Studies of Student Use of Information and Communication

Technologies and e-Learning Tools

Dr. J. Percival

& Dr. B. Muirhead

What is a hybrid learning environment at UOIT?

Students’ perceived value of the mobile learning program

• 48% of students laptops were very important to their learning

BUT:• Only 30% of students felt the software provided

was valuable• Only 39% are completely or very satisfied with

mobile program• 33% of students said we should move to

traditional 3 hour lectures with no integration of technology

Research Context

• This study examined core courses within the Faculties of Science, Health Science including these specific courses– Pathophysiology I– Microbiology for Health Science– Health and Wellness– Scientific Computing Tools– Clinical Microbiology

Methodology/Research Design

• Data used for study: – A) Student demographic data

• Term, GPA, Cumulative GPA, Sex, Age, Marital Status

– B) Course data• Final Grades, Final Exam Grades, Midterm Grades

– C) Survey data conducted at the beginning and end of the term

Common-Elements: E-tools and Instructional Technology Used in Most Courses

– Electronic Publisher Material • sample quizzes (self-scored)• e-textbook• cases• reading assignments

– Power Point presentations for ALL lectures– Use of Group and Class Discussion Forums

in WebCT– Online chats– Course-specific computer software

Common-Elements: E-tools and Instructional Technology Used in Most Courses

– Video recordings and support material presentations

– Audio-lecture recordings– Online self-assessments or activities– Online self-test quizzes– Computer-based simulations and learning

objects– Online library material & web-based

materials

Survey Design – Initial Survey

Administered first-second week of course

• Initial student survey included – Learning Style inventory (include specific

instrument name) – Student expectations about the difficulty of the

course, personal study habits, and their expectations about time required to successfully complete a hybrid course

– Initial perceptions regarding hybrid courses

Survey Design – e-Tools Survey

Administered at 10-11th week into course

• Student self-reported study habits and time spent on the course activities

• Self perception of personal performance in the course• As well specific questions about a variety of e-tools were

asked including:– How often did you use each e-tool?– When did you use each e-tool?– How did you use each e-tool?– Why did you use each e-tool to study?– What was the most useful e-tool? Which was the least useful?

Survey Responses

• A total of 127 students completed both surveys– Health Science: 51– Med. Lab: 32– Nursing (Collaborative): 35– Nursing (Post-PN): 9

The Research Questions

• What e-learning resources do students choose to use in hybrid course settings?

• How do students use online resources for learning?

What e-learning resources do students prefer to use?

• The students actively engaged with lecture recordings which used both video and audio in the presentation

Student use of Lecture Recordings

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

0 1 2 3 or 4 5+

Average use per week

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Health Sciences

Medical Laboratory Science

Nursing (Collaborative)

Nursing (Post-PN)

What e-learning resources do students prefer to use?

• The use of online resources is significantly higher than the use of physical resources

Student Use of Office Hours

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

0 1 2 3 or 4 5+

Average usage per week

% o

f stu

den

ts

Health Sciences

Medical Laboratory Science

Nursing (Collaborative)

Nursing (Post-PN)

What e-learning resources do students prefer to use?

• Synchronous communication through WebCT Chat was not widely used or desired by students as MSN was their preferred communication tool.

• Rather than the university providing all resources, students are using personal e-tools for educational uses

What e-learning resources do students prefer to use?

• Students use discussion forums constantly throughout their studies as evidenced by the data

Student usage of Discussion Boards

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

0 1 2 3 or 4 5+

Average use per week

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Health Sciences

Medical Laboratory Science

Nursing (Collaborative)

Nursing (Post-PN)

What e-learning resources do students prefer to use?

Student Usage of Self-tests

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

0 1 2 3 or 4 5+

Average use per week

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Health Sciences

Medical Laboratory Science

Nursing (Collaborative)

Nursing (Post-PN)

• There was an observable correlation between the use of self-tests and increased student performance

What e-learning resources do students prefer to use?

• 86% of students “used” the online version of the course outline

• 87% of students referred to the online video and audio lecture recordings

• 76% of students referred to the online lecture recordings that were audio only (e.g. podcast)

• 82% of students practiced using the self-tests and sample quizzes with immediate feedback

How do students use e-learning resources? How Students Use Lecture Recordings

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

Take Notes Read/Listen As Reference To Find OutExpectations

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Health Sciences

Medical Laboratory Science

Nursing (Collaborative)

Nursing (Post-PN)

How do students use e-learning resources? How Students Use Discussion Boards

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

Take Notes Read/Listen As Reference To Find OutExpectations

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Health Sciences

Medical Laboratory Science

Nursing (Collaborative)

Nursing (Post-PN)

How do students use e-learning resources? How Students Use Self-Tests

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

Take Notes Read/Listen As Reference To Find OutExpectations

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Health Sciences

Medical Laboratory Science

Nursing (Collaborative)

Nursing (Post-PN)

Student Feedback

• "I'm studying for Microbiology at the moment and I have to tell you what a help these online lectures have been this semester and are currently. I know it must have taken a lot of work to create them, but they make such a difference. I can easily go over information, listening to your explanations and rewind if I'd like to hear something again. I think every course that CAN be taught through on-line lectures should be. ...... these online lectures have really helped me a lot.“– Sana (3rd year Biology Student)

As Lectures Change so to do How Student Engage in Learning

• they (faculty) don’t do the lecture during class. We do case studies and I think that helps us with the critical thinking, which I think is the harder part of learning. And so that’s why I listen to lectures on my own time. But every morning before I go into class I listen to the lecture. – 4th Year Nursing Student

Students are BusyFlexibility in a Scheduled Life

• When you have time you can, because a lot of people have busy lifestyles and sometimes they’re working like crazy so the whole week I can’t study. So on the weekend I just sit down and go through the whole lectures (online). So that’s where it’s convenient. – Nursing Student

Lecture Recordings… the “iLectures”

• – I think the downloading is great cause what I do now, I just tried it last semester. I download the lectures off my iPod. So as I’m driving, I found that even if I don’t go to the lectures I at least listening. It was amazing how it just stuck. And when a teacher talked I remembered all these things. I download to my iPod and anytime I’m doing anything, exercising or doing chores I just put lectures on and just listen.

Implications for Faculty• Students demand greater flexibility for learning both

online and face-to-face– “I would recommend adding teacher conferencing over the chat

so people who cannot make it into the office hours can get help from home” - UOIT Student

• Faculty must now be both subject matter experts, researchers, and technically knowledgeable—competence creep– “Often my professors are not taught how to use there new

laptops so the students suffer. ie) use of tablet...I have teachers that use chalk boards (ridiculous!)” – Nursing Student

• Students increasingly demand “online video-audio lecture recordings”.

Recommendations

• While many recommendations are possible, our research and experience at UOIT suggests that– The scope of technical and pedagogical

changes are growing and as such no definitive conclusions can be determined. This results in the necessity to balance flexibility against institutional necessities for continuity and service.

Research TimelinePrevious & Ongoing Studies• Cohort Faculty Development• Hybrid E-tool Use• Online Course Development & Technology/Pedagogy Use• Mobile Learning Value Proposition: Student & Faculty Perspective

Future Research• Optimal mix for Blended Pervasive Learning• Simulated Virtual Learning Environments (Gaming, Online

Simulations, Physical Technology Enhanced Simulations)• Designing Interactive Media Rich Learning Environments