The attitudes of students and academic staff towards electronic course support:are we convergent?

Abstract

The present study investigates the views and attitudes of both the students and staff with regard to the usefulness of electronic course support throughout all four years of the MPharm programme at Aston University. Students were sampled between January and March 2001 using a self-completion questionnaire administered during the start of a practical or tutorial class. All internal academic staff were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Response rates were 100 and 89.5%, respectively. The study found that students rapidly embraced the use of electronic course support within the undergraduate programme, although they view its role as augmenting traditional course delivery. This view was mirrored by the academic staff, although only around a half currently place their material on the University's virtual learning environment (VLE), WebCT. The failure of staff to completely embrace the VLE is grounded in a lack of confidence and ability in its use. A majority of the academic staff indicated that they wish to be trained further in the use of information technology. Academic institutions need to understand and meet these needs in parallel with the introduction of any electronic course support.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15602210410001727236
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > Aston Pharmacy School
College of Health & Life Sciences
Additional Information: Pharmacy Education supports Open Access (OA): free, unrestricted online access to research outputs. Readers are able to access the Journal and individual published articles for free - there are no subscription fees or 'pay per view' charges.
Uncontrolled Keywords: electronic course support,ICT,learning and teaching,virtual learning environments,Pharmaceutical Science
Publication ISSN: 1560-2214
Last Modified: 13 Mar 2024 08:08
Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2014 09:40
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
http://pharmacy ... article/view/68 (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2004-06
Authors: Langley, Christopher A. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-0178-3778)
Marriott, John F.
Belcher, Dawn
Wilson, Keith A.
Lewis, Penny

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