Understanding the context of distance students: Differences in on- and off- campus engagement with an online learning environment Associate Professor Stuart Institute of Teaching and Learning Deakin University, Australia 1

Introduction Distance education continues to thrive! In part due to a complex relationship with online technologies Much online learning research ignores the influence of demographic characteristics of system users There are very real differences in demography, technology experiences and reasons for study between on- and off-campus students 2

Context – Deakin University Approximately 40,000 students Approximately 30% off-campus Mature and large-scale OLE implementation providing support to both on- and off-campus students Previous investigations identified differences in the perceptions and use of elements of the OLE between on and off-campus students 3

Methodology DSO = Deakin Studies Online In 2011 all coursework students were surveyed about: demographic and background information; place and mode of access to DSO; perception of importance of, satisfaction with, and frequency of use of, a range of DSO functions; a number of overall DSO satisfaction measures; and open-ended written comments about DSO 4

Response rate & demographic information PopulationSample Number of respondents Gender Female59.5%67.8% Male40.5%32.2% Faculty Arts and Education30.4%30.1% Business and Law36.9%28.6% Health19.8%22.9% Science and Technology12.9%16.9% Other-1.5% Campus Geelong – Waurn Ponds12.1%14.1% Geelong – Waterfront 5.8% 7.5% Melbourne – Burwood50.3%43.5% Warrnambool 3.2% 3.5% Off-campus28.6%31.4% Mean enrolment duration2.24 years2.42 years 5

Place of access to DSO Primary place of access Other places of access 6

Mode of access to DSO Primary mode of access Other modes of access 7

Mean importance and satisfaction ratings for DSO functions 1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information11. Submitting assignments 2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc12. Receiving feedback on assignments 3. Interacting with unit learning resources13. Working collaboratively in a group 4. Using the unit calendar14. Reviewing unit progress 5. Reading unit announcements15. Using the e-portfolio 6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging16. eLive synchronous communication tool 7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging17. iLecture class lecture recording 8. Reading contributions to online discussions18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc) 9. Contributing to online discussions19. Deakin’s social software 10. Completing online quizzes/tests20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment Importance : 1 = not important; 3 = neutral; and 5 = very important Satisfaction : 1 = not satisfied; 3 = neutral; and 5 = very satisfied 8

1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information11. Submitting assignments 2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc12. Receiving feedback on assignments 3. Interacting with unit learning resources13. Working collaboratively in a group 4. Using the unit calendar14. Reviewing unit progress 5. Reading unit announcements15. Using the e-portfolio 6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging16. eLive synchronous communication tool 7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging17. iLecture class lecture recording 8. Reading contributions to online discussions18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc) 9. Contributing to online discussions19. Deakin’s social software 10. Completing online quizzes/tests20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 9

1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information11. Submitting assignments 2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc12. Receiving feedback on assignments 3. Interacting with unit learning resources13. Working collaboratively in a group 4. Using the unit calendar14. Reviewing unit progress 5. Reading unit announcements15. Using the e-portfolio 6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging16. eLive synchronous communication tool 7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging17. iLecture class lecture recording 8. Reading contributions to online discussions18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc) 9. Contributing to online discussions19. Deakin’s social software 10. Completing online quizzes/tests20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 10

1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information11. Submitting assignments 2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc12. Receiving feedback on assignments 3. Interacting with unit learning resources13. Working collaboratively in a group 4. Using the unit calendar14. Reviewing unit progress 5. Reading unit announcements15. Using the e-portfolio 6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging16. eLive synchronous communication tool 7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging17. iLecture class lecture recording 8. Reading contributions to online discussions18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc) 9. Contributing to online discussions19. Deakin’s social software 10. Completing online quizzes/tests20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 11

1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information11. Submitting assignments 2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc12. Receiving feedback on assignments 3. Interacting with unit learning resources13. Working collaboratively in a group 4. Using the unit calendar14. Reviewing unit progress 5. Reading unit announcements15. Using the e-portfolio 6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging16. eLive synchronous communication tool 7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging17. iLecture class lecture recording 8. Reading contributions to online discussions18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc) 9. Contributing to online discussions19. Deakin’s social software 10. Completing online quizzes/tests20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 12

1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information11. Submitting assignments 2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc12. Receiving feedback on assignments 3. Interacting with unit learning resources13. Working collaboratively in a group 4. Using the unit calendar14. Reviewing unit progress 5. Reading unit announcements15. Using the e-portfolio 6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging16. eLive synchronous communication tool 7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging17. iLecture class lecture recording 8. Reading contributions to online discussions18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc) 9. Contributing to online discussions19. Deakin’s social software 10. Completing online quizzes/tests20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 13

1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information11. Submitting assignments 2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc12. Receiving feedback on assignments 3. Interacting with unit learning resources13. Working collaboratively in a group 4. Using the unit calendar14. Reviewing unit progress 5. Reading unit announcements15. Using the e-portfolio 6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging16. eLive synchronous communication tool 7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging17. iLecture class lecture recording 8. Reading contributions to online discussions18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc) 9. Contributing to online discussions19. Deakin’s social software 10. Completing online quizzes/tests20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 14

Mean frequency of use for DSO functions 1 = never; 2 = less than once/week; 3 = once/week; 4 = once/day; and 5 = multiple times/day 15

Mean frequency of use for DSO functions 1 = never; 2 = less than once/week; 3 = once/week; 4 = once/day; and 5 = multiple times/day 16

Mean frequency of use for DSO functions 1 = never; 2 = less than once/week; 3 = once/week; 4 = once/day; and 5 = multiple times/day 2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 4. Using the unit calendar 5. Reading unit announcements 10. Completing online quizzes/tests 11. Submitting assignments 12. Receiving feedback on assignments 13. Working collaboratively in a group 14. Reviewing unit progress 15. Using the e-portfolio 19. Deakin’s social software 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 17

Overall satisfaction with DSO Statement On- campus Off- campusSignificance DSO enhances my learning F 1314 = 2.34 p > 0.12 DSO is reliable and available when I need it F 1314 = p < 2x10 -6 I am satisfied with the level of support I received in using DSO in my studies F 1314 = 2.95 p > = strongly disagree; 3 = neutral; and 5 = strongly agree 18

Conclusions In some ways, on- and off-campus students are becoming more alike … 19

Conclusions In some ways, on- and off-campus students are becoming more alike … … but, there were still significant differences between on- and off-campus student engagement with the OLE 20

Conclusions In some ways, on- and off-campus students are becoming more alike … … but, there were still significant differences between on- and off-campus student engagement with the OLE These differences challenge the institution to understand the reasons for them … 21

Conclusions In some ways, on- and off-campus students are becoming more alike … … but, there were still significant differences between on- and off-campus student engagement with the OLE These differences challenge the institution to understand the reasons for them … … and also challenge the value of one-size-fits-all institutional policies and templates for the use of OLEs 22

Thank you for your time Presentation: 23