Students ’ perception of blended learning environment : A case study

The increasing utilization of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in addressing various societal needs has catalysed the need to deploy this all important tool in education in developing countries to address the need of the increasing student enrolment in universities. This study was conducted to assess students’ perception of blended learning environment. The blended learning environment was designed on a Moodle platform using an adaptation of the practical enquiry model. This intervention was designed to ensure that the benefits of both online and face-to-face learning environment were harnessed for the achievement of set pedagogical goals. The study used formative experiment with 75 first year university students who were studying Communication Skills (CS) and their lecturers as the participants. The experiment was carried out over two semesters at the University of Education, Winneba – Kumasi Campus in Ghana. The findings showed positive perceptions of student on the blended learning environment. However, the problem of slow Internet connectivity and lack of Internet access for some of the students outside the university campus hindered the effectiveness of the blended learning environment for a few students. Improvement in ICT infrastructure and capacity building for lecturers to adopt blended learning approach were recommended.