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Learning Management System Usage by Faculty in Saudi Higher Education

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Table of Contents

Learning Management System Usage by Faculty in Saudi Higher Education .................. 3

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3

The Literature review .............................................................................................................. 3

Research Questions .............................................................................................................. 5

Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 6

Design of the Study ............................................................................................................... 6

Variables: .............................................................................................................................. 6

Population and Sample ........................................................................................................ 6

Instrumentation .................................................................................................................... 6

Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 7

Results ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Respondents’ profiles ........................................................................................................... 7

Factors influencing the usage .............................................................................................. 8

Age: .................................................................................................................................... 8

Computer Usage Level: .................................................................................................... 9

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 10

References ............................................................................................................................... 11

Learning Management System Usage by Faculty in Saudi Higher Education

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Learning Management System Usage by Faculty in Saudi Higher

Education

Introduction

In Saudi Arabia, the adoption of Learning Management System applications started in the

late 1995s. The first adopters of the technology were universities, and years later the Learning

Management System observed a unique spread across campuses (Al-Wehaibi, Al-Wabil,

Alshawi, & Alshankity, 2008). There is little empirical research investigating the factors that

related with the use of the Learning Management System by faculty in teaching and research,

even there was an increased Learning Management System connectivity in Saudi Arabian higher

education institutions.

The country spent large budgets for higher education institutions to provide new technology.

These funds are usually spent to build and improve infrastructure also to provide hardware,

setting up computer labs, and improving network infrastructure to assurance the high-speed

Internet access. Considering the extent of these investments and the showed efficiency of using

Learning Management System in studies conducted in different countries, the need emerges to

comprehend Internet usage manner of faculty members in the local context (Al-Kahtani, Ryan, &

Jefferson, 2006).

The methodology and results of the survey will be described in the following sections. I

conclude with suggestions to believe in information technology planning and faculty

improvement in higher education.

The Literature review

As indicated by (Islam, 2011), the study shows that Learning Management System plays

fundamental role to improve students’ inspiration and the speed to learn. it will affect them

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positively. To be able to master the Learning Management System usage, students need a basic

level of skills. Also, they should be directed to make use of it efficiently. Learning Management

System improved the atmosphere of the on-campus learning experience. Also, the universities

are motivated by new student anticipation. Since the technologies are developing very fast the

student anticipations for advanced technologies will be increasing fast too.

According to (Coates, James, & Baldwin, 2005) Learning Management System are

advanced systems that will be useful for supporting whole university’s programs both teaching

and learning Moreover, this study mentions that the culture is taking place in teaching and

learning in higher education which means that the Learning Management System is playing an

important role.

In addition, (McGill & Klobas, 2009) indicates that in higher education Learning

Management Systems are being widely used. The research that addresses the role of Learning

Management Systems in learning success is needed if we take advantage of the possible related

with Learning Management Systems. There is only one factor that has been shown to affect the

use of information systems and their performance impacts which is the fits of Task–technology.

Furthermore, it benefits students to save their time and effort. The students participate in the

conversation forums that lead to active listening and deep learning.

There was a large attention in the impact of the learning management system on Saudi

social, economic and educational systems. Before 1998 in Saudi Arabia, some universities had

restricted Internet access, but by the end of that year the Internet spread through campuses. In the

contexts of education, some studies have appeared investigating the adoption of Internet

technologies in 1999. The faculty members were in the early stages of adoption when the

Internet technologies has been adopted and spread in academic world in Saudi Arabia,

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specifically in higher education.

There’s a study by (Sait, Al-Tawil, Ali, & Ali, 2003) has been done in education stages

ranging from primary schools to universities in both teachers and students in Saudi Arabia to

examined the use and the influence of the internet. The results of this study showed that there are

some trends in Internet which effects students and faculty usage patterns.

Research Questions

The issues nearby Learning Management System usage by faculty members in Saudi

Arabian higher education have been inadequately examined considering the rapid developments

in Learning Management System connectivity. The purpose of this study was to investigate

faculty members’ Learning Management System use for educational activities and identify key

factors that influence their utilization of Learning Management System. This research is

designed to answer the questions of:

The Research Question that guide this investigation was:

Research Question 1:

Are there a correlation between faculty Learning Management System usage

and age? The following hypotheses apply to this question:

• H0 There is a relationship between faculty use of the Learning

Management System and age.

• H1 There is no relationship between faculty use of the Learning

Management System and age.

Research Question 2:

Are there a correlation between faculty Learning Management System usage

and level of computer usage? The following hypotheses apply to this question:

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• H0 There is a relationship between faculty use of the Learning

Management System and their Computer usage level.

• H1 There is no relationship between faculty use of the Learning

Management System and their Computer usage level.

Methodology

Design of the Study

The study was applied using a survey research method which involves collecting

information for scientific purposes from a sample of a population. Several hypotheses were

developed to investigate factors affecting Learning Management System adoption and usage.

Variables:

There were three variables in this study. These variables were:

Independent variables:

1. Age

2. Level of computer usage

Dependent Variable:

1. Learning Management System use

Population and Sample

The target population of this study is full-time teaching faculty members at Taif university. The

sample of this study was convenience.

