Development and Validation of the Perception of Students Towards Online Learning (POSTOL)

Introduction With the recent advancement in information and communication technology (ICT), in the twenty-first century, the Internet plays an important role for accessing instruction from anywhere (Davies, Dean, & Ball, 2013; Jones, Johnson-Yale, Millermaier, & Perez, 2008; Means, Toyama, Murphy, & Baki, 2013). The use of the Internet in higher education has grown at an exponential rate (OECD, 2010). There is a high level use of the Internet, particularly in university education (Judd & Kennedy, 2010). Crook (2008) pointed out that the Internet is not only providing access to the large learning contents but also providing opportunities to interact with other people by sharing their ideas and participating in discussion forums across the globe. The integration of the Internet in a faceto-face learning environment has shown a positive effect on academic achievement (Bernard et al., 2004). As stated in Miniwatts Marketing Group (2015), Taiwan had a population of 23,359,928 in 2014 and 18,687,942 Internet users as of Dec 31, 2013, which accounts for 80% of the population. Also, there were 23 million 3G subscribers, equivalent to about 75% of the total mobile subscribers. In addition, smart phone penetration in Taiwan has increased to 51% of the total population. In fact, 69% of the population access their smart phones daily (Ipsos MediaCT, 2013). This indicates that a large percentage of Taiwan's students can access the Internet on their smart phones, use social networking sites, and connect themselves wirelessly. Theoretical framework Online learning and its effectiveness There are many definitions of "online learning" given by the researchers. For example, according to Benson (2002), online learning is an improved version of distance learning. Khan (2005, p. 3) defined online learning as "an innovative approach for delivering a well-designed, learner-centered, interactive, and facilitated learning environment to anyone, anyplace, anytime by utilizing the attributes and resources of various digital technologies along with other forms of learning materials suited for open, flexible, and distributed learning environments. " In another definition, Zhu, McKnight, and Edwards (2009) described online instruction as any formal educational process in which the instruction occurs when the learner and the instructor are not in the same place, and Internet technology is used to provide a communication link between the instructor and students. Learning via a computer network, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web, a local area network (LAN), or an intranet is considered online learning (Harasim, 2012). Many studies have found the positive outcomes of online learning environments. Gursul and Keser (2009) compared online and face-to-face problem-based learning environments in mathematics. They found that students in the online problem-based learning group performed better than the students in the face-to-face problem-based learning group. In another study, Hofman (2002) advocated that online courses help the students to understand the course content more easily and effectively. Vrasidas and McIsaac (2000) added that both synchronous and asynchronous types of learning motivate the students for self-paced learning. Learners became more independent and responsible after taking online courses (Schoech, 2000). Other findings indicated that students were satisfied by the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in face-to-face classrooms and held positive attitudes in accepting online courses (Sagin Simsek, 2008). According to Michau, Gentil, and Barrault (2001), online courses provide flexibility in terms of time and location and are also cost-effective. Measures of student's perception towards online learning Over the past few years, many studies have developed scales about students' perceptions towards online learning. Smith, Murphy, and Mahoney (2003) conducted a study to examine the instrument developed by McVay (2000). …