Thesis (MA) - Cyprus International University. Institute of Graduate Studies and Research Communication and Media Studies Department

Includes bibliography (sheets 60-71)

ABSTRACT
Digitization is rapidly revolutionizing the educational sector and in particular, higher
educational institutions (HEIs). HEIs are progressively becoming more digital,
incorporating Digital learning support systems (DLSS) into their framework to
improve learning experience for students. However, despite the fact that using digital
assets improves students' learning experiences and opens up new administrative
possibilities, there are no universally accepted guidelines for using DLSS for teaching
and student services. As an educational service provider, HEIs rely on students'
abilities to cope with the frameworks given. As a result, investigating the perception
of students towards DLSS in their respective HEIs is absolutely vital. In order to gauge
the perception of students’ towards DLSS, a case study was carried out in Cyprus
International University (CIU) by employing a survey based quantitative research. The
survey was carefully designed by using a modified technology acceptance model
(TAM) to find out what students thought about DLSS and their perception towards
adopting it for learning. Amongst the variables considered in the modified TAM
included perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), the attitude towards
use (ATT) and finally, the Behavioral Intention (BI). The results showed from a poll
of 213 students that the attitude towards the intention to use DLSS was inconclusive.
The reasons being some students preferred the idea of learning in a classroom setting,
and so, the CIU Moodle does completely fulfil that role of completely connecting
students and teachers to improve learning experience. Also, the lack of guidance on
DLSS and difficulty in understanding it workings, especially for students that are new
to it, is also a reason why students aren’t too optimistic about DLSS potential. On the
other hand, some students expressed a positive attitude towards DLSS, as online
learning was more conducive and lecture materials were easier to customize and
access. Nonetheless, the perceived usefulness of DLSS was shown to have a positive
impact on behavioral intention to use, meaning students realize the usefulness of DLSS
and intend to use it but will perhaps, require additional information on its potentials.
In all, this thesis contributed to actual discussion on digitalization in HEIs and offered
recommendations to improve the learning experience for both students and teachers.
Moreover, there is still need for more research to be done in this field.
Keywords: Digital Learning Support Systems, E-learning, Higher educational
institutions, Students.