A Longitudinal Study of E-learning for Construction Management Education

Abstract The aim of this research was to investigate the feasibility, effectiveness and viability of e-learning in construction management education and the students’ preference between e-learning and traditional face-to-face learning. A longitudinal study on e-learning for construction technology courses has been carried out over a period of three years between 2002 and 2004. E-learning modules were developed for an undergraduate third year course Construction Technology and implemented in semester 1 of 2002 and subsequently in 2003 and 2004. Each year, the students enrolled on this course were surveyed prior to and after the e-learning sessions, to identify their knowledge, perceptions and change of attitude towards e-learning. The survey results showed that the majority of students’ knowledge of e-learning has increased and their experience of e-learning has been positive. Furthermore, the students felt it was feasible and effective to use e-learning in construction education. In addition, most students considered that there was little difference in the level of mastery of course contents obtained by e-learning compared with face-to-face method. However, the majority of the students indicated that they would prefer a combination of face-to-face and e-learning methods. Based on the experience gained over the three years, the lecturer (i.e. the author) had also reflected on the process and provided suggestions on how e-learning could be used in the teaching and learning construction technology/management courses. It is concluded that e-learning is feasible and effective for construction management education and is most effective when integrated with face-to-face teaching and learning.