Analysis of the effectiveness of collaborative e-learning in the Sri Lankan university education

Abstract

E-learning introduced new ways of learning using computer and internet, and is rapidly evolving with the development of technology. Learners can actively participate and collaborate in a learning process using either synchronous or asynchronous e-learning. Collaborative e-Learning (CeL) is an effective way of learning which also improves the processing skills, communication skills, and cognitive skills of the students. As the first phase of this study, a literature review was done in the areas such as the usage and applications of CeL pedagogy approaches in the global and Sri Lankan context. Then, a preliminary study was conducted in the ten national universities where CeL pedagogy approached used in the academic curricula in a considerable manner. Study conducted with 30 students and 30 lecturers by interviews, phone calls and email. Interview results were analysed to identify the awareness of the effectiveness of CeL instructional models used in the Sri Lankan university education. Further, based on the literature review and the preliminary study analysis, by considering the available resources and relevant constraints of Sri Lankan universities, the definition of CeL in Sri Lankan context was defined and a framework was developed to analyse the effectiveness of CeL in Sri Lankan university education. Finally, based on the framework, the effectiveness of CeL in the Sri Lankan national university education was analysed as quantitative analysis by using SPSS Statistics tool. The modelled framework was validated by the final hypothesis analysis and the best predictors of ‘effectiveness of CeL’ were identified by the step-wise multiple regression analysis. Further, this thesis describes the discussion regarding the data analysis, conclusions derived from the findings and the recommendations to improve the effectiveness of CeL in Sri Lankan universities. Recommendations were considered for the students, lecturers and the administration of the universities. The population for this research study is the lecturers, assistant lecturers, undergraduate students and post-graduate students of 15 Sri Lankan National universities where the CeL model is used in the academic curricula. Even though the final analysis was conducted among the national universities, due to the lack of usage of CeL pedagogy approaches in some universities and lack of response rate from some other universities, the final analysis was limited with three universities to maintain the reliability in the results. The three universities were, University of Moratuwa, University of Colombo and University of Peradeniya.