What Drives Successful E-learning? an Empirical Investigation of the Key Technical Issues in Saudi Arabian Universities

In the new era of learning, electronic learning (e-learning) has become a vital strategy for the vast majority of educational organizations across the world. This has instigated a fundamental change in the whole education sector’s structure, values, culture and the ways in which learning is conducted. The worldwide elearning market has grown considerably, but failures are still occurring. While technology is the enabler of e-learning, in many institutions it is also an obstacle affecting the full utilization of its own potential. This paper investigates the major technical issues that impact on e-learning delivery in Saudi Arabian universities. The study identified four major technical issues: information communication technology (ICT) infrastructures, security, access (on-site and off-site) and information technology (IT) support. The various technical issues were investigated through the use of empirical case studies from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This research also presents several recommendations which could be enforced to aid the implementation of e-learning systems at universities in Saudi Arabia. This research therefore has relevance for researchers, educational leaders and developers. Finally, a number of possible further research directions are discussed.