DEANZ 2012 presentation.

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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Response rate & demographic information
Population Sample
Number of respondents 22760 1322
Gender
Female 59.5% 67.8%
Male 40.5% 32.2%
Faculty
Arts and Education 30.4% 30.1%
Business and Law 36.9% 28.6%
Health 19.8% 22.9%
Science and Technology 12.9% 16.9%
Other - 1.5%
Campus
Geelong – Waurn Ponds 12.1% 14.1%
Geelong – Waterfront 5.8% 7.5%
Melbourne – Burwood 50.3% 43.5%
Warrnambool 3.2% 3.5%
Off-campus 28.6% 31.4%
Mean enrolment duration 2.24 years 2.42 years
5

6. Place of access to DSO
100% 80%
0.7% 6.2% 75.2% 68.6%
80% Other
60%
Home
60% On-campus On-campus
82.3% 40%
93.6%
40%
Home
22.8%
20.5% 17.1% Other
20%
20%
8.2%
17.0% 0.2%
0% 0%
On-campus Off-campus On-campus Off-campus
students students students students
Primary place of access Other places of access
6

7. Mode of access to DSO
60% 58.5%
0.6% 0.1% 44.0% Desktop
40% Laptop
29.5% Desktop
29.1% 30.5%
25.4% Tablet
Laptop
Tablet 20% 16.6% Smartph.
Smartphone Other
5.9% 5.9%
69.8% Other † 1.8% 1.1%
0%
On-campus Off-campus
students students
Primary mode of access Other modes of access
7

8. Mean importance and satisfaction ratings
for DSO functions
Importance:
1 = not important; 3 = neutral; and 5 = very important
Satisfaction:
1 = not satisfied; 3 = neutral; and 5 = very satisfied
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments
3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group
4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress
5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio
6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool
7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording
8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)
9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software
10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 8

9. 5.0
11 2
1
12
4.5 17
3 5
10 8
18
14 6 9
4.0
20
16
Importance
13
7
3.5
15
3.0
4 ♦ N.S.D.
19 • On-campus
Off-campus
2.5
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25
Satisfaction
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments
3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group
4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress
5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio
6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool
7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording
8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)
9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software
10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 9

10. 5.0
2
4.5 17
5
18
14 6
4.0
20
Importance 7
3.5
15
3.0
♦ N.S.D.
• On-campus
Off-campus
2.5
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25
Satisfaction
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments
3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group
4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress
5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio
6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool
7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording
8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)
9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software
10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 10

11. 5.0
11 1
12
4.5 3
8
4.0 9
16
Importance
13
3.5
3.0
4 ♦ N.S.D.
19 • On-campus
Off-campus
2.5
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25
Satisfaction
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments
3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group
4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress
5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio
6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool
7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording
8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)
9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software
10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 11

12. 5.0
4.5
10
4.0
Importance
3.5
3.0
♦ N.S.D.
• On-campus
Off-campus
2.5
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25
Satisfaction
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments
3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group
4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress
5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio
6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool
7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording
8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)
9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software
10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 12

13. 5.0
4.5
4.0
Importance
13
3.5
15
3.0
4 ♦ N.S.D.
19 • On-campus
Off-campus
2.5
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25
Satisfaction
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments
3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group
4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress
5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio
6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool
7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording
8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)
9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software
10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 13

14. 5.0
11 1
12
4.5 3
8
4.0 9
16
Importance
3.5
3.0
♦ N.S.D.
• On-campus
Off-campus
2.5
3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25
Satisfaction
1. Accessing unit guide and other unit information 11. Submitting assignments
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc 12. Receiving feedback on assignments
3. Interacting with unit learning resources 13. Working collaboratively in a group
4. Using the unit calendar 14. Reviewing unit progress
5. Reading unit announcements 15. Using the e-portfolio
6. Contacting teachers via internal unit messaging 16. eLive synchronous communication tool
7. Contacting students via internal unit messaging 17. iLecture class lecture recording
8. Reading contributions to online discussions 18. Other iLecture recoding (eg podcasts etc)
9. Contributing to online discussions 19. Deakin’s social software
10. Completing online quizzes/tests 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment 14

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
15

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
On-campus Off-campus
4.0
Mean frequency rating
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
1 2* 3 4* 5* 6 7 8 9 10* 11* 12* 13* 14* 15* 16 17 18 19* 20*
DSO Function
16

17. 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
On-campus Off-campus
4.0
2. Accessing unit lecture, tutorial or lab notes etc
Mean frequency rating
3.5 4. Using the unit calendar
5. Reading unit announcements
3.0 10. Completing online quizzes/tests
11. Submitting assignments
2.5 12. Receiving feedback on assignments
13. Working collaboratively in a group
14. Reviewing unit progress
2.0 15. Using the e-portfolio
19. Deakin’s social software
1.5 20. Turnitin plagiarism/originality assessment
1.0
2* 4* 5* 10* 11* 12* 13* 14* 15* 19* 20*
DSO Function
17

18. Overall satisfaction with DSO
1 = strongly disagree; 3 = neutral; and 5 = strongly agree
On- Off-
Statement campus campus Significance
F1314 = 2.34
DSO enhances my learning 4.25 4.33 p > 0.12
F1314 = 23.85
DSO is reliable and available when I need it 3.93 4.21 p < 2x10-6
I am satisfied with the level of support I F1314 = 2.95
received in using DSO in my studies 3.82 3.93 p > 0.08
18

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

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
20

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 …
21

22. 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

23. Thank you for your time
Presentation: http://myqr.co/IvMW
23