College instructors' attitudes toward using Blackboard in EFL classrooms
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the overall attitude toward the use of the Blackboard and electronic learning in ESL/EFL courses at the College of Applied Studies and Community Service (CASCS) at King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It has examined how college instructors view their role in developing materials from the internet and computer for their ESL/ EFL students, and the challenges that they face in this implementation. It is concerned with the use of authentic electronic learning materials in the ESL/EFL classroom and how they can be used more effectively. The descriptive research design used a quantitative instrument to accomplish the objectives of the study; a survey questionnaire was used to investigate the attitudes of 59 EFL college instructors at The College of Applied Studies and Community Service (CASCS).
The questionnaire consisted of59 items and the data was subjected to analysis through descriptive statistics. All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS release 20. The findings of this research study revealed that the majority of EFL college instructors value the role of the Blackboard and internet materials in their teaching. A significant relationship was found between the use of instructional media and faculty members’ positive attitudes towards instructional media. The study also revealed a number of challenges encountered by EFL college instructors, which included; selecting appropriate materials to match the content of the course, selecting materials suitable for the required pedagogical goal, the large number of students in the classroom, and a shortage of facilities in the classroom, such as the Blackboard, smart boards and fully equipped language laboratories. The study showed that college instructors believe that the use of up-to-date electronic learning enables students to learn in an enjoyable way and improves the overall learning environment.
