title: Integrating digital devices and (social media) applications during lecture time in a Saudi University: Students’ and lecturers’ views on blended synchronous approaches
Creators: name: Alsharif, Moudi
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2022

description: This research study aimed to explore potential issues regarding the integration of digital learning technology into the Higher Education sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Although the KSA government has promoted a strategic approach over recent years to support universities to enhance their learning and teaching, university academics and students have not extensively experienced learning technology use in their courses. A predominantly traditional approach to teaching has been followed in lecture theatres. Thus, the first stage of this research study sought to identify the challenges universities, academics, and students encounter when adopting learning technology, according to recently published studies. After identifying common constraints regarding the use of technology for educational purposes in the KSA HE sectors, focused research projects were conducted to explore students’ and academics’ views, behaviours, and attitudes towards the integration of technology into their modules. The three research projects were conducted at three different Umm Al-Qura University Schools, English, Architecture, and Computer Science, to identify whether there was any significant difference between the three Schools in terms of student and lecturer intentions to use technology in their learning and teaching respectively, as well as in terms of student engagement when web-based applications are integrated into various modules. The pilot study was conducted at a university comprising a large population of students and academics. The three Schools had differently designed curricula. One of the main challenges the students and academics faced, which prevented them from using learning technology in the lecture theatre, related to the University’s unreliable infrastructure. The first-year project explored students’ behaviours when they brought their digital device(s) into lecture theatres to support their learning. Social Cognitive Theory was applied to explore student behaviours, while a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies provided a depth understanding of the role of technology in their learning process. No significant difference between the three Schools emerged regarding student self-regulation, while students did become distracted by digital devices, especially when the teaching delivery process was not sufficiently engaging. Finally, although the Saudi students were willing to bring their own digital devices into the lecture theatre to support their learning, their lecturers mainly felt reluctant about using learning technology to support their teaching, and, in some cases refused to allow students to access their devices during lectures. This finding prompted a second research project to investigate academics’ intentions when using learning technology to support their teaching in the lecture theatre. The Technology Acceptance Model was applied to examine Saudi university academics’ attitudes towards technology using a quantitative methodology. This revealed that for lecturers, usefulness, and ease of use of learning technology were the main factors influencing their intentions. From the lecturers’ qualitative responses, it emerged that they were reluctant to use digital applications in their lecture sessions because they felt unable to monitor their students’ learning process. By comparing the findings from the previous studies, including the literature review, a final third research project was conducted to explore students’ and academics’ views regarding learning engagement when two easy-to-use web-based applications, Kahoot and Padlet, were integrated into a Blended Synchronous Teaching and Learning approach. Although training sessions were delivered and supplementary materials were designed to assist students and lecturers, the latter designed their teaching and learning activities based on their lecture topics and module learning outcomes. Overall, students felt engaged with the teaching, as they enjoyed the learning process and did not note any differences between the three Schools. Lecturers also appreciated that by using these web-based applications, they could facilitate lecture discussions with their students and provide feedback in real time-time while they monitored students’ learning process over the teaching process. This final research project was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic (first lockdown). Both students and academics mentioned the importance of using learning technology to support face-to-face and online teaching. Overall, the finding of this research study provided useful information regarding the learning technology integration process into the KSA HE sector from the lecturer and student perspectives, assisting the government and universities to re-evaluate their procedures (i.e., Bring Your Own Device policy, selection of digital applications which are easy to use for academics and students, support the teaching and learning process and are enjoyable for university students and easy for lecturers to track student learning). Further study in this area could support universities to implement the KSA government technology-enhanced learning strategic approach.