LEARNING TRENDS, STRATEGIES AND CONSIDERATIONS: AN EVALUATION OF THE HYPRID E-LEARNING PRACTICE AT THE REGIONAL IT INSTITUTE USING DEMAND-DRIVEN LEARNING MODEL

Abstract

As a force contributing to social and economic development, E-Learning is fast becoming an accepted and indispensable part of the main-stream of educational systems in both developed and developing countries, with particular emphasis for the latter. This growth has been stimulated in part with the increasing use of networked computers as a medium for network-enabled transfer of skills, information, and knowledge in various areas. The traditional context of learning is experiencing a radical change. The concept of traditional education does not fit well with the new world of lifelong learning, in which the roles of instructor, students, and curriculum are changing. Rather than replacing traditional classrooms and teaching methodology, E-Learning should serve as a complementary mechanism to lifelong or remote learning.Today, Egypt has thousands of training companies and institutions giving training and educational programs, including degree, non-degree and certificate programs. The need to evaluate an E-learning system has been proved to be vital to establishments in the planning phase of their training programs. The choice is critical and quality management becomes crucial. One of the biggest E-learning projects in Egypt is the E-learning system of the ministry of education. This system is based on a well known collaboration suite named Centra. On the other hand, E-learning in the Egyptian universities/institutions is still in the very early stage. There are many theoretical and technological issues that need to be explored. Therefore, the need for a tested quality management scheme is becoming crucial.E-learning quality has been defined in terms of the design of the e-learning experience, the contextualized experience of learners, and evidence of learning outcomes. However, E-Learning course design and overall program quality are sometimes compromised in an effort to simply get something running in response to pressing demands of the consumer. Accordingly, educators and researchers have voiced concerns over the lack of appropriately rigorous evaluation studies of E-Learning programs and systems. Hence, comes the Demand-Driven Learning Model (DDLM) as a Quality Standard. The DDLM has five main components: the quality standard of "superior structure," three consumer demands (content, delivery, and service) and learner outcomes. It is important that these constructs are operationally defined to allow easy application of the DDLM by practitioners and researchers.On the other hand, Literatures have shown different best practices in the area of assessing and evaluating E-Learning quality in different contexts and in different countries. However, best practices in Egyptian context are still very limited and not mature enough to be reported. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to demonstrate the best practice of the Hybrid E-Learning model at the Regional IT Institute, as well as to evaluateInternational Journal of Internet Education http://ijie.journals.ekb.egJuly, 2021 ISSN: 1687-6482International Journal of Internet Education http://ijie.journals.ekb.egthis Hybrid model using the Demand-Driven Learning Model. It emphasizes the two E-Learning degree programs delivered by the Institute namely: the Master of Science in Business Information Technology, delivered in cooperation with Middlesex University in the UK, and the Master of Science in Human Resources Education in cooperation with University of Louisville in the USA.Building on the DDML model, the evaluation has been performed through conducting four focus groups, in which current and previous students have participated. The results showed that participants emphasized the critical importance of the blend between the two learning extremes (the traditional and the E-Learning models) particularly in the dimensions of the delivery, service and outcomes. Meanwhile, the content dimension showed no significant difference among the three models, namely; the E-learning, the traditional learning and the hybrid E-Learning model applied at RITI. The concept of Hybrid E-Learning is still not mature enough; however, presenting the best practice of the Regional IT Institute may help adding to the stream of literature in this domain, particularly in the Middle East area.