ADOPTING BLENDED LEARNING :

AN ANALYSIS AND REVIEW OF STUDENTS

ACCEPTANCE IN UiTM PAHANG
Haslinda Noradzan, Azniza Ahmad Zaini, Fazlin Marini Hussain,Roger Canda
Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences and Faculty of Business Management, UiTM Pahang
ABSTRACT
Tis paper discusses the fndings of an empirical study in adopting Blended Learning (BL) approach for teaching diploma students in Universiti
Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Pahang. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 86 fnal year students of Diploma in Computer Science
registered for the programming course and 67 students of Diploma in Banking registered for the Malaysian economy course to assess their accept-
ance towards the new approach. Te students perception on i-Learn Portal usage for BL approach as well as the benefts of implementing Blended
Learning approach in their learning process were also identifed. Te fndings reveal that the students could adapt with the BL approach since
most of the students are computer and Internet literate and gradually adapting to the mixed approaches of assessments. Te fndings also show
that most of the students agreed that the implementation of Blended Learning should be continued corresponding with the development of tech-
nology, but there are some suggestions on improvement of the Learning Management System (LMS) portal to achieve the benefts that Blended
Learning ofers either in physical or virtual classrooms.
Keywords: Blended Learning, virtual classroom, students acceptance, LMS portal
Introduction and Research Background
Blended Learning approach was initiated in 2009 and the univer-
sitys aim is to achieve 30% of all courses to be conducted online by June
2013.
Tis study was conducted in UiTM Pahang for assessing the stu-
dents acceptance towards blended learning approach in teaching and
learning process.
Other objectives are to investigate the students view on i-Learn
portal and the benefts that they found when learning sessions are being
conducted using blended learning approach.
Methodology
Self-administrative questionnaire was distributed to a random sam-
ple of 153 students from CS110 and BM112 students during the June -
October 2013 semester.
Questionnaire was design into three sections; demographic profle,
hardware and Internet facilities, students view on blended learning ap-
proach and students view on i-Learn portal.
Te data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sci-
ences (SPSS), Version 21.
Descriptive analysis were used to investigate how the students per-
ceive blended learning approach in their learning process.
References
Adam, S. and Nel, D., 2009. Blended and Online Learning: Student Perceptions and Performance. Interactive Technology and Smart Education. Vol. 6, No. 3, 140-155.
Adas, D. and Shmais, W.A., 2011. Students Perceptions Towards Blended Learning Environment Using the OCC. An Najah Univ. J. Res. (Humanities), Vol. 25(6).
Akkoyunlu, B. & Soylu, M.Y., 2006. A study on students views on Blended Learning environment. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education. 7(3). 43-56.
Akkoyunlu, B., & Soylu, M.Y., 2008. A Study of Students Perceptions in a Blended Learning Environment Based on Diferent Learning Styles. Educational Technology & Society, 11 (1), 183-193.
Cabero, J., Llorente, C. and Puentes, A., 2010. Online Students Satisfaction with Blended Learning. Communicar, n. 35, Vol. 18, Scientifc Journal of Media Literacy, 149-156.
Delialioglu, O., & Yildirim, Z., 2007. Students Perceptions on Efective Dimensions of Interactive Learning in a Blended Learning Environment. Educational Technology & Society, 10 (2), 133-146.
Gutierrez, F. M., 2006. Faculty Best Practices Using Blended Learning in E-Learning and Face-to-Face Instruction. International Journal on Elearning, 5, 3. Retrieved 22 June 2013 from ProQuest Education Journals.
Osguthorpe, R. T., & Graham, C. R., 2003. Blended learning systems: Defnitions and directions.Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 4(3), 227234.
Findings
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of Respondents Profle
Measure Items Frequency Percentage
Programme CS110 (FSKM) 86 56.21
BM112 (FPP) 67 43.79
Gender Female 92 60.13
Male 61 39.87
Have Internet at home Yes 110 71.9
No 43 28.1
Table 2 : Studentss View towards the Implementation of Blended Learning Approach
Items
Percentage
Mean
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neither
Agree
nor Disa-
gree
Agree Strongly
Agree
BL decreases costs for individual students
(printing)
1.96 3.92 17.65 42.48 33.99 4.03
BL supports ideas and experience sharing
amongst students
0.65 7.19 11.76 52.29 27.45 3.99
Te lecturer helped to guide when using BL 1.31 2.61 20.26 50.98 23.53 3.94
BL helps students to prepare well for class ses-
sions
0.65 3.92 22.22 50.98 22.22 3.90
BL approach would be more efective than tra-
ditional approach
2.61 7.84 28.10 33.33 11.76 3.39
BL increase the study workload for students 17.65 46.41 28.76 5.23 0.65 2.24
Table 3 : Students View on i-Learn Portal as Platform for Blended Learning
Items
Percentage Mean
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neither
Agree nor
Disagree
Agree Strongly
Agree
i-Learn portal is user friendly portal 1.31 1.96 16.34 54.90 19.61 3.96
Notes in i-Learn portal help in teaching and
learning process
0.65 1.96 16.34 52.94 27.45 4.05
No technical problems when accessing i-Learn
portal
4.58 16.34 41.83 28.10 8.50 3.20
Functionalities provded on the i-Learn portal is
sufcient for BL
0.00 3.27 22.88 53.59 19.61 3.90
Conclusion and Recommendation
60.8% of the students prefer balance mixture of online and face-to-
face learning, 13.1% of them prefer to spend more time using online
with minimum face-to-face, 11.8% prefer face-to-face with no online
learning and 9.8% prefer to have 100% online learning.
Access to the computer and Internet is very important to the stu-
dents to support the blended learning approach in teaching and learning
process.
i-LeC should prepare some enhancement in i-Learn portal for the
functionalities and the reliability of the portal and introduce a few fea-
tures to support blended learning such as notifcations to the students.
Further study is currently being carried out to determine the stu-
dents academic performance as a result of using blended learning and it
is suggested to have larger sample size to represent the population of the
students.
Discussions
Out of 153 students, 71.9% of them claimed that they do have Inter-
net connection at home that could support the implementation of the
blended learning approach.
76.47% of them agreed that they can reduce the printing cost when
blended learning approach takes place, probably because of the acces-
sible to unlimited online learning resources.
79.74% of them percieved that blended lerning supports ideas and
experiences sharing amongst students as the students get connected
with the lecturers and friends through the LMS portal.
5.88% of them felt that their study workload had not increased when
adopting blended learning probably because they successfully adapting
the combination of tradtional face to face lecture and online learning.