Investigating challenges and outlook for implementation of information technology in learning

   Management Science Letters 2 (2012) 1807–1812

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 Management Science Letters

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 Investigating challenges and outlook for implementation of information technology in learning

 process: A university professors' perspective

 Rasoul Golkara, Mehdi Karimi Alavijeha, Mehdi Mazaherib and Mohammad Reza Iravanic *

 aMaster of Educational Training, PayameNoor University, Esfahan, Iran

 bMaster of Philosophy of Education, PayameNoor University, Esfahan, Iran

 cDepartment of Social work, Islamic Azad University of Khomeinishahr, Khomeinishahr branch, Khomeinishahr, Esfahan, Iran

 A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

 Article history :

 Received December 18, 2011

 Received in Revised form

 February, 20, 2012

 Accepted 28 March 2012

 Available online

 April 6 2012

 During the past few years, there have been significant interests in using information technology

 in educational systems. There is no doubt that there are different advantages associated with the

 implementation of information technology in educational systems. However, there are also

 some barriers in having successful implementation of IT in educational universities. This paper

 performs an empirical study to learn more on advantages and barriers on successful

 implementation of IT in governmental universities in Iran. The study distributes 101

 questionnaires among a population of university professors who worked for two universities in

 city of Esfahan, Iran. The results of survey indicates that three factors including lack of good

 standards, sufficient infrastructure and good support on behalf of private sectors are the most

 important challenges for IT implementation. On the advantages, instructors and students '

 abilities to find their needs using different search engines, increase in their communication

 skills and self-confidence are the most important factors detected by this survey .

  © 2012 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved .

 Keywords :

 E-learning

 Information Technology

 Educational systems

 IT challenges

  1. Introduction

 For many years, traditional learning was the basis of teaching in schools and universities. Students

 used to attend physical classes to learn, which was inconvenient when there was a long distance

 between the residential places and schools. Even participating in such classes needs significant

 investment and still there are many cases where it is not economical to construct educational building

 to serve limited number of people. For instance, in Iran, there are many small towns where there are

 fewer than 20 families live there and it is difficult to send instructors to such towns. In such

 circumstance, the recent advances of information technology (IT) could reduce the cost of educations ,

 significantly. Using IT in educational systems has become one of the most popular methods for

 breaking obstacles between the people who want to learn and cannot attend physical schools .

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 During the past few years, there have been significant attempts on developing educational studies

 through internet and its applications. Distance learning has many advantages such as removing

 unnecessary transportation costs (Febry & Higgs, 1997), saving energy, creating opportunities for

 many people who cannot attend regular educational studies, etc .

 The idea of e-learning is not new and it goes back to 19th century, where some distance learning

 schools were built in North American and European countries using post office services. First

 collegiate distance learning based post office was established in 1892. In the mid-twentieth century ,

 there was also a variety of educational programs, which was presented to different audiences. Since

 then, e-learning has changed significantly since many people from different countries could

 participate in such courses from various countries. They could share their opinions and learn from

 their experiences especially in management level skills. Physicians could exchange their experience

 using internet facilities and prescribe suitable medications for the patients who cannot travel .

 One obvious advantage of learning over internet facilities is to reduce the cost of learning as much as

 possible. Learning through internet reduces many physical infrastructures and replaces them with

 computers and technology. Many human resources such as university professors across the world

 could participate in these universities and contribute with no need to travel, physically. Present age of

 exact global competition and quickly improving technologies and improving information systems has

 forced companies to use new business management techniques (Baykasoglu & Kaplanoglu, 2008 ).

 Many of courses are normally prepared in different forms of sharable content object (SCO) and they

 can be shared among many students over a reasonable number of educational terms depending on the

 nature of course. For instance, we can produce a comprehensive SCO for a course named

 fundamentals of physics and use it virtually for years since the content of this course does not change ,

 significantly .

