The Impact of ICTs on Teaching and Learning in Australian University

1. The Impact of ICTs on Teaching and Learning in Australian University M S Arifeen Khan Mamun SUPERVISORS Professor Patrick Danaher Mohammad Mafizur Rahman This project is supported through the Australian government’s collaborative research networks program (CRN Project 5)

2. Policy context • The expansion of higher education participation (Stoke & Wright 2010) • The expansion of online learning opportunity (DBCDE 2011)

3. Introduction • E-learning is a definite output of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) used in tertiary education (OECD 2005, p. 21), and mobile learning is an advanced version of e-learning. • Online interactive teaching and learning is getting momentum around the world. • In Australia, in 2010, 12 % of the higher education students were studying externally (online distance mode of education) (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011)

4. What are the Education policy concerns ? • Student Attrition Rate/ Dropout Rate. Because it generates wastage of tax payers money. “ Outcome is more important… high attrition rate is not acceptable” (Education minister Senator Carr , The Australia, 2013, July 10, p. 25) • In Australia students’ dropout among the online/distance learners was 35% compared to 12% in the face-to-face system. • In Australia students’ attrition costs per institution A$ 36 million (Hare 2010, The Australian)

5. What are the issues ? • Overall, the graduation rate of the Australian young with bachelor degree was 37% compared to OECD average 40% in 2012 (OECD 2012) • During the year 2002-2007, percentage of graduation to the population at the typical age of graduation was 49.3 %, 49.8%, 50.8%, and 49.7%.

6. HE participation: National perspective Figure: Enrolment in tertiary types of higher education in Australia Gross enrolment rate was 80 % (World Bank 2010) Source: http://stats.oecd.org

7. HE participation: USQ perspective Total students’ enrolment in number • Reason might be decreasing international student enrolment. • In Australia in 2012, total enrolment decreased by 2.7 percent. Source: Data warehouse of USQ; updated on :Monday, July 15, 2013

8. What are the issues ? • There is an argument that the online/distance education provides inferior education (Keeles, 1995), though the researchers have shown contrasting results (López-Pérez, Pérez-López & Rodríguez-Ariza2011; Coates et al 2008; Yousef and Dhmani2008;Tien and Fu 2008; Lim 2002).

9. What are the issues ? • There are substantial researches about the ‘digital divide’ at the country levels, community, and at the household levels (e.g. Gutierrez and Gamboa2010) • However, the research about the use and purchase of ICT goods and services is another important issue.

10. Background literature Students’ dropout related: • Socio-economic background affects the likelihood of dropping out. • The differences in pre-university academic preparation is a significant factor conditional upon socioeconomic factors. • The students’ dropout is higher among the distance learners compared to the face-to-face leaners. • The organizational support and the relevance of degree program are two important drivers for distance learners’ dropout. Source: Belloc, Maruotti & Petrella 2011; Bound & Turner 2011; López-Pérez, Pérez-López and Rodríguez-Ariza 2011; Park & Choi, 2009),

11. Literature review..continued Students’ academic achievement related: • Social Networking Sites (SNSs) decrease both efficiency and productivity in an academic setting (e.g. Karpinski et al. 2013) • The use of ICT on students’ academic achievements are subject-specific,country specific. Moreover, the findings are inconclusive(e.g. Tien & Fu 2008; López-Pérez et ai. 2011)

12. Literature gap • Past researchers had defined ICT narrowly either as a computer or as an internet (e.g. Anderssen2006; Gutierrez & Gamboa 2010; van Dijk 2006). • The Digital Consumption Divide is under-researched area.

13. Literature gap • Aggregated data were used to investigate the students’ dropout issue; and where the institutional inputs are overlooked in the conceptual framework regarding the production function.

14. Research objective • To make theoretical contributions to the existing body of knowledge.

15. Major research questions • Is there any digital consumption divide; and what is the extent of the divide ? • What is the key determinant of a learner’s decision to drop out from the online course? • How does the factors influence the differences in learning outcomes?

16. Data • The proposed area of the study is the University of Southern Queensland. • The unit of analysis will be the individual student of a university. • The population of the study will be drawn from students enrolled in degree programs only under different departments as a full time or part time student. • In order to ensure student representation from all disciplines, a stratified sampling technique will be used to constitute the population of the study.

