Interpretation of E-Learning in the Framework of Socio-Cultural System : Adequacy between the Opportunities and Students and Lecturers’ Needs

Abstract

Šių dienų universitete vienu metu egzistuoja tiek tradicinės, tiek kokybiškai naujos — informacinėmis ir komunikacinėmis technologijomis pagrįstos — edukacinės aplinkos, sudarančios prielaidas elektroniniam mokymuisi. Tyrimo klausimas, kurio analizei skirtas pagrindinis dėmesys šiame straipsnyje: kokia elektroninio mokymosi struktūra? Straipsnio objektas — sociokultūrinės sistemos interpretavimas elektroninio mokymosi kontekste. Siekiama atskleisti elektroninio mokymosi kaip sociokultūrinės sistemos analizės perspektyvas. Remiamasi teorine struktūralizmo (C. Levi–Strausso) paradigma ir kognityviosios teorijos pakraipa — konstruktyvizmu (J. Piaget). Straipsnyje elektroninis mokymasis analizuojamas kaip sociokultūrinė sistema, kurios branduolys yra joje vykstantys procesai. Straipsnyje pateikiama literatūros ir dokumentų analizė bei pristatomas empirinis tyrimas. Pirmoje straipsnio dalyje apibrėžiama elektroninio mokymosi sociokultūrinės sistemos sąvoka. Antroje dalyje išryškinamos elektroninio mokymosi kaip sociokultūrinės sistemos analizės prielaidos. Trečioje dalyje pristatomas empirinis tyrimas, kuriuo buvo bandoma išsiaiškinti studentų ir dėstytojų požiūrį į elektroninį mokymąsi

The increased economic and social role of knowledge changes patterns of learning. This article aims at analyzing the e–learning as a socio–cultural systemic model, which depends on congruent processes that take place within it. This e–learning systemic model has been designed with the consideration of literature and documents analysis. Methods of literature, document analysis and empiric research (aimed at finding out students’ and lecturers’ approach towards E–learning) were employed for the development of this article. This preliminary research paper aims at: 1) The concept of the e-learning socio–cultural system is addressed in the first part of the article. 2) The prerequisites for a systemic analysis of e–learning are highlighted in the second part. 3) In the third part of the article results of an empiric research aimed at finding out students’ and lecturers’ approach towards e-learning. The research findings disclosed that: 1) It can be stated that e-learning is possible to investigate as a socio-cultural system collected from many objects. Key components of each object are: participants; technologies (ICT); processes, relationship; materials (information). The surrounding system of all of them is knowledge society. All these systems differ one from another in regard to time and place dependently on applied ICT. 2) Under the outcome of empiric exploratory research, more than one third of students and lecturers think that they exploit possibilities that ICT provides in learning insufficiently. Students identify search for information on the internet and work with text edit software to all ICT possibilities provided to learning. 3) Lecturers think that they exploit possibilities that ICT provides in their work sufficiently. 4) Students exploit possibilities that ICT provides in learning not as regularly as it is expected by lecturers