PowerPoint Template
Wide Open Symposium 1/11/11Technology and passive withdrawersJan
Jones, Learning & Teaching Development IET
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Thanks for coming.
Introduce myselfWork in the LTD team on a range of projects
including all types of evaluation, developmental testing, usability
testing of new websites/software.Explain that the work Ive done on
L185 started with the dev testing, mid-course survey 2010B, and now
a survey to all students (mid course) 2011B and the qualitative
study with passive withdrawers.Explain what I will talk about.Why
important retention becoming all the more important with impending
changes in HE.
BackgroundPart of a project to explore retention on L185:
English for Academic Purposes OnlineTo obtain a rich picture of the
reasons why students passively withdraw from L185Passive
withdrawers are students who had submitted no more than two TMAsNew
and/or BME students were targeted
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L185 is an entirely online additional rather than a key
introductory module designed to help students who want to improve
their academic reading and writing skills in the English language.
30 credit Level 1 delivered by Open ELT in FELS. 5 TMAs and an EMA.
The module uses a range of educational technologies including
Elluminate for online tutorials, discussion forums and
audio-recording tools a speaking assignment. 316 11B had students
at the start. Most had come via the Arts faculty.David Watson
Discussion paper for HEFCE: Implications for Practice of the WP
agenda: Course content and course delivery. Establishing and
providing what is needed for new kinds of students, including new
elements in course content and new forms of delivery and a careful
consideration of forms of assessment. This will need to include
consideration of the positive and negative implications of changes
in the curriculum and changed modes of delivery.
L185-10B had under-performed on 8 out of 10 KPIs at the end of
its first presentation: 72% said they were satisfied with the
quality of the course; 72% said they were satisfied wit; 61% said
they were satisfied with the teaching materials provided 59% said
the course met their expectation; 69% said they enjoyed studying
the course
Low retention rate. Only 102 out of 216 students had completed.
Of these, 30% were new students and 70% continuing students. Some
changes were made to 11B i.e. wiki removed and some changes to
assessment.Findings relevant to widening participation symposium
because: WP is defined by the Teaching & Learning Research
Programme extending and enhancing access to HE experiences of
people from under-represented and diverse subject backgrounds,
families, groups and communities andpositively enabling such people
to participate in and benefit from HE. People from socially
disadvantaged families and/or deprived geographical areas,
including deprived remote, rural and coastal areas or from families
that have no prior experience of HE may be of key concern. Widening
participation is also concerned with diversity in terms of
ethnicity, gender, disability and social background in particular
HE disciplines, modes and institutions. It can also include access
and participation across the ages, extending conceptions of
learning across the life-course, and in relation to family
responsibilities, particularly by gender and maturity
ActivityWhat do you think are the challenges that face EAL
students when they are about to start an entirely online module
?
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Please think particularly about the software the module might
use.
Please send 5 minutes talking to the person sitting next to you
and write your thoughts on the post- it notes.
MethodologyPassive withdrawers identified by the team Email
invitation sent to sample available at the end of Block 5Special
attention was paid to the language used in the
invitationSemi-structured telephone discussions (x9)Discussions
were recorded and transcribedSurvey was sent to all L185-11B
students
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After sampling 81 students out of 61 passive withdrawers were
invited to participate in the evaluation at the end of Block 5.
Data required asap to feed into next presentationBlock 5 is last
main teaching block/2 week study break and Block 6 is for review. A
survey was also conducted (replacement to EMS) August so not
expecting a brilliant response rate.
Passive withdrawer interviewees7 were from BME backgrounds6 were
EAL students4 males and 5 femalesAge range 29 to 546 new and 3
continuing OU students5 had submitted 0 TMAs, 4 had submitted 2
Previous qualifications varied widely
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Good response rate due to pro-active contact? At least half of
the passive withdrawers had been attracted to the OU because they
had friends who had recommended it.Majority of students are aged
between 25 and 49 (79%), 63% female and approx. 30% BME students.
(similar for both presentations)
The focus in this presentation is on their use of educational
technologies. A lot of other data was obtained, e.g. workload,
topic relevance, support, KPIs, etc.Findings considered relevant to
the WP symposium because: WP is defined by the Teaching &
Learning Research Programme (TLRP, jointly funded by HEFCE and the
Economic and Social Research Council), in describing the set of
projects it has recently commissioned:extending and enhancing
access to HE experiences of people from under-represented and
diverse subject backgrounds, families, groups and communities and
positively enabling such people to participate in and benefit from
HE. People from socially disadvantaged families and/or deprived
geographical areas, includingdeprived remote, rural and coastal
areas or from families that have no prior experience of HE may be
of key concern. Widening participation is also concerned with
diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability and social
background in particular HE disciplines, modes and institutions. It
can also include access and participation across the ages,
extending conceptions of learning across the life-course, and in
relation to family responsibilities, particularly by gender and
maturity(for details on the seven WP projects currently supported
by the TLRP see www.tlrp.org).Basically any student who wasnt white
and upper or middle class.
