Relationship betwixt higher education innovation, e-learning professionals, and the facilitators to their inclusion of connective tools in e-courses

Extended Abstract

Student engagement and retention are at the forefront of higher education institutional effectiveness (Gazza & Hunker, 2014).  One of the issues faced by institutions with e-learning programs is low levels of student persistence in online courses (Beach, 2018; de Freitas, Morgan & Gibson, 2015; Rogers, 2017 & Shea, Bidjerano, 2014).  Research on how to retain students, particularly in e-learning courses is valuable to stakeholders and other decision-makers.  The use of connective tools to engage students in online courses is supported by existing literature (Fathema, Shannon, & Ross, 2015; Sharif & Cho, 2015).  This engagement is a factor associated with a higher retention rate among students (Gazza & Hunker, 2014).  Khalia and Ebner (2014), discussed factors associated with low retention in online courses, for example: students feeling isolated because of a lack of interactivity.  Doolan and Gilbert (2016) found a positive correlation between the use of connective tools to expand the boundaries of the face-to-face classroom and student retention.  In addition, several studies found a positive correlation between the use of connective tools in e-learning courses to facilitate connections and student retention (Hone & El Said, 2016; Lu, Chang, Yan, & Lin, 2016; Cela & Karina, 2015). 

In the proposed study, this researcher will identify the association between the facilitating conditions and organizational innovativeness in regards to use of connective tools in the development of online courses (Fathema, Shannon, & Ross, 2015; Sharif & Cho, 2015).  First, the researcher will gather information reported by e-learning professionals and their perceptions of the facilitating conditions that propel the use of connective tools. Next, the researcher will survey the e-learning professionals to understand their perceptions of institutional innovativeness.  Finally, the researcher will analyze the data collected from the survey to determine the relationship among the variables of facilitating conditions and organizational innovativeness.

Facilitating Conditions

Suboptimal tool implementation and higher education institutions’ inability to provide adequate support are factors of facilitating conditions in use of e-learning tools (Fathema, Shannon, & Ross, 2015; Sugar & Luterbach, 2016; Watson et al., 2016).  These two items are measured by the facilitating conditions portion of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) theory (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003).  UTAUT has four foundational elements: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions (Oye, Iahad, & Rahim, 2014; Williams, Rana, & Dwivedi, 2015).  Facilitating conditions include training, institutional support, adequate resources, and funding, and can affect e-learning course development (Nur, Faslih, & Nur, 2017; Oye, Iahad, & Rahim, 2014; Zaharias & Pappas, 2016).  Facilitating conditions should be provided by the higher education institutions to encourage connective tool use in e-learning courses.

E-Learning Professionals, Facilitating Conditions, and Institutional Innovativeness

As the facilitating conditions are those not within the e-learning professionals’ purview, it is up to the learning organization to support the design model and tool choices made by e-learning professionals (Zaharias & Pappas, 2016).  This support is imperative to engage students in a collaborative and connective way (Sugar & Luterbach, 2016, Watson et al, 2016).  This researcher will illustrate how institutional innovativeness relates to facilitating conditions, which in turn affects  the design model and connective tools the e-learning professional implements in online courses (Camisón & Villar-Lópe, 2014; Lu, Chang, Yan & Lin, 2016; Oye, Iahad & Rahim, 2014).  The perceived level of institutional innovativeness is measured with McCrosky’s perceived organizational innovativeness scale (PORGI) (McCroskey, et al., 2014; DeMarzo, 2018).

Research Questions

            RQ1- Are there differences in e-learning professional’s perceptions of facilitating conditions (measured using the UTAUT questionnaire) by e-learning professionals’ job level, education level, years of experience, and type of institution?

            RQ2- Are there differences in e-learning professional’s perceptions of institutional innovativeness (measured using the Perceived Organizational Innovativeness Scale) by e-learning professionals’ job level, education level, years of experience, and type of institutions?

            RQ3- What is the relationship between perception of institutional innovativeness (measured using the Perceived Organizational Innovativeness Scale) and facilitating conditions (measured using the UTAUT questionnaire)?

 

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