TOWARDS A BLENDED-LEARNING APPROACH IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF INTRODUCING AN E-LEARNING EXPERIENCE TO THE CONVENTIONAL LEARNING METHODS

E-learning is the latest trend in education. Its success depends on the quality of its instructional design and the educational technology support provided to students and lecturers. In this regard, Ajman University of Science & Technology (AUST) has decided to improve its teaching methods by adopting Moodle as a Learning Management System (LMS) in its nine colleges. In 2006, the College of Information Technology was elected to pilot this project by introducing e-learning in some of its courses for use in addition to the traditional face-to-face teaching/learning methods. Since that time the e-learning experience has been extended across seven further colleges, and there are now more than 3,000 users on a daily basis; these users include lecturers who update course materials and students who study, review, and work on assignments as activities which are complementary to their physical attendance in the classroom. In this paper, we begin by enumerating the multiple services provided by the web-based learning environment as an integrated tool that is supplementary to traditional face-to-face methods. Then, an assessment of this instructional tool will be presented. Finally, a set of recommendations will be issued in an attempt to improve the limitations students and instructors face in the use of new learning techniques.