MLA Format

Mahdizadeh, Hossein, et al. “Determining factors of the use of e-Learning environments by

university teachers.” Computers & Education, Elsevier BV, 11 June 2007,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131507000322.

This source is a scholarly article named, “Determining factors of the use of e-Learning

environments by university teachers.” The genre is higher education and e-Learning

environments. The authors are: Hossein Mahdizadeh, Harm Biemans, and Martin Mulder. These

authors are educators at Wageningen University, Netherlands. Other documents by these

authors include: “Prediction of climate change induced temperature & precipitation: The case

of Iran” and “Agricultural education in the Netherlands: from crystallizing to dissolving?” These

do not have a lot in common other than the fact that they are revolving around research in the

environment. The main idea of “Determining factors of the use of e-Learning environments by

university teachers” is the description of several studies that show the attitude of teachers

towards the implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher

education. For example, a study was designed to determine the factors that lead to the

teachers’ use of technology in the class room was done by surveying 178 teachers. It was

concluded that those factors were: Knowledge Construction Teaching, Teachers’ Opinion about

Computer-Assisted Learning, Teachers’ Opinion about Web-based activities, Ease of Use, and

Time. Meaning, that the use of technology in higher education by teachers can be explained by

the teachers’ perceptions towards e-learning environments. This article contains good

credibility because it is a scholarly journal and it was published by Elsevier, which is

headquartered in Netherlands and is one of the world’s major deliverers of technical, health,
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and scientific information. The main audience of this article are students and teachers in higher

education.

Although this source only explains the factors that affect the teachers’ attitude towards

e-learning environments, it will be very helpful when I am in need of some sort of statistical

data when writing my thesis. For instance, I may be trying to explain the logic behind the

decision process of whether teachers will use technology in their classroom, and why they do or

don’t end up using technology, therefore, backing up negative/positive effects of technology

integrated in education. Overall I think “Determining factors of the use of e-Learning

environments by university teachers” is kind of difficult to read because it contains a lot of

abbreviations and a lot of detail in explaining the process of the study done. The stance of the

authors is neutral, which is another reason why like the source since it is the stance that I plan

to take when writing my thesis. However, his source did make me realize how something as

simple as the teacher’s attitude can be so powerful in terms of determining if technology will be

used in the classroom.

 The authors believe “that an individual’s acceptance of technological innovations in his

or her learning-related activities is based upon four rather simple concepts:

environment, effectiveness, ease of use, and engagement. “

 “These four ‘‘E’s” were the basis of a conceptual model for prediction of the acceptance

of ICT innovations by an individual in an educational context.”

 “ICT implementation often takes place without a theory and many institutions do not

spend any resources on trying to understand what kind of changes ICT and computers

bring into their system.”

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 “E-learning environments increasingly serve as important infrastructural features of

universities that enable teachers to provide students with different representations of

knowledge.”

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131507000322

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