 Despite the fact that there are many advantages associated with the implementation of IT in

 educational systems, there are many barriers and difficulties in practice. Pelgrum (2001) investigated

 barriers to the integration of ICT in education by a comprehensive assessment on world-side

 educational systems. Jones (2000) performed a survey of the implementation of information

 technology in the teaching/learning environment of sciences in selected schools in Alberta, Canada .

 Abdelaziz et al. (2011) presented a techniqe for assessment of e-learning system against traditional

 learning programs for undergraduate nursing students and reported that lack of computer skills of

 students influenced their abilities to communicate efficiently with the instructor and failed to

 participate in various online communication methods. The people who attended the study were happy

 with the e-learning program as a teaching method, but they were interested in e-learning program

 only when they had computer and Internet at home .

 Krause et al. (2009) studied factors of cooperative learning and feedback on e-learning by 137

 colleague students who took part in a survey. They believed cooperative learning enhanced perceived

 performance, competence and collective efficacy could impact on self-efficacy. Payne et al. (2009 )

 looked to know whether an e-learning method could be used to train employees in highly specialized

 skills using expert individuals and extensive prolonged training. The approach used the development

 of e-learning facilities including simulations and interactivity. They also (2009) explained that

 simulations was a powerful technique in the design of successful e-learning packages in preparing

 learners for real-world applications .

 Ćukušić et al. (2010) performed an empirical study on e-learning process management and the elearning

 performance. The study used a sample of 14 European schools participating in an EU-funded

 project. They reported the existence of a relationship between planning and controlling of the elearning

 process and the learning outcomes .

 R. Golkar et al. / Management Science Letters 2 (2012 )

  1809

 Cegarra-Navarro et al. (2007) investigated four learning techniques introduced in the literature on

 four various levels of e-business including null, relational, internal and external by a survey of 130

 SMEs in the Spanish telecommunications sector. The survey was performed by gathering a

 multinomial logistic model, validated by factor analysis. They reported that to use e-business, firms

 are required to provide the acquisition, interpretation and storage of knowledge as prior steps. The

 findings further recommended that knowledge acquisition was necessary to progress from relational

 level to internal level .

 Bhuasiri et al. (2012) found critical success factor (CSF) for e-learning in developing countries and

 identified CSFs, which influence the acceptance of e-learning systems. The study chose multiple

 factors, which influence the success of e-learning systems from the literature and compared the

 relative importance between two stakeholder groups in developing countries including ICT experts

 and faculty. They provided different suggestions to help the implementation of e-learning systems for

 developing countries. AbuSneineh and Zairi (2010) provided an assessment framework for e -

 Learning effectiveness in the Arab World. Keramati et al. (2011) studied the impact of e-learning

 readiness on the performance of e-leaning programs through an empirical study and indicated that

 organizational readiness factors were the most important factors on e-learning outcomes. In addition ,

 teachers’ motivation and training was the most important element in e-learning .

 The proposed study of this paper is implemented for a real-world case study of some governmental

 universities located in Esfahan/Iran. The organization of this paper first presents details of our

 implementation in section 2 and the results of the survey is included in section 3. Concluding remarks

 are given in the last to summarize the contribution of the paper .

  2. The proposed study

 In this survey, we perform a survey among all people who were involved with e-learning in the two

 schools in Esfahan. The population of our survey covers 866 university professors who worked for

 two schools in Esfahan. The questions are in qualitative perspective from very low to very high in

 Likert scale (Likert, 1932). We also assigned weight values of one to five for different scales from

 very low to very high, respectively. Finally we assume the population follows a normal distribution .

 Therefore we could use the following formula to calculate the minimum number of sample size ,

  ,

  ( 1) 2

  / 2

  2

  2

  / 2

 N z p q

 N z p q

 n

  × − + × ×

  × × ×

  =

 α

 α

 ε

  (1)

 where N is the population size, p =1 − q represents the yes/no categories, zα / 2 is CDF of normal

 distribution and finally ε is the error term. Since we have 0.5, / 2 1.96 = = p zα and N=866, the number

 of sample size is calculated as n=101. We first selected a sample 20 people and performed the survey

 and calculated Conbach Alpha, which yields 0.88 and this is well above the minimum level of 0.70 .

