@2025 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2228-5468    Education Strategies in Medical Sciences 2014;7(5):293-299

Background
… [1-7] In E-learning environments, the participations are usually in the learning management system and can be monitored in this way [8]. The Moodle Learning Management System is an open-source management system, which is used to add web technology to the educational courses. … [9-13] In E-environments, female and male learners use different orientation patterns and preferences, which need support for different patterns [14]. On the E-learning participation ground, it can be asked that whether the unknown E-learning environment can provide more capacity for the extrovert persons to participate [15].
Previous Studies
The capabilities of the Moodle Learning Management System in the E-learning courses have been studied [9-13]. The correlation between personality types and participation in the system has not yet been investigated.
Aim(s)
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of introvert and extrovert personality types on the learners’ participation rate in the Moodle Learning Management System.
Research type
This a causal-comparative study with non-experiment method.
Research society, place and time
All the 2nd-semester graduate students of Law and Political Sciences of Allameh Tabataba'i University, Iran, who had E-course in addition to their course attendance, were studied in 2013.
Sampling method and number
86 persons were selected via stratified random method based on Krejcie and Morgan table [16]. Sample selection was done based on sex relativity. Finally, 37 female and 49 male students were selected.
Used devices&materials
The Eysenck (introvert, extrovert) and Rabryka Personality Questionnaires were used. 57-question Eysenk Questionnaire has been translated into Persian [17]. The questionnaire consists of extrovert (21 items) and introvert (36 items) scales. In a pilot on 30 samples via non-replacement method, using Cronbach’s Alpha (internal consistency) and Split-half methods, the reliabilities were 0.75 and 0.81 for extrovert and 0.78 and 0.86 for introvert scales, respectively. This is a Yes/No questionnaire. At first, in the Moodle Learning Management System, a list of the students’ activities was prepared in the Excel. Then the learner’s participation was scored in three levels. Level 1 included “seeing the exercise”, “”seeing the course”, “seeing the url imbedded in the site”, “seeing personal specifications (self and other)”, and “seeing the participants’ list” (1 score). Level 2 included “searching the discussions”, “seeing the list of discussions”, “seeing a discussion”, “seeing all discussions”, and “seeing the resource” (2 scores). Level 3 included “to start a new topic in the created forum”, “to respond the discussions”, “exercise uploading”, “post updating”, “using messaging system”, and “updating the specifications” (4 scores). At first, the Moodle Learning Management System was uploaded in “Amin Learning Center” site (www.aminlc.ir) and every student received proprietary username and password. Each week and after an actual session, they received an exercise in the site. Each student could see activities of other students, give feedback to the teacher, upload course materials or other contents, introduce applicable software, and show links of useful sites. The students were not forced to participate in the site. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was given to the students at the end of the semester. The logs of the Moodle System were extracted and analyzed in the Excel based on the prepared Rabryka. After the numbers had been extracted, the scores were entered in SPSS 19 software. Data were analyzed, using Independent T Test (to compare the students’ personality types and to compare their participation rate based on sex and personality type) and Two-way ANOVA (to investigate the effects of the interaction between sex and personality type on the participation rate). Levene’s Test was used to determine the equality of variances, which was the equality condition of variances in the understudied groups.
Findings by Text
37 students were female. 49 students were male. 38 students and 48 students had introvert and extrovert personality types, respectively. There was no significant difference between the females and males’ mean scores in introvert and extrovert personality types. There was no significant difference between the females and males’ mean scores in terms of the participation rate in the Moodle Learning Management System. There was a significant difference between the mean scores of the students’ participation in introvert and extrovert personality types (Table 1). The effectiveness of interaction between sex and personality type on the students’ participation rate was not significant.
Main comparison to the similar studies
… [18-24] The participation rate of the introvert persons was higher than the extrovert persons did. The participation rate in the virtual social networks and the spent time for the activity is significantly higher in the introvert persons than the extrovert persons [25]. Opportunities to more participation in the virtual environment for the learners being provided by the teachers, some persons feels anxiety and do not show a tendency to participate in the environment [26]. The result is inconsistent with the results of the present study, as well as two other studies [27, 28].
Suggestions
Studies ought to be done about other environments like E-mail, Chat, and internet resource searching. Quality of the learners’ participation should be studied. The individual differences of the learners ought to be noticed in E-learning. Alongside virtual activities, actual sessions should be designed to provide the face-to-face meetings.
Limitations
Non-declared
Conclusions
In E-learning environment, the introvert persons show higher participation rate than the extrovert persons do. In other words, in E-learning, the introvert persons show higher participation in the activities and the interactions.
Acknowledgments
The researcher feels grateful to Mr. Salehi for providing web hosting and domain.
Conflict of interest
Non-declared
Ethical Permissions
Non-declared
Funding Sources
Non-declared

TABLES and CHARTS

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