Web-Based Virtual Learning Environments: A Research Framework and a Preliminary Assessment of Effectiveness in Basic it Skills Training1
Authors: Piccoli, Gabriele; Ahmad, Rami; Ives, Blake
Journal: MIS Quarterly (2001)
DOI: 10.2307/3250989
<jats:p>Internet technologies are having a significant impact on the learning industry. For-profit organizations and traditional institutions of higher education have developed and are using web-based courses, but little is known about their effectiveness compared to traditional classroom education. Our work focuses on the effectiveness of a web-based virtual learning environment (VLE) in the context of basic information technology skills training.</jats:p> <jats:p>This article provides three main contributions. First, it introduces and defines the concept of VLE, discussing how a VLE differs from the traditional classroom and differentiating it from the related, but narrower, concept of computer aided instruction (CAI). Second, it presents a framework of VLE effectiveness, grounded in the technology-mediated learning literature, which frames the VLE research domain, and addresses the relationship between the main constructs. Finally, it focuses on one essential VLE design variable, learner control, and compares a web-based VLE to a traditional classroom through a longitudinal experimental design.</jats:p> <jats:p>Our results indicate that, in the context of IT basic skills traini…