. This research discusses the qualitative data collected using a case study methodology. In this research, a case study design was selected for the qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews were employed as the data collection method. This case study is based on a deanship of a university implementing a digital learning management system in the country of Jordan. The research provides an analysis of the interviews to gain insights into instructors' perspectives regarding the factors influencing the implementation of the digital learning management system in a higher education sector.


Author(s):  
Bret Miller ◽  
Michael Thomas

Smartphones have many qualities that have made them potentially useful for learning (e.g., connectivity, interactivity, and personalization) but few studies have considered their role in understanding learning behavior and student engagement. This study investigated differences in the way students approach online learning, comparing those who use smartphones to access their online classroom with students who use more traditional tools, such as desktop and laptop computers. Specifically, the study was designed to investigate the use of smartphones and their effect on learning behavior and student engagement at a regionally accredited university in the United States. The chapter analyzes the quantitative data arising from the study and discusses why the results identified statistically significant differences in the ways students approached their own learning. Moreover, it also explores the engagement patterns which revealed that the type of tasks online students performed with a smartphone varied significantly from the tasks that students performed when using a desktop or tablet.


2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-82
Author(s):  
Elio Rivas-Sanchez ◽  
Jesús Serrano Guerrero ◽  
Víctor Hugo Menéndez

Learning Objects are key elements within e-Learning environment because describe the created educational material for students, besides, it permits the reusing and sharing in di_erent Learning Management Systems. Usually, when teachers need to create and structure educational experiences, they attend to repositories for retrieving resources fitted to their interest, for reducing the e_ort and the computational time. In this paper, a proposal is presented for merging Learning Objects from heterogeneous repositories; the model is based on semantic relationships between Learning Objects retrieved from a meta-search engine, as an alternative for locating fitted educational resources for teacher’s interest. The model exposed in the proposal has been implemented as initial prototype, which retrieves Learning Objects from open repositories. An initial study results confirm the usefulness of the model. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/nexo.v26i2.1286 Nexo Revista Científica Vol. 26, No. 02, pp. 69-82/Diciembre 2013


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