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© Proceedings of the Ruhuna Quality Assurance Sessions 2021 (RUQAS 2021)
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21 September 2021

“I was anxious about the technical problems that may occur during the sessions”. Hara & Kling
(2000), exemplified potential problems of e-learning that have been identified as learner isolation,

anxiety, confusion, and learner frustration due to constant exposure to digital tools. Particular attention

should be paid to the students’ agreement on the statement “I faced difficulties due to the use of
electronic (headphones/screens etc.) devices for a long time”. It seems that distractions due to

personal engagements have also affected some students. Further studies are needed to determine the
ways, particularly the optimum duration for this type of online assessment.

The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test revealed that undergraduates are highly satisfied with the online

presentation-evaluation process with an associated significance level of 0 .000(α<0.05). The

undergraduates prefer online presentation evaluation (54.03%) over the conventional method
(36.29%). Layne et al. (1999), have demonstrated that traditional presentation evaluation and online

presentation evaluation were not significantly different. Comparably, the Chi-Square test revealed that
there was no significant relationship between the gender and undergraduates’ preference for traditional

or online evaluation methods (p =0.418, α>0.05). There was no significant relationship between the

degree programs and undergraduates’ preference for traditional or online presentation evaluation
methods (p= 0.175, α>0.05).

Conclusions

Based on the feedback given by the students, essential features associated with the convenience of the

evaluation, technical problems, personal interactions, presentation delivery skills, and extra-linguistic

features were conducive to conduct online presentations evaluation effectively. Female students were
found to be more competent in using online tools. Interestingly, undergraduates also prefer online

presentation evaluation over the traditional method. Students’ main concerns were their anxiousness
ahead of online assessments and distractions they experience due to the use of the device for a long

duration. Awareness programs and arrangements for a contingency plan for the students who might
experience unexpected technical errors were among the students’ suggestions for more effective online

presentation evaluations.

References

Anderson, T. and Dron, J. (2011) Three generations of distance education pedagogy, International

Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), p80-97.

Anderson, T. (2003) Modes of interaction in distance education: Recent developments and research
questions, Handbook of distance education, p129-144.

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