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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
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Student experiences and expectations of technology

May 27, 2015

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A Seminar presented at the University of South Africa on the students current and expected use of technology in relation to their learning. Presented on behalf of the Institute for Open and Distance Learning (IODL).
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Page 1: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 2: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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)

Page 3: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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?

Page 4: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 5: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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%

Page 6: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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%

Page 7: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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%

Page 8: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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)

Page 9: Student experiences and expectations of technology

Top 10 tools used outside study

Inte

rnet

sear

ching

Email

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%

Page 10: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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%

Page 11: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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%

Page 12: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 13: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 14: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 15: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 16: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Email

67%

Page 17: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 18: Student experiences and expectations of technology

But

Page 19: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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.

Page 20: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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.)

Page 21: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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:

Page 22: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 23: Student experiences and expectations of technology

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

Page 24: Student experiences and expectations of technology

“I DON’T HAVE TIME TO WASTE”