Abstract:

This paper seeks to understand university students’ opinions on e-learning. More specifically, it examines the use of Moodle for academic purposes and student perception of its benefits. The empirical research was conducted at the University of Valencia in Spain at the end of 2018 and at the beginning of 2019. More than 220 students participated in the study. Data analysis was performed considering student gender, age, and nationality. Overall, findings reveal a rather moderate use of Moodle among students and a moderate to weak perception of its benefits, especially of social benefits associated with establishment of personal contact with teachers, enhancement of group work through Moodle, and benefits related with learning motivation. When student gender was considered, male students assigned significantly higher scores to some e-learning aspects than female students did. In addition, age seems to influence student assessment of Moodle, as younger students (ageing between 18 and 20 years old) evaluated better the use of Moodle and some of its advantages than their older counterparts. Regarding nationality, Spanish students perceived benefits of using Moodle to greater extent than students coming from other countries.

Keywords:

e-learning, Moodle, university students, gender, age, nationality.