Engaging knowledge management learners through web‐based ICT: an empirical study

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how to successfully blend an e‐learning module into a knowledge management (KM) course aimed at getting KM students interested in the respective subject matter (= KM) in a web‐based learning environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on data obtained from 138 undergraduate business management students at a university in Singapore, practical aspects of effectively implementing an e‐learning system with a focus on KM are analyzed and the importance determined of three conceptual variables in the context of successful blended learning approaches: online faculty to student interaction, social presence and personal e‐learning experiences.

Findings

The study shows some positive correlations between online faculty to student interaction, the degree of presence in a web‐based learning environment, as well as personal e‐learning experiences as potential drivers of students' desire to learn more about the subject matter KM.

Research limitations/implications

There has been reliance on self‐reported data in both the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats study and the student survey. The causal effects of students' perceptions on actual learning need to be explored in a future study with a larger sample size.

Practical implications

To increase students' acceptance of a web‐based KM course, instructors must ensure quality interaction between them and their students, strong social presence via intrinsically rewarding group interactions and enriching, personal e‐learning experiences on the basis of real‐life KM problems. Games, systematic performance monitoring and graded knowledge tests are critical, too.

Originality/value

This study highlights several good design features of an effective student interface vis‐à‐vis the development of an effective online learning environment from the perspective of KM student learners. Implications for e‐learning designers and instructors, as well as issues for further research, are outlined.

Citation

Menkhoff, T., Tze Yian, T., Yue Wah, C. and Yue Kee, W. (2011), "Engaging knowledge management learners through web‐based ICT: an empirical study", VINE, Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 132-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/03055721111134781