GENDER DISPARITIES IN USAGE OF E-PORTAL WITH DIGITAL MEDIA IN PAKISTAN: ACCEPTABILITY AND IMPACTS ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING COVID-19

Abstract

Several societal issues were resulting from the epidemic across the world. In such a situation there is a dire need to switch traditional methods of teaching and learning to Learning management systems in the educational sector. A casual learning process was aided by the approval, adaptation, and utilization of the LMS, E-Portal in this scenario. A Media System Dependency Theory approach is used to analyze the effects of e-portal LMS Acceptance and its impact on educational performance and results as well. In Islamabad, Pakistan, n= 300 students from Allama Iqbal Open University participated in the study. During the Covid-19, quantitative analysis revealed that there were some differences between the genders in the approval of the Aaghi LMS Portal as an e learning platform. Similar results were found between female students and traditional learning, as well as male students and their acceptance of Aaghi LMS Portal as an e-learning platform. As a result of the inferential statistics, students' academic achievement throughout Covid-19 was positively affected by Aaghi LMS Portal as an e-learning Platform. Researchers found that gender disparities moderately hinder the Aaghi LMS Portal as an e-learning platform during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been proved that E-learning improves academic accomplishment, but decision-makers must rethink existing strategies to guarantee that the Aaghi LMS Portal as an e-learning medium is equally appropriate for all students, regardless of their background.

Keyword’s: Gender Disparities, E-Portal, Covid-19, E-Learning, Aaghi, LMS, Acceptance, Students, Academic, Achievements, University Students, AIOU.