Exploring lecturer and student perceptions and use of a learning management system in a postgraduate public health environment

Abstract

Learning management systems have become a key component of teaching and learning in higher education. However, the evidence on the importance of learning management systems to learning is still in its infancy. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role that the Canvas learning management system played in the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, Australia. To do this, we conducted interviews with lecturers ( n = 9) and postgraduate coursework students ( n = 7) from the School during Semester 2, 2018. We analysed the interviews thematically, identifying one overarching theme: that Canvas is predominantly used and perceived as an information repository by teaching academics and students. This means that lecturers place course materials on the learning management system for students to use and are making limited use of other, more interactive features of the learning management system, despite interaction being seen as essential to effective teaching and learning. This use of Canvas was explained by two factors: (1) face-to-face learning is perceived as superior to online learning and (2) the existence of skill and capacity barriers that hinder improved online teaching and learning practice, even where professional development opportunities exist for lecturers. We argue that this represents suboptimal use of a learning management system, especially when online learning is likely to become more significant in the coming years. To address this issue, we recommend employing and appropriately resourcing educational designers within higher education settings. These specialists can aid lecturers in the creation of genuinely interactive online environments so that the benefits of online teaching and learning can be fully realised.

English goes digital: Framing pre-service teachers’ perceptions of a learning management system in their EFL studies

“…Whereas there is a plethora of studies associated with EFL students' perceptions of digital artefacts and Internet-based teaching and learning (Xue & Churchill, 2020), research that investigates LMSs, and especially LMS Canvas, in university settings is under-represented (Fathema & Akanda, 2020;Karademir et al, 2019;Kite et al, 2020;Pan & Gan, 2020;Siahaan, 2020). Currently, research appears to focus on the perceptions of LMSs by i) university teaching staff (Fathema & Akanda, 2020;Karademir et al, 2019;Pan & Gan, 2020), ii) university student cohorts (Siahaan, 2020;Zhonggen et al, 2019), and iii) both university staff and the student population (Kite et al, 2020).…”

“…University lecturers' and students' perceptions of Canvas are explored in a recent study by Kite et al (2020), who interviewed university lecturers and postgraduate students at The University of Sydney (Australia). The results of their qualitative analysis indicate that university staff and students alike agree that the presence of Canvas appears to be essential in university settings (Kite et al, 2020). However, Canvas seems to be perceived as an information storage by academics and students.…”

“…The process of teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) cannot be understood without digital tools (Amhag, Hellström, & Stigmar, 2019;Bensalem, 2019;Gran, Petterson, & Mølstad, 2019;Hidalgo, Huertas, & Gómez Parra, 2020). Learning management systems (LMSs) as a digital tool are thought to be an integral part of the recent digital turn in EFL teaching and learning (Kite et al, 2020;Lawrence et al, 2020). In light of the digital turn in EFL (Bensalem, 2019;Cardoso, 2018), LMSs "have become a key component of teaching and learning in higher education" (Kite et al, 2020: 183).…”

“…Whereas the use of Canvas as an LMS has been researched in the literature (Fathema & Akanda, 2020;Kite et al, 2020;Kruse & Rapp, 2019;Leuckert, 2020), little is known about how pre-service primary school teachers of English frame their perceptions of the digital practices afforded by Canvas Oleksandr Kapranov: English goes digital: Framing pre-service teachers' perceptions of a learning management system in their EFL studies (Lee & Lee, 2019). Furthermore, there are insufficient studies that juxtapose the framing of Canvas by pre-service EFL teachers with that of non-teacher EFL students.…”

Use of the Collaborative Wall to Improve the Teaching-Learning Conditions in the Bachelor of Visual Arts

“…During the 21st century, teachers are transforming the educational context with the support of technology (Salas-Rueda, 2020;Wargo, 2020;Wet, 2017). These changes are causing that students acquire a leading role during the learning process (Gonzalez et al, 2020;Kite et al, 2020;Strycker, 2020).…”