E-Classroom in Higher Education

In the paper, some interesting findings related to the introduction and use of e-classroom at the Faculty of Management (FM) is presented. The course was carried out in the e-classroom for fulltime and part-time students. The blended learning approach was used as an e-learning model. The teacher’s assessments were based on students’ weekly activities and achievements. Differences between groups of students and the differences caused by using a different blended learning approach will be presented as well. Beside the differences which were observed, some common findings were found, namely the introduction of innovative learning methods was appreciated by students, as well as the support of the well prepared tutor. Therefore further activities regarding the introduction and use of e-learning should be carried out. Online training courses for teachers and tutors should be organized and further research regarding the impact of e-classroom usage on all stakeholders in e-learning should be done. 1. Information and communication technology in education The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education brings numerous important changes for students and teachers, as well as for institutions. On one hand, together with the development of the Internet, it improves the accessibility of education, and on the other hand, it brings about tectonic shifts in the process of teaching/learning as well as changes in administration and management of education. Until recently, ICT in education was mainly used as support for administrative processes [RIS, SITES 2000, 60], which means that in spite of numerous partial activities on the national as well as on the local level key education processes are still relatively seldom 2 BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS – BIS 2006 supported by ICT in Slovenia. Obviously, the ICT introduction in education institutions is similar to the introduction of ICT in companies, where processes in accounting, finance and human resources are normally supported first [Turban et al. 1999, 48]. With the development of distance education (DE), different teaching methods have developed, which is mainly due to temporal and spatial separation between teachers and students [Saba 1999, Holmberg 1995]. Correspondence education, tele-education, on-line and Internet study give the learner/student a more active role than the role known in traditional education (where education is carried out in a classroom or a lecture room). A more active role of learners/students is also stressed in contemporary pedagogy and didactics, and is in accord with the educational changes as stimulated with the onset and progress of the information society [SITES 2000, 3]. Positive effects of DE, especially with regard to the used teaching methods and forms, necessitate the introduction of these methods in traditional education. Taking into account the fact that education can be carried out over the Internet or intranet on institution premises, it is much better to speak about electronic or elearning rather than about DE, i.e. about the education, during which study materials are transmitted to learners/students through electronic media (the Internet, intranet, extranet, satellites, audio/video equipment, CD-ROMs [InternetTime Group 2002]. The key characteristic therefore is not the spatial/temporal separation of participants in education (which was the main reason for introducing DE at the beginning) but an elementary change in the method of work, caused by the intensive use of ICT in everyday and in professional life. E-learning is becoming increasingly interesting for different educational and other public institutions as well as businesses, because the wide-scale introduction of LLL-concepts [Trunk Širca and Sulčič 2003] and the growing importance of knowledge increase the demand for different educational forms [Vasquez Bronfman 2000, 1405]. Private and public educational institutions worldwide cater for the increasing demand by a variety of educational programmes offering new forms of education, increasingly supported by ICT, and especially by the Internet. Thus, for example, the market of e-learning has been one of the fastest growing markets in North America [HKGCC 2002]. 2. Research results and practical implications 2.