Department of Techincal Communication and rhetoric Recommendations to Improve the Online Course Environment and Experience at Texas Tech

A Report of Survey and Interview Findings Related to Online Classes in the Technical Communication and Rhetoric Department

Joe Fiscus, Matthew Garcia, Danielle Harrington, Cammy Herman, Samantha Mann, Sydney Montgomery, Tracy Murcheski, Amber Parker, Michael Sepulveda, and Lindsey Stuart

4/4/2014

Table of Contents

Executive Summary............................................................................Page 1

Introduction........................................................................................Page 2

Purpose of the research......................................................................Page 3

Methodology.......................................................................................Page 4

Findings from Faculty........................................................................Page 5

Findings from Students......................................................................Page 7

Online Platform Options.....................................................................Page 11

Recommendations..............................................................................Page 13

Implementation..................................................................................Page 14

Conclusion..........................................................................................Page 15

Appendix A.........................................................................................Page 16

Appendix B.........................................................................................Page 17

Appendix C.........................................................................................Page 21

Executive SummaryThe purpose of this study was to uncover and help resolve any issues with the Online courses in the Technical Communication and Rhetoric department at Texas Tech. By gathering 34 interviews and surveys from current students taking online courses, as well as 20 interviews and surveys from Professors who have taught online courses in the past, we were able to analyze some of the key problems that arise with online classes. In addition to the surveys and interviews, we also researched the most often used and effective platforms to host online classes, with GoToMeeting, Microsoft Lync, and MOO being the most popular and effective for certain tasks. Based on the information from the surveys, interviews, and research into available/popular online platforms, we constructed 9 recommendations to help make the online environment more pleasant overall. These include more interactivity, accessibility, small group conference calls, adding more audio and visual components, hosting all course content online, a complete and descriptive syllabus, and experience with file sharing programs.

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Introduction

This project focused on researching the current and alternative approaches to Distance Electronic courses for the Technical Communication and Rhetoric program at Texas Tech University. The goal of this research is to ultimately improve all aspects of online courses in general. Majority of students today have taken at least one course online, and the majority of the time there are technology or communication issues in the class. To conduct this research, we interviewed students and professors; we also developed surveys that were taken by both students and professors, and researched other outlets to potentially work with. This report will show our findings of the research we have conducted. This report will also recommend improvements for the Distance Electronic courses.

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Purpose of the Research

When we began this project, we assumed that many problems would surround what online platform would be best to use for distance electronic courses. From our own experiences being students in this program, we estimated that there would be a variety of answers to this question. We also knew that there would be issues to research regarding the lack of interaction: whether it be lacking from students between students, or between students and professors. To help illustrate this point, our group experienced some of the issues that are being investigated in this report while conducting research. Communication between our group was often ineffective because of technology issues, members not meeting on the platform of our choice, or even getting members to complete their part of the project. Schedules are difficult to work around in face-to-face classes, and those difficulties are exacerbated by the online aspect these courses. From this personal experience, we learned more about what areas we should research (like the limitations of the online platforms, lack of communication etc.) to help improve the project, and therefore the scholarly online environment as a whole.

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Methodology

To find out information first-hand from the participants in online education, we distributed a survey as well as conducted face-to-face interviews. We also conducted research into the different online platforms that are available to host classes, as well as what platforms online courses in other institutions functioned.

For the survey portion, we used the web site "www.surveymonkey.com" to create a 9 question survey consisting of both closed-ended and open-ended questions. Students were prompted to access the survey by clicking a link. The online survey was completed by 17 students and 12 faculty. For the interview portion, we read aloud the same 9 question survey to participants. As participants responded, the interviewers took notes describing the comments and reactions from the participants.

Students surveyed and interviewed possessed the following characteristics:o Technical Communication studento Male or femaleo Experience taking classes online

Professors surveyed and interviewed possessed the following characteristics:o Experience with teaching online

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Upon analyzing the results from our survey and interviews, we determined that the majority of participants mentioned their concern with one or more of the following:Technological issues Vague course expectationsPoor interactivity between classmates and the Professor

Findings from FacultyIn total, 12 faculty members responded to our online survey.

o 5 instructors, had taught 10 or more courses. o 4 instructors had taught 1-3 distance electronic courses o 2 instructors had taught 4-6 distance electronic courses. o 1 of these instructors had never taught a distance education course before.

