Virtual learning environment on satisfaction and academic performance of students in institutions of higher learning

Abstract

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, education institutions across the world had to come to a functional standstill since they had to protect their students from viral exposures thereby affecting academic activities. However, several institutions had to adopt online virtual learning environments (VLE) using basic information and communication technology tools to provide platforms for teaching and learning thereby mitigating the effects of the pandemic on the students. This study was focused on the identification of the various types of VLE tools that were adopted alongside the impact that these tools had on learning satisfaction and the academic performance of students of higher learning in Nigeria. This study adopted a purposive simple random selection of undergraduate students of the department of computer science who had adopted the use of VLE to learn during the period of the pandemic. The results of the study showed that the most popular VLE tools were Zoom, Google Classroom, WhatsApp, Telegram, Coursera, Google Forms and learning management systems (LMS) while the least popular VLE tools were Microsoft Teams, Moodle/Edmondo, and Google Meet. The results showed that the students agreed to their behavioral intention to use VLE, the impact of VLE on learning satisfaction, and the impact of VLE on academic performance alongside the existence of a positive correlation among the research variables.