Abilities, experiences and perceptions of learners towards the use of ICT in a blended learning environment
2009
The Open University Malaysia (OUM) is an open and distance learning (ODL) institution which
caters to the need of in-service teachers and other learners who are pursuing their higher education.
To meet this need, it offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes which
emphasize a heavy use of ICT and are delivered via a blended mode. Half of the total learner
population enrolled in these programmes are in-service teachers. For these teacher-learners to
succeed in their respective programmes, they are expected to have the right attitude towards the use
of ICTs for learning, and to optimize the ICT usage. It is hoped that the computer skills and
knowledge gained through the programmes would help them to perform more effectively in their daily
teaching activities and to inspire and motivate their students to improve computer literacy.
The study aims to determine the “teacher-learners’ perceptions of the use of ICT towards learning in
OUM and to examine their levels of skills and experiences, with a view to identifying areas for
enhancing the effectiveness of e-learning in a blended learning environment. A survey methodology
was employed, involving a random sample of 457 undergraduate learners, comprising of 365
teacher-learners and 92 learners from the open market.
The study found that between 40-55% of the teacher-learners were able to use word processing,
presentation manager, emails and bibliographic database software applications on their own without
any assistance. The study also found that nearly 75% of the teacher-learners had used Online
Forum. The teacher-learners held a fairly positive view of the different advantages that ICT can
bring to learning, while at the same time they showed a relatively strong preference for learning with
traditional methods, implying that they also question the value of ICT for learning. Finally, the study
found that the significant predictors of positive perception towards learning with ICT, were: ability to
use email and the experience of using MyLMS, online discussion forums and academic support via
email for teacher-learners with an adjusted R-square of 20%. For the open market learners, the
significant factors were: ability to use bibliographic database and experience of using myLMS with
an adjusted R square of 25%. This implies that in order to encourage OUM teacher-learners and
other learners to use ICT in learning, it is vital to upgrade their ICT skills and provide them with the
means to gain experience in e-learning through the institution’s learning management system,
MyLMS. (Authors' abstract)
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