As figure 1 shows, we asked instructors what types of platforms they had used previously for their distance electronic courses.

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Figure 1: Platforms used by Professors in the past

The top answers we received from this question were Skype (8 instructors) and Moodle (6 instructors). While these were the most commonly used, respondents claimed that Skype and MOO were the most efficient for the class.

The question, “What are the most important aspects of a distance education course?” (11 responses)

o Nearly all of the respondents said they would need to use supplementary collaborative tools such as Google Docs, Moodle, DropBox, Skype, etc.

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o Seven respondents said that communication and interaction with students are important.

The question, “How do you engage students in a distance education class?” (11 responses)

o Five respondents said that email is important.o Four respondents said that discussion and feedback are important.

The question, “What are some of the problems you’ve encountered in a distance education course?” (11 responses)

o Seven respondents had some trouble with the students, whether it was not being on task, not being engaging, leaving early, or simply not even showing up for meetings.

o Four respondents said that technology was this issue, whether it was low bandwidth or students were not that tech savvy.

The question, “If you could create your own distance education platform, what would it look like/contain?” (11 responses)

o Nearly all respondents said that a combination of video, audio interaction, and some form of file sharing collaborative tool would be in their own distance education platform.

o Three respondents stressed the idea of their platform being simple, clean, and easy to use.

Summary of Faculty Findings

To recap the things that we have stated from the survey, here is a summary of a few things that instructors would like to see differently:o More communication and interaction with the students. This could help

benefit the atmosphere and the grades in the class.o To use supplementary tools, DropBox, GoogleDocs, Moodle, Skype, etc.o Use an online platform that is simple and easy to use. This will help

eliminate the issue of students who are not very tech savvy.o The use of multiple learning resources could also help improve the

courses, such as audio and video recordings along with a chat setting.

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Findings from StudentsWe conducted both an online survey and face-to-face interviews with a total of 34 students who are currently enrolled in the technical communication program at TTU. To view our interview and survey questions, please refer to Appendix A. Also, please note that the total number of participants varies because some students skipped questions

The majority of participants (11/17) indicated that the positive aspects of distance education courses are that “I don’t have to come to school” and “I can work at my own pace.” Similarly, the majority of students interviewed like online courses because of the freedom and flexibility of being able to work from home at their own pace.

As Figure 2 shows, most students (10/17) stated that the negative aspects of distance education courses are that “Technology always goes wrong” and that “It’s harder than a face-to-face class and harder to participate.”

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Figure 2: Negative aspects of online courses

The majority of the participants (12/14) have used Lync in a distance education course. Currently, Lync is the default program for all Technical Communication distance learning courses at TTU. However, while most participants felt that Lync is an effective tool, they expressed that is does not

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fully meet their needs. For example, some students identified the following problems with their current distance education courses:“Communication isn't always on par with instructor-student. Accessibility of live classes; why not just have them be downloadable, especially if I cannot give input during the class?”

“It's hard to develop an academic relationship with your professor (letters of recommendation, etc.). You can't compensate for a lack of ability to comprehend the subject with class participation--since there is no class to attend. You have to submit all questions you may have via an electronic platform rather than in person. I don't feel as invested in a class that you don't physically attend.”

“There are technological issues, such as audio going in and out, or being dropped or excluded from a conference call.”

