Students' experiences of WebCT

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to explore students’ experiences of WebCT at the University of Pretoria. In order to find out about these experiences, the Department of Telematic Learning and Education Innovation administered a web-based survey to students at the University of Pretoria. At the end of each semester students are requested to complete WebCT Experience Survey voluntarily. The WebCT Experience Survey includes both qualitative and quantitative data for research (TLEI Annual Report, 2003). The focus of this research is more on qualitative data which includes the open-ended questions. The researcher used conceptual analysis to evaluate the open-ended questions in the survey (Busch et al., 2005). The challenges and benefits were coded for their frequency and relevance. The researcher then identified codes to identify the benefits and challenges of students using WebCT. The findings of the research were grouped in terms of technical, facilitation and content issues. The study indicates that students benefited from using WebCT.