Studying in Online Environment: Students' Attitude Towards Online Open Electives in Karnataka

Abstract

With the increasing popularity of the online environment, universities and colleges have started offering open online elective courses to provide students with a wide range of options to choose from. However, the success of these courses largely depends on the students attitudes toward them. The current study aimed to investigate the attitudes of undergraduate and postgraduate students toward online open electives in Karnataka. The sample consisted of 393 students chosen through purposive sampling and employed MOCA (Measure of Online Communication Attitude), developed by Ledbetter in 2009. The study revealed that students reported higher levels of apprehension and self-disclosure when compared to other domains, with social connection, ease, and miscommunication following suit. Males were observed to have higher levels of self-disclosure and social connection when compared to females. Apprehension was found to be more prevalent among students under 20 years old, whereas miscommunication, social connection, and ease were more prevalent among those between 23 and 25 years of age. Students from rural areas tended to exhibit higher levels of self-disclosure, apprehension, and miscommunication compared to their urban counterparts. Government college students reported higher levels of apprehension, while self-disclosure, social connection, and ease were higher among students studying in unaided colleges. Miscommunication was found to be more common among humanities and social science students, while science students reported higher levels of social connection and ease. The results of the study will help understand the factors that influence students’ attitudes towards online open electives and provide insights into how universities and colleges can improve the design and delivery of these courses to enhance students’ learning experiences.