Blended Courses and Boundaries: Residential Students’ Perceptions

1. Blended Courses and Boundaries: Residential Students’ Perceptions Christina M. Finneran Bowdoin College Brunswick, Maine

2. Bowdoin College • Residential liberal arts college in Maine • 1,660 students • student faculty ratio 10:1 • Prior to Spring 2005 • websites for courses (syllabus, readings, sites) • course listservs • use of email to instructors • Blackboard • Piloted Spring 2005 semester • Fall 2005 available campus-wide

3. 92% Not Valuable Valuable 80% 75% Download/Read Course Materials

4. 32% Not Valuable Valuable 50% 26% Communicate w/Other Students

5. 16% Not Valuable Valuable 20% 50% Communicate w/Professors

6. Research Goals • Understand the impact of this blended learning tool on students • To what degree they perceived a change in their boundaries between “in-class” and “out-of-class”? • Which boundary changes lead to satisfaction and dissatisfaction?

7. Learning Community of Inquiry Model (Garrison et al, 2000) Social Presence Cognitive Presence Teaching Presence

8. Learning Community of Inquiry Model (Sloan-C Adaptation, 2004) Interacting with Peers Interacting With Content Interacting with Instructor

9. Online aspect of Class Outside-of-Class In-Class Interaction with Professor Interaction with Students Interaction with Content Framework

10. Data Elicitation • Survey • 10% of matriculated students • 62% students responded (103) • Dropped 3 responses > 100 respondents • Interviews • 12 students

11. Satisfaction

12. Outside-of-Class In-Class Interaction with Professor Interaction with Students Interaction with Content Satisfaction:Merging of Online and In-Class Online aspect of Class

13. Interaction w/Professor: Online / In-class Boundary Merge “He [Professor] poses a question for the whole class [on discussion board]. It’s not graded but he gets an idea where the students are…helpshim structure thelecture.” “if you forget to ask in class, then you can ask [via email, BB discussion board].” “the discussion board- if i don't understand something i can ask then, not wait until class and then possibly forget”

14. Interaction w/Students: Online / In-class Boundary Merge “I’ve been able to express my ideas that I probably wouldn’t say in class on blackboard and then somebody might bring that up in class and then I can talk about it” “The discussion boards have…given students who do not like to talk in large group settings a forum to discuss their opinions and receive feedback” “I have also been able to communicate better with my classmates, especially through discussion boards, which has never happened before.”

15. Interaction w/Content: Online / In-class Boundary Merge “Blackboard enabled me to have a visual view of whats going on in the class. Its just like class except it goes as slow as I want it to.” “It allows me to see assignments before they are given out in class.” “When handouts are passed out, it’s not a ‘I have to make sure I remember where this handout is’ I can find it in the course of a few minutes online.”

16. Outside-of-Class In-Class Interaction with Professor Interaction with Students Interaction with Content Satisfaction:Merging of Online and Outside-of-Class Online aspect of Class

17. Interaction w/Professor: Online / Out-of-class Boundary Merge “I use blackboard mainly for its discussion board. It allows me to talk directly with the professor…[about] issues that were not discussed in class, but ones that I still would like to be answered.” “I also like the links some of my professors post. A lot of these are practice quizzes or exercises.” “Also, i think it's helpful for professors to make an announcement for class.”

18. Interaction w/Students: Online / Out-of-class Boundary Merge “it is easier to review for exams and such using the discussion boards- then i can answer and ask questions- both of which help me learn” “it has allowed me to think get a sense of what other students think of the readings (through the discussion board) and allowed me to respond to the reading as well.” “useful in group assignments--allowing me to just share documents with my group without emailing them or printing them, which is easier”

19. Interaction w/Content: Online / Out-of-class Boundary Merge “Also, seeing as I do 99% of my work at my computer, it's helpful to have any all information on my course (professor's contact info, office hours, syllabus, other guidelines, course materials, etc.) at my fingertips is incredibly useful.” “It has made certain course materials more available to me. ex: syllabus” “It has merely provided for another alternative way for professors to assign work (e.g. discussion boards and blog assignments). Which has been somewhat helpful for the classes that have done this for me”

20. Dissatisfaction

21. Outside-of-Class In-Class Interaction with Professor Interaction with Students Interaction with Content Dissatisfaction:Online Infringes on In-Class Online aspect of Class

22. Outside-of-Class In-Class Interaction with Professor Interaction with Students Interaction with Content Online Infringes on In-Class Interaction with Students Online aspect of Class

23. Interaction w/Students: Online infringes on In-class “In some classes it has made teaching and learning completely impersonal because it allows students to communicate with each other…online instead of face to face.” “It has also has negative effects on class discussions in some classes, because comments are exhausted on the discussion board instead of in real discussions in class.” “Discussion boards sometimes discourage in-class discussion.”

24. Outside-of-Class In-Class Interaction with Professor Interaction with Students Interaction with Content Dissatisfaction:Online Infringing on Out-of-Class Online aspect of Class

25. Interaction w/Professor: Online infringes on Out-of-class “has prevented me from actually going in and seeing professors instead we should communicate on blackboard” “I don't like how teachers make papers/ assignments due at times that are not in class. ex. midnight Sunday” “Blackboard has made teachers assign more work because now it can be due at any time, not just in class.”

26. Interaction w/Content: Online infringes on Out-of-class “It makes it so I have to spend outside class printing out a lot of material, making for a lot of extra trips to the library.” “[My teacher] doesn't even hand out a syllabus or assignment sheets anymore. I don't like this, because I don't have a computer, and this makes completing my work for the class much less convenient.”

27. Outside-of-Class In-Class Interaction with Professor Interaction with Students Interaction with Content Summary:Satisfaction & Dissatisfaction Online aspect of Class

28. Questions / Comments Thank You