Quality of collaborative and individual learning in virtual learning environments

The purpose of this study was to measure the quality of collaborative and individual learning in a virtual learning environment and to further determine factors that enhance or hinder quality of students' learning. This research was based on two similar case studies within the same electronic learning environment. A qualitative approach was taken to the collection and interpretation of the data, as the total number of participants in both courses did not exceed sixteen, making it difficult to opt for any quantitative method of inquiry. An extensive number of triangulations, which included semi-structured interview, Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO-Taxonomy) and the Structure for Online Learning Analysis (SOLA-Taxonomy), which was developed in this research, were adopted. All were in agreement that the overall learning was insufficient and most that was learned were of technical rather than academic nature. The study also revealed that the quality of individual learning was superior to that of collaborative learning. In evaluating students learning processes it was found that major factors hindering such learning were tutors' lack of appropriate degree of input and directions.