17. The Use of ICTs in teaching and learning: Background

18. How ‘ICT use’ is defined ? Capturing the heterogeneity of the use of ICT

19. How ‘ICT use’ is defined. ? • Measurementof the variable is challenging. We propose the following ways:- • Say, Rahman, a student, uses laptop, and desktop computers for learning, so his ICT uptake n = 2. Total expenditure will be equal to (n× p) = $ value • Now say he subscribes broadband mobile and fixed internet so, his ICT use n=2. Total expenditure will be equal to (n× p) = $ value • Finally we aggregate monetary value; and calculate percentage of the total education expenditures. The individual distribution of ICT expenditures will be grouped into digitally poor and digitally rich.

20. Why ‘Consumption divide ‘ ? ICTs are household consumption items and educational contingencies. The Australian household spends 4% - 7% of the total weekly expenditures for the use of ICTs for both educational and recreational purposes (ABS 2012)

21. What theory is applicable ? Consumption demand, as understood by the economists, is defined as the amount of goods/services the people are willing to buy at a certain price. The theory of consumption demand states an inverse relationship between the price of the goods and services, and the quantities demanded,if other things remain same.

22. Validity of ICTdemand

23. Model for ICTdemand = aggregate individual expenditure for ICT goods and services; = household income, = logarithm, = level of degree program, = discipline of study [dummy variable to be used], = mode of study of the studentand is ICT price basket.

24. Conceptual framework for dropout & academic achievement External factors- organizational support, family issues, financial issues, health issue Learner characteristics – ability, past academic preparation Individual Inputs Socio-economic status (SES)- age, gender, distance, parents education, income. Dropout/non-completion/ Results OUTPUT Education inputs at the departmental level – student: teacher ratio, quality of instructor, social integration, use of ICT devices Expenditure for educational inputs. Expenditure for ICT. Institutional inputs Individual Inputs

25. Theoretical framework for dropout • The study focus on the individual courses completion (outcome) at a particular semester say , in order to graduate at a certain point of time, say . Under such circumstances, there are two likely outcomes for a student at the point The outcomes are:- • The student complete the course. • The student do not complete the course (or drop out). Here is a vector of independent variables. The variable is a latent variable linked to the observed binary variable by the measurement equation Threshold point

26. Theoretical framework for academic achievement Education production function The education production function is usually a function mapping quantities of measured inputs to some measures of university outputs. is a variable for test score (or final exam grade) of the student. The variable K is a sum of ICT capital stock [ICTcapital] and ICT non capital stock [ICTnoncap]. L for other inputs. For detail: http://hanushek.stanford.edu/publications/education-production-functions

27. Analytical framework for academic achievement…continued Since, our study confine to one study, institutional inputs need not to be included. Specific econometric model: og+ …………… Eq.(3) og = Academic result of an individual. = Individual expenditures for ICT. = Individual entry score. = Individual’s socio-economic status. = Academic discipline [ dummy variable] - Hierachicalmultiple linear regression modellis proposed. - The regression will be used separately for the face-to-face and the online learners.

28. Novel contributions • Theoretical: • The consumption divide among the university student and its likely influence on students’ participation in university education. (i.e. minimum ICTsuse and consumption levels) • Factors influencing the distance learners’ decision about dropout. • Factors influencing the distance learner’s academic achievement.

29. Novel contributions • Methodological: • Introduction of ICT demand function incorporating the market price of ICT. • Introduction of education production function where individual ICT expenditure will be incorporated as an input of education.

30. Ethical issues The project 5 team have received a clearance from the ethics committee regarding survey already. In the context of the new faculty structure, a revised approval will be required.

31. Limitation of the study • The study focuses on one university only. • The study does not investigate the use of ICTs from the teachers’ and the institutions’ perspectives (e.g. web 2 technology) . This remains as future avenue of further research.

32. Summary Exploratory analysis • What factors ? And How ? Issues:- • Consumption divide • Students’ dropout • Academic outcomes Understanding the differences of consumption divide among the external learners and face-to-face learners Regression analysis Path analysis Applying the descriptive analysis Theoretical knowledge. Mean, median, ratio, percentage, ANOVA

33. THANK YOU QUESTIONS !