  3. Results

 There are four parts associated with the proposed study of this paper. In the first part, we survey

 different challengous in implementing IT in educational systems. Table 1 shows details of our survey .

 As we can observe, nearly 76% of the participants believed that there was not a good support on

 behalf of private sectors. The other important challenge seems to be the lack of a good internet

 infrastructure. Another important issue is that there is not a transparent strategy for using IT in

 governmental schools of the city. The lack of a good technical support, necessary hardware

 equipments and priority are among other important challenges on the implementation of IT .

  1810

 Table 1

 Statistical observations on the effects of internal factors for IT implementation

 Mea Statistics Very low Low Middle High Very high n

  2.1386

 There is a support from private sector. Freq. 18 59 18 4 2

  % 17.8 58.4 17.8 4 2

  2.2079

 There is a fast and reliable internet Freq. 23 45 23 9 -

 service. % 22.8 44.6 22.8 8.9 -

  2.2079

 There is a transparent strategy. Freq. 22 45 25 9 -

  % 21.8 44.6 24.8 8.9 -

  2.3960

 There is a good technical support for Freq. 3 60 33 5 -

 trouble shooting. % 3 59.4 32.7 5 -

 There are sufficient hardware Freq. 3 52 39 5 - 2.5149

 packages for IT implementations % 3 51.5 38.6 5 -

  2.2970

 There is a priority for IT Freq. 29 24 38 9 1

 implementation. % 28.7 23.8 37.6 8.9 1

 Table 2 shows other important factors influencing IT implementation, which are more associated with

 the necessary infrastructures .

 Table 2

 Statistical observations on the frequency of different factors for IT implementation

 Statistics Very low Low Middle High Very high Mean

  2.2970

 There are some standards for the Freq. 10 64 14 13 -

 required educational IT hardware. % 9.9 63.4 13.9 12.9 -

  2.1485

 There is a method for performance Freq. 35 24 34 8 -

 measurement. % 34.7 23.8 33.7 7.9 -

  2.4554

 There are good standards for the Freq. 10 48 30 13 -

 required IT software packages. % 9.9 47.5 29.7 12.9 -

  2.3960

 All issues and difficulties are Freq. 10 48 30 13 -

 detected. % 9.9 47.5 29.7 12.9 -

  2.4158

 There are sufficient hardware Freq. 3 52 39 5 -

 packages for IT implementations % 3 51.5 38.6 5 -

  2.5545

 There is a promotion plans for the Freq. 7 49 28 16 1

 system. % 6.9 48.5 27.7 15.8 1

  2.3960

 The management supports for Freq. 17 39 35 8 2

 helping users are sufficient. % 16.8 38.6 34.7 7.9 2

  2.4356

 There is a good monitoring system. Freq. 17 37 34 12 1

  % 16.8 36.6 33.7 11.9 1

 Among the factors demonstrated in Table 2, the lack of a method for measuring the performance of

 an IT based system is the most important one followed by the lack of good standards for having

 efficient e-learning system. Table 3 shows the advantages of opportunities, which could be created by

 IT systems .

 Table 3

 Statistical observations on the frequency of different advantages of using IT implementation

 Statistics Very low Low Middle High Very high Mean

  3.7822

 Instructors will increase their Freq. 1 9 17 58 16

 searching abilities. % 1 8.9 16.8 57.4 15.8

  3.7827

 Students will increase their searching Freq. - 8 23 58 12

 abilities. % - 7.9 22.8 57.4 11.9

  3.4653

 IT can increase communications' Freq. 2 13 25 58 3

 abilities. % 2 12.9 24.8 57.4 3

  3.3960

 People could present their abilities. Freq. 5 14 26 48 8

  % 5 13.9 25.7 47.5 7.9

  3.5248

 IT can increase students' self- Freq. 2 10 34 43 12

 confidence .

