Student experiences and expectations of technology Associate Professor Michael Sankey Director, Learning Environments and Media ented at the University of South Africa, Friday 19 September
May 27, 2015
Student experiences and expectations of technology
Associate Professor Michael SankeyDirector, Learning Environments and Media
Presented at the University of South Africa, Friday 19 September 2014
Why this research? Higher Education Drivers
Mobility Connectivity Seamlessness Smartphones and Tablets Analytics Flipped classrooms Social media Sticky – billabongs Democratisation of
knowledge and access
“Over the next 10-15 years, the current public university model in Australia will prove unviable in all but a few cases” (E&Y Report 2012)
The evolving opportunities technological change provides requires the frequent evolution of services and curriculum to facilitate engaged learning.
The resources and costs involved need to be carefully weighed up against the potential benefits of the affordances.
Important to have an evidence-based approach to inform strategy and planning.
Understanding how and what students’ use and what their expectations of technologies for both life and study is clearly essential.
The technologies explored here included, institutional systems (email, LMS), Web2.0 technologies (social networking, cloud & shared spaces) and personal devices.
This presentation provides some initial findings and reflects on some implications for emerging learning environments and meeting expectations for ‘todays’ student.
Why this research?
The tool and method
Methodology: Mixed Methods Students’ Experiences and Expectations of Technology Survey (SEETS)
It contained 127 questions, coving student’s access and use of technologies Plus four open-ended response questions
Online focus groups (n=34) using Blackboard Collaborate Five main sections
1. Technologies currently used in everyday life for social and work purposes.
2. Current & preferred use of technologies for learning and communicating with the wider university.
3. The services and support provided for learning.
4. The technologies used to interact with the university for administrative purposes.
5. General demographic information
Base demographics
N = 1181 68% external/distance 56% Part-time 65% Female 73% Mature age 67% Undergraduate 40% In their first year 40% Work full-time 29% No paid
employment
internal/on-campus external/distance studentInternal/on-campus or external/distance student
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
380
801
68%
18 or less 19-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41-50 Over 50Age
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
60
103
161 155
331
217
154
28%
73%
The computing equipment they have access to
Deskto
p co
mpu
ter a
t hom
e
Lapt
op co
mpu
ter a
t hom
e
Lapt
op o
n ca
mpu
s with
no
inte
rnet
conn
ectio
n
Lapt
op o
n ca
mpu
s with
wire
less
inte
rnet
Compu
ter l
abs o
n ca
mpu
s
Compu
ter a
t wor
k
Mob
ile p
hone
with
inte
rnet
acc
ess
IPad
or A
ndro
id p
ad w
ith w
irele
ss in
tern
et
Gamin
g co
nsol
e with
inte
rnet
acc
ess
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
610
1055
47
211
368
510
785
318
207
90%
67%
Primary Internet access
Dial Up ADSL (1 or 2) Cable Satellite 3G 4G Wireless (no plan) Through Uni or other third party
What level of primary Internet access do you have?
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
14
707
91
26
177
33
67 66
60%
1%
Technologies Surveyed
Instant messaging Online multi-user computer games
Text message (SMS) 3D Virtual worlds
Blogs and Wikis Library search engines
Collaborative technologies Internet search engines
Email Podcasts or webcasts
ePortfolios Presentation software
Mobile’s for voice calls & internet Software to create audio/video materials
LMS (Moodle) Web development software
RSS feeds Interactive whiteboards
Social networking sites Data analysis software
Social bookmarking / tagging Google docs
GPS tagging of photos on the web Tablet computer (eg iPad)
Top 10 tools used outside study
Inte
rnet
sear
ching
SMS
Voice
call (
mob
ile)
Social
net
workin
g
Mob
ile in
tern
et
Data
analy
sis so
ftwar
e
Wat
ch p
od/w
ebca
sts
Libra
ry se
achin
g
Using
table
t0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200 1137 11211061 1047
907851
633 622
551
413
96%
35%
77%
Some interesting shifts
Library online resources Pod/Vodcasts by
Lecturers Pod/Vodcasts by students Pod/Vodcasts on
the web RSS feeds relevant to studies Blogs by other
students
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
747721
175
333
183187
942 965
492
681
539
448
Current useFuture use
82%
Technologies for learning
Use TwitterCreate Wikis
Online document sharing Social networking
Vitrual worldsSelf-testing
quizzes
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
47 79
210 253
23
483
184
344
479 540
172
821
Current useFuture use
14%
16%
70%
Develop an ePortfolio as a record of learning and experiences for professional or employment purposes
While 8.7% reported current regular use of ePortfolio for professional or employment purposes, 37.1% reported wanting to use this more often.
541 students (57%) who had selected ‘never to rarely’ moved their preference to wanting some level of engagement with this technology.
Never or Rarely A few times a SEMESTER
A few times a MONTH
A few times a WEEK One or more times a DAY
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000 948
131
54 408
407
336
247
140
51
CURRENTLY do this WOULD LIKE TO do this
Use web conferencing or video chat (eg Skype, Wimba, FaceTime) to join in remotely to lectures or tutorials
80% (944) of students have not used web conferencing to join in with lectures or tutorials in the past
65% (618) of these respondents said that they would like to in the future.
