Who is Really Responsible for On-line Students’ Technical Support? James R. Lackey, Ph.D. Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma

…an exploratory attempt to determine the impact Oklahoma State University’s Faculty Support Center technical support had on on-line students.

Assumed Order of Search for Technical Help Resources  Instructor  College technical support  Help Desk  Faculty Support Center

I received adequate technical support from the ____ on those occasions that I needed it.  Instructor  College technical support  Help Desk  Faculty Support Center

Students’ computer skills  Assessed by using self-reporting to measure self-efficacy for navigating the Internet.  Self-efficacy and ability is strongly correlated even though that correlation is not perfect

Assessment of Students’ Self- Efficacy for Navigating the Internet 1. I feel confident in my ability to navigate the Internet. 2. I feel confident in my ability to configure an Internet browser. 3. I feel confident in my ability to find the software I need to navigate the Internet. (e.g., browsers, plug-ins, media players, and so on)

Additional Information Collected from Students  Course and instructor evaluations  Willingness to take another on-line course  Comparative perceptions of difficulty between traditional and online courses  Comparative perceptions of workload between traditional and online courses

Data Collection  Notices to 894 students directed them to URL  Student sample was from four different colleges that had on- line courses within three years previous to survey  Received 95 useable responses

Never requested technical help from ____________  Instructor  College technical support  Help Desk  Faculty Support Center 17.9% 38.9% 53.6% 61.1%

Table 1: “I received adequate technical support from my instructor on the occasions that I needed it.

Table 2: "I received adequate technical support from the college support personnel on the occasions I needed it.

Table 3: "I received adequate technical support from the Help Desk on the occasions that I needed it."

Table 4: “I received adequate technical support from Faculty Support Center on the occasions that I needed it."

Stepwise Regression Analysis: Independent Variables  I received adequate technical support from the ____ on those occasions that I needed it. 1. Instructor 2. College technical support 3. Help Desk 4. Faculty Support Center  Self Efficacy for Navigating the Internet

Stepwise Regression Analysis: Statistically Significant Relationships  Course and Instructor Evaluations:  Chronbach’s Alpha of.93 Statistically Significant Predictors: I received adequate technical support from the instructor on those occasions that I needed it. ModelRR Square Change BStandardized Beta Probability

Stepwise Regression Analysis:  I did not encounter many technical difficulties while trying to access this course. Model 1. I received adequate technical support from the instructor on those occasions that I needed it. Model 2. Model 1 plus: Self Efficacy for navigating the Internet. Model 3. Model 2 plus: I received adequate technical support from the college support personnel on those occasions that I needed it. Dependent variable:

Stepwise Regression Analysis:  I would be interested in taking another course on-line. Model 1. I received adequate technical support from the instructor on those occasions that I needed it. Model 2. Model 1 plus: I received adequate technical support from the Faculty Support Center. Dependent variable:

 Mean for colleges with tech support 1.9  Mean for colleges lacking tech support 2.3  Difference of.41  t (94) = 2.26, p <.026 Comparison of means on student and course evaluations between colleges with technical support and colleges lacking technical support

 Adequate technical support from instructor the only statistically significant factor in course and instructor evaluations.  Adequate technical support from instructor the main factor in students’ perception of technical difficulty in an on-line course.  Adequate technical support from instructor main factor in students’ willingness to take another on-line course.  Colleges with local technical support had better course and instructor evaluations than colleges lacking local technical support. Discussion

Discussion con’t  No statistically significant relationships among technical issues and students’ perceptions that the course was more difficult than a traditional course.  Students did not feel that their on-line courses were more difficult than traditional courses.  The Help Desk and the Faculty Support Center play a minor roles in students’ perceptions of their on-line courses.

Summary  Faculty need to understand the technology they use to teach on-line.  Colleges and departments need local technical support to assist faculty and students.  Centralized IT support plays minor role in students’ perceptions of their on-line experiences.

The full paper is on-line at  “It’s never about the technology; the tool we use is people.” Jeffery Schiller, EDUCAUSE Review March/April 2001