 R. Golkar et al. / Management Science Letters 2 (2012 )

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 As we can see from the results of Table 3, the people who participated in our survey mostly believe

 that the implementation of IT in educational systems could increase instructors and students' abilities

 to find their needs using different search engines. They also agreed that IT could increase people's

 abilities, communication skills and their self-confidence. There are other advantages on the

 implementation of IT summarized in Table 4. According to the results of this table, IT

 implementation provides better information and helps users access to more diversified sources of

 knowledge .

 Table 4

 Statistical observations on the frequency of different advantages of using IT implementation

 Mea Statistics Very low Low Middle High Very high n

  4.1188

 IT implementation diversifies Freq. 1 11 7 38 44

 educational system. % 1 10.9 6.9 37.6 43.6

  4.1900

 Users are able to have more Freq. 1 2 18 35 44

 information. % 1 2 18 35 44

  3.9307

 The access to information is more Freq. 12 2 10 34 43

 flexible. % 11.9 2 9.9 33.7 42.6

  3.8218

 Physical facilities are needed less. Freq. - 12 21 41 27

  % - 11.9 20.8 40.6 26.7

  3.8119

 IT increases university professors' Freq. 4 13 17 31 36

 capabilities. % 4 12.9 16.8 30.7 35.6

  3.7374

 Education will be student basis. Freq. 1 8 24 49 17

  % 1 8.1 24.2 49.5 17.2

  3.7000

 Globalization will be facilitated. Freq. 13 3 20 29 35

  % 13 3 20 29 35

  3.6400

 The quality of teaching will be Freq. 4 3 30 51 12

 improved. % 4 3 30 51 12

  3.5300

 There is a new opportunity for attract Freq. 16 4 19 33 28

 foreign investors. % 16 4 19 33 28

  3.3762

 IT creates new opportunities for Freq. 17 4 19 46 15

 sharing experience in the world. % 16.8 4 18.8 45.5 14.9

  3.6733

 Learning sources will be improved Freq. 1 17 23 33 27

 based on IT advances. % 1 16.8 22.8 32.7 26.7

  3.5446

 There is less time limitation. Freq. 2 11 28 44 16

  % 2 10.9 27.7 43.6 15.8

  3.3564

 Educational opportunities will Freq. 17 3 21 47 13

 increase. % 16.8 3 20.8 46.5 12.9

  3.3900

 Educations will become fair. Freq. 15 7 20 40 18

  % 15 7 20 40 18

  3.4752

 Continuous learning will become Freq. 2 20 24 38 17

 permanent. % 2 19.8 23.8 37.6 16.8

  3.4653

 Students will be more paramount on Freq. 1 19 31 32 18

 social changes. % 1 18.8 30.7 31.7 17.8

 In IT based system, it seems that education will be more student-based and it could build a bridge for

 people around the people to connect with each other. Students will be able to improve their learning

 skills and instructors could update themselves by using an integrated IT based systems. There are

 other advantages in having IT systems, which are mostly confirmed by our survey people and they

 are listed in Table 4 .

  4. Conclusion

 In this paper, we have presented an empirical study to learn more about the advantages and the

 barriers on successfully implementing IT in governmental universities in Iran. The study distributed

  101 questionnaires among a population of university professors who worked for two universities in

 city of Esfahan, Iran. The results of survey showed that three factors including lack of good

 standards, sufficient infrastructure and good support on behalf of private sectors are the most

  1812

 important challenges for IT implementation. On the advantages, instructors and students' abilities to

 find their needs using different search engines, increase in their communication skills and selfconfidence

 are the most important factors detected by this survey .

 Acknowledgment

 The authors would like to thank all university professors who spent their valuable time filling the

 questionnaire and helped us finish this work, successfully .

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