The moderating effects of information technology on knowledge delivery: An examination of interaction processes and learning outcomes
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Abstract
As information technology gains in popularity, availability, and cost-effectiveness it is increasingly used as a medium for the delivery of knowledge. While the capability to deliver knowledge via information technology support systems is rapidly increasing, the effects of information technology on the learning process and learning outcomes are in need of further exploration.
The Information Technology-Learning Interaction Model introduced in this dissertation focuses on the effects of two independent constructs: information technology and learning model on a mediating construct, learning interaction, and a dependent construct, learning outcome. This dissertation advances knowledge by being the first to examine learning interaction, empirically, as a complex construct consisting of amount, type, timeliness, method, spontaneity, and quality of interaction.
This research was conducted to address the need to examine the effects of information technology on learning interaction and learning outcomes in an environment controlled for the effects of other constructs. It examines the effects of information technology on interaction processes occurring in the computer-equipped classroom where electronic delivery can support a human instructor or serve as a surrogate for the human instructor. There were five major outcomes of the dissertation research. A model was developed and empirically validated to better explain the effects of information technology on learning interaction and learning outcomes. The usefulness of an untested taxonomy of learning interaction was demonstrated through the development and use of an instrument to measure various components of learning interaction. The research demonstrated that information technology had effects only on some sub-constructs of learning interaction. Information technology was shown to have a significant positive effect on an objective measure of learning outcomes. The statistical interaction effects of technology and learning models were examined with evidence of significant statistical interaction effect on learning interaction but no evidence of significant statistical interaction effect on learning outcomes.
Findings reported in this dissertation provide new knowledge about the impact of information technology on learning as well as an instrument that can serve as a tool to support future research endeavors. Outcomes of this research can be applied to educational settings, industrial training, or in the design of instructional delivery systems.