The effect of media literacy on effective learning outcomes in online learning

Nowadays, online learning is already ubiquitous in the education of most countries and is one of the fastest-growing trends in the use of educational technology. However, despite literature on the effectiveness of online learning, little is known about the influence of student media literacy on effective learning outcomes in online learning. The present study tried to fill this research gap by exploring the effect of the four-factor construct of media literacy on effective learning outcomes that were measured by focusing on how students perceived their overall learning outcomes in online learning. Data were collected in a sample of 421 undergraduate students from 32 universities in Vietnam. The results of the structural equation modeling indicated that except for functional prosumption, the remaining three factors of media literacy (functional consumption, critical consumption, and critical prosumption) had significant positive effects on perceived learning outcomes. Critical prosumption was found to be the most powerful significant influence on student learning outcomes in the online learning environment. The findings provide some significant practical implications for stakeholders in setting up strategic plans for increasing the effectiveness of online classes.