Efficiency of e-learning in an information literacy course for medical students at the Masaryk University

Abstract

Purpose: The main goal of this paper is to argue E-learning can be a viable alternative teaching method for Information Literacy according to a comparation of librarian's time spent face-to-face teaching with tutoring the E-learning course, average time spent a week on learning by the students, time flexibility of E-learning, students' satisfaction with E-learning and students' ability to gain practical skills and theoretical knowledge through E-learning. Design/methodology/approach: Satisfaction of medical students with E-learning and their average weekly time spent learning was assessed through surveys designed in Google Documents. Weekly time spent by students learning in class and the number of librarian teaching hours were set by the university schedule and time spent on tutoring E-learning was measured. Details of accesses to study materials and submission of tasks as well as exam results were collected from Masaryk University Learning Management System. Findings: In 2011 50% less time was expended on tutoring E-learning than time spent with the same number of students in the previous three years in the classroom. One third of the students learned for more hours a week with E-learning than students in class. No significant difference in gained theoretical knowledge between these students was found. On average 90% of tasks submitted to E-learning were correct the first time. E-learning was appreciated by the students for its time (93%) and space (83 %) flexibility, the online materials (62%) and self-managing learning time (55%). Details of access to the study materials confirmed time flexibility. Originality/value: Due to time saved and considering the lack of any significant difference in the knowledge gained by students, E-learning can be a viable alternative teaching method for Information Literacy.Keywords: advantages, efficiency, E-learning, evaluation, Information Literacy, academic library, librarians, Masaryk University, medical students IntroductionInformation Literacy (IL) has been an essential part of university curriculum for more than thirty years. (Pinto et al., 2010) Due to the development of information and communication technologies the libraries must adapt to the needs of their users and provide IL activities also in e-environments.(Nazari and Webber, 2012) One possible solution is to incorporate Elearning as another teaching method. However, in recent years several studies have discussed advantages and disadvantages of E-learning in Information Literacy activities. Perceived disadvantages include Learning Management Systems (LMS) lacking a study material depository, a discussion group, chat rooms, applications for online examination, testing and scheduling and applications for online examination. Further problems discussed relate to copyright of used study materials, changing the learning style of the learners from face-toface (F2F) lessons to E-learning, lack of students' motivation for self-study. Above all the main disadvantage has been found to be the amount of time-consumpti...

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