Barriers to Technology Enabled Learning at a Public University in Malaysia

Abstract

Technology Enabled Learning (TEL) pertains to the application of innovations in technology to conventional pedagogical approaches which extend beyond the traditional Face to Face (F2F) approach. Adoption of TEL can be challenging to both, the teacher as well as the student as it involves re-delineation of generally accepted principles and practices. A baseline survey was conducted at a public university in Malaysia in order to obtain an insight into the perceived barriers with regard to TEL. A total of 299 lecturers and 979 students responded to the survey. Almost all of the lecturers had a positive attitude towards adoption of TEL but were limited by a diverse range of factors. The results obtained from the survey revealed that a majority of the teachers (26%) identified lack of training related to TEL as a major barrier towards its adoption. Open Educational Resources (OER) are a vital component of TEL, however most lecturers were not aware of OER and the concept of open licensing with regard to available material as well as the creation of their own OERs. Teachers explicitly stated that adoption of TEL posed a challenge to traditional F2F. Students on the other hand were more concerned with their personal data privacy when using a TEL platform. One of the major challenges faced by students in Sabah is the lack of infrastructure and the limited bandwidth available off-campus. In conclusions, both teachers and students, are amenable to adopting TEL but a lack of confidence with regard to contemporary pedagogical methods and the paucity in training poses a primary barrier, the secondary barrier is the lack of suitable infrastructure. The revelations of this study will facilitate the identification of suitable interventions in the university TEL ecosystem.