ATTITUDE OF UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS
Transcription
ATTITUDE OF UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS
International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com ATTITUDE OF UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS TOWARDS E-LEARNING Mr. P.GERSHOM JEBARAJ Research Scholar M.S. University Tirunelveli Email: gershomjeba@gmail.com Dr. K.MOHANASUNDARAM Principal Government Arts College (Autonomous) Kumbakonam Email: dr_mohanasundaram@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Now a days, with the tremendous developments in technology, possibilities are emerging to provide Technical and Engineering education in an innovative way to meet global demands. We shall provide multidimensional and multi-disciplinary educational experiences to the learners with the help of e-Learning. It is the utilization of technology to enrich learning process. It allows the learners to interact with the learning material for maximum retention of the obtained knowledge. A study was undertaken to assess the attitude of Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. For this purpose, 300 Undergraduate Engineering Students were randomly selected in Karur district of Tamilnadu. Tool to assess Engineering Students’ Perception Towards e-Learning (TESPTe-L) was administered on them. t-Test was applied to find out the significance of difference between different groups of various branch Engineering Students. The overall results indicate that maximum number of Undergraduate Engineering Students have a positive attitude towards e-Learning. Significant difference was seen in the attitude of Male, Female, Urban and Rural Undergraduate Engineering Students towards eLearning. There is no significant difference in the attitude of Hosteller, Day Scholar, Government Quota and Management Quota Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-Learning. Keywords: E-learning, Attitude, Undergraduate Engineering Students INTRODUCTION In this era of technological revolution, teaching through traditional methods cannot completely meet the demands of students. Changes in the methods of teaching and learning are inevitable. There is a need for technology aided education. The focus of all educational policies and reforms in recent years has been on integration of technology in teaching and its impact in transforming the system of education in our country. The inception of e-learning is a great leap towards teaching and learning process. It has the potential to enhance and support the traditional learning system. It has been widely used because of its flexibility. It provides the accessibility for individuals who wish to learn at their own pace, place and time. Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 1 International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Following objectives were framed for the present study: 1. To assess the attitude of Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-Learning. 2. To find out the difference in the attitude of Male and Female undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. 3. To find out the difference in the attitude of Hosteller and Day Scholar undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. 4. To find out the difference in the attitude of Government Quota and Management Quota undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. 5. To find out the difference in the attitude of Urban and Rural undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. HYPOTHESES Following hypotheses were formulated for this research study. 1. There is no significant difference in the attitude of Male and Female undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. 2. There is no significant difference in the attitude of Hosteller and Day Scholar undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. 3. There is no significant difference in the attitude of Government Quota and Management Quota undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. 4. There is no significant difference in the attitude of Urban and Rural undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. METHODOLOGY In this present study, descriptive method was used to assess the attitude of Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. It is the process of gathering evidences in the existing situations. SAMPLE Stratified random sampling technique was used in this present study. The population of the study consisted of Undergraduate Engineering Students of different branches in Karur District of Tamilnadu. The population was divided into three strata of Engineering Branches viz. Circuit Branch, Non-Circuit Branch and Computer Branch. Finally, 300 Undergraduate Engineering Students were taken as sample for this study. The distribution of the sample is shown in the Table 1. Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 2 International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com Table 1 Branch -Wise Distribution of the Sample Sl.No Engineering Branch Circuit Branches 1 (ECE, EEE) Non-Circuit Branches 2 (Mechanical, Civil) Computer Branches 3 (CSE, IT) Total Male Female Total 48 52 100 59 41 100 46 54 100 153 147 300 ADMINISTRATION OF THE TOOL TESPTE-L To assess the attitude of the Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning, an attitude tool in the name of Tool to assess Engineering Students’ Perception Towards e-Learning (TESPTe-L) developed by the investigators was used and administered to the Undergraduate Engineering students belonging to different branches (Circuit, Non-Circuit and Computer) in Karur District of Tamilnadu. The Students were explained the purpose and significance of collecting required information from them. It was also ensured that no item was left un-attempted by any student. It was further explained that there was no right or wrong answer to any of the items of the attitude tool. SCORING Likert's method of scoring was adopted for this research study. In the attitude tool, there are 25 statements. Out of the 25, 17 are positive and 8 are negative. Statements 6,8,11,13,17,20, 21 and 23 are negative and the remaining statements are positive. The procedures followed for scoring of the positive and the negative statements are given in Tables 2 and 3. Options Score Options Score Table 2 Scoring Procedure for Positive Statements Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Agree 5 4 3 2 Strongly Disagree 1 Table 3 Scoring Procedure for Negative Statements Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Agree 1 2 3 4 Strongly Disagree 5 Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 3 International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com The total score of students on the attitude tool was calculated by adding the individual points got by the Undergraduate Engineering Students for each statement of the tool. