International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, Vol. 1, No.

3, August 2011

Factors Influencing Learner Attitudes Toward E-learning

and Development of E-learning Environment Based on
the Integrated E-learning Platform
Ding Aixia and Dan Wang

merely file servers [2].

Abstract—With the development of Multimedia and Recently, blogs and personal pages have recently
networking as well as their extensive application in educational emerged as popular uses of the Internet for people to learn,
field, the learning environment extends beyond the classroom share and interact with people from all walks of life across
and establishing an E-learning culture is seen as essential to the the world. And with the popularity of E-learning increasing
future of higher education and the facilitation of life long
learning. In this paper, we present an overview of E-learning
among academic and training institution, learning and
environment that we have implemented using the integrated knowledge building have become a highly integrated and
E-learning platform. In order to present a picture of interactive global process. For this reason, integrated
E-learning environment of universities and students’ attitudes E-learning platform appears as a result of the efforts to make
toward it, a survey was conducted to investigate the critical a step forward towards a more effective and quality.
factors affecting learners’ satisfaction in e-learning E-learning presents an opportunity to enhance learning as to
environment. The findings presented that the perception of create environments where students and teachers can share
e-learning is positively influenced by its flexibility in knowledge
knowledge. It is very important to design an efficient
management, time management and widening access to
information. Moreover, an integrated E-learning platform, E-learning platform for teaching, learning, resources, and
providing many web-based, multi-platform tools, is introduced administration [3-4].
based on knowledge management. We present the architecture From the beginning of this century, Ningbo University
of the platform, and then try to analyze the development has established many web-course learning systems, teaching
environment and application systems related to the integrated affairs management systems, roll management systems and
platform. The user evaluation and the application effects are digital library systems. But the E-learning environment has
also analyzed. not been built up, because these systems related to
E-learning are mutually independent with inconvenient
Index Terms—E-learning, Integrated platform, E-learning
environment, learner satisfaction, Attitude.
software. Teachers are more willing to build a network
classroom based on a personal website with security risks
for interaction with students [5-6].
I. INTRODUCTION In this paper, we present an integrated e-learning
environment where students can share and operate these
E-learning is the use of telecommunication technology to resources at any time. The core management platform is
deliver information for education and training. With the filled with any applications and tools related to e-learning.
global communication and Internet connection speed, web The platform supports the creation of a self-learning and
content has grown richer and more interactive for users. It innovative learning environment with the aim of providing
has certainly changed the way we acquire knowledge. new ways of user interaction and data representation in a
Learning is no longer the same as before that limited to knowledge-based environment in which teachers and
lessons in the classroom. E-learning is seen as a future students cooperate to share knowledge when each one has
application worldwide as it promotes life long learning by his or her relevance within the entire learning process.
enabling learners to learn anytime and anywhere. This paper The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Firstly, the
discusses the findings from a study investigating the factors analysis and statistical results of the survey with respect to
that influence the utilization of E-learning. the critical factors affecting learner attitude toward
And E-learning platform is becoming a field of research E-learning are reported. Secondly, some details of the
that deserves the attention of the teaching and research architecture of the e-learning platform system are described.
community, so more and more universities have been Thirdly, application environment of the integrated
invested a huge amount of resources to implement their E-learning is then presented. Fourthly, application systems
e-learning platform or environment [1]. However, the of the platform are introduced. Fifthly, the platform
traditional E-learning system, which is used to deliver and integration with other systems is described. Sixthly, the
management contents and learning, can no longer provide application effects of the platform are analyzed. Lastly, this
the processes required to sustain the interest of a student as paper concludes and presents areas for future work and
he learns. As a result many e-learning facilities ended up as improvement.

Manuscript received August 15, 2011; revised August 28, 2011.