Instrumentation

The data of this study I got it from a researcher who works in Taif university. The survey

that was used originally to gather the data was adapted to the local context and validated in since

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it was developed and used in USA. The Chronbach alpha coefficient for the original study

ranged from r = 0.50 to r = 0.81, with a median alpha coefficient of r = 0.67.

Analysis

I used SPSS to analysis the data. Correlational analysis test is used to test the hypothesis for

alpha level of .05 and two-tail test. I expect to reject the null hypothesis and accept the

alternative hypothesis.

Results

Respondents’ profiles

The whole data was gotten from about 504 faculty members (45% male, 55% female) as

shown in Fig 1. Table 1 shows the demographic characteristics of the sample of faculty

members. As shown in Fig 2, respondents had a median age between 31-40 years (40% of

respondents). Also, hold different academic ranks inside their institution (11.3% professors,

14.1% associate professors, 33.7% assistant professors, 40.7% lecturers and instructors).

Figure 1: Number of faculty members who

participated in this study

Figure 2: The age of faculty members who

participated in this study

Table 1. Respondents’ Demographics

Variable Category n Percent

45%

55%

Faculty members

Male Female 0

50

100

150

200

250

<30 years 31-40 41-50 51-60 60+

Participants age

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Gender Male 270 53.66 Female 234 46.43

Age Group <30 years 62 12.30

31-40 204 40.48

41-50 157 31.15

51-60 69 13.69

60+ 12 2.38

Teaching <10 years 229 45.8 Experience 10-20 158 31.6 21-30 97 19.4

31-40 16 3.2

40+ 0 0.0

As shown in Table 2, five point-Likert scale was used to measure the Computer Usage

Level for faculty members ranging from low to high.

Table 2: Computer usage level scale

Low 13 2.6 Low to Moderate 65 13.1 Moderate 201 40.4 Moderate to High 140 28.1 High 79 15.9

Factors influencing the usage

Age:

The null hypothesis was there is no relationship between faculty use of the

Learning Management System and their age. The alternative hypothesis is a relationship

between faculty use of the Learning Management System and their age.

Variable Category n Percent Academic Professor 56 11.3 Rank Associate Professor 70 14.1 Assistant Professor 167 33.7

Instructor / Lecturer 202 40.7

Academic Technology-based 175 34.73 Discipline Other 329 65.27

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This hypothesis was examined using correlation analysis. As shown in Figure 3,

the result revealed that age was negatively correlated with the level of Learning

Management System Use (R =-.34). Thus, Research hypothesis one was accepted at

p<0.05. The significant correlation demonstrates that younger faculty has higher usage of

the Learning Management System than older faculty.

Figure 3: Age correlations

Computer Usage Level:

The null hypothesis was there is no relationship between faculty use of the

Learning Management System and their Computer usage level. The alternative

hypothesis is a relationship between faculty use of the Learning Management System and

their Computer usage level.

There was significant correlation between Learning Management System usage

and computer usage level (R= 0.47) as shown in Figure 4. Thus, Research Hypothesis

two was supported. Findings indicate that there was a positive relationship between

faculty use of the Learning Management System and their general computing usage level.

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Figure 4: Computer usage level correlations

Conclusion

This examination was positive in acquiring bits of knowledge on faculty members’

understanding and attitudes about coordinating Learning Management System in higher

education institutions in Saudi Arabia. Age and Computer usages level were the factors that

affecting the usage of Learning Management System on this study. Once these factors

influencing the usages, the higher education policy-makers will understand the process and

provide the technologies to the institutions.

In addition, faculty members should be trained and prepared to avoid system threads such as

viruses that might shut down the system. To fully integrate the new technology, there should be

explanation to the motivations and elimination obstacles. This study showed significant

modifications in higher education as Learning Management System adoption increases, which

led to that the faculty members have accepted these technologies across the campuses. Finally,

this study will positively inspire educators to extend their own knowledge and skill in Learning

Management System and lead to more capable utilization.

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References

Al-Kahtani, N. K. M., Ryan, J. J. C. H., & Jefferson, T. I. (2006). How Saudi female faculty

perceive internet technology usage and potential. Information Knowledge Systems

Management, 5(4), 227–243.

Al-Wehaibi, K., Al-Wabil, A., Alshawi, A., & Alshankity, Z. (2008). Barriers to Internet

Adoption among Faculty in Saudi Arabian Universities. In ED-MEDIA 2008--World

Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications (pp. 24–33).

Coates, H., James, R., & Baldwin, G. (2005). A critical examination of the effects of learning

management systems on university teaching and learning. Tertiary Education and

Management, 11(1), 19–36.

Islam, A. (2011). Students’ e-Learning System Usage Outcomes: A Study with a Learning

Management System. Building the E-World Ecosystem, 353, 255–268.

McGill, T. J., & Klobas, J. E. (2009). A task-technology fit view of learning management system

impact. Computers and Education, 52(2), 496–508.

Sait, S., Al-Tawil, K., Ali, S., & Ali, H. (2003). Use and effect of Internet in Saudi Arabia. Grant

AR-19-16, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.