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?