Michelle Bartlett and Carroll Warren from North Carolina State University recorded several presentations for the Lilly Conference Online 2021. This is the second one I watch. Entitled “Impact of the Aficionado: Online Learner’s Perceptions of Learning Online,” this session caught my attention because yesterday the one we watched focused on perceptions of instructor presence. Bartlett and Warren talked about how the transition last year to online teaching and learning generated data to learn about what online students reported as being impactful. Bartlett talked about what graduate students in a higher education course (n=39) found impactful. They shared narratives and Bartlett and Warren found three themes: engaging with peers, linking to prior experience and real-world applications, and being led by the instructor.
The next question participants were asked was “why do you think that worked best for you to learn?” Several responses centered around smaller group work, interactions with peers, and sharing different experiences. For the second theme, several mentioned connections to things that are important to them and real-world applications. Bartlett discussed how students talked about the importance of being led by the instructor and receiving feedback. In the anything else you want to share category, these graduate students mentioned being grateful for the online piece, loved the practical assignments, enjoyed the asynchronous work, and did not like discussion forums. The research findings the presenters uncovered allowed them to propose three strategies for online course design:
- Reduce screen time for synchronous meetings
- Consider tools that can replace discussion forums
- Use practical examples
The presenters shared two crowdsourced documents: a DotStorming board at go.ncsu.edu/incorporate and a spreadsheet go.ncsu.edu/crowdsource. I added my thoughts and played a little with DotStorming! I want to learn more and collaborate with Bartlett and Warren! I know Warren is interested in case studies. I wonder if we can think about online case study use and evaluation?
A second session I watched tonight was entitled “Student Vulnerability Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic: Multi-Institutional Evidence” by Silvia Bartolic and Hailey Craig from the University of British Columbia. Craig and Bartolic began a study in April 2020, shortly after the emergency transition to online learning. The data they gathered was from 3,000 students studying at eight international higher education institutions. The methodology used purposely sampled five disciplines: engineering/applied science, chemistry/natural science, history/humanities, political science, and psychology/social sciences. Courses were preselected if the instructor was interviewed for another part of the study. Students completed a self-administered 60 closed-ended and 10 open-ended questions questionnaire. Bartolic did mention that the demographics and response rates did vary by institution. Interestingly, 10% were registered with accessibility support services. Student living situations were difficult for remote instruction: 30+% mentioned difficulty finding quiet spaces to work. The researchers developed a confidence in learning scale. The digital hardships mentioned centered around internet access and software. Students felt disconnected from classmates: 78% reported feeling disconnected from classmates. The presenters did mention that those experiencing challenging hardships may not have responded. While the presenters mentioned that there was a wide variety of responses, I found the hardships and digital barriers reported similar to those found in other surveys I have encountered.