Expectations of an online module3 withdrawers hadnt realised
that the module was entirely online
I didnt realise that L185 was entirely online, so I wasnt
prepared for it. I have done an entirely online course with
LearnDirect, but that was different. With LearnDirect when you
returned to the website, it took you straight back to where you
left off. It was a lot easier.
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Previous experiences can influence expectations.
I was expecting you would have more time to speak with the tutor
and to meet other students. Maybe we couldve met at the Open
University? I didnt expect I would be on the laptop all the time. I
expected that we would be able to talk with someone. It put me down
a little bit. The support was there but I had to go out there and
find it. I had to contact people (P4) Young, BME student who had
just completed a years study at a local FE college.
Preparation for an online moduleThe advice was that you need to
be used to computers and my answer is yes, I am used to computers,
I do emails, I can write using word processing and I do
spreadsheets and everything, but not something like that.the
description was okay but it was the delivery of the materials.
Using a computer in this way is different from how I usually use
it. Maybe in the description it could say a bit more about what you
have to do. Its not the materials; its the technical aspects that
were difficult for me.
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I dont think I was prepared. I had thought my computer skills
were good as Im used to using Word, etc. but I found it difficult
to get to Elluminate and to download the audio recording tool.
(P5)Feedback from a new OU student in her early 60s who was also an
EAL student. She spoke very good English but chose to study the
module to develop her reading and writing skills in English for
academic purpose
Suggests a difference between being able to use computer and
studying an entirely online module that incorporates a range of
software packages e.g. Elluminate and online audio recording tools
as well as requiring students to write assignments on a computer
and send them electronically.
(EPD Learning and Teaching Guide: Learn About Digital Literacy)
says Being able to access and use technology is not the same as
knowing how to use it to learn effectively and creatively. This
suggests that digital literacy is central to enabling people to be
lifelong learners; and with the shifting demographic pattern toward
a much larger older UK population, perhaps her words should be
taken very seriously.Continuing OU students who had passively
withdrawn said they preferred a blended approach to learning where
some face-to-face tuition was available and some print based
materials were provided. NB. Start of 10B (n=217) 39% NS 61% Cont.
End 30% NS and Cont 70% (n=102).
Navigation
With this course if the computer crashed or you couldnt remember
where you were, then you have to log back in again and you have to
go through it page by page to find out where you were. My computer
crashed several times. You have to remember what unit, what block,
what page number and all on that. I dont believe the course is
easily accessible. That is the main problem I had. I need someone
to show me. I found it difficult to follow the course online. Its
very hard to find your way around. It would be a lot easier if it
took you back to the page where you last started when you log back
in. I was surprised that was not the case. It was very
annoying.
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Student was a taxi driver who studied on his laptop between jobs
(Internet access therefore variable) Suggests he made need tuition
in what Hague and Payton (2010) call functional technology
skills.
For me the difficulty was getting a grip of the entire modus
operandi. I prefer to sit and read a book. I know have to get up to
speed with computers because this is a computer age. What I have
done so far is quite relevant. I worked my way through a lot of the
materials. They were excellent. It has quality and form, but it was
just that my patience, my endurance.
The assignments werent difficult, but you have to go through the
computer, go back to this, go back to that, go back and forth.
Finding your way around the website was difficult.I did scan
through the computer support guide. I wouldve liked to have had
some of the materials available in print form.
Accessing the online tutorials
Ive not been able to get to the online tutorials because they
are at a certain time when I wasnt available. The teacher did try
to explain to me how to get there, but it didnt sink in. I still
dont know how I can get to the online tutorials, where to click. I
spoke to my tutor once or twice and had a few emails with her. But
I would like to have been shown how to get there. I still need some
face-to-face tuition.
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Only 2 interviewees had accessed the online tutorials, another
said I think so.
Issue with guidance/level of competence..f2f??
