PB- LXP

Project Aim

The relationship between work/practice and student learning using ICT

The PB-LXP project set out to address this issue of the relationship between work/practice and student learning using ICT, in the context of six modules where technology-enhanced learning plays a key role

Methodology

The students are older (typically between the ages of 30 and 50) they are studying while working (in most cases) their modules requires them to develop work-related practices.

Six courses from Business, Health and Social Care, Technology and Computing agreed to participate and volunteer students from each course were recruited and interviewed at the beginning, middle and end of their course. Thirty students participated in data collection although some did not complete a final interview.

Main Findings (from report http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/pblxp.aspx)

·         Utility and ease of use are key factors in the appreciation of ICT tools provided by the module

·         The relevance of ICT tools to the work context can fuel study commitment

·         ICT elements in modules introduce a practical element into study, which is much valued by students

·         Online study methods are valued where they support students’ feelings of control and being able to make progress

·         ICT tool usage can help to connect study with application to practice in the workplace Students’ different work contexts influence their attitudes towards the ICT in their module.

·         Convenience, flexibility and accessibility were mentioned by most students as a valued positive contribution of having courses online and therefore study-able at a variety of locations and times.

·         Further benefits directly related to more effective study were also identified by students – uploading notes to a wiki made students process what they were learning more actively and made end of course revision much easier; ICT brings activities into study and many students commented that reading alone was less effective than reading combined with activities using the tools introduced in their courses; students felt more able to judge their own progress where they could do activities enabled by particular tools, such as online quizzes, feedback on activities, reading other students’ work.

·          The relationship between work/practice and study was a rich area of influence in both directions. Where students could see direct benefits to their work context, they reported willingness to study intensively and to persist with difficult material. Experience with particular tools at work could feed into using similar tools on their course, though this was not uniformly positive. Students could be critical of the way some tools were used on their course. Some tools and processes learned on courses were taken into the workplace.

·         Most students reported increased confidence in using ICT as a result of having to use it extensively on their course – particularly (but not only) those who started off from a low skill level. Many reported increased usage in their work and social lives as a result.

·          Web tools enabled collaboration to play a positive role in study online, and in one case, a whole course was based on team working to construct a project for assessment. The course would not have been possible without the use of a range of online tools on a weekly basis, particularly FlashMeeting – audio-visual conferencing.

·          Virtually all students reported using search engines to supplement study and several downloaded course material and assignments on to a memory stick to enable working across several locations. The more experienced students used Skype and specialist software not specifically included within the course. Personalisation of environments did not play a strong role in any student’s experience for those included in our study.

·         Survey findings validated the Technology Acceptance Model of ICT usage derived from the literature (Davis, 1989). Students’ responses about their perceptions of technology used in their work, study and social contexts, reproduced the same two factors of usefulness and ease of use. The most important aspects of technology for these students were its usefulness and ease of use. Students were asked to list the technologies they used.  This was used to construct a measure of actual technology use and it was found that perceived usefulness of technology at work was the most valid predictor of ICT used.

When asked about critical moments, many said that it was doing assignments and getting the marks and feedback so we did not find critical moments or influential factors that led to sudden major shifts in how they used technology

The issue of highly skilled e-communicators also did not really manifest itself. Some of our students were highly skilled computer users but the idea that they had special strategies that we could find out about and document didn’t materialise

These highlight the interpenetration of work and study and the specific role that technological tools can play in bridging between study and work to beneficial effect for the student . The survey findings replicate a model of technology perception in the literature, and underscore the important role played by the work context in orienting students towards technology. Universities and course designers can do more to highlight this two-way relationship with ICT bridging both the work and study contexts.