فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Introduction: Appropriate instructional design plays a crucial role in e‑learning success, andanalyzing learners is the cornerstone for instructional design process. Students’ readinessfor e‑learning was assessed in the present study as an example of learner analysis for adistance course in medical education master program. Materials and Methods: A censussample of 23 students applied for distance master program on medical education, completedthe “Students’ E‑Learning Readiness Scale” developed by Watkins, via email. The reliabilityand validity of the scale has been confirmed before. Average scores in total and 6 subscaleswere calculated. The score range was 1‑5 and scores above 3 indicated good readiness.Data was interpreted using descriptive and non‑parametric tests (Mann‑Whitney U andKruskal‑Wallis). Results: Response rate was 100%. The students’ readiness scores in total andall subscales (“technology access”, “online skills and relationships”, “motivation”, “online audio/video”, “readiness for online discussions”, and “importance of e‑learning to your success”) wereabove 3. Comparing different subscales, students’ mean scores in “motivation” and “internetdiscussion” subscales were less than others, although the difference was not significant. Therewere no significant gender differences in the readiness scores. Students who were academicstaff had significantly higher scores than others in total and in “motivation” and “online skillsand relationship” subscales. Conclusion: Good learners’ readiness, observed in the presentstudy, may imply that the instructional designer can rely on e‑learning strategies and buildthe course upon them. However, according to the slightly lower scores in “motivation” and“online discussion” subscales, it is recommended to stress more on strategies that improvethese two components. To generalize the results, it is needed to test students’ readiness inmore different degree programs.