Evaluation of virtual classroom technology - Blackboard Collaborate

latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M

Title of presentation Name of presenter Title of presenter School / Faculty / Division

xx Month 201x

Evaluation of virtual classroom technology: implications for student engagement and satisfaction. Liz Pascoe - Stream Coordinator, Masters in Cancer Nursing Austin Clinical School Sharon Karasmanis, Faculty Librarian (Health Sciences) 6 December 2013

2 La Trobe University

The Students:

• Masters of Nursing (Breast Care) and Masters of Nursing (Cancer/Palliative Care)

• Postgraduate return-to-study mature age students

• Distance education!

3 La Trobe University

The Challenge!

• To deliver educational instruction in real time

• To help students to transfer existing skill base to the academic research environment

• To teach students how to conduct systematic searches of the health databases to locate high quality evidence!

4 La Trobe University

The Tool - Blackboard Collaborate!

• Virtual classroom

• Educational learning technology

• Educational instruction in real time

• Excellent for remote/distance students

• Session recordings available

• Easy to connect!

• Example on next slide

5 La Trobe University

6 La Trobe University

The Evaluation

• Evaluate the efficacy of BC as learning medium

• Online survey contained Likert style responses, quantitative and qualitative feedback

• Three sections:

• Student experience in using Collaborate

• Student perception of impact on learning

• Student attitude towards research

7 La Trobe University

What did we learn?

• Quantitative:

• BC: ease of use 94% rated OK to very easy

• Ratings from Important to Most Important

• Real-time engagement - 78%

• Session content - 83%

• Social interaction – 61%

8 La Trobe University

What did we learn?

• Qualitative comments:

• ‘Keep in touch with what other students were doing’. ‘Evaluate how others were travelling’

• ‘Recordings helped to alleviate feelings of isolation … distance education learner’

• ‘It gets so lonely being out here in the desert [Broken Hill] … so isolated’. ‘Being able to connect’

• ‘Used the session recordings as a sound base for assignments – would have struggled without them’. ‘Helped me refocus …if I was bogged down’

9 La Trobe University

Student attitudes towards research

• Confidence in library research skills:

• Conducting database searches for health literature: 94%

• Knowing how to reference a source: 88%

• Revising the search strategy: Somewhat Difficult to Somewhat Easy

• Finding full text articles: 100%

10 La Trobe University

In Conclusion …

• BC enabled delivery of complex educational activities in real time

• Recordings scaffold the session content

• Facilitates the key androgogical principle of being self-directed

• Enables students to connect!

Thank you

latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M

• Connect

• Confidence

• Learn