Influence of Information Technologies on the Quality of Study Programs in Higher Education

Abstract

The chapter is to explore how modern information technology influences the quality of study programs at higher education institutions. The objective of this chapter is to determine how such technology is implemented in the study programs and how such changes are accepted by students and teaching staff. Besides the primary objective, the chapter also aims to explore what challenges arise when applying such technologies, what ideas students support, and what teaching staff. An analysis of these ideas will attempt to make recommendations on how to reap the benefits of new technologies in the best possible way for all participants in higher education.

1. Introduction

Educational reform in the Republic of Croatia is currently at the top of the priorities of the entire society, with the aim of how to connect this reform with the needs of the economy. The need for change in education system is evident, but the challenge lies in what to implement and how to go about it. One such challenge is information technology, or information communication technology (ICT). Although the speed of change in this area has been known for a long time and has been suggested by experts for years, it has nevertheless caused various challenges in the both economy and the education systems. Such a challenge is presented in this chapter through the analysis of the impact of information and communication technology on the following process participants:

1. The impact of technology on students,

2. Impact of technology on teaching staff and.

3. The influence of technology on the overall quality of the study program.

By analyzing these segments of the educational process, we will try to point out main issues of the modern education system and try to give guidelines on how to make it easier for teachers and students to use modern information and communication tools to enhance the quality of education for all participants in that process, with the aim of adapting as easily as possible to the needs and challenges of the economy as a whole.

1.1 Topic and objectives of the research

The topic of research in this chapter is the impact of information and communication technology on the system of higher education through the analysis of three segments of that system. It pertains primarily to students, namely, their attitude toward such technology and the need to use it in both teaching and solving of tasks set before them. The research is also directed toward the teaching staff and their attitude toward the use of such technology, but also concerning the relation to requirements toward students regarding the extent and manner they should utilize such technology.

In accordance with this research, the main aim is to determine how the interactive use of information and communication technology by students and teaching staff affects the overall quality of study programs and the educational system as a whole.

1.2 Research methodology

Methods [1] that were used in the research are the questionnaire method, which aims to investigate in what way and to what extent students or teachers use information and communication technology during lectures, and how much in the process of solving tasks. In doing so, emphasis is placed on research in terms of teachers’ attitudes toward the use of such technology in the teaching process and the use of technology in the process of solving tasks. Likewise, we desire to investigate the level of proficiency regarding the use of technology by both teachers and students.

A case study method of selected tasks will be used, in which the degree of use of such technology by all research participants will be analyzed, as well as use of e-learning tools and methods of statistical data processing. Lastly, the method of presenting the obtained results using tables and diagrams will be used with the aim of understanding the effect of information and communication technology on the quality of the teaching process.

1.3 Research participants and research limitations

The participants in the research are teachers (n = 40) and students (N = 90) at higher education institutions dealing with social (economics) and biotechnological sciences (agriculture). Therefore, students and teachers in other scientific fields were not included in the research, which is the main limitation of the work.

2. Information and communication technology in education

Nowadays, modern education at all levels is unthinkable without information and communication technology [2, 3]. Although we have been aware of this fact for a long time, we get the impression that this technology has surprised us with its speed of “penetration” into all segments of society, including education.

The impact of ICT on education can be observed through many parameters. In this chapter, the analysis is focused on the use of technology in the process of maintaining the curriculum, and solving tasks and remote work for both teaching staff and students.

2.1 Information and communication technology and teachers

The use of information and communication technology by teachers can be observed through several aspects. One interesting aspect is the degree of utilization of the classroom in which the “classroom of the future” is located, as the authors of the research [4] call it, in which they state that such a classroom is used by teachers in the highest percentage (39%) in a time unit of only 1 hour per month.

The research in this chapter is directed toward the use of ICT by teachers [5], relating to use of such technology in terms of the degree of utilization in the teaching program, its use in the creation of tasks, and distance learning. It is precisely on these three aspects that the research of this work is focused, with the aim of detecting problems that arise and measures that could help in overcoming these sorts of modern challenges.