All participants gave similar responses to the question, “What are the most important aspects of a distance education course for you?” Among them:

o Clear expectations for a class (i.e., deadlines, how to get an A)o Easy access to course informationo Ability to connect with the instructor and classmateso Freedom to work at their own pace

As mentioned above, most students greatly value clear course expectations, good connectivity between the instructor and classmates, and working at their own pace. However, most of the students’ needs correlated with their current frustrations with the distance education classes. The question, “What are the most frustrating aspects of distance education classes for you?” had several of the same answers:

o 9/17 participants felt disconnected from the instructor and/or classmates in some way (not being able to contact the instructor, not having clear communication, etc.).

o 8/17 participants said that technology not working/reliable is frustrating.o 5/17 participants felt there wasn’t enough participation in online classes.o 5/17 participants said that they have trouble learning in online courses

versus face-to-face classes.Note: Participants were instructed to list three aspects.

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When asked about the changes they would make to improve their distance education classes, several of the students suggested increasing interactivity by including screen sharing and prerecorded video lectures or incorporating multiple teaching methods to acquire all students’ learning styles. For example, some students suggested the following:“Offer multiple teaching methods to satisfy all learning preferences (ex: tactile learners, auditory learners, visual learners, etc.). Require more concrete/personal commitments (on the part of the students and teachers) than weekly quizzes or writing assignments. Have everybody set up a mandatory scheduled Skype meeting with the professor to discuss the students' progress in the class. This will put a face with the name and force the students and teachers to feel a responsibility for the outcome of the class. It might hold everybody to a higher standard of accountability as well.”

“I would like to not have to meet at a certain time. If a professor recorded a video of their lectures and responded to email questions, I feel it would work better than live streaming the class.”

“When people are presenting, it would help if I could see their face. I tend to zone in and out during long presentations when I'm staring at a mostly blank screen. Notes and PowerPoint type productions are a good second.”

“Overall, more interaction like screen sharing or small group interaction. The larger the group online, the slower paced it is.”

Summary of Findings from Students

Upon analyzing the results from the interviews, we determined that the majority of students like online courses because they allow freedom and flexibility (i.e., don’t have to go to campus, works with their schedule, can work from home, can go at their own pace). Similar to the students surveyed, the students interviewed felt that some negative aspects of distance education courses are problems with technology platforms (all participants listed this in some way), and not feeling as connected to classmates and instructors (i.e., not having clear communication, difficulty reaching other classmates and instructor). Additionally, some students mentioned that the expectations in online courses were unclear. For instance, the course materials were difficult to find, or the instructions for assignments were vague.

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When asked about the changes they would make to their distance education classes, the students interviewed suggested increasing interactivity in online classes, allowing users to hear and see the instructor/classmates, and establishing concrete deadlines, expectations, and assignments for the course.

Online Platform Options

Based on our research of available online platforms, as well as what other institutions are using, we evaluated the following options for platforms based on their features:

o GoToMeetingo Lynco Skypeo Moodleo MOO

GoToMeeting

For GoToMeeting, the instructor creates a “meeting” and then calls the students to join the meeting. The program has the following features:

o Content/screen sharingo Video conferencingo Chat messaging

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o Allows presenter to draw or highlight onscreeno Available for Mac and PCo Available for mobile deviceso Recordable meetings

Lync

Similar to GoToMeeting, Lync allows the instructor to create a conference call by inviting students to join. With Lync, students can connect via their personal phone number. Lync contains the following features:

o Content/screen sharingo Video conferencingo Chat messagingo Available for Mac and PCo Available for mobile deviceso Recordable meetings

Skype

Similar to Lync, Skype offers a calling option that connects all the students in a conference call. However, while Lync integrates with Windows, a Skype user needs to create a separate account and, if applicable, purchase a new phone number to allow users to contact them via phone.

o Content/screen sharingo Video conferencingo Instant messagingo Available for Mac and PCo Available for mobile deviceso Group calls allow up to 25 peopleo Recordable meetings

Moodle

Moodle is a learning management system that allows students to submit assignments and participate in forum discussions. According to docs.moodle.org, “In most cases Moodle is used to support and combine face-to-face interaction with e-learning and other forms of learning.” Moodle contains the following communication features:

o Instant messagingo Access to information presented through web site

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MOO

MOO (multi-user domain object oriented) allows users to connect in a virtual learning module that contains assignments, as well as real-time communication. According to virtualschool.edu, “They permit an ideal academic environment because they enable real-time (synchronous) and delayed (asynchronous) communication between the instructors and students.” A MOO will generally contain the following features:

o Real-time, synchronous communicationo Delayed, asynchronous communicationo Audio chatting via microphoneo Portal for assignments

