E-Learning and its Relation to Academic Research Strategies: UAE University Students Model

Blending academic research strategies and e-learning technology is becoming the innovative university teaching/learning strategy, focusing on students' self-endeavour to access information in order to improve their knowledge on any topic. As a result, the university has shifted its focus from the traditional teaching approach, which consists of cramming the students' minds with a huge amount of information and expect them to do a rote learning, to a more rationalized focus on the students conducting their own research to access knowledge and valuable information under the guidance of the instructor. In other words, it shifted its attention from a product to a process -based course. From this stand point, the instructor' role is mainly restricted to equip his students with research strategies and steps in the information literacy course per se, rather than provide them with the course content. This paper seeks to explore the importance of equipping students with lifelong academic strategies and e-learning strategy acquisition-the 21st century technologies and to study its impact in the information literacy course, in addition to using the big 6 framework and other learning strategies. This paper will explore students' delivery mode, as well as research project, assessment, minilectures, notes, assignment and online learning using blackboard. The impact of students' achievement using the process rather than the content-based learning, will be assessed through the analysis of students' presentation and reflective essay delivery and their final performance by comparing the pre-test and the beginning of the course and post-test results at the end of the course.