Investigating student experiences of e-learning using the Diary Interview Approach

Investigating student experiences of e-learning using the Diary Interview Approach

By: Helen Lyons, Louise Thorpe

Published: March 2009 in Volume 2, Issue 4 |

Abstract

This paper outlines the methods used to explore student experiences of e-learning at Sheffield Hallam University. Placing e-learning in the context of the holistic learning experience, the diary interview approach (Zimmerman and Wieder, 1977) was employed in order to collect rich personalised accounts of our students’ experiences. Whilst the study highlighted that each student has differing experiences, here we will discuss the common experiences and what has been done at an institutional level to address issues emerging from the study. Introduction With the rapid growth in technology, and its expanding use within an educational context, we feel that more research into students’ experiences of using technology for learning is necessary. Putting the student voice at the heart of the agenda, our research investigates the student experience of e-learning in order to identify areas of good practice and potential areas for improvement. Consistent with previous research conducted at Sheffield Hallam University (Aspden et al., 2003), our research was designed to consider the holistic student experience whilst placing an emphasis on engagement with the virtual learning environment and other technologies used to support student learning (Thorpe and Lyons, 2008). The aim was to gain a greater understanding of how our students are engaging with technology to support their learning and for this to influence policy and practice at the University. ↑Method The research employed the diary interview approach (Zimmerman and Wieder, 1977). This method was felt to be most appropriate in gathering rich, participant-focused data that would provide insights into the role of technology in the students’ daily learning experience (Lyons and Thorpe, 2008). An invitation to participate in the study was advertised via the University’s student portal and a pre-study questionnaire was used to establish the suitability of the candidates to participate in the study. The questionnaire established basic demographic data and determined whether students fulfilled the necessary criteria to participate in the research. All participants were required to own a mobile telephone and be enrolled on at least two Blackboard module sites. This was a small-scale, qualitative study and whilst the sample was not intended to be representative of the entire student population, participants from each faculty and level of study were selected to continue to the next phase of the research. Eleven students participated in the research; eight undergraduate and three postgraduate. The participants were aged between 18 and 46. Participants were predominantly based on campus, but two were distance-learning students. Selected participants were invited to attend a briefing session where they were informed of the purpose of the study, provided with a notepad in which to keep a written diary and a disposable camera (where no digital camera or camera phone was owned). Distance-learning students were given the option of whether to attend the face-to-face briefing session or a telephone briefing, but chose to attend a face-to-face session as they were from the local area. They were also given access to a Blackboard organisation site containing relevant information related to the study, contact details of the researcher and access to a private space where they could keep an electronic diary in the form of a blog. Participants were required to keep a diary over a two-week period towards the end of the first semester, making daily entries with three elements 1.description of learning activities 2.reflections upon those learning activities 3.responses to specific questions set by the researcher. Diaries could be paper or electronic, text or image, or mixed media, whichever participants felt most comfortable with and most appropriately met their needs. In the event all participants chose to use electronic, text-based diaries, suggesting that this was due to convenience, accessibility and assurance that their electronic diary would not be lost in comparison to a physical diary which they would have to carry around and could easily be misplaced (Lyons and Thorpe, forthcoming). The questions that informed the third element of the diary entry were sent via daily SMS text message (See Appendix 1 for list of questions). This aspect of the study received positive feedback from all participants who noted that as well as serving as a reminder to complete their diary, it also allowed them time to reflect on the question and provided some structure (Lyons and Thorpe, forthcoming). It was hoped that the diary would provide an accurate account of the student experience of e-learning, and how they felt about the use of technology within their studies. Following the diary phase, participants were required to attend a short interview during which they were provided with an opportunity to elaborate on points raised within their diaries and some issues of interest were explored in greater depth. Again, the distance-learning students were given the option of a telephone interview but they attended in person.

Findings

In using the diary interview approach, and providing the participants with a question on a daily basis to form the focus for their diary, it was possible to draw cross-diary comparisons, highlighting similarities and differences in participants’ experiences of e-learning. In obtaining 11 unique accounts of ‘the student experience of e-learning’, the research highlighted the differences in learners’ experiences of e-learning. The insights into the individual differences in learners’ experiences highlighted by this study pose a significant challenge in how to move forward the institutional e-learning agenda to meet the ever-changing needs and expectations of an increasingly diverse student population.

Initial analysis of the diaries has identified a number of similarities in participants’ experiences.

