Abstract

This paper examines the issues related to the implementation of e-Learning at the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), one of the best higher education institutions in Thailand. e-Learning at NIDA offered a promise of enhancing the quality of both teaching and learning, benefiting both faculty and students alike. For example, e-Learning would provide collaborative tools in order to facilitate the communication of both professors and students. Professors could assign assignments on e-Learning websites. A webboard would enable students to post questions and allow professors to respond to each student, and lectures would be recorded and posted on the e-Learning website so that students could review or even download them into a portable device, such as an iPod and/or cell phone. Despite the promises of e-Learning, there were significant obstacles to the implementation of the project. For example, there was a limited budget for its implementations, and the cost-benefit justification was not clear. Also, the e-Learning project faced resistance from some (old) professors that did not want to use e-Learning since they were comfortable with their old style of teaching. Some professors were also afraid of putting their materials online since it was felt that other professors might steal the content. The data collection methods for this study include in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observation, and the results indicate that e-Learning can dramatically change the process of learning and teaching. Also, e-Learning implementation involves not only technology but also people, teaching and the learning process. The issues investigated in this study can be used as a guideline for other e-Learning implementations.

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