The Influence of Experience, Ability and Interest on eLearning Effectiveness

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a research conducted to evaluate the effect of learning preconceptions, prior e-learning experience, ability and interest of students on their perceptions regarding the process of e-learning. We study the effectiveness of e-learning as it relates to the level of e-learning experience. The participants came from two courses: Software business course at Tamk University of Applied Sciences in Tampere, Finland, and e-learning Professional course at Open University in United Kingdom. We use a quantitative and a qualitative research approach to interpret the results of this research study. The results imply that there are significant differences between the two groups regarding their perceptions of the effectiveness of e-learning. We provide specific recommendations for the practitioners, discuss the implications for educators, and provide suggestions for further research on e-learning