Adrian Kirkwood* and Linda Price
Learners and learning in the twenty-first century: what do we know about students’ attitudes towards and experiences of information and communication technologies that will help us design courses?
Studies in Higher Education Vol. 30, No. 3, June 2005, pp. 257–274
Method Range of Survey data at the OU
‘Learning can be enhanced when innovations take into account not only the characteristics of the technology, but also the pedagogic design, the context within which learning takes place, student characteristics and their prior experience, and familiarity with the technologies involved. So, although ICTs can enable new forms of teaching and learning to take place, they cannot ensure that effective and appropriate learning outcomes are achieved. It is not technologies, but educational purposes, that must provide the lead. Students need to understand not only how to work with ICTs, but why it can be of benefit to do so.’
‘The OU has not sought to replicate or copy traditional classroom-based education. Instead it has aimed to create a different—but equivalent—educational experience.’
‘So, students need to know not only what they are supposed to do, but also why they are expected to do it and how it will contribute to their learning. Otherwise ‘learner control’ will prove to be counterproductive, as it can promote the adoption of ‘unfocussed and inconclusive’ approaches (Laurillard, 1998).’
‘Since participants do not have visual or auditory contact with each other, contributions are not overtly influenced by preconceived notions or prejudices based upon accent or physical attributes, although any written communication can present cues about the social and gender characteristics of the writer (see, for example, Mann & Stewart, 2000). Reserved individuals need not be intimidated by the speed of response or tone of voice of other contributors. Hence learners are able to participate in a manner that is more considered and reflective than is normally possible in face-to-face sessions. However, it is a different form of discourse from face-to-face communication, and most new students have limited experience of its use and need guidance.’
Mann, C. & Stewart, C. (2000) Internet communication and qualitative research (London, Sage).
‘Some would argue that interpersonal communication, cooperation and collaboration are essential elements of higher education in the early twenty-first century (see, for example, Beaty et al., 2002).’
Beaty, L., Hodgson, V., Mann, S. & McConnell, D. (Conveners) (2002) Manifesto: Towards e- quality in networked e-learning in higher education. Available online at: http://csalt.lancs.ac.uk/ esrc/manifesto.htm (accessed 4 August 2003).
‘The most important point to conclude from the studies presented in this article is that the medium itself is not the most important factor in any educational programme— what really matters is how it is creatively exploited and constructively aligned. The educational benefits that students perceive as gains from using ICT are more significant than the intrinsic characteristics of any particular medium.’
Adrian Kirkwood* and Linda Price (2008)
Assessment and student learning: a fundamental relationship and the role of information and communication technologies
Open Learning Vol. 23, No. 1, February 2008, 5–16
‘An individual’s conception of learning will determine their expectations of what should happen in any educational situation and influence the approach to learning they adopt for specific tasks or activities. These are discussed in the following sections.’
‘Hence an important task for staff is to engender in students an appropriate conception of teaching and learning and to provide an educational rationale for learning activities. This is especially pertinent when teachers expect learners to cooperate or collaborate with others through’
‘it is how they will be assessed (or think that they will be assessed) on the task that determines an individual’s approach (Laurillard, 1979).’
‘Students’ expectations can be as important as the actual requirements for any test or assign- ment. Sambell and McDowell (1998) argue that students participate in the construction of the ‘hidden curriculum’ through their individual interpretations, perceptions and actions, which in turn reflect their orientations, prior experiences and expectations.’
‘Further, there is a relationship between the approach to teaching adopted and the approach to learning taken up by students (Lindblom-Ylänne, Trigwell, Nevgi, & Ashwin, 2006; Trigwell, Prosser, & Waterhouse, 1999).’
A. Kirkwood
Getting it from the Web: why and how online resources are used by independent undergraduate learners
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning; Oct2008, Vol. 24 Issue 5, p372-382,
Method Telephone Interview study based on volunteers from one of 4 courses two science two in Health and social care. Formal assessment requirement varied between courses.
Requirement for web activity ‘This article reports an interview study that aimed to investigate why and how independent learners use resources on the World Wide Web (subsequently referred to as the Web) while undertaking their normal coursework. The investigation was concerned not only with the academic context of courses being studied, but also any personal, domestic and employment-related experiences and circumstances that were pertinent.’
‘Insufficient attention appears to have been paid to two key aspects relating to students gaining access to and making use of Web resources. First, what factors are likely to encourage (or discourage) students in their use of Internet information resources? Second, how do learners develop the information literacy skills necessary to make effective use of the multitude of resources available via the Internet? Too little concern for the educational context and rationale for students’ use of online resources has resulted in disappointing levels of access and use by learners (Rowley et al. 2002).’
Rowley J., Banwell L., Childs S., Gannon-Leary P., Lonsdale R., Urquhart C. & Armstrong C. (2002) User behaviour in relation to electronic information services within the UK higher education academic community. Journal of Educa- tional Media 27, 107–122.
‘While all participants made some use of the Internet for social, domestic or work-related purposes, the extent to which each used the Internet for their studies seemed to be subject to various factors. Some of these acted as an incentive or approach factor, while others were a disincentive or avoidance factor. Most of the students mentioned several factors that coexisted con- currently, reflecting the complexity of their personal circumstances.’
‘The relative impact of factors in combination was shown in the four illustrative examples earlier. Although no single factor was predominant, the influence of assessment was strong in many instances, for example, in the different responses to technical difficulties encountered by Carol and Eve, and the selective attention to course elements reported by most participants.’
not technologies per se, but a wide range of contextual factors (personal as well as educational), that are important in determining whether and how students use Web resources in their learning
Open Learning 2008 Vol 23, no 1
Hopkins, Gibson, Ros i Solé, Savvides, and Starkey from Spain and the United Kingdom, who provide an overview of research on the subject of interaction. They examine the ways in which asynchronous computer-mediated communication can provide student–student and student–tutor interaction that leads to higher-order thinking and the social construction of knowledge. Learners reportedly value the opportunity to interact with their peers and tutors in online conferences but, in practice, tend to post individual messages with no reference to other postings. Conferences, therefore, tend to consist of serial monologues rather than the types of interactive discussion that would lead to the social construction of meaning. Through an examination of the effect of social presence, the role of the tutor, and the impact of task type, the authors conclude that asynchronous computer conferencing is not only welcomed by most students, but also that the ‘social presence’ facilitated by this mode can improve student satisfaction, engagement and retention.
