Title: Critical issues, challenges and opportunities for cloud-based collaborative online course provision

Authors: May Aldoayan; Reza Sahandi; David John; Deniz Cetinkaya

Addresses: Department of Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth University, Poole House, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK; Computer Department, Shaqra University, Shaqra 11961, Saudi Arabia ' Department of Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth University, Poole House, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK ' Department of Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth University, Poole House, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK ' Department of Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth University, Poole House, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK

Abstract: The number of online courses offered worldwide by higher education institutions has been growing rapidly. There are a number of issues that affect student learning, such as the experience of academic staff and students in online courses, the design of course structures, creation of suitable teaching resources, and the study culture. One possible way to address them is to adopt a cloud-based collaborative environment between universities. This paper presents the results of a study that explores the issues that universities should consider before establishing such an environment. Two surveys were conducted sequentially. The research identified a number of issues which were categorised into challenges and opportunities. The challenges relate to education, operation, quality, legal matters and security. The opportunities identify potential benefits from the perspectives of universities and students. The paper also indicates a future plan for the outcome of this research.

Keywords: online courses; online collaborative; collaborative environment; cloud-based collaboration; challenges and opportunities.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLT.2021.117764

International Journal of Learning Technology, 2021 Vol.16 No.2, pp.109 - 133

Published online: 23 Sep 2021 *

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