Recognizing the effectiveness criteria of E-learning programs of work and technology course from Experts’ Perception

Over the years, due to the growth of information and communication technology, we have witnessed fundamental and increasing changes in higher education. Today, information and communication technology has become an integral part of the workplace and the classroom, and has changed business practices, communication and learning. The art and science of education has combined with the growth of information and communication technology and has created a new approach to learning called e-learning. e-learning is emerging as a new paradigm of modern education and has realized many educational ideals including learning in place and time, collaborative learning, self-assessment and self-strategy. For this reason, it is used in a wide range of educational activities, and many schools, universities and higher education institutions are preparing e-learning programs. The aim of the present study is to recognize the effectiveness criteria of e-Learning programs of Work and Technology Course from experts’ perspective.

The research method is qualitative and Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory is used. The population of the investigation included experts from training domain, the new technologies planning domain, and work and technology course domain from whom 18 people were selected purposefully as samples. Open, axial and selective categorization techniques were used in order to analyze the data.

Based on the obtained results, a matrix effectiveness framework of grounded factors, causal factors, inhibitor factors, strategies, and outcomes was formed. In this way, as a comprehensive content, the compilation of the effectiveness framework of e-learning programs included the mentioned factors. Each of these categories has various aspects in the basic contents. It is evident that the findings of the present study have made it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning programs of Work and Technology Course in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of e-learning programs in vocational technology courses from the perspective of experts. According to the interviewees, when these factors appear in a favorable way and the grounds for their desirability are provided, gaining new learning opportunities, synchronizing with modern day technologies, saving time, energy and costs, growth and transformation of the work technology community, achieving lifelong learning, achieving the goals of e-learning curricula, saving extra and surplus costs, achieving upstream goals, interacting with other human communities, productivity in the business environment, improving applied skills, improving individuals skills and the possibility of learning on the job will be exceeded. There is also an increase in the number of applicants for the course, an increase in audience satisfaction, an increase in the speed of learning, and an improvement in the IT knowledge of teachers and learners.