ABSTRACT

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ABSTRACT

• In this study, structural equation modeling is
  applied to examine the determinants of students
  satisfaction and their perceived learning
  outcomes in the context of university
• online courses.
• Independent variables included are
• course structure
• instructor feedback
• self-motivation
• learning style
• interaction
• and instructor facilitation
• A total 397 valid unduplicated responses from
  student taking at least one online course
• Of the six antecedent variables only instructor
  feedback and learning outcome are significant.
• The findings suggest online education can be a
  superior mode of instruction if it is targeted to
  learners with specific learning styles (visual
  and read/write learning styles) and with timely,
  meaningful instructor feedback of various types.

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INTRODUCTION
The distance learning system can be viewed as
having several human/nonhuman entities
interacting together via computer-based
instructional systems to achieve the goals of
education, including perceived learning outcomes
and student satisfaction. The primary objective
of this study is to investigate the determinants
of students perceived learning outcomes and
satisfaction in university online education using
e-learning systems.
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THE IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE
SUCCESS OF E-LEARNING SYSTEMS

• 1. Student Self-Motivation
• we hypothesized
• H1a Students with a higher level of motivation
  will experience a higher level of user
  satisfaction.
• H1b Students with a higher level of motivation
  in online courses will report higher levels of
  agreement that the learning outcomes equal to or
  better than in face-to-face courses.

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2. Students Learning Styles we
hypothesized H2a Students with visual and
read/write learning styles will experience a
higher level of user satisfaction. H2b Students
with visual and read/write learning styles will
report higher levels of agreement that the
learning outcomes of online courses are equal to
or better than in face-to-face courses.
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3. Instructor Knowledge and Facilitation

• we hypothesized
• H3a A higher level of instructor knowledge and
  facilitation will lead to a higher level of user
  satisfaction.
• H3b A higher level of instructor knowledge and
  facilitation will lead to higher levels of
  student agreement that the learning outcomes of
  online courses are equal to or better than in
  face-to-face courses.

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4. Instructor Feedback

• we hypothesized
• H4a A high level of instructor feedback will
  lead to a high level of user
• satisfaction.
• H4b A higher level of instructor feedback will
  lead to higher levels of student agreement that
  the learning outcomes of online courses are equal
  to or better than in face-to-face courses.

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5. Interaction

• we hypothesized
• H5a A high level of perceived interaction
  between the instructor and students and between
  students and students will lead to a high level
  of user satisfaction.
• H5b A higher level of perceived interaction
  between the instructor and students and between
  students and students will lead to higher levels
  of student agreement that the learning outcomes
  of online courses are equal to or better than in
  face-to-face courses.

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6. Course Structure

• we hypothesized
• H6a A good course structure will lead to a high
  level of user satisfaction.
• H6b A good course structure will lead to higher
  levels of student agreement that the learning
  outcomes of online courses are equal to or better
  than in face-to-face courses.

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STRUCTURAL MODEL RESULTS
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DISCUSSION

• We found that all six factorscourse structure,
  self-motivation, learning styles, instructor
  knowledge and facilitation, interaction, and
  instructor feedbacksignificantly influenced
  students satisfaction.
• Of the six factors hypothesized to affect
  perceived learning outcomes, only two (learning
  styles and instructor feedback) were supported.

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• Contrary to other research findings, no
  significant relationships were found between
  students self-motivation and perceived learning
  outcomes.
• Additional work is needed to better specify the
  conditions under which self-motivation is likely
  to have a positive, negative, or neutral effect
  on perceived learning outcomes.

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LIMITATIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

• future research should seek to further
  investigate the non significant relationships
  between the remaining constructs (course
  structure, self-motivation, and interactions) and
  perceived learning outcomes.
• future studies should use more sophisticated
  measures of course structure, self-motivation,
  and interactions and their engagement in learning
  activities, either quantitatively or
  qualitatively.
• Although students are in general satisfied with
  online courses, they believe that they did not
  learn more in online courses or they believe that
  the quality of online courses was not better than
  face-to-face class.

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• In future research, it would be interesting to
  know the critical success factors for improving
  the quality of online learning using multilevel
  hierarchical modeling.

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PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

• This study is one of the first to extend the
  structural equation modeling to student
  satisfaction and perceived learning outcomes in
  asynchronous online education courses.
• The results indicated that online education is
  not a universal innovation applicable to all
  types of instructional situations. Our findings
  suggest online education can be a superior mode
  of instruction if it is targeted to learners with
  specific learning styles (visual and read/write
  learning styles) and with timely, helpful
  instructor feedback of various types.

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• More specifically, there is a clear relationship
  between instructor feedback and student
  satisfaction and perceived outcomes.
• Online quizzes can provide preprogrammed feedback
  to learners.
• online learning will be enhanced when there is a
  better understanding of critical online learning
  factors.