Whilst the study considered e-learning within the context of the holistic learning experience, there was a greater focus on the use of the institutional virtual learning environment, Blackboard. Participants made numerous references throughout their diaries, partly in response to a question about how their learning is currently supported by technology but also in other aspects of their diaries, as to what they considered to make a good module site within Blackboard, i.e., how technology can be used to enhance their experience of learning that module. Regardless of the discipline or level of study, participants’ views were largely similar.

Participants felt that a good module site should:

•be full of resources (including lecture notes and links to external resources),

•be updated regularly,

•have spaces to accommodate online group work, specifically highlighting the benefits of wikis to support this

•facilitate online self-testing, online submission of assignments and online feedback.

Though participants were on the whole in agreement about what would make a good module site, each individual’s experiences of module sites differed greatly from site to site, and again from one student to the next. This was often due to variations in tutor engagement with Blackboard. Where Blackboard was used well and was regularly updated with relevant resources, students appreciated the benefits that this approach offered, and often compared this experience to less-well-used sites, suggesting that their learning was suffering as a result. There is an issue here of very good use of technology making weaker use look disproportionately worse. Work at the University is currently underway to enhance consistency across modules so that learners know what to expect from the virtual learning environment. The idea is not to standardise use of Blackboard, but to ensure that, at subject level, tutors work collaboratively (often with the help of a student e-learning assistant) to deliver module sites that follow a consistent structure so that students can easily navigate each of their module sites. Students also appreciated the use of technology to support both formative and summative assessment, the online submission of assignments, and online grades and feedback. All participants were positive about the benefits that technology had to offer in terms of assessment, although some were not provided with the opportunity to use technology in this manner. However, others were able to provide tangible examples of how technology had enhanced their experiences of assessment. ‘The best learning activity I’ve done is the practice multiple-choice exams. You could retake each test and the questions would come in different orders to ensure you had actually learnt the answer and at the end of the test it showed your percentage and then all the right and wrong answers. It also explained the correct answers to aid learning. I found these tests invaluable as they really tested my knowledge and prepared me for the exam and as a result I achieved my highest grade in that module.’ Using technology in this way allows learners to take control of their own learning. Online formative testing requires an initial investment from the tutor in terms of setting up the tests but once set up, students can use the tests as often as they like in order to enhance their learning with little ongoing support from their tutors. In addition to promoting the use of online formative testing, the University is currently introducing a custom-built Assignment Handler in order to facilitate the online submission of assignments and subsequent feedback on assignments to the students. Overall, participants in the study recognised that e-learning was a crucial part of their learning experience. As part of the study, participants were required to ask three other students how important e-learning was to their overall learning experience. This element of the study served to highlight some disparities in students’ experiences of e-learning. While the majority of those asked felt that e-learning was beneficial, each reflected on very different elements and a minority felt that e-learning was unimportant. Of those who felt that e-learning was unimportant, little data was gathered regarding their reasons, but one stated that their tutors did not use Blackboard. Of those who felt that e-learning was beneficial, some themes emerged as common factors including employability and digital fluency (students talked about how e-learning was helping them to develop the skills to enable them to work in the digital workplace, including IT skills and critical thinking skills), and how level of competence with IT can affect the overall experience: ‘It really affects your ability to participate on the course if your IT skills are limited.’ The University is currently promoting a ‘Digital Fluency’ initiative which aims to raise awareness of the skills required to live learn and work in the digital age. The initiative is aimed at both students and academics. Tutor engagement with e-learning is an important contributing factor to the overall experience of e-learning. This study found that students assigned the same amount of value to learning activities and tools as their tutors. Thus, where tutors assigned little importance to e-learning and did not engage with the virtual learning environment, students became disillusioned by e-learning and did not engage. An example of this came from a distance-learning student who felt that the potential benefits of e-learning were enormous, but when the Blackboard sites used to support her modules were not updated after the first week she lost interest and stopped logging into Blackboard. In addition, tutors must state clearly the purpose for using e-learning within each specific context. Where e-learning was seen as an additional task with no clear purpose, students lacked commitment to the tasks. ‘There are e-learning objectives tacked onto the course wherever people can fit them. For example, today I have had to make use of the discussion boards for a module that really does not require this. If the objectives are so important they should be focussed on separately or at least somewhere they make sense.’ The University strongly recommends that all Blackboard module sites contain a rationale section that defines the purpose for the sites and sets out what is expected from students in terms of engagement with the site.