Model for technological aspect of e-learning readiness in higher education institutions

Abstract

E-learning has now been adopted by most universities across the world, where implementing e-learning in higher education has enabled a change in teaching and learning practices. One of the important aspects of e-learning readiness is the technological aspect, which plays an important role to ensure effective implementation of e-learning system. Although there are studies on e-learning readiness, there is still a lack of agreement about which factors shape the technological aspect of e-learning readiness. Therefore, this research investigated the technological aspect factors of e-learning readiness in higher educations, and formulated a technological aspect model based on the identified factors. This research involved three phases: First, it started with a systematic literature review to identify factors that influence technological aspect of e-learning readiness. Six technological factors emerged: hardware, software, connectivity, security, system flexibility, and technical skills and support. Second, Delphi technique was used to review the six technological factors, and to formulate the technological aspect model. The Delphi technique confirmed the 6 technological factors, and yielded 2 new factors namely cloud computing and data center. Third, a survey was conducted to evaluate the technological aspect model. A total of 374 questionnaires were collected from the academic staff of six Malaysian public universities. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling, and the results indicated that the eight technological factors, except cloud computing, have significant impact on the e-learning readiness in higher education institutions. In addition, the technological aspect model of this research highlights data center as an important technological factor for e-learning readiness, which is a new factor in e-learning readiness literature. In conclusion, this research has provided valuable insights into the relationship among the technological aspect factors. Besides, the technological aspect model is useful to assist university management teams to assess the readiness and ensure efficient implementation of their e-learning systems.