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RecommendationsAfter surveying and interviewing multiple students and professors, as well as reviewing the current online platforms for hosting meetings, below are our recommendations of what is necessary to further improve the distance education experience:

1. An interactive way to engage students, which will help them feel more connected to the course, professor, and fellow students; interactivity will also help professors gage student’s participation in the course. This can be done through things like weekly discussions and posts. Some professors have even implemented sites like "reddit.com" as a place for students to start discussions and give comments to other students.

2. Accessibility to the Professor should be more readily available for discussion with students. As some students cannot come on to campus to meet with a professor, instant messaging is the next best option.

3. Weekly conference calls will also help both students and professors feel a sense of connectedness to the course, professor, and peers.

4. Small groups, which if conference calls are implemented, would be beneficial to those who have a lower bandwidth or other technological problems. Of course, this may mean splitting the larger class into two separate sections that meet at different times.

5. Audio and visual components are also beneficial to help connect students to students and professors to students.

6. All course content online. As most students appreciate being able to work at their own pace in distance learning courses, we recommend that all course work, along with due dates, course expectations, and project details, be available online at the beginning of the semester.

7. A complete and descriptive syllabus with learning outcomes and expectations from the professor.

8. A medium for students to track their progress through the course is also necessary.

9. Experience from both professors and students with file sharing programs like Google Docs and DropBox as these are useful tools used to share assignments, readings, etc

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ImplementationSome of the ways that professors have overcome the nuisances of distance education courses were through using multiple programs. For example, using Microsoft Lync or GoToMeeting as a place for weekly conference calls and a place for students to chat with the professor; and using Google Docs to easily share files; and Moodle as a place for students to turn in work and check grades. As interactivity is important to both professors and students in a distance learning course, discussion groups have always been a way for professors to track progress and to give students a better sense of connectedness to their course. While some of these recommendations may take more time and effort by both the professor and the student, we have come to find that with this extra amount of work, a higher level of learning and success could be met by both parties.

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ConclusionAs we are all fully aware, there are many challenges to implementing distance education courses. Whether they be a lack of participation by the students, or availability by the professor, we have found through research, survey, and interview that there are many ways that we can overcome the everyday problems of distance learning courses. Our hope is that with this information, the experience can be better improved for all.

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Appendix AQuestions asked to the Professors

What is your gender? How many distance education courses have you taught? What platforms have you used to teach distance education courses? Please rank these platforms, with 1 being the most effective, and 5 being

the least effective. What are the most important aspects of a distance education course?

Please try to describe at least three (for instance, you might note that having a verbal discussion is important to you).

How do you engage students in a distance education class? What are some of the problems you've encountered in a distance

education course? If you could create your own distance education platform, what would it

look like/contain?

Questions asked to the Students

What is your gender? How many distance education courses have you completed? What are some of the positive aspects of distance education courses that

you've taken? What are some of the negative aspects of distance education courses

that you've taken? What platforms have you used in your distance education courses? Please rank the previous platforms (if you've had experience with them)

in preference, with 1 being the most effective, and 5 being the least effective.

What are the most important aspects of a distance education class for you? Please try to list at least three (for instance, you might note that the ability to interact verbally is important to you).

What are the most frustrating aspects of distance education classes for you? Please try to list at least three.

What changes would you make to your distance education class(es) to allow you to excel? Please, try to be as specific as possible.

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Appendix B

Graphs of student responses to the survey

Figure 3: Student Gender

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Figure 4: Student Experience with online classes

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Figure 5: Positive Aspects of Online Classes for Students

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Figure 6: Other Platforms Students have Used

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Appendix CGraphs of faculty responses to the survey

Figure 7: Faculty Gender

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Figure 8: Amount of distance education courses taught by professors

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