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Understanding the context of distance students: Differences in on- and off-campus engagement with an online learning environment
Associate Professor Stuart Palmer@s_palm .
Institute of Teaching and LearningDeakin University, Australia
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Introduction
Distance education continues to thrive!In part due to a complex relationship with online technologies
Much online learning research ignores the influence of demographic characteristics of system users
There are very real differences in demography, technology experiences and reasons for study between on- and off-campus students
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Context – Deakin University
Approximately 40,000 students
Approximately 30% off-campus
Mature and large-scale OLE implementation providing support to both on- and off-campus students
Previous investigations identified differences in the perceptions and use of elements of the OLE between on and off-campus students
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Methodology
DSO = Deakin Studies Online
In 2011 all coursework students were surveyed about:• demographic and background information;• place and mode of access to DSO;• perception of importance of, satisfaction with, and
frequency of use of, a range of DSO functions;• a number of overall DSO satisfaction measures; and• open-ended written comments about DSO
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Response rate & demographic informationPopulation Sample
Number of respondents 22760 1322GenderFemale 59.5% 67.8%Male 40.5% 32.2%FacultyArts and Education 30.4% 30.1%Business and Law 36.9% 28.6%Health 19.8% 22.9%Science and Technology 12.9% 16.9%Other - 1.5%CampusGeelong – Waurn Ponds 12.1% 14.1%Geelong – Waterfront 5.8% 7.5%Melbourne – Burwood 50.3% 43.5%Warrnambool 3.2% 3.5%Off-campus 28.6% 31.4%Mean enrolment duration 2.24 years 2.42 years
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Place of access to DSO
Primary place of access Other places of access
17.0% 0.2%
82.3%93.6%
0.7% 6.2%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
On-campusstudents
Off-campusstudents
Other
Home
On-campus
75.2%
8.2%
22.8%17.1%20.5%
68.6%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
On-campusstudents
Off-campusstudents
On-campus
Home
Other
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Mode of access to DSO
Primary mode of access Other modes of access
29.5%
69.8%
0.6% 0.1%
Desktop
Laptop
Tablet
Smartphone
Other †
58.5%
44.0%
25.4%30.5%
5.9% 5.9%
29.1%
16.6%
1.8% 1.1%0%
20%
40%
60%
On-campusstudents
Off-campusstudents
Desktop
Laptop
Tablet
Smartph.
Other
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Mean importance and satisfaction ratings for DSO functions
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
Importance:1 = not important; 3 = neutral; and 5 = very important
Satisfaction:1 = not satisfied; 3 = neutral; and 5 = very satisfied
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1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.252.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
1211
9
8
6
5
4
3
1
Satisfaction
Impo
rtan
ce
♦ N.S.D. • On-campusOff-campus
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1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.252.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
20
18
17
15
14 6
5
Satisfaction
Impo
rtan
ce
♦ N.S.D. • On-campusOff-campus
11
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.252.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
19
1613
1211
9
8
4
3
1
Satisfaction
Impo
rtan
ce
♦ N.S.D. • On-campusOff-campus
12
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.252.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
Satisfaction
Impo
rtan
ce
♦ N.S.D. • On-campusOff-campus
13
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.252.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
19
15
13
4
Satisfaction
Impo
rtan
ce
♦ N.S.D. • On-campusOff-campus
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1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.252.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
16
1211
9
8
3
1
Satisfaction
Impo
rtan
ce
♦ N.S.D. • On-campusOff-campus
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Mean frequency of use for DSO functions
1 = never; 2 = less than once/week; 3 = once/week; 4 = once/day; and 5 = multiple times/day
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Mean frequency of use for DSO functions
1 = never; 2 = less than once/week; 3 = once/week; 4 = once/day; and 5 = multiple times/day
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
1 2* 3 4* 5* 6 7 8 9 10* 11* 12* 13* 14* 15* 16 17 18 19* 20*
Mea
n fr
eque
ncy
ratin
g
DSO Function
On-campus Off-campus
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Mean frequency of use for DSO functions
1 = never; 2 = less than once/week; 3 = once/week; 4 = once/day; and 5 = multiple times/day
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
2* 4* 5* 10* 11* 12* 13* 14* 15* 19* 20*
Mea
n fr
eque
ncy
ratin
g
DSO Function
On-campus Off-campus
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc4. Using the unit calendar5. Reading unit announcements10. Completing online quizzes/tests11. Submitting assignments12. Receiving feedback on assignments13. Working collaboratively in a group14. Reviewing unit progress15. Using the e-portfolio19. Deakin’s social software20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
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Overall satisfaction with DSO
StatementOn-campus
Off-campus Significance
DSO enhances my learning 4.25 4.33F1314 = 2.34p > 0.12
DSO is reliable and available when I need it 3.93 4.21F1314 = 23.85p < 2x10-6
I am satisfied with the level of support I received in using DSO in my studies 3.82 3.93
F1314 = 2.95p > 0.08
1 = strongly disagree; 3 = neutral; and 5 = strongly agree
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Conclusions
In some ways, on- and off-campus students are becoming more alike …
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Conclusions
In some ways, on- and off-campus students are becoming more alike …
… but, there were still significant differences between on- and off-campus student engagement with the OLE
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Conclusions
In some ways, on- and off-campus students are becoming more alike …
… but, there were still significant differences between on- and off-campus student engagement with the OLE
These differences challenge the institution to understand the reasons for them …
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Conclusions
In some ways, on- and off-campus students are becoming more alike …
… but, there were still significant differences between on- and off-campus student engagement with the OLE
These differences challenge the institution to understand the reasons for them …
… and also challenge the value of one-size-fits-all institutional policies and templates for the use of OLEs
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Thank you for your time
Presentation: http://myqr.co/IvMW