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John Huss and Shannon Eastep

Northern Kentucky University

Online Students Are Talking, Are We Listening? Using Student Data to Create a

Dynamic Online Environment with Free Tools

Need for study

Growth of online instruction increased from 1,130 students taking at least one online course in 2005 to 4,695 in the fall of 2012.

Number of online courses offered has grown from 82 in 2005 to 481 in 2012

(Educational Outreach, 2013)

Background of study

Target = all students who took an online course in Fall 2012

Electronic survey sent to 4,695 across University campus

Received 1,085 returned questionnaires

748 provided narrative, detailed feedback to open-ended questions.

Coded the narrative responses for themes and patterns.

Status of Respondents

Classification Response

Has taken 1 or more online classes, but also takes face to face classes

723 (66.7%)

Fully online 323 (29.8%)

Other 38 (3.5%)

Reason for Taking Online Class

Students were asked the reason as to why the students chose to take an online course.

Reason Response

Face-to-face did not fit schedule

or was not an option

503 (47.6%)

Strictly convenience 389 (36.8%)

I learn best in online environment 81 (7.7%)

None of the above 84 (7.9%)

Instructor Communication

Frequency Response

Several times a week 500 (47.4%)

Weekly 489 (46.4%)

Daily 65 (6.2%)

Students were asked to consider how often an instructor should communicate with an online class.

Instructor Update Preferences

Preference Response

E-mail 751 (71.2%)

Text 42 (4%)

Announcements 221 (20.9%)

Audio Message 10 (.9%)

Other 31 (2.9%)

For class updates, how would you most like to hear from your online professor?

Instructor Communication

Demo Remind 101 as a communication tool http://remind101.com

Instructor Voice/Video Messages

Preference Response

Yes 656 (62.2%)

No 240 (22.7%)

Never experienced this 159 (15.1%)

Does seeing a video message or hearing an audio message from your instructor help you to feel more connected to your online professor?

Instructor Messages

AudioBoo Demo in Course https://audioboo.fm/

EyeJot http://www.eyejot.com/login

Note: During the presentation, the question was asked about ADA compliance and closed captioning. I did look into this and did not see a closed captioning option, but I did see where you can attach a file to an EyeJot message. This would allow you to attach a copy of your video transcript. For AudioBoo, I would also recommend including a copy of your transcript for students who might need it.

Use of Voice Narrated Tutorials

Preference Response

Yes, I like the addition of tutorials 621 (59%)

No, this does not aid in my learning 187 (17.8%)

I never used tutorials in a course 244 (23.2%)

Does the use of tutorials (voice narrated how-to videos) help you to better understand the technology or content being taught?

Voice Narrated Tutorials

Jing Demo in Course http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Screencast-o-matic Demo in Course http://screencast-o-matic.com/ http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/

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Note: I looked into ADA compliance with Screencast-o-matic and saw you can upload a “Captions” file with your tutorial.

Type of Interaction with Classmates Preferred

Type of Interaction Response

Small group discussion board 722 (68.8%)

Large class discussion board 596 (56.8%)

Small group projects 281 (26.8%)

Voice generated discussions 109 (10.4%)

Real-time video interaction 86 (8.2%)

Video generated discussions 38 (3.6%)

Other 120 (11.4%)

Students were asked to choose 3. Many of the “other” comments said “none”.

Discussion Options

VoiceThread Demo in Course http://voicethread.com/

Positive Student Feedback Related to Technology Usage

Indicators Examples Tutorials Audio lectures Video lectures Tegrity Using technology for multiple learning

styles VoiceThread

 

“My professor used video messages. It helped to make my first online experience more humanizing”

“Audio content is very helpful in explaining class materials”

“There are instructional videos with audio lecture and power point slide. These are helpful for me as a visual/audio learner”

“Having audio lectures is a great addition” “Recorded lectures with professor’s voice

that students can listen to at their own leisure”

One professor did a very nice job of explaining material via video. It was almost like being in a class on campus”

Positive Student Feedback Related to Instructor

Indicators Examples Organized Prompt and frequent e-mails Providing good assistance when needed Good feedback for assignments Prompt grading Sends reminders Daily/Weekly communication

 

“The professor will do reminders before any assignments are due, so it helps you to remember to do your class assignments”

“A professor’s organization skills are the most important aspect of a successful online class.”

“Assignments were graded in a timely manner and I was able to gauge how I was doing in the class”

“I think weekly communications from the instructors is very important. It lets me know that they are there it help us”.

“I think it’s important for the instructor to outline the expectations we should have of him/her regarding feedback, contacting and grading”

“The teacher sent us out emails at the beginning of every week reminding us of our assignments for that week and always e-mailed back with 24 hours.”

“In order for an online class to be successful the instructor needs to be organized and thorough with the delivery of information“ 

Negative Student Feedback Related to Technology

Indicators Examples No instruction, just e-resources Blackboard issues Large Discussion Boards Opening files No interactions (voice/audio) – only

PowerPoint MAC compatibility issues

 

“No video/audio presentations – just handouts to try to understand difficult contents”.

“Teacher had videos, but just read through PowerPoint. Very dry monotone voice. Videos were not helpful at all”.

“Several professors simply use PowerPoint presentations with no audio, video or even notes attached instead of lecture.”

“No videos or audio recordings like the classroom environment”

 

Negative Student Feedback Related to Instructor

Indicators Examples Lack of communication/due

dates/expectations Slow posting of grades Slow e-mail responses No feedback No professor interaction in the course

 

“Frustration at times from lack of response by professors and delays in posting assignments and then expecting quick turnaround time to submit”.

“Sometimes it took several weeks to get grades” “The teacher gave no guidance for assignments and

expectations” “Not only was the professor unorganized, he did not

grade any assignments for the first three weeks”. “Professor did not keep up with grading or comments

and didn’t respond to e-mails. Felt disconnected and we didn’t know our grades until the end of the class”

“Professors who don’t respond to emails and don’t post grades for specific assignments until weeks later.”

“An unsuccessful online class that I have been a part of involves lack of involvement of the teacher”

 

Conclusions

What does this mean?

Professor engagement Strong communication Engaging learning materials Many free tools to help accomplish this task

http://www.talktechwithme.com/uploads/2/2/1/1/22115906/backwards_edtech_flow_chart.pdf

Contact Information

Shannon Eastep: easteps1@nku.edu

John Huss hussj@nku.edu