A. X. Ding is with the Faculty of Foreign Language, Ningbo University, II. INVESTIGATION OF THE CRITICAL FACTORS
Ningbo, China (phone: 86-574-87600334; e-mail: [email protected]). INFLUENCING LEARNER SATISFACTION
W. Dan is with the Network Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
(e-mail: [email protected]). E-learning is emerging as the new paradigm of modern

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higher education. Although e-learning environment are environment. Ease and flexibility of platform are viewed as
popular, there are many students who stop their online an important factor in e-learning environment. At all time,
learning after their initial experience. And students’ initial system administrators should ensure all platform
perceived satisfaction with technology-based E-learning will functionalities are available.
determine whether they will use the system continually. Although the computer is popular among the young of
However, there is minimal research on college students’ China, students’ computer skill also hampers their
attitudes toward the E-learning environments. One study satisfaction. Helping students build their confidence in using
was conducted at Ningbo University to investigate the computers will make e-learning more enjoyable.
critical factors influencing students’ satisfaction in
E-learning. The purpose of the quantitative study was to
gain an overall picture of all the subjects related to III. DEVELOPMENT OF THE E-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
E-learning environment. In the establishment of e-learning environment, the most
A. Participant important idea is to start by defining the instructional goal
and then classifying learning contents that are best equipped
128 college students from different majors of Ningbo
to build the learning environment. For designing effective
University are asked to answer questionnaires for
E-learning environment, Liaw(2005) suggested that
investigating their perceptions, of whom 79 are females and
autonomous learning, Multimedia environments and
49 are males with an age ranged from 19 to 22. The
instructor-led learning create effective e-learning
participants were invited to respond to the same
environment [8].
questionnaire at the end of the third semester. The student
The fundamental environment components for e-learning
background survey revealed that most participants were
systems include the whole information system related to
drawn to this by virtue of their personal interests in both
e-learning environment. We present our integrated
communication and computer skills.
E-learning platform focusing the attention on the design,
B. Research instruments development and implementation. The platform consists of
Defining actual satisfaction from the use of learning several management functions including data management
environments is a meaningful matter. Previous research system, learning management system and curriculum
done under different task environment has suggested a contents management system.
variety of factors affecting user satisfaction with e-learning A. Architectural design of the platform
environment. Exploration of literature highlighted common
The integrated E-learning platform architecture is
perspectives influencing e-learning, such as levels of
composed of four layers, namely data infrastructure layer,
computer skill, computer accessibility and availability,
data collection layer, teaching service layer and application
usability of the e-learning platform and time flexibility [7].
layer, as shown in Fig.1.
The research utilized a combination of survey questionnaire
and literature review. The questionnaire consisted of 10
Application layer
questions including a range of single, multiple choice and
attitude statement questions. The questions were selected to
explore the positive and negative factors of students’
experiences and to assess their satisfaction of the E-learning Teaching service layer
environments. The questionnaire was an adaptation of others
literature.
After a period of application and practice, a total of 128
questionnaires were issued, and 121 were recovered, of Data collection layer
which 115 were valid with 100% effective rate.
C. Findings and dsicussion
Data infrastructure
After statistical analysis, the results, as shown in Table
layer
Ⅰ, demonstrate that learners have very positive perceptions
toward using E-learning environment. Many students agree Fig.1. Architecture of the e-learning platform
with the statement that e-learning has stimulated the interest
of learners and improved learning efficiency. Nevertheless The infrastructure layer, made up of all the basic network
the descriptive evidence supported these results with a support environment devices and systems, is responsible for
higher proportion (27.4%) of comments indicating the providing some software tools for teachers to complete
negative impact lf e-learning has on user learning. WEB courseware and streaming media courseware, which
Table Ⅱ revealed that e-learning course quality, can be very convenient and effective for accumulating
integrated e-learning platform function, perceived ease of teaching resources.
use and learners computer literacy and skill are the critical The network storage services based on the collecting
factors affecting students’ perceived satisfaction. Together, layer of digital resource are established to provide document
these four factors are able to explain 83.8% of the variance retrieval services for teachers and teaching teams. And
of learner attitude. the resources can be shared and collected by residing in an
As expected course quality and e-learning platform E-learning system or a learning management system and can
design are the most important concern in this e-learning be used to store and manage its content.

