Students’ perceptions towards the use of e-learning platforms at a university in Cape Town

Abstract

The use of e-learning remains limited and can be considered as ineffective, due to a lack of evaluation from its users. Therefore, considering these factors is critical for effective e-learning in universities. The use of technology in education has brought social and digital improvement to both students and academics who are involved in the use of educational technologies. Information communication technology (ICT) is considered a vital tool to promote a different way of teaching that should be exploited to improve students’ problem-solving skills, promote cooperation, communication, and lifelong learning. This study aims to classify the key aspects that impact the efficacy of e-learning among engineering scholars at the selected university. Also, it aims to explore the common measurements for e-learning effectiveness in the higher learning environment, so as to identify technical barriers that impact e-learning use among engineering students. There is no uniform term to label the different types of e-learning as well as their uses. Scholars have generalized e-learning as a method of education where content is conveyed electronically, using information and communication technologies over the world wide web to enable the creation of cyber classrooms and digital collaborations among students, as well as for the transfer of learning content over multimedia such as satellite television, live streaming and audio. In order to realise the aims of the research, the survey design method was chosen. A survey was disseminated online to the selected population of students, and the results were analysed. The results reflected that students generally had an optimistic outlook concerning the use of e-learning in their studies. Most students indicated that they enjoyed using the platforms and found them to be useful to their studies. They also stated that using e-learning enhanced communication and interaction both amongst each other and with their lecturers. Students also indicated that e-learning platforms contributed positively to their day-to-day experiences in their studies. It is important that universities and their stakeholders should take students’ perceptions into consideration as their proficiency in e-learning and its usage are great contributors to educational development and e-learning effectiveness.