Is Students' Activity in LMS Persistent?

Introduction. The most common method of blending the Internet in higher education today is by implementing Web-supported instruction, in which traditional face-to-face courses have auxiliary materials, usually using Learning Management Systems (LMS), e.g. WebCT, Moodle. Research of LMS in higher education has barely involved the examination of the individual's behavior over the learning period. Furthermore, although a large body of research exists regarding persistence in fully online learning configurations, only little was studied regarding the online persistence in Web-supported configurations. When empirically examining usage of Web learning environments, it has been noticed that two phenomenon are repeatedly occurring regarding volume and trends of activity: a) Many are little active, while some are extensively active; b) Overall decrease in visiting (usually with some spikes of access immediately before exams, assignment submission deadlines, or any other important events during the course) [1-4].