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It provides a sharing platform with a set of software tools teachers can settle teaching resources, show their best
for teachers and students to publish a variety of information courseware and exchange each other's learning experience.
through personal home pages or blogs. The design makes With the platform teachers can use various types of
use of standard existing hardware and software so that new resource of the sharing system, such as producing
computing resources can joint the platform easily to reduce outstanding courseware in the production center, interactive
cost and complexity. teaching with students in the learning portal, and discussion
In addition to teaching outside the classroom, the daily and Q & A in the community forum. Students can acquire
interaction between teachers and students is also essential. knowledge from the teaching resources sharing system, and
The purpose of the establishment of classes and mentors’ communicate with teachers and students. In addition,
work areas in the teaching service layer is to meet the needs students can also help teachers create courseware and
of students and teachers interact daily. Extra-curricular evaluate teachers and management. And managers can
learning and sharing content between the groups are supervise and manage the process of teaching and learning.
recorded, such as notification, discussion, job, courseware, The advantages of the platform and its features can
documents and web conferencing. And the school resolve many issues and problems related to the use of
evaluation system is used to monitor and control the current e-learning system. However, related systems
teaching process. included in the integrated platform are described as follows.
1) Portal system
The E-Learning Portal, sits on top of a variety of
application system, is not only the unified access point for
all application systems, but also the information platform
where and all kinds of information from the e-learning
platform can be released and collected. Information
integration and releasing, application integration, single
sign-on, content customization and personalized services are
included in the portal to demonstrate the application
information of the digital learning platform for teachers and
students, which can effectively fill the gaps between various
applications and also provides many valuable added features,
such as security, search and so on.
Fig.2. Application environment of the integrated e-learning 2) Virtual Classroom System
The virtual classroom system, which enables inter-school
The function of education application layer is to enhance academic lectures and video conferencing, has the function
the teaching service to the university level by accumulating of interactive video teaching. When teachers go abroad on a
digital resources and teaching knowledge. business or a meeting, remote instruction between teachers
Figure 2 shows the integrated E-learning environment of and students, for example, video exchange, text dialogue,
Ningbo University, which is divided into five parts, voice answering, PPT presentations, desktop sharing,
Teaching Resources Building Center (TRBC), Web document and file transfer, etc., will be achieved through the
Learning Port (WLP), Teaching Resources Sharing System Internet-based "video class". In addition, it also has the
(TRSS), Management & Supervision System (MSS) and function of simultaneously recording class content that can
E-learning Participants System (EPS). be automatically changed into courseware for students to
TRBC takes central place in our hierarchical model and download.
gives teachers various tools to build teaching contents. 3) Learning Management System
Students and learners can access WLP to get the teaching Generally, learning management system includes
contents and involve online discussion board with their curriculum resources management, curriculum training,
instructors and peers upon their own convenience. TRSS curriculum collaboration, a variety of academic information
give well-structured information support to teachers and and student data management.
students. For the admin personnel, they act on 4) Resource Management System
administration roles of online matters via the MSS. Resource management system allows teachers to achieve
With the flexible and easily extensible model which is issuing and collating of teaching resources. In this way,
constructed in a way that its five main parts are strongly accumulating, sorting and sharing of curriculum resources
independent one from another. Thus, any changes or will become easier. Resource management system is
extensions of one of them do not reflect in others one. It connected with the digital library of Ningbo University so
allows easily to add new requirements and to improve the that students can retrieve and use digital resources more
adaptation engine without necessity to change the model. easily.
5) Bulletin Board System
B. Application systems of the platform BBS in this platform has a "campus community" feature.
The integrated platform is a teaching assistant and Using this system, faculty or department managers can not
collaborative platform to implement online teaching and only issue notices and manage information resources, but
learning use of advanced network technology. It can provide also design a home page with faculty / department's features.
network storage space and a certain corresponding In addition, BBS can also be used for a certain unit or
production tools for teachers and students, with which groups of students to improve the efficiency of the daily

