E- Learning of Andalusian University's Lecturers. Gender

Abstract

This study forms part of the research project: “Use of eLearning in Andalusian Universities: current status and analysis of good practice”. Our research focuses on two fundamental areas: firstly, the Virtual Andalusian Campus (VAC) as defined in the Digital University project set up by the Andalusia’s Regional Administration, and secondly an assessment of the technical and didactic potential of Learning Management Systems (LMS) for the teaching staff at these universities. The research was ndertaken using a quantitative methodology hich collected and analysed data through questionnaires to find out how eLearning is used by 1302 lecturers of different level of six different Andalusian´s university, and to assess their levels of satisfaction with it. The university teaching staff demonstrated positive attitudes towards the e-learning and b-learning process, the methods used, the support offered by the university, and the development programme. The research demonstrates the success of the programme, and shows that it promotes diversity within the university by making use of a variety of personal and professional factors. It also confirms that the majority of teaching staff at the universities do not consider the use of different platforms to be a problem, and that the success of the experience is dependent on the support and attitudes of the university. We found significant differences between the lecturers in terms of gender in two areas: male lecturers had more knowledge of the tools, and female lecturers made more use of them.