The Effects of Level-of-Interactivity and Gender on Learners’ Achievement and Attitude in an E-learning Course on Computer Graphics

The interactivity of e-learning may affect how learners responding to the learning content. This study examined the effects of level-of-interactivity and gender on learners’ achievement and attitudes under the condition of learning computer graphics on-line. One hundred and twenty one e-learners participated in this study and the effective sample size for the present study was ninety two. The effects of level-of-interactivity of e-learning courseware and gender on e-learners’ performance and attitudes were analyzed with learners’ priorknowledge as a covariate to eliminate the effect caused by learners’ various degrees of background knowledge in computers and the Internet. The analysis on e-learning performance revealed a significant interactivitygender interaction and indicated that (a) when receiving the high-interactivity e-learning, male and female learners performed equally, but when receiving the low-interactivity e-learning, the male learners outperformed the female learners; (b) from the gender aspect, the male learners performed equally under the high-interactivity e-learning and the low-interactivity e-learning, the female learners, however, performed better when receiving the high-interactivity e-learning. The analysis on participants’ attitudes revealed that (a) e-learners were satisfied with the design of e-learning and showed positive attitudes toward the learning guidance, priorknowledge connection and practice, and (b) the high prior-knowledge learners approach e-learning more positive than the low prior-knowledge learners. It was concluded that the employment of interactivity should suit to the learning needs and individual difference of the learners in order to be effective. Key-Words: E-learning, Interactivity, Instructional design, Gender difference