Managing learning outcomes with technology in Ghanaian higher education

Figures & data

Figure 1. Garrison and Anderson’s community of inquiry model (after Garrison & Anderson, 2003).

Table 1. Descriptive statistics and reliability analysis for the responses of students to each survey item regarding the efficacy of the Sakai LMS to promote effective teaching and learning

Survey Items	Mean	Std. Deviation	Corrected Item-Total Correlation	Cronbach’s Alpha if Item Deleted
The design aspects (consistent layout) of the site makes it easy for me to access materials for my learning	3.3721	1.06830	.648	.856
Logging in to the Sakai Learning Management System was successful most of the time	3.2233	1.20993	.568	.859
Accessing the course syllabus was successful most of the time (clear navigation)	3.4605	1.07958	.662	.856
Accessing an audio/video recording of lectures was successful most of the time	2.7907	1.06249	.674	.855
Accessing multimedia materials (other than audio/video lecture recordings) was successful most of the time	3.0000	1.09374	.675	.855
Accessing a lecture outline or notes before the lecture was successful most of the time	3.2930	1.06898	.721	.853
Accessing a lecture outline or notes after lectures was successful most of the time	3.3023	1.10087	.741	.852
Accessing online readings and other supplementary course materials was successful most of the time	3.4047	1.04969	.712	.854
Accessing grades for course work was successful most of the time	3.5395	.98923	.535	.861
Accessing exams and quizzes (testing) for learning purposes was successful most of the time	3.3302	1.08420	.679	.855
Participating in the online forums offered by SAKAI was successful most of time	3.4186	1.09443	.698	.854
Participating in online chats with members of my course was successful most of the time	3.4837	1.09308	.672	.855
Posting completed coursework was successful most of the time	3.5349	2.96513	.245	.907
The content was engaging to students (to manage hands-on problems) and that helped them to learn successfully online	3.3907	.95990	.710	.855
The content was engaging (had right visual appeal, color, font size)	3.5860	2.22576	.275	.884
The design aspects of the site enhanced easy interaction with the course instructor	3.4698	.95593	.735	.941
Instructor used headings correctly to organise and structure the course	3.7023	.80579	.715	.941
The instructor provided unique and descriptive names to all links to improve interactivity	3.5814	.90255	.758	.940
The instructor projected his image/made himself accessible online (his presence online was felt)	3.5116	.86392	.675	.942
Instructor facilitated the online community making it easy for the unaccustomed users to use the SAKAI LMS	3.3674	1.02759	.700	.942
The instructor consistently provided directions that made it easy for students to use communication resources properly	3.4744	.94129	.754	.940
Instructor projected videos and photos well to appeal to students	3.2837	.96599	.703	.941
Electronic media was effectively employed to enhance effective interactions among students	3.3721	.98643	.716	.941
Support provided to students by their peers was adequate to ensure effective learning	3.3814	.97809	.765	.940
Assessments were presented in formats in which all students could demonstrate their level of understanding	3.4419	.87814	.604	.944
Common interactive tools facilitated effective interactions among students	3.5674	.88806	.700	.942
Sakai features (such as vivid graphical assets, easy navigation and feedback loops ensured effective communication among students	3.2558	.91440	.750	.940
Students from diverse backgrounds were able to interact effectively with the Sakai LMS	3.3023	1.03072	.742	.940
Sakai LMS ensured effective interaction among groups of students	3.3953	.94571	.781	.939

The data for all negatively worded statements were removed before analysis. Three statements were removed from the initial total of 32 statements (specifically from the second set of 17 statements to become 14 statements and a total of 29 statements) because of low Cronbach α below .5.

Figure 2. Scree plot of how the Sakai LMS enhances course content interactivity.

Table 2. Principal component analysis matrix of the responses to the ability of Sakai LMS to enhance students’ interaction with course content

Survey Item	PC1	PC2	PC3
Accessing an audio and or video recording of lectures was successful for most of the time (clear navigation of content)	0.800
Accessing multimedia materials (other than audio/video lecture recordings) was successful most of the time	0.791
Accessing a lecture outline or notes before the lecture was successful most of the time	0.775
Accessing a lecture outline or notes after lectures was successful most of the time	0.807
Accessing online readings and other supplementary course materials was successful most of the time	0.769
The design aspects (consistent layout) of the site makes it easy for me to access materials for my learning		0.725
Logging in to the Sakai Learning Management System was successful most of the time		0.799
Accessing the course syllabus was successful most of the time (clear navigation)		0.744
Participating in the online forums offered by SAKAI was successful most of time		0.638
Participating in online chats with members of my course was successful most of the time		0.593
Accessing grades for course work was successful most of the time			0.601
Accessing exams and quizzes (testing) for learning purposes was successful most of the time			0.659
Posting completed coursework was successful most of the time			0.687
The content was engaging (had right appeal, color, font size, etc.) and that helped me to learn successfully online			0.517
The content was engaging to students (to manage hands-on problems) and that helped them to learn successfully online			0.617

Table 3. Three principal components of Sakai LMS’s ability to enhance students’ interaction with course content

Component	Variance (%)	Component descriptors (sub-themes)	Theme
1	31.01	Perceived student success in accessing learning resources	Students’ interaction with course content (course content interactivity
2	21.71	Perceived design friendliness of the Sakai LMS facilitating ease of use
3	11.74	Perceived ability of the Sakai LMS to enhance students’ engagement with course content

Table 4. Principal component analysis matrix of the responses to the ability of the Sakai LMS to promote students’ interaction among their peers and with the instructor

Survey Items	PC 1	PC2
Electronic media was effectively employed to enhance effective interactions among students	0.710
Support provided to students by their peers was adequate to ensure effective learning	0.837
Assessments were presented in formats in which all students could demonstrate their level of understanding	0.695
Common interactive tools facilitated effective interactions among students	0.809
Sakai features (such as vivid graphical assets, easy navigation and feedback loops ensured effective communication among students	0.625
Students from diverse backgrounds were able to interact effectively with the Sakai LMS	0.642
Sakai LMS ensured effective interaction among groups of students	0.601
The design aspects of the site enhanced easy interaction with the course instructor		0.657
Instructor used headings correctly to organise and structure the course		0.633
The instructor provided unique and descriptive names to all links to improve interactivity		0.812
The instructor projected his image/made himself accessible online (his presence online was felt)		0.829
Instructor facilitated the online community making it easy for the new users to use the SAKAI LMS		0.736
The instructor consistently provided directions that made it easy for students to use communication resources properly		0.761
Instructor projected pieces of artwork, video, photos well to appeal to students		0.778

Figure 3. Scree plot of how Sakai LMS enhances interaction among students and with the instructor.

Table 5. Two principal components of Sakai LMS’s ability to enhance students’ interaction with peers and with the instructor

Component	Variance (%)	Component descriptors	Theme
1	34.9	Perceived ease of interaction with peers	Student to student interactions
2	31.1	Perceived ease of interaction with the instructor	Student to instructor interactions

Garrison, R., & Anderson, T. (2003). E-learning in the 21st Century: A framework for research and practice. 23.

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