ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Student Perceptions of Online Learning: A Comparison of Two Different Populations Kitty Daniels and Susan Feather PACE UNIVERSITY New York, NY

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Topics to Be Covered  Background  Two Populations  Purpose of the Study  Methodology  Preliminary Findings  Future Directions

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Background  Increased demand to implement distance learning Potential declining enrollments Pace’s multi-campus environment

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Characteristics of the Successful Online Learner  Motivated and self directed  Needs support services  Requires social context for learning— a learning community

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Two Populations  Two-year degree asynchronous, online learners  Four-year degree traditional face-to- face learners

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Purpose of the Study  How do perceptions of online learning differ between two populations?  Pilot for intended longitudinal study

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Methodology  Development of pre- and post-course survey (15 questions) Demographics (4 questions)  Age  Gender  Educational characteristics  Employment status

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Methodology (cont’d.)  Student perceptions (11 questions) Amount of time spent in course study Level of performance Opportunity to interact with others Effectiveness of technology for communication Depth/breadth of content coverage Satisfaction with independent course work Open-ended questions

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Student Demographics  Face-to-face Group Traditional full-time students Work 20 hrs or less per week No prior online courses  Online Group Adult learners Full-time employees, part- time students Prior online courses

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Expected Level of Performance Online vs. Traditional Classroom Format  Face-to-face Group Online Format  Approx. ¾ had high expectations Traditional Classroom Format  Almost ALL expected they would do well  Online Group Online Format  All had high expectations Traditional Classroom Format  Fewer expected to do well

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Expected Level of Performance Online vs. Traditional Classroom Format  Face-to-face Group Online Format  Slightly over ¾ felt they had done well Traditional Classroom Format  A higher percentage of students felt they would have done well  Online Group Online Format  Number diminished considerably when compared to pre-course Traditional Classroom Format  Fewer students felt they would have done well

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Opportunity to Interact with Instructors and Other Students  Face-to-face Group Only half felt there would be adequate opportunity to interact  Online Group Over ¾ of group felt there would be sufficient opportunity to interact

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Opportunity to Interact with Instructors and Other Students  Face-to-face Group Only ¼ of students felt there had been ample amount of interactivity  Online Group Just under ¾ of group felt there had been adequate opportunity

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Effectiveness of Technology for Online Communication  Pre-course: Majority of both groups felt technology would be effective  Post-course: Percentages declined somewhat

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Depth and Breadth of Content Coverage  Pre-course: Majority of students (both groups) felt the material would be covered with as much depth and breadth as traditional course  Post-course: Fewer face-to-face students felt the course covered as much with as much depth

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Student Satisfaction with Independent Course Work  Majority of both groups responded they enjoyed independent work before and at end of course

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Student Comments  You can access the class at your convenience and your class is wherever your computer is.  I can study for this class on my own time and not have to worry about going to class.  I think I will be able to enjoy the new experience of doing an online course for the first time.  I have never taken an online course before, so I am excited about all aspects of it.

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Student Comments (cont’d.)  The main drawbacks of taking an online class include the absence of personal interaction with fellow classmates and actual instruction from the professor.  The thing I would enjoy the least is there would be a lot of extensive reading compared to an in-class session. You have to be independent and know how to pace your own time to complete all the assignments.

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Preliminary Conclusions  Face-to-face students were less confident in their ability to succeed in an online format perceiving that they would do better in traditional classroom  Online students had high expectations for success compared to face-to-face group, yet this diminished by the end of course

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Preliminary Conclusions (cont’d.)  Face-to-face students expected and found considerably less opportunity to interact with one another online than online group

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Preliminary Conclusions (cont’d.)  A majority of both groups felt that online course would cover material with as much breadth/depth as traditional course  Face-to-face group felt less strongly after the course

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Future Directions  Acknowledge that “one size doesn’t fit all,” although online delivery offers opportunities  Recommend orientation to online course delivery, perhaps, more critical w/younger learner  Edit/refine survey instrument  Study groups over time

ISECON (San Antonio, TX) November 1, Questions?