‘Should I use it?’ Assessing the value of online supplemental course materials and their influence on student performance

ABSTRACT

As a result of the ever-growing list of course technologies and software programs, higher education faculty and administration often debate which new tools are most valuable to students. This article investigates whether the use of an online textbook supplemental program (MindTap®) has a positive influence on student performance. The impact of goal achievement orientations is also discussed and factored into the analysis, as it provides insight into the motivations that drive the usage of online supplemental course materials. Results found that usage of MindTap® is positively predicted by a mastery approach goal orientation. More importantly, it was shown that usage of MindTap® positively predicts student performance, above and beyond the impact of age, gender, SAT score and goal achievement orientation.

KEYWORDS:

• Online supplemental course materials
• goal achievement orientation
• student performance
• publisher software