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Frequency distribution table was prepared and percentage of the total Undergraduate Engineering Students was calculated for each class interval of the attitude scores to assess the attitude of Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES USED The Statistical techniques are being used for the Descriptive and Inferential Analyses. Following Statistical techniques were used in this present study. 1. Mean and Standard Deviation 2. “t” Test for determining the significance of difference between means of two groups. Table 4 Frequency Distribution and Percentage of Attitude Score of Total Undergraduate Engineering Students Percentage of Class Interval of Attitude Score Frequency Sample 111-115 05 01.60 106-110 13 04.33 101-105 33 11.00 96-100 37 12.33 91-95 52 17.33 86-90 42 14.00 81-85 40 13.33 76-80 17 05.66 71-75 24 08.00 66-70 30 10.00 61-65 07 02.33 Total 300 100 From Table 4, it is observed that 1.60 % Undergraduate Engineering Students scored highest on attitude tool. 4.33% of the Undergraduate Engineering Students scored between 106-110 and 11% students scored between 101–105. Table 4 also shows that 12.33% students scored between 96-100 and 17.33% students responded between 91-95 on the attitude tool. 14% students scored between 86Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 4 International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com 90, 13.33% of students scored between 81-85, 5.66% students scored between 76-80 and 8% students scored between 71-75. It can also be seen that 10% students scored between 66-70. Only 2.33% students scored lowest i.e. between 61-65 on the attitude tool. Results in Table 4 indicate that about 90% students scored more than 60 points on the attitude tool. Therefore, it can be concluded that, maximum Undergraduate Engineering Students are having positive attitude towards e-learning. Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference in the attitude of Male and Female undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. This hypothesis deals with the difference in attitude of the male and female Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. Mean Scores, S.D. and t-value of Male and Female undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-Learning were calculated for testing this hypothesis. The results are given in Table 5. Table 5 Mean Scores, SD and t-value of Male and Female Undergraduate Engineering Students Level of Gender N Mean SD ‘t’ Significance Male 153 98.87 6.52 Female 147 96.03 8.40 3.77 Significant at 0.01 Level Table 5 shows that the mean score and standard deviation of male students is 98.87 and 6.52 respectively, whereas the mean score and SD of female students is 96.03 and 8.40 respectively. The tvalue between these two groups is 3.77, which is significant at both levels of significance. It indicates that there is significant difference in the attitude of male and female undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. Hence, the fourth hypothesis “There is no significant difference in the attitude of Male and Female undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning” is rejected. Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference in the attitude of Hosteller and Day Scholar undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. This hypothesis is to compare the difference of attitude between the Hosteller and Day Scholar undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning. Mean Scores, S.D. and t-value of Hosteller and Day Scholar undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-Learning were calculated for testing this hypothesis. The results are given in Table 6. Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 5 International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com Table 6 Mean Scores, SD and t-value of Hosteller and Day Scholar Undergraduate Engineering Students Level of Type of Stay N Mean SD ‘t’ Significance Hosteller 152 97.9 7.83 Day Scholar 148 96.4 7.57 1.67 Not Significant at 0.01 Level Table 6 shows that the mean scores and standard deviation of Hosteller is 97.9 and 7.83 respectively whereas the mean and SD of Day Scholar students is 96.4 and 7.57 respectively. The tvalue between these two groups is 1.67, which is not significant at 0.01 level. It indicates that there is no significant difference in the attitude of Hosteller and Day Scholar students towards e-learning. Hence, the second hypothesis “There is no significant difference in the attitude of Hosteller and Day Scholar undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning” is accepted. Hypothesis 3: There is no significant difference in the attitude of Government Quota and Management Quota undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. This hypothesis is to compare the difference of attitude between the Government Quota and Management Quota undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning. Mean Scores, S.D. and t-value of Government Quota and Management Quota undergraduate Engineering Students towards eLearning were calculated for testing this hypothesis. The results are given in Table 7. Table 7 Mean Scores, SD and t-value of Government Quota and Management Quota Undergraduate Engineering Students Mode of Level of N Mean SD ‘t’ Admission Significance Government Quota Management Quota 141 96.4 7.35 1.61 159 97.1 7.62 Not Significant at 0.01 Level Table 7 shows that the mean scores and standard deviation of Government Quota students is 96.4 and 7.35 respectively whereas the mean and SD of management Quota students is 97.1 and 7.62 respectively. The t-value between these two groups is 1.61 which is not significant at any level. It indicates that there is no significant difference in the attitude of Government Quota and management Quota students towards e-learning. Hence, the third hypothesis “There is no significant difference in the Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 6 International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com attitude of Government Quota and management Quota undergraduate Engineering students towards elearning” is accepted. Hypothesis 4: There