Analysing the impact of e-learning technology on students’ engagement, attendance and performance

Abstract

In higher education, e-learning technology such as Blackboard (Bb) is widely used and has become a popular tool worldwide. It helps reduce the communication gap between students and tutors, without time and location constraints. The study of student engagement and the impact on performance is a key issue in higher educational research, so identifying how students use e-learning technology can help contribute to how to design e-learning materials that further support student engagement. This quantitative research study examined two undergraduate engineering modules. Utilising the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, the number of clicks students made on Bb was assessed against their classroom attendance, engagement with activities and their performance in the final grade in the module assessment. The outcomes contribute to the developing literature on students' interaction with online learning, by providing an insight into the way students' use of e-learning materials influences their performance in their studies.

Development of the learning to learn competence in the university context: flipped classroom or traditional method?

“…In this respect, this technology helps to improve student engagement in terms of the time spent on a task, quality of effort and student involvement (Shah and Barkas 2018). In addition, the flipped classroom could improve students' motivation and help them to manage the cognitive load (Abeysekera and Dawson 2015).…”

Development and Diagnosis of a Teaching Experience Using Participatory Methods: Towards an Ecosystemic Learning in Higher Education

“…As the previous literature shows, active methods allow university students to acquire general competencies (instrumental, systemic and personal) as well as specific, critical and self-regulated competencies. This new approach to building knowledge is focused on pedagogical aspects and has a vision of academic organization linked to a culture based on both assessment and the improvement of methods and, therefore, on teaching/learning processes [45,46].…”

Sustainable Engagement of University Students in E- Learning during the Post-pandemic of Covid-19: Evidence from Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

“…Further, it has been identified as the students' study patterns, the way they utilize their time, resources and relationships, and the way they communicate with their tutors, peers and organizations (Kahn, 2014, as cited in Shaha & Barkas, 2018. It is all about the time and efforts students devote for educationally purposeful activities (ACER, 2010, as cited in Shah & Barkas, 2018). Coates (2007) provided an aggregative view and defined: "the inclusion of active and collaboratively learning, involved in challenging academic activities, meaningful interactions with teachers, involved in enriching educational experiences and feeling part of a learning community" as the students' engagement (as cited in Wdowik, 2014).…”

“…According to Harper and Quaye (2009) student engagement is something more than just involvement or the participation. For a student to be fully engaged, it requires a positive frame of mind, in other words, moods and the sense making apart from the mere involvement in different academic activities (as cited in Shah & Barkas, 2018).…”

“…Despite the fact that the technologies are campus-based, hybrid or fully online environments, webbased learning technologies might have a strong impact on learning environment at higher education (Czerkawski & Lyman, 2016). As stated, since the universities play a huge role in dissaminating knowledge to many national and international students in offering a portforlio of study programs, and because of the heavy marketization and internationlization of the higher education, these institutions have to ensure that they go hand in hand with new technology with improved communication as well as nurtured student engagement (Shah & Barkas, 2018). Even though the sustainability of universities requires productive student engagement especially in elearning, yet the levels and determinants of student engagement in e-learning is not fully examined across the needed contexts (Shah & Barkas, 2018).…”