USE OF E-LEARNING TOOLS TO SOLVE GROUP WORK PROBLEMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF GULF COUNTRY

Abstract

Communication has a role of heart in all kinds of educational interactions, with the popularization of computer technology for home and office use, teaching methods have changed communication styles from plain lectures to multimedia presentations. These new trends in education are in their infancy, online learning or E-learning, and are quickly becoming an important aspect of education in our future around the world. In spite of easy availability of new multimedia support, still the uses of technological tools of communication in the educational fields are in their initial stages, in the under developing countries like Oman. We have yet to fully experience the transformative effects of these mediums, particularly on web based learning. Group work activities are another main point or task in the high education. Switzer and Shriner [20] were of the view that students are the most obvious party who benefit from group work among students, faculty members, and the community. According to them there are four overlapping types of benefits for students. These are: 1) immediate educational benefits, 2) immediate social benefits, 3) critical thinking benefits, and 4) long-term career benefits. Different researchers were of the opinion that face to face communication will not solve the empowerment problems in group work activities. As, through FTF interaction male dominant role can be produced due to identity of speaker, eye contact, nodding, moving the hands , and facial expressions etc. In this situation suitable adoption of technology can be consider as an alternative mode of communication, where there is a chance of discrimination. This case study will be a further step in addition to the previous technological tools and group work related researches. In this researcher will try to explore that how suitable technological tools can play a role to overcome the group work problems and to increase the performance of the students in the developing countries like Oman.