2.2 Information and communication technology and students

An indispensable segment of information and communication technology research in education is students and their attitude toward such technology. It is interesting to analyze previous research related to this contemporary challenge.

By reviewing the literature and empirical research within past 10 years, it is evident that such technology was used for the purpose of developing intercultural competence [6, 7]. In other words, information and communication technology served as a bridge between new cultures and people. Likewise, the areas of research went in the direction of analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of written communication using the new IC technology.

An interesting analysis of research [8] on the use of tools by students is that it indicates that the most interesting tool in the use of information and communication technology is the use of mobile phones (45%), while the Internet usage is somewhat smaller (37%). The analysis of previous research shows that students are very interested in new technologies [9]; however, the challenge for the education system is how to use this interest in the best possible way.

2.3 Distance learning

Nowadays, the use of information and communication technology in education is most often associated with the concept of distance learning. It is difficult to determine the exact beginning of this concept, but with the rapid development of ICT there is the possibility, and daresay the need, for distance learning better known as e-learning. E-learning can be defined [10] as support for learning through the application of network technology, where network technology means Internet technology, and we can also expand this definition with the term information and communication technology.

For the implementation of e-learning in classes, some implementation prerequisites are necessary in terms of availability of computer equipment, access to the Internet, information literacy, and IT literacy. However, no matter how we approach previously stated points, e-learning concept faces great challenges. E-learning [11] is not just about uploading the course study material, but it is also a way of thinking, transferring, assessing, and evaluating knowledge. Distance learning has its advantages and disadvantages.

The main advantage [12] of such learning compared to classical learning is its availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of the geographical area in which you are located. The system not only enables greater availability of learning materials, but also the access to teachers and quick feedback. It allows for independent learning, as well as communication and collaborative learning. E-learning systems have a high level of security when entering into the system and its use is allowed only to authorized users with a username and a password. It is possible to manage users within the system by assigning roles and groupings. The system offers a large number of tools for content storage, communication, and knowledge assessment. On the other hand, the main disadvantage of such learning is that teachers are generally not skilled users of new technologies and do not have enough self-confidence. They approach new technologies with fear, which is an additional impediment when it comes to their implementation. Until now, teachers had the main role in teaching. However, with the advent of e-learning, their role changes, and they become moderators who direct students toward independent creation of knowledge; that is, they move from the traditional to the constructivist way of teaching.

3. Research results

The research was conducted on first-, second-, and third-year students attending graduate professional studies as well as students from specialized graduate professional studies. Professors who teach at the aforementioned universities are also included in the research.

The time period to which the research refers is a period going back 3 years, that is, from 2017 to 2019, where the results obtained through the survey and the analysis of the case study were presented.

Figure 1 shows the structure of surveyed students by years of study in professional studies and students from specialized graduate professional studies.

Figure 1.

Presentation of the structure of surveyed students.

3.1 The impact of information and communication technology on students

The first part of the research refers to information and communication technology and its utilization by students. The research is structured by years of study with the aim of being able to analyze the results to see the trend of growth or decline when it comes to impact of such technology on the target group.

Figure 2 displays the results of the first-year students’ survey that show how much the students of the said year believe that IC technology is needed in the process of teaching by a higher education institution, and how important they consider such technology to achieve learning outcomes that would aid them in the labor market.

Figure 2.

Presentation of first-year students’ results.

Figure 3 shows the results of the second-year students’ survey, which also show us how much importance students of the said year consider ICT to be in the classroom learning process.

Figure 3.

Presentation of the results of the second-year students’ survey.

Subsequently, Figure 4 shows results of research into the impact of ICT on students in the final year of professional studies, and as expected, there is a great increase in awareness of the importance of using information and communication technology in the teaching process with the aim of mastering such technology, which has proven to be an integral part of the teaching process.

Figure 4.

Presentation of the results of the third-year students’ survey.