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work.
6) Teaching Evaluation System The platform is integrated with the unified authentication
The teaching evaluation system includes teaching platform. The user name and password of the E-Learning
assessment subsystem, student learning assessment platform are consistent with the school’s unified
subsystem and teaching management evaluation subsystem. authentication platform.
The purpose is to evaluate the performance of teachers, After integrated with the common data platform, teachers,
students and administrators in the integrated digital learning students, organizations and other basic information of the
platform. E-Learning platform are extracted directly from the
7) Multimedia Rrecording System common data platform.
In order to construct the Multimedia recording system, Digital library resources and services are integrated with
many recorded components have been added to the original the E-Learning platform to build all kinds of teaching test
equipment in the school multi-media classrooms, conference database.
rooms and lecture halls. Without teacher intervention, Integrated with the Educational Management System,
teaching process, including teachers, audio, video, and courses, classes and other information of the E-Learning
screen and writing on the blackboard, has been recording platform are taken from the educational management
into courseware directly. Recorded Multimedia files can be system.
easily embedded in the Web pages and courseware. E-Learning platform are integrated with the Graduate
Management system to ensue that the graduate courses,
C. Integrated with other systems instructors and other information are the same with that of
the Graduate Management system.
TABLE I. STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD E-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
No. Question Strongly agree Agree Disagree Indifferent
1 The e-learning environmentenable us to access information and lear when we want 28.3% 63.6% 3.2% 4.9%
2 Compared to traditional learning, e-learning makes me productive at my study 19.8% 58.4% 12.3% 9.5%
3 The environment can enhance exchange and communication between the teachers and students 26.3% 52.6% 11.6% 9.5%
4 The e-learning requires technical ability 11.3% 39.6% 28.7% 21.4%
5 I feel confident that e-learning environment can increas interest of learners 17.9% 54.3% 20.6% 7.2%
6 The e-learning is only advisable for people with a lot of computer knowlege 19.6% 21.8% 73.5% 15.1%
7 E-learning is time consuming and let me feel psychological stress very greatly 8.8% 18.6% 57.8% 14.8%
8 Sufficient resources would be mproved in the e-learning environment 29.3% 54.7% 10.7% 5.3%
9 It is difficult for me to become skillful at using the integrated e-learning platform 12.8% 36.1% 40.0% 8.9%
10 I am disappointed with the way the e-learning work out to nteractwith other students 24.6% 53.1% 19.8% 2.5%

TABLE II. CRITICAL FACTORS INFLENCING STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION

Factor Computer Computer Platform Training Instructor Perceived E-learning E-learning Tota
literacy availability and Function attitude ease of use course quality platform l
and skill accessibility flexibility
Student 100
16.5% 4.6% 22.3% 11.9% 12.2% 18.7% 26.3% 13.5%
s (%) %

TABLE III. STATISTICS OF E-LEARNING ACTIVITIES (OCTOBER, 2010)

Learning Activity Classification Search Browse Read Writing Administration Communication Service Total
Participant number 636 2059 744 177 99 406 64 4185
% 15.2% 49.2% 17.8% 4.2% 2.4% 9.7% 1.5% 100%

Through tags students can quickly find a common interest IV. CONCLUSION
with their peers, discussing topics of interest and sharing of Online E-learning is an effective alternative to traditional
resources. face-to-face education. Compared with school education,
With the digital resources of the platform, teachers and web-based education makes a great change in its space, time,
students can receive the resources conveniently and need not method of teaching and learning. Many institutions
look at every page of a web. Moreover, learners can
implement E-learning environment to meet students’ needs.
maintain control of their own learning to find problems and
Since E-learning is conducted using the Internet and World
correct their own learning goals.
Wide Web, the learning environment becomes more
The integrated E-learning platform based on network
complicated [9].
promote personal knowledge accumulation and group
The users’ survey results of the students’ attitude show
knowledge sharing, which can improve learning efficiency,
facilitate the innovation of knowledge, and then enhance the that the vast majority of users are satisfied with the
core competitiveness of individual and group. e-learning environment. And the implications from this
research highlight the challenge for educators in
D. Statistical Learning Activities understanding, developing awareness of and identifying
Student learning activities on the platform can be divided strategies to manage these factors. A central role was
into search, browse, read, writing, administration, identified for e-learning including proposals to equip all
communication and service. As shown in table Ⅲ, students students with the skills and resources to access learning
engaged in the platform mainly for cognitive learning opportunities and share knowledge at a time and place that
activities, with small part of students for meta-cognitive and fits their lifestyle.
emotional exchanges. The integrated E-learning platform is considered to be a

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