Factors Affecting on Use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) During Covid 19 period in Tertiary Education Centers, Sri Lanka

Abstract

During the Covid 19 period, there were no lectures, no workshops, no sports, no functions, and so on for the students in tertiary educational institutions in Sri Lanka. They began to detach from studying. Fortunately, technological advancements have enabled both lecturers and students to collaborate in a single virtual space where they can manage their teaching and learning activities. However, because of the various fields of education, it was not easy to adapt with the modern technology at first. As a result of the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic, all the human beings had to stay at home detaching each other. It affected all the industries around the world. Education is one of the most important sectors in Sri Lanka and here the researcher selected the tertiary education sector in Sri Lanka for the study. The objective was to identify factors affecting for use of LMS during the Covid 19 period. First, the researcher did a pilot study to determine the existing situation of those institutes and to determine the level of technological movement that was lacking due to a variety of factors. Later, the researcher identified the gap. Then researcher undertake the study by considering independent variables such as the lecturer's commitments, organizational support, student interest, and student experience with digitalized platforms for teaching and learning activities while considering the usage of LMS as the dependent variable. The primary data was gathered through standardized questionnaires distributed via email and WhatsApp. The gathered data were analyzed using SPSS, and frequencies, reliability analysis, correlation, and regression coefficient tests were performed to test the developed hypothesis of the study.