Student Perceptions of Moodle Dr Mel Hudson Smith Graduate School of Management Plymouth University

 New Moodle site  Anticipation of new possibilities…  …but…  Did the students notice? Rationale

So…what should we expect? Don’t get your hopes up… 

 Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989)  Perceived Usefulness  Perceived Ease of Use  TAM2 (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000)  Drivers of Perceived Usefulness  Experience  Subjective Norm (peer pressure to use)  Image (enhance social status if used)  Job Relevance  Output Quality  Result Demonstrability (tangible benefits) Theory

 To evaluate student perceptions of the newly implemented DLE.  Highlight the key issues around initial acceptance and engagement with digital learning  Identify the key drivers of perceived value in this context. Research Aims

 Short survey of 2 nd & final yr students  Qualtrics online survey, covering:  digital literacy  ease of use  perceived improvements over the old system and  potential value  Sent to 1121 students in PBS via in Feb 2015  Follow up s sent 2 weeks later  107 responses, 4 excluded = 103 = 9.2% response rate Approach

 Respondents:  37% 2 nd year  63% final year students  58% studying Business/Management  42% studying other specialist subjects within PBS  Use of Moodle  All had heard of & used Moodle (…phew )  79% use Moodle all the time for their studies  21% use Moodle some of the time  Accessing Moodle  All students access Moodle via PC / Laptop  67% also access it by phone  42% also access it by tablet Results

Digital Skills Creating word processed documents Watching video / audio content on the web Downloading Lecture Slides Using internet search engines / library databases for research Using Skills in which >75% students are experienced are highlighted YELLOW Skills in which >25% students have no experience are highlighted RED Downloading podcasts Participating on online forums Creating web content Creating audio / video materials Contributing to blogs/wikis Uploading video / audio materials to the web Creating electronic presentation materials

Perceptions of MOODLE I Prefer Moodle to Tulip Moodle Improved Module Comms Moodle Easy to Use Moodle Easy to Access Consistent use of Moodle by staff Tutors regularly update Moodle Moodle is important for my studies Moodle enhances my learning 81% agree 75% agree 91% agree 85% agree 80% agree 81% agree 84% agree 73% agree

Comparisons with Tulip Lecture Slides Electronic Reading lists Online Submission Turnitin Discussion Forums Web links Podcasts Blogs /wikis Videos Other Electronic Files

Value of digital resources Lecture Slides Electronic Reading lists Online Submission Turnitin Discussion Forums Web links Podcasts Blogs /wikis Videos Other Electronic Files

 Links to TAM  Perceived Ease of Use - Yes!  Perceived Usefulness  Experience  Students not as digitally literate as hoped  …but can perceive value without experience  Job Relevance  important for studies, updated regularly, consistent use by staff  Output Quality  improves communication & enhances learning  Result Demonstrability  prefer to tulip  Image & Subjective Norms – not measured  Students DO use digital tech strategically  And assess value based on learned experiences  …but do see value in more innovative tech, even where it isn’t used Conclusions Lecturers aren’t using digital tech very well If we improve, students might benefit …and would probably value the experience Lecturers aren’t using digital tech very well If we improve, students might benefit …and would probably value the experience

 Davis, F. D. (1989), "Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology", MIS Quarterly 13 (3): 319–340  Venkatesh, V. Davis, F.D. (2000) “A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies”, Management Science 46(2):  Margaryan, A. Littlejohn, A. & Vojt, G. (2011) “Are Digital Natives a Myth or Reality? University Students’ Use of Digital Technologies”, Computers & Education, 56:  O’Neill, K. & Sai, T.H. (2014) “Why Not? Examining college Students’ Reasons for Avoiding an Online Course”, Higher Education, 68:1-14.  Saunders, F. & Gale, A. (2012) “Digital or Didactic: Using Learning Technology to Confront the Challenge of Large Cohort Teaching”, British Journal of Educational Technology, 43(6): References