Use and usefulness of communications technologies for course related matters

1. Use of new technologies in first year biology teaching 1993 - 2003Mary Peat, Sue Franklin, Rob Mackay-Wood & Aida YalcinSchool of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science Project - investigating student perceptions of usefulness of IT to learning Methodology • Research model based on a mixed methods paradigm - see Philips et al. 2000. Focus on overall teaching and learning process, not on individual resources • Action research approach - informed each data collection occasion • Use of surveys, focus groups and interviews - qualitative and quantitative data allowed for triangulation Results Student use of resources • Web-based resources - high use of computers/Internet (95%); less use of learning resources (75%) • Communications technologies - low use of email for course matters (29%); high use for social communications (90%) • Staff v student perceptions of usage - higher expectation by staff of use of learning resources and communications technologies for learning (84%) Use and usefulness of the Internet to support learning Use and usefulness of web-based learning resources Use and usefulness of communications technologies for course related matters • Who are our students & what are the problems? • Large classes - 1700 first year biology students; in transition from school; in many faculties and degree programs • Varied academic backgrounds - very heterogeneous, including range of abilities, biological knowledge, sense of purpose • Teacher /student ratios changing - more students; fewer staff - need for greater flexibility • Access to resources - in the labs; in the Resource Centre; online • Student comments • Positive “It is a huge help with personal study that can be conducted at home It is a very effective method of independent study and is very helpful in being another complement to lectures and the text CBL allows interactive study from home, which certainly assist in learning, understanding and revising Allow visual reinforcement. Visual aids/animation helps clarity and understanding. Self-tests at end helpful “ • Negative “I’m not good with computers, don’t find it useful Don’t use computers Don’t agree with putting all important information on the web, it was difficult for me to access the Internet, hence I miss out on a lot of learning material I don’t believe they do help. The information is much more successfully provided elsewhere, as it is more organised and direct” Implications from results • Awareness of environment - we are an on-campus provider; our online materials may not be used by all students as there may be no need to use them • Online replacement vs online optional - some of our materials are compulsory, some optional - the latter may not be used • Access and equity - in spite of being on-campus, we have provided materials for anyplace/anytime access and this is acknowledged by the students • Learning styles - we are providing a rich learning environment for a large diverse group of students. Which parts of the environment are most used? Future investigations References • Franklin, S., Lewis, A. & Peat, M. (2001) A large scale evaluation of the effectiveness of educational resources: a research methodology. In Proceedings of Research & Development into University Science Teaching and Learning, UniServe Science National Annual Workshop • Peat, M. (1999) Virtual communication for lab-based science teaching: a case study. In Proceedings of the Computer Based learning in Science International Conference, ISBN 80-7042-144-4 • Peat, M. (2000) Online assessment: the use of Web-based self assessment. In A. Hermann and M. M. Kulski (Eds) Flexible Futures in Tertiary Teaching Cambridge Media, Perth (119-127) • Peat, M., Franklin, S. & Mackay-Wood, R (1997) The development of self-assessment modules: use of tailor-made templates. In Virtual Conference on Computers in University Biology Education 1997 http://www.liv.ac.uk.ctibiol/vCUBE97/html/rob-mackay-wood.html • What have we done? • Provided learning communities in large classes - to promote a sense of belonging, to offer peer support groups, to use collaborative teaching strategies, to encourage taking responsibility for own learning • Increased flexibility - with respect to resources and communications • Our personal journey: metamorphosis to the Internet • early use of computers - pre-1986 - main frame systems; 1986 - 1991 - stand-alone systems with limited accessibility (mostly in the lab classes) • Use of an intranet - 1992 - 1996 - better at handling large classes; accessibility still a problem • Move to the Internet - from 1997 - stimulated the development of virtual resources, with more flexible learning opportunities • Types of web-based materials • A variety of self-assessment online - mock exams; self-assessment modules (SAMs) • Lecture notes online - before the lectures; in various formats (text files; PowerPoint presentations) • Remedial materials - target principal concepts within each unit of study • Communications - student access to help - CyberTutor, CyberAdmin and CyberTechSupport; student access to one another • Advantages of web-based resources? • For the students? - flexible learning opportunities; equity of access; suit different learning modes; offer appropriate communications • For the staff? - enhance devolution of responsibility for learning to students; asynchronous communication mode encourages better communications with students