The number of virtual learning environment and their effective using impact on students’ information literacy

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is becoming an essential method adopted in university education. However, university students perform differently in VLE required courses. A number of students are likely to achieve less with the help of VLE, which initially is designed to offer assistance from a pedagogic perspective. This research studied the relationship between VLE and university students’ information literacy from two aspects: the number of VLE platforms’ influence on students’ information literacy; the quality and quantity of sources students tend to search and use in VLE required course. University students’ different information literacy levels result in varying degree of acceptance in VLE required environments; also, the various VLE involved environments have some interrelationship with students. The researchers predicted that if the number of VLE platforms students could access is higher, then higher information literacy level university students would reach. Students’ information literacy levels could be evaluated by the quality and quantity of their sources. However, the relationships between the number of VLE platform, students’ information literacy, and the source quality and quantity are not simply pairwise correlation. The research was located in Zhejiang, China; 160 students from five universities were randomly selected to participate in the study. Both questionnaire and interview were conducted in the case study to collect relevant data. The data analysis exhibited that the number of VLE platform accessible for students on campus has a weak positive correlation; however, students’ familiarity with a certain number of different VLE platforms is relatively more influential on students’ information literacy level.