is no significant difference in the attitude of Urban and Rural undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. This hypothesis deals with the comparison between the attitude of urban and rural Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. Mean Scores, S.D. and t-value of Urban and Rural undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-Learning were calculated for testing this hypothesis. The results are given in Table 8. Table 8 Mean Scores, SD and t-value of Urban and Rural Undergraduate Engineering Students Level of Locality N Mean SD ‘t’ Significance Urban 140 93.36 9.61 Rural 160 89 11.33 2.67 Significant at 0.01 Level It can be observed from Table 8 that, the mean scores of the urban and rural Undergraduate Engineering Students are 93.36 and 89 respectively. The standard deviations of urban and rural Undergraduate Engineering Students are 9.61 and 11.33 respectively. The t-value between these two groups is 2.67, which is significant at 0.01 level of significance. It indicates that urban and rural Undergraduate Engineering students have different attitudes towards e-Learning. Hence, the fourth hypothesis, “There is no significant difference in the attitude of urban and rural Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning” is rejected. FINDINGS 1. Table 4 indicates that about 90% Undergraduate Engineering Students scored more than 65 points on the attitude tool. Hence, it can be concluded that maximum Undergraduate Engineering Students have positive attitude towards e-learning. It may be because they understood the utility of technology for self learning. 2. There is significant difference in the attitude of Male and Female Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. The above results show that interest of Male and Female Undergraduate Engineering Students varies with regard to new technological tools and advancements. Generally male students get more time to explore the Internet. They take more interest in electronic devices. Due to this, Male Undergraduate Engineering students have better attitude than the female Undergraduate Engineering students towards e-learning. Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 7 International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com 3. There is no significant difference in the attitude of Hosteller and Day Scholar Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. The reason may be that the Hosteller and Day Scholar students are having more or less equal opportunity for exploring the e-Learning Tools. 4. There is no significant difference in the attitude of Management Quota and Government Quota Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. The reason is the seat allotment does not play a significant role in the attitude of Undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning. Management Quota and Government Quota students are having equal opportunity to go through the eLearning platform. 5. There is significant difference in the attitude of Urban and Rural Undergraduate Engineering Students towards e-learning. The reason may be that the urban Undergraduate Engineering students have more exposure to technology when compared with the rural Undergraduate Engineering students. CONCLUSION e-Learning breaks all barriers such as geographical, cultural, gender and time. This study was an effort to find out the attitude of Undergraduate Engineering Students belonging to different gender, type of stay, mode of admission and locality towards e-Learning. This study has its implications for teachers, students, planners and administrators in the field of Engineering education. The results of the present study show that Undergraduate Engineering students have positive attitude towards e-learning. Hence, the e-Learning can effectively be implemented in the Engineering Institutions of our country. REFERENCES Adewole Odeshi & Egbe. (2014) Attitude of Students Towards E-learning in South-West Nigerian Universities: An Application of Technology Acceptance Model. Library Philosophy and Practice (ejournal). Paper 1035. Brett Williams et.al. (2011) Undergraduate Paramedic Students’ Attitudes to e-learning: Findings from five University programs. Research in Learning Technology Vol. 19, No. 2, July 2011, 89–100. Devajit Mahanta & Majidul Ahmed. (2012) E-Learning Objectives, Methodologies, Tools and its Limitation. International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, ISSN: 2278-3075, Volume-2, Issue-1, December 2012 Ding Aixia & Dan Wang. (2011) Factors Influencing Learner Attitudes Toward E-learning and Development of E-learning Environment Based on the Integrated E-learning Platform. International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, Vol. 1, No. 3, August 2011 Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 8 International Journal of Teacher Educational Research (IJTER) Vol.4 No.4 April, 2015 ISSN: 2319-4642 www.ijter.com Gershom Jebaraj, P & Mohanasundaram, K (2015). Effectiveness of e-Content on “Crystal Systems” in Teaching Physics to First Year Engineering Students. International Journal of Current Research, Volume (7), Issue (02), February 2015, pp 12800-pp12802, ISSN: 0975-833X. Gershom Jebaraj, P & Mohanasundaram, K (2015). Development and Validation of e-Content on “Crystal Structures” to Teach Physics to Engineering Students. Indian Journal of Applied Research, Volume (5), Issue(2), February 2015, pp44-46, ISSN:2249-555X. Neelam Dhamija. (2014) Attitude of Undergraduate Students Towards the use of e-Learning. MIER Journal of Educational Studies, Trends & Practices, Vol. 4, No. 1 pp. 123-135 Patricia Bertea. (2009) Measuring students’ attitude towards e-learning-A case Study. Paper presented in Fifth International Scientific Conference on e-Learning and Software education, Bucharest on April 09, 2009. Pio Albina, A & Edward William Benjamin, A. (2013) Effectiveness of e-Content in teaching Mathematics for XI Students. Indian Journal of Applied Research, Volume (3), Issue (9), Sept 2013, pp183-184, ISSN: 2249-555X. Rekha, N & Muthuchamy, I. (2013) Development and Validation of e-Content on DNA Replication in Botany at Higher Secondary Level. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume (3), Issue (6), June 2013, pp1-3, ISSN: 2250-3153. Vandana Mehra & Faranak Omidian. (2011) Examining Students’ Attitudes Towards E-learning: A Case from India. Malaysian Journal of Educational Technology, Volume 11, Number 2, June 2011. Attitude of undergraduate Engineering students towards e-Learning 9