Abstract:

Learning Management Systems (LMS) have common distribution in higher education for either on-campus or distance students and are widely identified as information systems that encourage e-learning by supporting teaching and learning, and also execute administrative tasks and stimulate communication between teachers and students. The major and fundamental role of LMS in higher education is to provide interactions between students, teachers and content. The relevance of these exchanges can be comprehended and stressed by interaction equivalency theory which notes that high levels of student satisfaction may take place when any of the types of interactivity are high: student-student, student-teacher, student-content. Higher education institutions regularly apply Learning Management Systems for multiple purposes: to assess, to motivate staff and student interactions, and to act as repositories of learning objects. This article is devoted to a study that examines teaching staff and student perspectives on LMS features in Moscow teacher education institutions in 2017-2018. The research investigates the effectiveness of LMS components in university courses and teaching staff and students’ perspectives on the LMS affordances of accessibility and interactivity. The data were gathered from university students and teaching staff, in total 76 staff were interviewed to fulfill the survey and responses were obtained from 54 (response rate 71%), while 206 students were interviewed and only 112 responded (54.4% response rate). Staff and students were invited to rate the effectiveness of the LMS components, using a point scale. The student participants were then invited to rank their readiness to participate in a post-survey focus group. Three focus groups were conducted with six students in each group. Analogously, teaching staff were asked to participate in post-survey interviews, the focus groups and interviews were audio recorded and then transcribed. The preliminary analysis comprises an examination of the Likert-style survey responses from students and teaching staff in accordance with the role of the effectiveness of the LMS components. Divisive was discovered between student and teaching staff views in relation to accessibility of online materials, however the three groups adhered to similar views with respect to the effectiveness of LMS. The survey results identified student and teaching staff views on the aspects of LMS usage regarding the affordance of accessibility: the ability to receive materials, electronic versions of lectures and tracks made by teachers. Applying interaction equivalency theory, the results display the substantial role of the key options chosen by teaching staff in anticipating which LMS tools to apply in terms of maximising student learning. Therefore, the findings relayed through this research may apply to higher education, as well as to education for students of any age. Comprehending the intentional options to be made in regard to technology application, through the interaction equivalency theory, will be an essential competence for future teachers.

Keywords:

Learning Management Systems, e-learning, blended learning, interaction equivalency theory, student satisfaction, affordances of accessibility.