An Investigation of EAP Teachers’ Views and Experiences of E-Learning Technology

Abstract

The near universal use of electronic learning (e-learning) in higher education (HE) today requires that students and teachers are equipped with the requisite digital literacy skills. The small-scale pilot study we report on here explored the views and experiences of EAP (English for Academic Purposes) teachers regarding their development of digital literacy skills, their application of e-learning technology in their teaching, and their perceptions of its value as a learning tool—areas on which there has been little research to date. A convergent parallel mixed methods approach was adopted, in which a survey was administered to the research participants and a follow-up focus group conducted. The data were analysed, with findings revealing that the EAP practitioners surveyed utilised a range of online tools such as video, plagiarism software and corpus linguistics tools. A number of benefits and limitations associated with e-learning were cited by participants, including increased student engagement and motivation, the development of learner autonomy, and the cultural capital it represented in respect of students’ future careers. Meanwhile, the limitations identified included a lack of time for teachers to develop digital literacy and insufficient pre- and in-service training opportunities focused on the effective use of digital technologies and managing technical issues. We conclude with a series of recommendations to facilitate EAP teachers’ development and use of e-learning in their practice.

Examining Teachers’ Perceptions of E-Learning Tools: A Survey from Indonesian EAP Classrooms

“…However, most of them (85%) appeared to favor "self-taught" for every tool listed (9/9) in the survey, which also can be found in the qualitative data. This finding aligns with Dhillon and Murray's (2021) study which reported that the majority of the EAP teachers learned e-learning tools themselves. In their study, it was found that the teachers' previous qualifications had equipped them to self-improve their IT skills.…”

“…Kahoot and Quizzlet were perceived as relatively useful tools by the participants as they could be used to consolidate students' learning. This echoes the finding of Dhillon & Murray (2021) who reported that almost half of EAP teachers in their study used quizzes as quick activities to consolidate students learning. The two lowest-ranking tools in the survey are referencing software and note-taking applications with a score of 39% and 34% respectively.…”

“…Last, "pre-service teacher training" appeared to become the lowest-ranking approach (34%) in the online survey. In contrast, Dhillon and Murray (2021) reported that 29% of the participants in their study agreed to not receive pre-service teacher training courses. It can be assumed that the rest of the participants (71%) received pre-service teacher training.…”

Professionals’ Digital Training for Child Maltreatment Prevention in the COVID-19 Era: A Pan-European Model

“…Furthermore, some problems with the technical infrastructure were sometimes detected in line with previous evidence [22,27], thus requiring a more structured approach and the need to involve the institution in the unavoidably cross-disciplinary child protec-tion training process. Technical aspects should be considered in light of the opportunity of enhanced communication and collaboration between trainees meeting in a digital environment.…”

Postrzeganie e-learningu przez nauczycieli na przykładzie Politechniki Białostockiej

“…Istnieje założenie, że ze względu na powszechność technologii e-learningowych w edukacji większość studentów będzie kompetentna w ich używaniu, w szczególności w zakresie prowadzenia badań internetowych, angażowania się w fora internetowe, komunikowania się za pomocą poczty elektronicznej oraz wypełniania i przesyłania zadań drogą elektroniczną przy użyciu platform instytucjonalnych (Dhillon, Murray, 2021). Od nauczycieli natomiast, oprócz korzystania z systemów elektronicznych do prowadzenia dokumentacji, przesyłania materiałów do wirtualnych środowisk nauczania, komunikowania się ze studentami i dostępu do Intranetu, oczekuje się również wykazania się znajomością i kompetencjami w korzystaniu z różnorodnych elektronicznych narzędzi nauczania i uczenia się (Dhillon, Murray, 2021 Podsumowując, należy stwierdzić, iż kierunki prowadzonych dotychczas nielicznych badań dotyczących akceptacji rozwiązań e-learningowych przez nauczycieli obejmują głównie badanie użyteczności systemów i intencji ich użytkowników. W tym kontekście ważne jest ustalenie, jakie czynniki wpływają na akceptację e-learningu.…”