Introducing Distance Education to the Technion: Science and Engineering Students' Learning Experiences Miri Barak Rania Hussein Farraj Yehudit Judy Dori

Introduction  Universities nowadays reach out to students who are employees of organizations and companies by launching distance education (DE) programs.  TIDES - Technion International Distance Education and Studies was established by Prof. Dori, Head of the Division of Continuing Education and External Studies.  TIDES aims at enhancing lifelong learning among graduates engineers and scientist while contributing to their professional development and productivity.

Distance Education (DE) in Higher Education  DE is defined as learning through a variety of technological means, enabling students far away from the teaching place to acquire knowledge as if they were present at the face-to-face (F2F) lessons (Schrum & Ohler, 2005).  DE systems offer learners flexibility; learning can be conducted at the same time - synchronously, or at different times - asynchronously (Berge, 2007).  Universities invest much effort in developing online environments that promote active learning and high order thinking skills (Hussein Farraj, Barak & Dori, 2011).

 In the past decade, many universities developed DE programs for attracting and retaining students (Allen & Seaman, 2010; Lee & Pituch, 2006).  However, some studies report that the integration of DE in academia faces a wide range of problems, such as : work overload, intellectual property rights, Interactions with students, etc. (Bonk, et al., 2003; Cuban, et al., 2001).  Whilst higher education institutions have invested substantial resources in DL, their pedagogical advantages as well as their cost- effectiveness are still to be examined. Distance Education (DE) in Higher Education

Research Goal and Plan To examine science and engineering students' attitudes about DE and their learning experiences. The research plan included three consecutive stages: The initial stage which was carried out for the purpose of learning about students' attitudes towards distance learning and investigating the feasibility of establishing DE courses in our university. The comparative stage which was conducted in order to examine the effect of DE on students' learning experiences. In this stage we compared between two groups of students: those who studied in a regular classroom setting and those who studied from distance via online tools. The focus stage which led to validation of the quantitative and qualitative findings derived from the second stage and was related to students' learning experiences in a DE setting.

The Moodle system an open-source web application, was used as the learning environment for both DE and F2F students. Students' Assignments included online discussions, worksheets, and questionnaires. The lectures were videotaped via Panopto system and were broadcasted asynchronously. Research Settings

Research Participants The initial stage: 261 science and engineering graduate students answered a survey. The comparative stage: 105 students participating in two courses: Innovation Management and From Cell to Tissue Divided into two research groups: On-campus students (N=70) who studied in a traditional setting DE students (N=35) who studied in an online setting. The focus stage: 8 DE students

Video Recordings of F2F Lectures

The Comparative Stage (N=105) Personal background and demographicsStudent percentage DLF2F Course Innovation Management6343 From Cell to Tissue3757 Gender Male6643 Female3457 Age 20–to-34 years old5587 Above 35 years old4513 Major Engineering5575 Science4525 Veteran in workplace 5 or less6281 More than 5 years3819

The Focus Stage (N=8) Veteran in workplace Position at workplace Workplace Undergraduate major Age group GenderPseudonyms 5-10Engineer Pharmaceutical Company Engineering> 30 Female Gefen 1-5Team leader Pharmaceutical Company Science> 30Ora 5-10Team leader Pharmaceutical Company Science> 30Anat 1-5Manager High-tec. company (U.S.A) Science> 35Meril 5-10EngineerMilitary industryScience> 25 Male Yoni 10-15Manager Engineering company Engineering> 40Tom 1-5Engineer Communication company Engineering> 30Adam 1-5Manager Engineering company Engineering> 40Boris

Method and Tools The Mix Method Research model (Johnston and Onwuegbuzie 2004). The research tools included: Pre- and post- online questionnaires Consisted of open- and close ended questions. The 1-to-5 Likert type scale, included 32 items composing Six categories: a) Promoting meaningful learning, b) Techno-pedagogical benefits, c) Social aspects and communication, d) Course quality and students' support, e) Self-efficacy and self-assurance, and f) Work-place and promotion. Adapted from Schrum & Ohler ( 2005), Shin & Chan, (2004); Pituch & Lee (2006), Cronbach's Alpha, was 0.93.

Semi structured interviews Conducted among eight students, audiotaped by Audacity software ( and lasted about 30 minutes. A researcher diary was used for documenting the interviews and for quality assurance. Method and Tools

SD Mean (N=261) Category Meaningful learning Technological pedagogical benefits Social aspects and communication Course quality and student support Self-efficacy and self-assurance Workplace and promotion Total Findings: The Initial Stage Students with previous experience in DE hold statistically significant higher positive attitudes about DE (t (239) = 3.61, p < 0.001).

 No statistically significant difference was found between the pre- and post-perception questionnaires mean scores for both research groups.  However, data indicated that DE students asserted higher positive opinions on the course in comparison with their F2F peers.  The DE students asserted statistically significant higher positive opinions about meaningful learning, and self-efficacy and self- assurance (F (1, 74) = 5.37, p 0.05, respectively). Findings: The Comparative Stage Post questionnairePre questionnaire N Research group SDMean*SDMean* F2F DE

Findings: The Comparative Stage  The DE female students, in comparison with males, asserted statistically significant higher positive perceptions of DE related to social aspects and communication in the course (F (1, 33) = 4.77, p < 0.05).  It appears that female students were more confident about their ability to communicate with their classmates and lecturers from distance.

 Young DE students, ages 20 to 24, asserted statistically significant higher positive perceptions of the quality of the DE courses and the support received from the teaching staff, in comparison with elderly peers (F (1, 33) = 7.89, p(0.05 >.  It may be because younger students are more computer savvy and they feel they do not need much technical support. Findings: The focus stage The Comparative Stage

Examples CategoriesThemes In DE it is the same level of understanding as learning face to face. Thinking skills Cognitive and professional skills In DE I work with my colleagues through Skype calls, so we talk to the point and learn to build a professional basis. Professional skills In DE I can concentrate better when learning on my computer. Regulation of cognition DE requires self-discipline, that I have, and therefore I have no problem to learn from distance. Self -discipline Affective When the course team explained to us the method of DE course I was very interested so I decided to participate in this challenging venture. Interest and challenge DE is a new concept and I wanted to try it. Innovation DE does not lack interaction because you can communicate with the lecturer by With lecturer Social interaction I need to Interact with people. DE does not give the opportunity to participate in discussion with my peers in a real time. With peers DE has opened for me the possibility to study the learning materials at times convenient to me. Time management Resource management DE allows me to choose the learning environment which is good for me. Environment manage. DE is an appropriate learning method for me because I like to manage and plan my own learning. Learning management Findings: The Focus Stage

Summary and Implications  Our findings indicated that although lifelong learning is crucial for the professional development of graduate students, not all of them are able or willing to study from distance.  DE students were more satisfied with their learning compared to the F2F students.  However, DE students are concerned with:  their self-determination and self-discipline  lack of social interactions with peers while learning from distance.  DE courses can be further improved by encouraging communication and by enhancing students' social interaction as part of their learning experiences.

THANKS To Prof. Shulamit Levenberg and Prof. Miriam Erez for taking part in TIDES initiative