Experiences of a project-based blended learning approach in a community of inquiry from information and communication technology engineering students at Lapland university of applied sciences in Finland

Abstract

The increase in remote work in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry has introduced the need for research into team collaboration platforms and education using a project-based blended learning approach. This study investigates the perceptions of ICT engineering students (N = 56) at Lapland University of Applied Sciences in Finland regarding the social, cognitive, and teaching presences in a blended setting using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. The CoI questionnaire data were analyzed using the Rasch Rating Scale Model, and team collaboration and development platform logs were used to explore platform usage. The results suggest that the students’ overall perception of blended learning was highly positive. Questions associated with discussing through the online medium were relatively harder for the students to agree with, although the online medium was perceived as excellent for social interaction by the students. The results may help institutions develop an understanding of the factors that may improve the quality of blended learning experiences in project-based digital ecosystems.