Analysis of issues for implementing e-learning: The student perspective

Integration of e-learning into campus-based institutions is a challenging issue. A number of key issues and questions clearly need to be solved and answered before any attempt for implementing e-learning is taken. The purpose of this paper is hence to investigate how to implement e-learning in the higher education institutions (HEI) associated with the subject of electricity in Turkey, considering the student perspective. For this reason, a web-based survey has been conducted to measure the extent to which the representative students in the Turkish HEI are ready for e-learning and to investigate their perspectives on issues for implementing e-learning. Two techniques were used: an online questionnaire with close- and open-ended items and semi-structured online interviews. 704 responses were analysed. At the end of the questionnaire, respondents were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. 63 accepted the invitation, but only 33 of them actually attended the interview. Based on the findings derived from the interviews, we develop a model to illustrate what principles are needed for implementing e-learning in the respective institutions. Overall, our findings show that e-learning is perceived as a solution for resolving some issues and it brings some innovation in the respective institutions in Turkey; and that it should be integrated into campus-based education and training via the blended learning approach.