Online Learning and COVID-19 in Higher Education: The Value of IT Models in Assessing Students’ Satisfaction

Abstract

This study of the COVID-19 online learning experiences of students in a Singaporean higher education institution (HEI) assesses the students’ ‘fit’ (ie, their satisfaction) with online learning, as gauged through the Information Technology (IT) models of Task-Technology Fit (TTF) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). While current studies have found that curriculum, instructor and learner factors have impacted on students and online learning during COVID-19, it has been observed that there is insufficient understanding of factors that predict students’ online learning satisfaction [24]. This study thus contributes where there are few, if any studies that assess students’ online learning satisfaction through technological models. Furthermore, the study’s finding are that the students’ perception of, general attitude to, and intention to use the online learning shaped their satisfaction, thus pointing to the value of such technological models in understanding student learning at a deeper level. Students’ experiential comments from the study also form recommendations for effective online teaching practice which apply to Singapore, and broadly for higher education (HE) online learning design. Significantly, the information technology (IT) models are shown as valuable in assessing HE students’ online learning satisfaction.