title: The correlation between effective factors of e-learning and demographic variables in a post-graduate program of virtual medical education in Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
abstract: E-learning as an educational approach has been adopted by diverse educational and academic centers worldwide as it facilitates learning in facing the challenges of the new era in education. Considering the significance of virtual education and its growing practice, it is of vital importance to examine its components for promoting and maintaining success. This analytical cross-sectional study was an attempt to determine the relationship between four factors of content, educator, learner and system, and effective e-learning in terms of demographic variables, including age, gender, educational background, and marital status of postgraduate master's students (MSc) studying at virtual faculty of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The sample was selected by census (n=60); a demographic data gathering tool and a researcher-made questionnaire were used to collect data. The face and content validity of both tools were confirmed and the results were analyzed by descriptive statistics (frequency, percentile, standard deviation and mean) and inferential statistics (independent t-test, Scheffe's test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation test) by using SPSS (V.16). The present study revealed that There was no statistically significant relationship between age and marital status and effective e-learning (P>0.05); whereas, there was a statistically significant difference between gender and educational background with effective e-learning (P<0.05). Knowing the extent to which these factors can influence effective e-learning can help managers and designers to make the right decisions about educational components of e-learning, i.e. content, educator, system and learner and improve them to create a more productive learning environment for learners.
authors.affiliation: Department of E-learning in Medical Education, Virtual School, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. f.golband@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Farnoosh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Golband
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. fatemeh_h@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Agha Fatemeh
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Department of E-learning in Medical Education, Virtual School, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. r_mojtahedzadeh@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mojtahedzadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of E-learning in Medical Education, Virtual School, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.AND Department of Anesthesia, School of Allied Health Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, and PhD Student, Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. f_mirhoseiny@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Fakhrossadat
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mirhosseini
authors.affiliation: Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences (CERMS), Department of Medical Education, school of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. shb555@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shoaleh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bigdeli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007492:Iran; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D012577:Schools, Medical; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires