Joint Information Systems Committee Learners Experiences of e-Learning Rhona Sharpe, Oxford Brookes University Ellen Lessner, Abingdon & Witney College Greg Benfield, Oxford Brookes University Eta DeCicco, NIACE Helen Beetham, Independent Consultant mw.brookes.ac.uk/display/JISCle2

Joint Information Systems Committee Aspirations of the Learner Experience strand Our original aims –Investigate how learners experience and participate in learning in technology rich in environments –Make recommendations based on our findings –Develop methodologies for eliciting the learner experience, promoting learner centred evaluations

Joint Information Systems Committee LEX Methodology report, Mayes (2006) “the mainstream approach…. Largely neglects a genuinely learner centred perspective: that students experience formal learning in emotional terms, that their motivation to learn is only understandable by looking at their lives holistically, and that technology is embedded in their social experience.”

Joint Information Systems Committee Research questions How do specific groups of students experience learning with technology? What is the experience of skilled online communicators and networkers? How can learners' skills be developed and exploited more effectively? How do learners' experiences change through their learning journey? What are the critical choices that learners make about when, where and how to study and how do these influence their experience of e-learning? How do learners make use of technology for learning in ways that are not expected or supported by their institution? How are learners personalising and adapting tools and environments? How do students conceive of the role of technology in their learning? What is the impact of institutional strategies and course level practices?

Joint Information Systems Committee Phase 2 Projects LEaD University of Edinburgh Learner Experiences across the Disciplines BLUPs Warwick and Northumbria Students' Blending Learning User Patterns PB-LXP The Open University Learners’ experiences of blended learning environments in a practice-based context LExDis University of Southampton Disabled Learners’ Experiences of e-learning THEMA Oxford University Exploring the experiences of Master’s students in technology rich environments STROLL Hertfordshire and Hertford Regional College Student Reflections on Lifelong e.Learning E4L University of Northampton, Northampton College, Norths Adult and Community Learning e-Learning for Learners

Joint Information Systems Committee 2008 projects timeline Lead PB-LXP Blups Thema e4L LexDis STROLL FEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDECJAN09 In VCS IN End Last DC CS A Study End DA VCSDA DCSUSuCS A End A DCA A AA A

Joint Information Systems Committee Recommendations for learner experience research Longitudinal studies Investigate actual use Purposive sampling of learners Data collection techniques which use guided recall or at-the-time techniques to obtain rich data Research designs which use a variety of data- collection techniques Research which conforms to good, explicit ethical principles

Joint Information Systems Committee Methods for collecting data Initial profile: All Surveys: Lead, Thema, PB-LXP Interviews (plus): PB-LXP, LexDis, E4L Focus groups: Lead, E4L (Video) diaries: Lead, STROLL Audio logs: E4L, PB-LXP ‘Penpals’: Thema

Joint Information Systems Committee STROLL

Joint Information Systems Committee Issues in data collection Sampling Elicitation techniques Participatory methods Ethical considerations Recruitment and retention of participants

Joint Information Systems Committee

elesig.ning.com

Joint Information Systems Committee ELESIG

Joint Information Systems Committee Elicitation e.g. E4L project’s product card sort The names of technologies used in their learning are put on individual cards. Learners sort through and choose the ones they use. Then learners sort the cards in order of usefulness These are discussed with the interviewer.

Joint Information Systems Committee Elicitation e.g. STROLL project’s diary prompts Day 1: technology you enjoy Day 2: difficulties with technology Day 3: social networks Day 4: staff improving learning Day 5: inspiring learning? Your task: Write a set of 5 prompts for the next data collection round

Joint Information Systems Committee Card Sort Activity

Joint Information Systems Committee Themes Access Preferences, choices, patterns of use Personalisation Beliefs and expectations Effective e-learners Social software Change and transition Specific learners & contexts Institutional level practices Course level practices

Joint Information Systems Committee Expected outputs Methodology wiki mw.brookes.ac.uk/display/JISCle2 Collections of videos Case studies of individual learners ‘Day in the life of’ narratives Database of strategies used by learners Analysis of survey data Recommendations for managers Dissemination workshops from November 2008

Joint Information Systems Committee Part 2: findings and their implications

Joint Information Systems Committee Themes Access Preferences, choices, patterns of use Personalisation Beliefs and expectations Effective e-learners Social software Change and transition Specific learners & contexts Institutional level practices Course level practices

Joint Information Systems Committee Great Expectations of ICT From thema, jisc/mori/lead

Joint Information Systems Committee Social software 86% use social networking sites (Lead) How are they using it? 1. Chat room/ forum for discussion 2. Transferring of existing groups into Facebook 3. Specific groups to talk about courses - led by enthusiastic students But, extreme views from Thema & PB-LXPThema

Joint Information Systems Committee Change and transition - from STROLL "I wouldn't say it's changed as much as I have developed using it...I am becoming more dependent on it I suppose and I'm using it more. " "Over the last year I spent more and more time looking for journals and reading articles which are online and finding websites pertinent to my study rather than relying on reading written literature."

Joint Information Systems Committee Effective e-learners “effective learners tend to be skilled networkers and often use the technology to pull in support when needed....[and have] the capacity to network with others through a variety of communication channels and networking.” (Creanor et al, 2006, LEX Study Final Report) Effective communicators (e4L) Agile technology users (LexDis)

Joint Information Systems Committee What are the strategies, beliefs & intentions of learners who are effective? Use much of what they know and have to hand (e.g. mobile phones, ipods) Use their knowledge and networks to enhance their environment. Multi tasking (music / chat / MSN / Skype / / Multiple work windows) Setting up alternative forums Exploring less well known software to help them

Joint Information Systems Committee Preliminary, tentative findings Many arriving students are relatively conservative in their approach to study, preferring to work at home or in the library and to use books and lecture notes as the primary resource, supplemented by online sources “on demand”. (LEAD) Many students, but by no means all, make extensive use of social networking sites for recreational use. However, there appears to be a clear separation between online learning and online social activities. (LEAD, e4L and STROLL)

Joint Information Systems Committee Preliminary, tentative findings Students report an increased use of technology as they mature in their studies and a broader use of available technology. They also have become more careful about their use of time as they have matured in the project (STROLL LEXDIS suggests wide individual variety in personalisation of tools and in strategies for using tools.

Joint Information Systems Committee Proposed output types Analysis of learner profile and survey data Case studies: of learners and courses Literature reviews Guidelines Methodological report & critique Analysis of learner preferences, social software, effective learners Others: videos & database of strategies

Joint Information Systems Committee

Learners’ expectations efficient and flexible access to learning materials, experts and communities to locate and download relevant resources for their study. frequent and responsive communications in relation to their study. personalisation and choice in where, when and how to study to support study through informal learning and social networking

Joint Information Systems Committee What are the implications for you of..? High levels of ownership of computers, esp. laptops in HE Expectations about using personal devices on and off campus Prior experience of learning socially & informally The wide range of confidence and competence in using technology in learning Predominance of use of online social networks by some groups of students

Joint Information Systems Committee Activity

Joint Information Systems Committee The role of learner experience research Provides a window into the lived world of pervasive, personalised, mobile technology use. Discovering the ways in which learners are creatively appropriating technologies to support their study Developing research tools which will help us better understand the patterns and relationships between elements of this complex, multifaceted phenomenon. Supporting the development of skills and strategies appropriate for learning in the digital age.

Joint Information Systems Committee What next?