Online Learning in Higher Education – Learners' Perceptions, Interaction, Flexibility and Challenges

Abstract

The current study explores preservice teachers' engagement in online learning. A total of 653 students from two Arab teacher-training colleges in Israel answered an attitude questionnaire focusing on four significant aspects of online learning: participants’ perceptions; interactions with online learning; learning flexibility; and challenges of online learning. Inferential statistics methods were employed, mainly MANOVA analysis and the Structural Equation Modelling approach model (SEM). Results indicate the participants' readiness to learn online, showing positive perceptions towards online learning and highlighting the method's flexibility, even though several challenges are still impeding the learning process. The study also shows that the participants’ perceptions, the method's flexibility and learning challenges, in addition to the learners' demographic variables, could affect the learners' interaction with online learning. The study results could help in understanding the associations between the perceptions of and experiences with online learning, specifically students' online interaction. Future research could examine other aspects relating to students’ interaction with online learning and the relationship of online learning with the learners' properties and the method's characteristics.