At the end of the analysis of the results related to the ruse of ICT in the classroom setting, Figure 5 presents the results of the research among students of specialist vocational studies. These results are particularly important, because they pertain mainly to students who are studying part-time, that is, students who are already on the labor market, so it is logical to conclude that they possess the best knowledge regarding the importance of applying new technologies in the economy, which ultimately indicates the importance of using ICT in teaching at selected studies.

Figure 5.

Presentation of the results of students’ answers—specialist graduate professional studies.

Figure 6 shows the answers of all the examined professional studies students concerning the need to use information and communication technology when solving problem tasks or experiments. On the other hand, the results of the examined students of specialist graduate professional studies are not shown graphically, because the answer is 100% in favor of the necessity of using ICT in solving any problem task or experiment, both for students studying the economic group of subjects and for students studying subjects in the field of agriculture.

Figure 6.

Presentation of the results of students’ answers—the need for ICT in solving tasks and experiments.

3.2 The impact of information and communication technology on teachers

The research related to teachers is divided into two parts. The first part of the research results refers to the results of a survey of students who evaluated the level of ICT use skills by the teaching staff. The second part of the research refers to a case study on the use of a distance learning system and the analysis of results that evaluate teaching staff in the application of ICT during teaching and solving of the set problem solving tasks (possibly experiments) by the students.

3.2.1 Assessment of teacher competence in the use of information communication technology

The results are presented cumulatively, that is, jointly by students of professional studies and students of specialized graduate professional studies.

Research results, Figure 7, indicate students’ belief that only 10% of the teaching staff have advanced skills when it comes to the use of information and communication technology tools. On the other hand, the results indicate a large number of teaching staff who are not at an advanced level.

Figure 7.

Presentation of students’ answers—use of ICT in problem solving tasks by the teaching staff.

3.2.2 Evaluation of distance learning system use by teaching staff

The results on the use of distance learning system by the teaching staff are presented here. The results were obtained through the case study analysis method on the use of Merlin e-learning system.

From the results of research, Figure 8, on the use of advanced systems related to information and communication technology that serve as a support for the teaching process nowadays, it is clear that the level of use of such system(s) is low, which is certainly not a satisfactory assessment of the competence of teaching staff.

Figure 8.

Use of e-learning systems by teaching staff.

3.3 The impact of information and communication technology on the overall quality of the study program

The influence of information and communication technology on the overall quality of the study program is clearly visible from the stated and presented results of research among both students and teaching staff. However, perhaps the best insight into the challenge of modern study programs and the guidelines that must be followed in their development is provided by the result of the last survey question, which refers to the need to use such technology in the teaching process through the representation of modules that study such technology.

Figure 9 clearly outlines students’ belief that due to needs of the market, it is necessary to introduce new contents that addresses both the theoretical level and the practical application of new information and communication technologies, thereby raising the quality of studies and the competitive ability of graduates on the labor market.

Figure 9.

Need for additional modules that address ICT systems.

4. Conclusion

Many important conclusions can be drawn from the research results. First of all, one can see the correlation of the positive growth of students’ awareness on the importance of information and communication technology as they approach the end of their studies. This is especially evident among students of specialist studies who have already entered the labor market. The research results related to the teaching staff are particularly symptomatic, which clearly show the need for further training of all participants in the teaching process for the simple reason that the labor market in a developing economy demands it, whether we like it or not.

Finally, it is important to emphasize the need for continuous education of both students and teaching staff. In addition, it is important to pay attention to investments in that particular sector. Modern technology is expensive due to large use of expertise and know-how, so if we want to be a knowledge-based society, determination on its own is not enough.

Additional information

The Paper is a translation. Original Publication:

Škrlec, K, Čančarević, M. Influence of information technologies on the quality of study programs in higher education, 21st International Symposium on Quality: Quality - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, 18-20.03.2020, Crikvenica, Croatia, 2020, p. 279-292, ISSN 2670-8825