This has significant implications as to how USQ may look to engage with this type of technology in the futureNever or Rarely A few times a
SEMESTERA few times a
MONTHA few times a
WEEKOne or more times
a DAY
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000 944
10166 64
6
326
239267 279
70
CURRENTLY do this WOULD LIKE TO do this
Use web-based document tools (eg Google docs) to work collaboratively on activities and assignments
17.8% of students reported current regular use of web-based document tools,
47.3% reported wanting to use these more often.
504 students (43%) moved their preference from ‘never to rarely’ to wanting some level of engagement with this technology
Never or Rarely A few times a SEMESTER
A few times a MONTH
A few times a WEEK
One or more times a DAY
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900845
12696
7539
341
281261
214
84
CURRENTLY do this WOULD LIKE TO do this
Communicating: Student with staff Student with student
Instant messagingText messaging
EmailIn LMS
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
75
173
682 704
281368
862847
119
292
523
632
308
454
748 781
Current with staffFuture with staffCurrent with staff2Future with student
Technologies for Admin Purposes
Not At All Useful A Little Useful Moderately Useful Quite Useful Very Useful
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
781
160101 78 61
Twitter RSS feeds
Not At All Useful
A Little Useful Moderately Useful
Quite Useful Very Useful
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
176199
247
346
213
Not At All Useful
A Little Useful Moderately Useful
Quite Useful Very Useful
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350 305 306
243
204
123
Paper-based letters or memos
Not At All Useful A Little Useful Moderately Useful Quite Useful Very Useful
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2044
118
367
632
67%
Technologies for Admin PurposesFacebook Mobile voice calls
Communications through LMSMobile apps
Not At All Useful A Little Useful Moderately Useful Quite Useful Very Useful
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
49
104
216
406 406
Not At All Useful A Little Useful Moderately Useful Quite Useful Very Useful
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
384
186172
210229
Not At All Useful A Little Useful Moderately Useful Quite Useful Very Useful
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
343
246 248
189
155
Not At All Useful A Little Useful Moderately Useful Quite Useful Very Useful
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
226
133
165
295
362
50/50
But
Take home messages from FGs
They are starting to use iPads more but mainly still use laptops.
Recorded lectures provide flexibility/mobility, eg. able to play on iPod and listen while travelling etc. Able to repeat sections. Hearing/seeing lecturer gives better ‘feel’ for information than reading a printed page. Other students ask questions during lecture, which can give additional information. Feel more connected to group.
Respondents saw the StudyDesk as adequate in contributing to their feeling part of a ‘community of learners’ and were opposed to using Facebook which they see as for personal use only.
‘Consistency’ was a main theme that has emerged both from this survey and Focus Groups. Consistency in the ‘look and feel’ of study desk, the quality of resources available, the staff interaction online. But not sameness.
Strong preference for us to provide online training for technologies.
Observations
We should celebrate the extent to which students are happy with the way we use technology to support their learning.
Consistency defined broadly and not limited to the ‘wireframe’ of the StudyDesk. eg. style and format of materials: assessment feedback; lecture capture (audio/video); student communication.
Access to the Internet is almost ubiquitous. This means that learning experiences need not be limited to ‘resource lead’ text based study guides. More active/connected learning tools are increasingly available to enhance the learning experience.
Collaborative technologies can facilitate classroom-based activities that are inclusive of distance learners when designed purposefully.
Cloud-based and other social networking tools represent an ‘ease of use’ for students and should be considered as legitimate supplementary learning spaces for students (Googledocs, Facebook etc.)
Seamless, on the go and available purposefully oriented and ‘don’t have time to waste’,
technology is viewed as a positive force in their studies Few learners are without multiple devices such as mobile
phones, laptops, tablets and computers that connect to the internet
online learning environments are often devoid of engagement and interaction and rather remain focussed on resource led rather than perhaps resource supported
social media has in some cases become an “…unexpected learning space which was previously used for more personal and social interactions”
Andrews, Tynan, & Backstrom, 2012, p.54.
Students are:
Key Technology Trends - Gartner 2013
By 2015: Smartphones will account for 80% of all mobile
phones sold (in well-established markets) Only 20% of these devices will use Windows 50% of all notebook purchases will be tablets The top operating systems will be:
• Apple’s iOS• Google’s Android• Windows 8
Mobility @ USQ
This rapid development of technology has launched a global trend to enhance the ways in which we develop and deliver courses and L&T resources
Currently, USQ has implemented the following initiatives to facilitate access to USQ resources for staff and students from mobile devices:
USQ Mobile website USQ Library mobile website Moodle mobile skin for USQStudyDesk courses Institutional imaging of iPads for general student
lending in the Library (Toowoomba Campus) Developing apps for learning
With increased internet coverage enabled almost ubiquitous access, we have seen a huge increase in our websites being accessed by mobile devices
“I DON’T HAVE TIME TO WASTE”