Undergraduate Students’ Readiness for Blended Learning during COVID – 19 Pandemic in Sri Lanka Investigating the availability of resources, characteristics of learners, technological skills and their belief on this method with compared to other learning m
Keywords:
COVID-19, Blended Learning, Education, Readiness, and Sri Lanka.Abstract
Recently, a major education crisis occurred around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, Sri Lanka too, resorted to shutting down its universities. This created a need to find alternative learning methods to carry out educational activities during a challenging period. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the readiness of undergraduates for blended learning. The structured questionnaire was shared online to collect the necessary data. The sample of 549 undergraduates representing all universities was selected for the study by applying the convenient sampling method. The student's readiness was assessed using 28 questions. All of them had at least a smartphone to connect to the internet, but 48% of them had moderate speed internet connections. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that four factors are significant for readiness in learners' characteristics such as communication, interaction and study habits, technological skills, availability of resources, and their belief, in the blended learning method. Undergraduates' overall readiness percentage scores in four indicators were above 50% indicating a moderate amount of readiness in each area. According to the two-sample proportions test, among four areas, only readiness in resources and infrastructure was significantly different across gender. The majority of undergraduates preferred blended learning during the COVID-19. Although the government offers free internet service for educational websites, they should facilitate internet services to all areas in the country. Further, authorities in higher education would enhance students' awareness and skills on web-based learning.Additionally, undergraduates should be encouragedto adapt to blended learning during this type of challenging periods.
References
Allo, M. D. G. (2020). Is the online learning good in the midst of Covid-19 Pandemic? The case of EFL learners. Journal Sinestesia,10(1).
Bernard, R. B., Brauer, A., Abrami, P. C.,&Surkes, M. (2004). The development of a questionnaire for predicting online learning achievement. Distance Education, 25(1), 31-47. DOI: 10.1080/0158791042000212440.
Eldeeb, R. A. (2014). Students’ perceptions to e-learning. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 4(3), 33-36.
Garrison, D. R., & Kanuka, H. (2004). Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 7, 95−105.
Ibrahim,M. M., & Nat,M. (2019). Blended learning motivation model forinstructors in higher education institutions. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(12).
Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government Vol. 27, No. 2,2021 https://cibg.org.au/
P-ISSN: 2204-1990; E-ISSN: 1323-6903
DOI: 10.47750/cibg.2021.27.02.663
Keller, C.,&Cernerud, L. (2002). Students’ perceptions of e-learning in university education. Journal of Educational Media, 27, 1-2.
Liyanagunawardena, T. R., Adams, A. A.,Rassool, N., &Williams, S. A.(2014).Blended learning in distance education: Sri Lankan perspective. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 10(1), 55-69.
Marinoni, G., van’t Land, H., & Jensen, T. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on global higher education. IAUGlobal Survey Report, International Association of Universities, May.
Mislinawati, V. M., &Nurmasyitah. (2018). Students’ perceptions on the implementation of e-learning: Helpful or unhelpful? 6th South East Asia Design Research International Conference.
Okaz, A. A. (2015). Integrating Blended Learning in Higher Education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 186, 600 – 603. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.086.
Popovici, A., & Mironov, C. (2014). Students’ perception on using eLearning technologies. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1801, 514 – 1519.
Radha, R., Mahalakshmi, K., Kumar,S. V., &Saravanakumar, A. R. (2020). E- Learning during Lockdown of Covid-19 Pandemic: A Global Perspective. International Journal of Control and Automation, 13(4), 1088-1099.
Singh, H. (2003). Building effective blended learning programs. Educational Technology, 43, 51−54.
Starkweather, J.(2012). How to calculate empirically derived composite or indicator scores. Available at: http://it.unt.edu/sites/default/files/benchmarks-02-2012.pdf (accessed 25 March 2020).
Thaufeega, F. (2016).Institutional and Learner Readiness for eLearning in the Maldives.Ph.D. Thesis,College of Business, Arts and Social Science, Brunel University, London.
Wright, B. M. (2017). Blended learning: student perception of face to face and online EFL lessons.Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(1), 64-71. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v7i1.6859.
Yu, T. &Richardson, J. C. (2015). An exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis of the student online learning readiness(SOLR).Instrument Online Learning, 19(5).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