Using the online tools78% students use a laptop all/most of the
time 73% found the module website easy to use 73% said Elluminate
is easy to install 85% students said the drag and drop activities
were easy to use71% were confident in using all the technologies
required for the assignments in L185 so far (i.e. at the end of
Block 5)
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The 11B Survey (42% response rate/67 students) findings show:80%
students aged 26-35 use a laptop all of the time73% found the
module website easy to use. (27% do not find it easy)71% were
confident in using all the technologies required for the
assignments in L185 so far. (after Block 5) (29% were still not
confident)82% had participated in the online tutorials (at some
point) 85% students said the drag and drop activities were easy to
use
Qual Data from the survey also shows that some students find the
the drag and drop/highlighter activities difficult to use because
they dont fit on the main screen view, students using a netbook or
an iPad found these types of activities particularly difficult.
KPIs Improvement in satisfaction with the teaching materials
provided on the module:
60% were satisfied at the end of 10B87% were satisfied in 11B
(of those who had got to Block 5)
Worse thing about studying L185: online learning
Accessibility and online study
Some students with disabilities struggle to study entirely
online materials. For example, those who have a vision-Impairment
and those with arthritic or joint mobility problems that affect the
wrists
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I think this is part of the reason why I havent really read the
whole course. The idea of sitting at a computerI nod off eventually
because the flicker affects my eyes and some of the modules are
30-40 pages long. That is very expensive on printer ink. I would
have preferred to have each block in a book form so I didnt
necessarily have to sit at the computer to do it. (P8)
It wouldve been really helpful to have had a paper/print summary
of a lot of the material or a bookletyou can often do quite a bit
of studying on a bus, for example, but you obviously cant if its
all online. You have to be attached to a computerone of the
problems I have is with the joints in my hands so when its all
online there is only a limited amount of time I can study for
before I have to stop and give my hands a rest. I have a couple of
disabilities, but the one that causes the most problems is an
underlying hypermobility syndrome that causes repetitive strain
injury and things like that. Being online a lot has affected it.
Thats part of the reason why I got behind. Printing all the
material off can be quite expensive, so Ive only printed so me of
the material out. (P9)
Help and support in using technologyI was very concerned so I
went twice to the office in Camden but no-one could explain me
anything. I am sorry to have to say this. Then I spoke to my
tutor.she was very nice, but she thinks that other sections of the
University have to resolve my computer problems. She told me to
ring the Computer Helpdesk. Its hard for someone to explain it on
the phone. If I could talk to someone who could show me how to go
through it step by step then maybe I could do it..It is complicated
to switch from the course materials the online
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The support was there but I had to go out there and find it. I
had to contact people (L4)Young student who had just completed 2
years at MK college. The only thing that really put me down was the
lack of face-to-face.
Several of the passive withdrawers had had email contact with
their tutor and/or used the discussion forums to get help. Other
projects I have worked on have also shown that many WP students
find the forums useful.
Follow up researchSome WP groups may already be familiar with
using Facebook and more likely to be happy in such an online
environmentthe impact of using Facebook and support it could
provide WP students?
Many widening participation students have the double burden of
familiarising themselves with a new online environment and in this
instance, a more generic approach to teaching academic writing
skills.
Digital literacy These findings suggest there is a difference
between level of confidence in using a computer and using the
technologies that are embedded in an entirely online module: e.g.
Elluminate and online audio recording tools, electronic TMA
submission and complex navigation
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European Framework for Digital Literacy (205) says DL is:The
ability to succeed in encounters with the electronic
infrastructures and tools that make possible the world of the
twenty-first century
BECTA: DL is the skills, knowledge and understanding that
enables critical, creative, discerning and safe practices when
engaging with digital technologies in all areas of life. (Would it
be better to put this statement in a slide and to discuss whats
currently in the slide?)
Being able to access and use technology is not the same as
knowing how #to use it to learn effectively.
An argument for developing a Level 1 digital literacy skills
module and/or embedding into the start of Level 1 modules. I know
there is work going on in different places across the OU.
Studying online v printed materialsI prefer a book because I can
read beyond a given topic to get more knowledge.
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8 of the 9 passive withdrawers said they would have liked some
printed study materials. They improve flexibility.P6 said he
preferred a book because he could read beyond a given topic to get
more knowledge. This comment illustrates one of the issues
discussed by Cull (2011) who discusses the cognitive differences
between reading online and reading printed materials.
