Analysis of the Use of Course Management Systems in Online Courses at Public 4-Year Institutions in the State of Texas
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D)
Department
Curriculum and Instruction
Date of Award
Spring 2016
Abstract
Internet-based technologies have changed the way individuals learn, and the use of the Internet for teaching and learning is causing changes in how teaching and learning occur. Research has shown that colleges and universities are placing greater emphasis on increasing online education offerings. The researcher investigated faculty members’ online teaching practices and tools used in the course management system (CMS). The purpose of this study was to analyze which features of CMSs were used, which features were most effective as viewed by faculty members who taught online courses, and what types of training faculty had received before beginning to use a CMS. Participants included faculty who taught online courses and used a CMS as an instructional tool at public, 4-year institutions in Texas. A 50-item survey was distributed through SurveyMonkey. A 34.2% response rate was obtained. Frequencies and Crosstabs descriptive statistics were used to analyze and answer seven research questions. An independent-samples t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and two-way (factorial) ANOVA were used to test the three hypotheses. Results indicated that it requires at least 15 hours of training for faculty to learn the most common CMS features and at least 3 years to become an intermediate CMS user. Whether faculty receive CMS training before beginning to use a CMS or not does not impact the faculty’s decisions on the usage of CMS features. The years of experience that faculty have in teaching online courses does impact their decisions on the usage of CMS features. The years of experience that faculty have in teaching online courses does impact their usage of and proficiency with Gradebook, Bulletin Board or Student Discussion Area, and E-mail, regardless of training faculty received. The results contribute to the knowledge base of documented strategies referenced by faculty as they use course management systems in their teaching and interacting with students.
Advisor
Jon Travis
Subject Categories
Education | Educational Technology | Higher Education
Recommended Citation
Lin, Mei-Ying, "Analysis of the Use of Course Management Systems in Online Courses at Public 4-Year Institutions in the State of Texas" (2016). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 980.
https://digitalcommons.tamuc.edu/etd/980
