Source: Education and Information Technologies, volume 26 issue 1, pages 843–857
(Reviewed by the Portal Team)
The present study attempts to examine the web-based learning environments as provided by the Google Classroom setup at the teacher education level and to assess the effectiveness of this new type of blended learning environment.
The main purpose of the study was to understand whether studying in a web-based learning environment helped students comprehend the content in a more meaningful manner.
For this purpose, the Google Classroom Platform was used as it was a freely available web resource and could easily be used to create an online Education Learning Management System (ELMS) for the students.
Objectives of the study
Following are the objectives of the study:
1. To determine the reliability and validity of the web-based learning environment inventory
2. To study the web-based learning environments as provided by Google Classroom platform in terms of students’ perceptions
3. To investigate whether gender differences exist while learning through the Google Classroom platform
4. To investigate whether significant differences exist based on the course of the students who are studying on Google Classroom platform
5. To assess the effectiveness of the Google Classroom Platform at the teacher education level
Sample for the study
The sample consists of 60 students who are studying in the M.Ed. and M.A. Education programmes in a selected college of education in Jammu where Google Classroom platform has been implemented to teach students.
45 students from the M.Ed. programme and 15 students from the M.A. Education programme were selected.
The sample was chosen carefully so as to be representative of the population and comprise of coeducational classes in order to permit an unbiased test of gender differences.
Purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the students.
Tool used
For the purpose of accomplishment of the objectives of the study, two research tools namely Web Based Learning Environment Inventory (WEBLEI) developed by Chang and Fisher (1998) and a self-prepared Google Classroom Evaluation Survey have been used.
The WEBLEI measures student’s perceptions across four scales i.e. Access, Interaction, Response, and Results.
Results and discussion
Validation of the WEBLEI
The data for the WEBLEI were collected from a sample of 60 students in a Google classroom setting with students pursuing M.A Education and M.Ed. programmes and were analysed for determining the reliability and validity of the WEBLEI questionnaire.
The reliability results of WEBLEI were consistently above 0.50.
This suggested that the WEBLEI could be considered a reliable tool (De Vellis 1991) for the use at teacher education level for assessing the Google Classroom platform of learning.
The mean correlation for the four scales of the WEBLEI ranged from 0.70 for the Access Scale to 0.75 for the Result scale.
This shows that WEBLEI is a valid tool for assessing the web-based learning environments as provided by the Google Classroom Platform.
The results show that the students perceived their Google classroom learning environments in a positive manner.
Results on investigation of gender differences suggest that there are no gender difference and course differences in Google classroom learning environments as measured by the WEBLEI.
Finally, on evaluating the reactions of students towards studying through a Google classroom, it was clear that more than 80% of the students enjoyed studying through such classroom setup.
The results show that the overall objective of the study has been achieved as the impact of google classroom as a platform of learning and collaboration at the teacher education level has been established.
To conclude, the results of the present descriptive study are in line with the results reported earlier by various researchers.
The results favour the use of Google Classroom setup in colleges over conventional methods of teaching at the teacher education level.
These results are similar to the results in studies conducted by Heggart and Yoo (2018), Al-Maroof and Al-Emran (2018) and Chandra et al. (2012).
The present study provides valuable insights regarding the basis on which the Google classrooms score over regular classroom teaching in terms of students’ reactions something about which information was not available earlier.
The present study can therefore be acclaimed, in all humility, to be successful in achieving its main objective of reporting the impact of Google classroom as a platform of learning and collaboration at the teacher education level.
References
Al-Maroof, R. A. S., & Al-Emran, M. (2018). Students acceptance of Google Classroom: An exploratory study using PLS-SEM approach. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (IJET), 13(06), 112–123.
Chandra, V., Fisher, D., & Chang, V. (2012). Investigating higher education and secondary school web-based learning environments using the WEBLEI. In Le, Thao & Le, Quynh (Eds.) Technologies for Enhancing Pedagogy, Engagement and Empowerment in Education : Creating Learning-Friendly Environments. IGI global, Hershey, PA, pp. 93-105.
Chang, V., & Fisher, D. L. (2003). The validation and application of a new learning environment instrument for online learning in higher education. In M. S. Khine & D. L. Fisher (Eds.), Technology-Rich Learning Environments A Future Perspective. pp. 1–20. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
De Vellis, R. F. (1991). Scale development: Theory and application. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.
Heggart, K. R., & Yoo, J. (2018). Gettign the most from google classroom: A pedagogical framework for tertiary educator. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(3), 140–153.