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Introversion-extraversion and online course satisfaction

Tsahi Hayat (Department of Communications, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel)
Tal Samuel-Azran (Department of Communications, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel)
Shira Goldberg (Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel)
Yair Amichai-Hamburger (Department of Communications, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel)

Online Information Review

ISSN: 1468-4527

Article publication date: 10 August 2023

Issue publication date: 13 March 2024

434

Abstract

Purpose

The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic forced universities to hastily transition to eLearning on a mass scale, necessitating the identification of populations who are more challenged by the transition. This study aims to identify how students’ level of introversion/extraversion and digital literacy come to play in their satisfaction with the eLearning environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis examined 272 Israeli students who moved from a face-to-face learning environment to a Zoom learning environment between March–July 2020, following the outbreak of the pandemic. All the participants completed two rounds of surveys, and 62 of the 272 participants were then interviewed, and their social network was mapped using a sociogram.

Findings

Findings indicated that, in accordance with the “poor get richer” hypothesis, introverts expressed more satisfaction from the transition to the video-conferencing Zoom platform than extraverts. In addition, for highly introverted people, high digital literacy was significantly associated with increased course satisfaction, whereas for highly extraverted people, a high number of social ties with peers from the course was associated with course satisfaction.

Originality/value

As expected, the study’s findings shows that there is no “one size fits all” approach for online learning. Learners with different personalities can benefit from learning environments that foster greater satisfaction with the learning experience. Online platforms can, and should, be designed in a way that offers this needed personalization, and this study provides initial principles that can inform such personalization.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-01-2023-0028

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation (Israel).

Citation

Hayat, T., Samuel-Azran, T., Goldberg, S. and Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2024), "Introversion-extraversion and online course satisfaction", Online Information Review, Vol. 48 No. 2, pp. 409-424. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-01-2023-0028

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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