The Learning Platform in Distance Higher Education: Student’s Perceptions

Abstract

The aim of this study is to discover student's perceptions from the School of Education about the use of the learning platform to improve educational process in distance higher education. To this end, a descriptive study with a mixed approach (quantitative and qualitative) has been applied according to the objectives of the study. An ad-hoc semi-structured questionnaire has been validated by experts, obtaining the response of 111 students of the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED), who are conducting social education, pedagogy, and master's degrees in education. The results showed positive values in the different dimensions analyzed: (I) Role of learning platform in distance education, (II) Instructional of the design learning platform, (III) Didactic interaction through the learning platform and (IV) The learning platform and professional practice. The analysis of the open questions, provides guidelines for improving the use of the learning platform in distance higher education regarding strengths (student's exchange, and independent learning) and weaknesses (feedback delay, and content repository).

Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Uzaktan Çevrim-içi Yabancı Dil Öğrenmeye yönelik Görüşlerinin Değerlendirilmesi

“…There are various factors forming online language learning environment and leading eventually to learner success or drop-out. It is well-understood from the literature that the fact that learning environment is motivating and decreasing foreign language anxiety, it positively affects attitudes towards language learning and provides materials facilitating learning, it ensures learner-learner, learner-instructor and learner-learning material interactions, it improves four basic language skills (listening, reading, writing, speaking), and that it is suitable for the use of various learning strategies and it is encouraging learner-autonomy, all such factors positively contribute to foreign language achievement (Cacheiro-Gonzalez & Medina-Rivilla, 2019;Li, 2019;Liang-Yi & Chin-Chung, 2017;Kuruçay & İnan, 2017;Lin et al, 2017;Gütl et al, 2013;Hurd, 2006;Ally, 2004). On the other hand, there is an emphasis on the fact that it is motivation that pursues student persistence, and that determines students' level of attendance (Hrastinski, 2009) course achievement in online learning environments, and that is the most important factor affected by other factors as well (Alkış & Taşkaya-Temizel, 2018;Widjaja & Chen, 2017;Hartnett, 2016).…”

E-Learning vs. Face-To-Face Learning: Analyzing Students’ Preferences and Behaviors

“…The dichotomy of e-learning vs. face-to-face learning and all that it entails has been given the attention of researchers for a while. Experts in the fields of education and technology have studied this topic from various perspectives, such as the differences between e-learning and face-to-face learning [15,16], the advantages and disadvantages of one over the other [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], students' attitudes towards one form and/or the other, their emotions, whether positive or negative, and their sense of belonging [26][27][28][29][30][31][32], to mention just a few. For example, Oye et al [15] point out that e-learning is more student-centered, compared to face-to-face learning, which is more teacher-centered, as it does not focus exclusively on instructions and guidelines coming from teachers, but it is individually adjustable to the student.…”

“…Among the main important functions of the platforms used by the subjects, the forums are the most preferred because they allow communication between students and teachers in an asynchronous way. Another preferred function is the chats, as these allow real-time exchanges of messages and content between users [32].…”

The Use of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) in Distance Learning During Covid-19 Pandemic: Pros and Cons

“…The choice of application platforms by lecturers tends to be different as well as based on text, audio, video, and a combination of the three. Paying attention to face-to-face communication as the top of the media richness hierarchy, then the platform characteristics that can be chosen are video conference based on video conferencing-based platforms are the richest applications in conveying messages [34]. Video conferencing is done by scheduling tailored to the needs of students, formed from their interests, and developed from discussions in the form of audio.…”