Integration of e-learning technologies for interactive teaching and learning process: an empirical study on higher education institutes of Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose: The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has become a major driving force in transforming education worldwide. Similarly, in the last ten years, the usage of ICTs and e-learning in Pakistan has increased. Whereas the latest educational policy of the Government of Pakistan has focused on using ICTs and e-learning in schools and universities. The national professional standards for teachers have also suggested teachers to integrate ICTs in their classrooms and develop e-learning platforms for teaching and learning processes. However, in this study the effectiveness of information and communication and e-learning technologies integration in teaching and learning has been assessed. The context selected for this research study is a public university of Sindh, Pakistan. The research gap, which has been founded through the extensive literature review, indicated that most of the students are not able to utilize ICTs effectively. The first objective of this study is to enable students to gain wider range of knowledge and access Internet for developing a global outlook. Moreover, the second objective of this study is to develop students' capabilities of processing information more effectively and efficiently for teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach: By nature, this study is quantitative survey-based research study. For this purpose, data has been collected from students and teachers of English, Computer Science and Business Administration departments of targeted university, survey questionnaires have been adopted as a data collection tool. Whereas the random sampling technique is used for the collection of data by using Morgan table of sample size. Additionally, data has been collected from 100 participants, 80 of them were students and 20 were teachers, and data has been analyzed by using SPSS 22.0 software. Findings: The findings of this study have indicated the student's level of interest toward the integration of ICTs and e-learning in science and social science courses. Similarly, the findings specify that through ICT and e-learning materials, students can learn more effectively, which can also facilitate teachers for their teaching process in this modern era of technology. Whereas the issue that has been specified through the findings is that the teachers are not encouraged by the management of the university to implement the ICT in their teaching and learning due to their concerns on the limited resources and lack of competencies. Practical implications: For the practical implication, the findings of this study will facilitate the teachers and learners for integrating the ICTs and e-learning in their course curriculums and interactive teaching practices as per modern era of technology. Also, this study will help the provincial leader and policymakers by addressing the teachers’ concern to encourage the integration of ICT tools and develop capabilities for interactive classrooms for effective teaching and learning. Originality/value: This is the first study of its nature that has been conducted in the Pakistani public university in rural setting, and the finding of this study will facilitate and help the institutional and government stakeholders to where and how they can effectively integrate ICTs and e-learning in classrooms for interactive teaching and learning processes in the rural Sindh.