Browsing/keywords/horizontal less in depth. Lui (2206) students
like having easy access to online digital texcts but prefer to
print out to read. Cost implications. Woody (2010) marked
preference for paper v ebooks.Online reading is more cognitively
complex due to the process of hyperlinking which stimulates more
neural circuitry. Time spent reading print..less time hyperlinking;
more time analysing.One survey respondent said: Its all online Im
unable to juggle different pages at one time. Its not good for my
eyesight or posture, Its not transportable so doesnt fit into my
life, e.g. I cant read something whilst my son is using the
computeIf we are really trying to improve pedagogy and the student
experience, why are we reducing the types of tuition and support
that WP students are telling us the want, e.g. some printed
materials and some face-to-face tuition at this level of study?A
current interview study evaluating the Writing Support available to
K101 students is suggesting that students like the Good Study Guide
(printed text) rather than the online support because they can pick
it up easily when they get a few minutes to spare. All say the f2f
tuition at the start of the module was really helpful for
developing their writing skills (how to write an essay and
referencing in particular). Also as one successful EAL student said
Time was the tricky bit; with family, work and children there is
not a lot of time to study, so if you have a book its easier if you
have a little bit of time to flick through the book, rather than to
sit down at the computer, start it up and then look at some
website.
Studying online and widening participation is there a
conflict?The Learning & Teaching focus area means improving
pedagogy and reducing costs
Understanding and improving the student learning experience in
this context suggests that some print-based materials and some face
to face tuition should be available
Should L185 be a key introductory Level 1 module given its role
in improving writing and literacy skills?
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Is there a conflict between the learning and teaching focus and
improving the student experience focus?
Previous research with WP students in FELS has shown Most WP
students had experienced technical problems when participating in
the online tutorials.
None of the WP students who had withdrawn from study, studied
only one Level 1 module or who did not continue at Level 2 were
keen on the online tuition that took the place of f2f tuition at
the Intermediate level.
Positive trends in the survey results87% satisfied with the
teaching materials (60%)82% satisfied with their study experience
(73%)84% were enjoying the module (69%)81% would recommend this
module (75%)82% module meets its learning outcomes (78%)96%
satisfied with the tutor support provided (86%)
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42% response rate (n=67) 10B had a 41% response rate (n=30) Also
61% student completed L185.Suggestions are that this wholly online
module is meeting the needs of the majority of students.
Whats the best thing about studying L185 so far?The most
frequently quoted feedback (20) was the improvement in their
knowledge and understanding of academic English.Approx. 1/3 said
the online experience. There were no books involved. It built my
confidence in using the ICT systems.Increased confidence in using
the computer. I now know it is possible to study online.
About half of the comments received when asked Whats the worst
thing about studying L185 were about online learning and using the
tools provided.
So although many students enjoy online learning and using the
technologies, they were one of the most common reasons why students
passively withdrew from the module. Ensuring the right sort of help
and support is available for those who struggle with technology may
be key to retaining these students. So what can we do.
1
2
3Ask tutors to be more pro-active in contacting WP
studentsWidening participation in an online context what can we
do?Offer IT support through volunteer module champions or peer
mentorsOffer some face-to-face tuition or a podcastto show how the
technologies work
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It is not online support they necessarily want, itsf2f and/or an
opportunity to talk to someone.
1) Is there anything the OU could have done to help you continue
with L185?Communication I think, but its probably my fault. I
should have been communicating in a more forceful way. I should
have been taking the initiative He was very appreciative that I had
contacted him, took it as giving him personal support.Currently
evaluating K101 students experience of the writing support they
received. The data are showing that the students find the first f2f
tutorial extremely useful for developing their writing skills, in
particular how to construct an essay/referencing, etc.Student
support reviewing looking at this.
Volunteer IT supportstudents often prefer to talk to other
students, volunteers can put activities on their CVs and it helps
to develop their own skills.
Time and time again I would here, I wouldve liked some
face-to-face tuition. Continuing OU students preferred the blended
approach.
ReferencesCull, B.W. (2011) Reading Revolutions: Online digital
text and implications for reading in academe, First Monday, Volume
16, Number 6. Online at:
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/3340/2985Goodfellow,
R. & Reedy, K (2010) Learn about Digital Literacy (EPD Guide)
http://epd.open.ac.uk/browseLAG.cfm?lagID=66&method=displayLAGDetailsJary,
D. & Jones, R. Widening Participation: Overview and Commentary,
HEA.Jones, J. & Kirkup, G. (2010) Report on Widening
participation case studies for FELS language programmes
http://kn.open.ac.uk/document.cfm?docid=13181Jones, J. &
Kirkup, G. (2010) The Experience of Widening Participation students
on FELS Foundation Course 2009-2010:
http://kn.open.ac.uk/document.cfm?docid=13180Watson, D. (2006) How
to think about widening participation in UK higher education,
Discussion paper for HEFCE.
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rdreports/2006/rd13_06/
Jan Jones, Learning and Teaching Development, IET
[email protected]
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