Student Opinions of Online Learning Systems

Nicholas Verno, Senior CIS MajorWestminster College

Faculty Advisor - Dr. Terri Lenox

Technology in Education

• Technology is in every aspect of our lives

• Personal, workplace, education

• Educational involvement is growing rapidlyo Computers/tablets in classroomso Transition from paper to electronico Online Learning Systems

What is an Online Learning System?

• Defined as any form of educational material which is readily available for distribution over the Interneto The intended audience can access the materials easily

• Online Learning Systems, abbreviated OLS, can take the place of an instructor or be used as a tool to aid an instructor’s lectures

Types of Online Learning Systems

• Fully-online OLS – no instructor present, course is completed in its entirety onlineo Synchronous – alongside other students, deadlines are presento Asynchronous – without other students, no deadlines present

• Partially-online OLS (Hybrid) – course is taken in online segments and face-to-face segments

Examples of OLS• Coursera (fully online/asynchronous)

Examples of OLS• Pearson MyLab (part of hybrid)

What is the Point?• OLS are designed to make the material more

accessible

• With their ease of use and accessibility, OLS should revolutionize education for the better

• Do they make learning easier and more effective?

Previous Studies• 2013 Study by RELATE Education Group

• Traditional Physics class vs. Physics MOOCo MOOC – Massive Open Online Course

• Concluded that cannot statistically show MOOC or traditional is better

• Course evaluations at the end determined it was strictly opinion based

Other Studies• US Department of Education – 2010

o No statistical evidence

• University of Toledo – 2007o No statistical evidence

• University of California Davis – 2003o No statistical evidence

• University of British Columbia 1995-2004o No statistical evidence

Helpful Insights Into Online Learning

• Format of the OLS can impact learningo Association of Institutional Research in Toronto, 2002

• Features of OLS (i.e. extra practice, solution help, quizzes) can affect the opinions and attitudes towards online learning

Applying Principles To My Project

• 8 students engage in using Coursera OLSo “Learning How To Learn”

• Pre/Post-test design process:o Determine question typeso Scaled questions at first, switched to open ended

• More personal responseso Generate questions to receive desired feedback

• Analyze pre/post tests

“Learning How To Learn”

• Asynchronous fully online course taught by Neurobiology and Engineering professors – University of California – San Diego

• Covers techniques about how to learn across various subjectso Math, science, sports, literature, arts, etc.

• Different learning modes of the brain

• Studying practices (memorization, avoiding procrastination)

• 4 hours of video, 3 hours of exercises, 3 hours of bonus materials

Questions to Answer• Did the use of Coursera alter their opinions about

the willingness to use OLS in general?

• After working with Coursera, would the students recommend it to others?

• How does the impact of having prior experience with OLS change the students’ opinions of Coursera?

Pre-test Statisticso 5 of 8 students initially

preferred traditionalo 62.5%

Online vs. Traditional

OnlineTraditional

o 7 of 8 students would take a fully online course

o 87.5%

Fully Online Course Partic-ipation

Would TakeWould not Take

Pre-test Statistics• Major Problem

o 4 of 8 students claimed lack of teacher interaction (50%)o 2 of 8 students with said format of answers (25%)*o 2 of 8 students responded understanding was not

required to get the correct answer (25%)*

Major Problem With Coursera

No Interaction Answer FormatLack of Understand-ing

* - with prior experience

Pre-test Statistics• Major Benefit

o 5 of 8 students said working at their own pace (62.5%)o 3 of 8 students said having review/extra practice

(37.5%)

Major Benefit of Coursera

Own PacePractice/Review

Post-test Statistics• Online vs. Traditional

o 6 of 8 students preferred traditional over online(75%)o 2 of 8 students preferred online to traditional (25%)

Online vs Traditional

OnlineTraditional

Post-test Statistics• Recommendations

o 5 of 8 students would not recommend taking (62.5%)o 3 of 8 students would recommend taking (37.5%)

Recommendation For Others

WouldWould not

Conclusions• What does all of this data tell us?

o Cannot statistically show that one method is better

o Using Coursera changed the opinions of some who initially thought online was better

o Coursera had a negative effect on some of the participants’ learning process

o Some participants said using Coursera was better than previous experiences with OLS

Conclusions• This small study leaves other questions to be

answered in the future:o Does a student’s personality affect the opinion of OLS?

o Would varying learning styles steer the opinions of students in a certain direction?

o If the students weren’t already enrolled in classes at a traditional university, would their opinions change?