Simply Having the Tools Is Not Enough: Promoting Effective Use of Technology in Online Learning

• In Event: Attending to Design Issues in Online Courses

Abstract

This paper examines factors that influence choices to use certain features of a specific learning environment (LMS) among higher-education instructors and how this impacts their teaching approaches. A total of 10 instructors at a large metropolitan university in Canada were interviewed. Our main goal was to determine the impact of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Community of Inquiry (CoI) as the underlying framework. We found that instructors valued four main features of the LMS: course planning and organization tools, tools that enable orientation activities, the option to communicate with students in various modes and the metrics and customized reports provided by the system. Instructors also reported that students generally use features modelled by their instructor.

Authors

• Preeti Raman, University of Toronto

• Dina Soliman, University of Toronto

• Teresa L. Avery, University of Toronto

• Jim Hewitt, OISE/University of Toronto