Use of blended learning environments in developing
digital library skills of ESL Students
Garry HallSupervisor, Library
Dubai Women’s College
United Arab Emirates
Presentation
• Context– Country– Education system– College– Students
• Bachelor Courses and Research Skills
Context• Country
– Rapid change in 30 years
2003
Sheikh Zayed Road
1992
Context
Education system
– Poor quality of secondary schooling
– Rote learning, memorisation, no critical thinking
– Taught in Arabic
– Very limited exposure to technology
– Limited exposure to libraries
– Does not encourage reading or independent learning
ContextCollege• One of 11 in the Higher
Colleges of Technology
• 2200 students in range of programs
• Introduced laptops in 2001 – now all students own their personal laptop
• Instruction is in English
• New learning model adopted – outcomes based
Context
Students• Wide variety depending upon school
attended, wealth of parents, degree to which parents are educated and/or progressive
• Major determinant of student entry to programs is English language proficiency
• Many have illiterate mothers, have learned through rote learning
Context• Home life – Islam pervasive
• Limited rights for women
• Marriage and childbearing a major responsibility
• Prayer times strictly observed
• Schooling segregated
• Women cover – Abeya and Shayla
Bachelor Courses and Research Skills
• Need for improved research skills at bachelor level (and on to Masters)
– Exposure to range of resources
– Online searching
– Write literature review
• ITEC 415 in 2002; HLTH 420 introduced in 2003
Bachelor Courses and Research Skills
• Moved course online in WebCT
• Used blended (hybrid) model
• Graduate students; many working; part-time study
• Managing expectations vital
– High grades previously do not necessarily mean high grades at Bachelor level.
Case Study – Applied Research Skills
Two elements investigated
– Curriculum and level of information literacy
– Student reaction and academic performance in a blended learning course
Presentation
• Case Study – Applied Research Skills
– Digital library skills– PBL– WebCT– Blended learning– Student Performance and perceptions
• Discussion and Conclusions
Advanced research skills
• Discipline areas covered– Health Sciences (Medical Imaging, Pharmacy)– Information Technology
• Resources – secondary research– Library catalogue, online databases, e-books, Internet
resources
• Products– Research log– Reflective log– Literature Review
Reaction to PBL approach
• Frustration initially – Internet sources served to confuse (scientific research through to genealogy)
• Reiterated increased in complexity in moving to Bachelor level studies
• Exposed the limitations of the Internet as their primary resource at Bachelor level.
• Proved ideal introduction to remainder of course (increasingly online)
Blended Learning
• Students generally enthusiastic
• Full-time; travel and flexibility issues
• Impact of Ramadan
• Same contact hours for the two course – HLTH ran over 8 weeks; ITEC 415 over 20 weeks.
Student Performance and Perceptions of the course
• Data available
– Grades (formative and summative)– WebCT logs and management information– Student survey results– Comments from reflective logs
• Grades
– Balance of group and individual work– Online performance significant
Grades
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0-50 60-70 70-80 80-90 90-100
Marks obtained
Nu
mb
er
of
stu
de
nts
WebCT discussion board
On topic postings Tutor Students
Questions 5 13
Statements 14 32
Response : Answer 7 122
Response : Additional Question 1 26
Response : Answer and Additional Question - -
Response : Statement 3 58
Off topic postings - 6
TOTAL 25 257
WebCT discussion board
Tutor Students Ratio of
Postings
Oliver and Shaw
2003
105 119 1.13
ITEC 415 25 257 10.28
WebCT Management Information
• Tracks
– Number of times a student posts– Number of pages read– Number of hits on the site
• Quantitative data available to students, available for self assessments.
• Especially useful for verifying “Attendance”
Student Survey results
• Anonymous survey conducted, based on questions previously used for evaluation of laptop pilot project.
• Topics chosen– Tutor enthusiasm and
encouragement– WebCT environment and
student learning– Perceived benefits – now and
future
Results
• Overwhelmingly supportive
– Agreement or strong agreement = positive reaction to an element of the course
Survey responses
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Undecided
Reflective Logs
• Again overwhelming endorsement
• Liked
– Flexibility
– Increased access to class mates, instructor and materials
– Opportunity to be responsible for their own learning
• Some teething problems
Blended vs Face-to-face• Suited these students – relational learners who
work or perform well in groups
• Results mirror HD1 laptop project – better motivation, produced extra work.
• Initiative demonstrated – students supported one another exceptionally well.
• Contrasted sharply to previous year – minimum requirements met for both literature review and reflective logs.
Blended vs Face-to-face• Varied opinions
• Two factors in encouraging participation in online courses
– Involvement of the tutor
– Use of assessment
• Importance of tutor involvement borne out by all ITEC415 students agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement
“the teacher demonstrated his own enthusiasm for the subject”.
In conclusion, the blended learning environment has been shown to suit these students in their journey down the Information superhighway.
May this be more successful that much of the driving exhibited in Dubai itself!