An Investigation Of Teaching Wholly Online In A School Of Computer And Information Science

Abstract

Online delivery of computer and information science courses is challenging for both staff and students. There are considerable barriers posed by the technical environment and the physical separation of staff from their students. However the online environment, how staff and students perceive online teaching and learning and the perceived differences between delivery on-campus and online also create barriers. In many ways this could be defined as a psychological barrier rather than a set of physical challenges to overcome. This study shows that students, almost by default, have a negative view of online learning and only use it when absolutely necessary, even in a school with a 10 year history of elearning implementation. Similarly, many staff within this study clearly indicated a belief that on-campus teaching produced better student outcomes, particularly in computer science subjects.

Keywords:

• Computer programming
• Elearning
• Computer science
• Online learning

1. Introduction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing success and satisfaction with teaching and learning computer and information science topics in a wholly online environment. Specifically, this research explored the technological and social barriers associated with the effective teaching of computer and information science topics in a wholly online environment, from the staff and student perspectives. As Mackey and Freyberg (2010) noted, there are situational, organizational and technical barriers present in an elearning environment which learners must attempt to overcome. At the same time, this research examined whether the technical teaching environment affected the Web-based delivery of computer and information science topics. Did the physical separation of students from staff make it difficult to support online teaching in technically challenging topics? What challenges existed in authoring content and assessment for computer programming topics, for example, delivered in a fully online environment? Grover (2009) declared that there are several factors in the development of problem-solving and programming skills in learners. These challenges include environmental factors, the cognitive skills of the individual, the instructional method employed and the programming language itself. Issues also include “ensuring that elearning activities are assessed in appropriate ways and reflect the learning objectives of the elearning project” (Mouzakitis, 2009, p. 2597). Building on a statement of Alexander’s (2001), this research aimed to provide useful support and resources to enhance learning through the informed use of Web-based elearning, to engender a supply of skilled graduate programmers in the workplace.

2. Making transitions from traditional learning environments

For online classes the most negative aspect is often inconsistent interaction between instructor and students, although there is still a need for hands-on study (Australian Institute for Social Research, 2006). As Eom (2006, p.985) suggested “…instructors’ individual attention to students and responsiveness to students’ concern is the most influential factor to significantly increase the satisfaction of students taking online classes”. Research reviewed by Hara and Kling (1999; 2000) found that many researchers claimed there were no significant differences between the achievement and satisfaction of online students and those in traditional classrooms. However, most of the research was focused on student outcomes rather on the affective issues, such as students’ isolation and the need for effective advice from instructors. Even when online education tried to provide a delivery method that made the students feel as if they were studying in a traditional classroom, students still had problems with the workshops and assignments and still experienced frustration. For example, if a student in a classroom becomes struck on a particular multi-step problem, they may get advice from the instructor and resolve it immediately. For online students, they may be able to follow steps 1 and 2, but then struggle with steps 2 to 3. Even though they have the opportunity to begin again, they may still be unable to solve the problem. Consequently, most instructions, if based purely on text with few if any graphics, can make it difficult for them to understand and visualize the problem. The study by Hara and Kling (2000) reported that students require instructors to provide “prompt unambiguous feedback”. This is much more difficult using text-based communication than in face-to-face conditions. However, instructors may choose to provide audio instruction for their students who encounter problems. Such communication may be clearer and less ambiguous than text-based communication in isolation. However, feedback may be less prompt because audio instruction takes more time to manage. This can also lead to workload problems for the instructors, and can be especially problematic in large online class situations. If the same problem happens in a traditional classroom, an instructor can lead students through the process, so whenever they have problems, instructors and students together can just fix them on the spot.

Online programs should also provide opportunities for consolidation and review of the topics covered, so that instructors can be confident that students are developing the conceptual understandings necessary to their areas of study.

3. Elearning, something new?

Most online learning management systems (LMS), such as BlackBoard, provide the facility for instructors to upload teaching materials with a range of interactivity. Lectures, workshop activities learning guidelines, textbooks, links to other learning materials and readings, discussion forums, and email are delivered through synchronous and asynchronous communications. Students can access the materials anywhere and at any time. Collaborative tools enable students to communicate asynchronously, or synchronously at scheduled times, with their instructors and peers. Instructors are able to add feedback to the online system in a timely fashion. Curriculum designed for the online environment should be holistic and contain a range of materials in different formats to cater as far as possible for different learning styles. Instructors need to be able to develop a variety of materials and to have the skills to moderate student interaction ensure that support structures are in place to foster successful and deep learning (Duderstadt, Wulf & Zemsky, 2005). Successful assessment items are often based in real world problem-solving contexts. Current research findings, such as those mentioned above, suggest that we need to consider elearning as a new paradigm rather than as a substitute for the traditional, face-to-face classroom experience. Certainly online learners are faced with challenges when operating in the virtual environment that requires a range of different skills to engage with and interrogate elearning materials. Clearly, students and instructors also need to approach this learning experience differently from face-to-face teaching. Research findings, such as those mentioned above, suggest that elearning should be considered to be a new paradigm rather than a cheaper substitute for the traditional classroom experience. Online students require a range of different skills to engage with an interrogate elearning materials. Obviously, a major barrier to implementing these recommendations is that of finite resourcing in terms of available staff and time.

4. Research participant

One hundred students and fifteen instructors in a university school of computer and information science participated in this study. The school has an extensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, most of which include units that are offered on-campus and online, in a variety of areas, including computing, information technology, Internet computing, information and knowledge management, computer science, information science, computer security, information security and intelligence, software engineering, librarianship, library technology, teacher librarianship and archives and records management. Research participants were recruited from across the school and included students and lecturers from a range of courses, particularly those deemed to be highly technical in nature. The participants were aged from 21 years to over thirty years old. Student participants were restricted to 50 females and 50 males.

5. Research methods

The study design is essentially the actual implementation and deployment of the selected research methods and instruments. The following diagram outlines how the research was conducted.

Figure 1 Research Phases

In Phase 1, historical data were collected about the development of online courses conducted by the school. This data was a primary dataset which allowed for comparison of the retention, completion and attrition rates between units. Phase 2 was carried out through a web questionnaire (see Appendix) which was designed to permit anonymity for respondents. All participants were alerted to the objectives of the research and given the option to participate or not by clicking a consent form. Many of the questions involved Likert scales to learn where students would rank their experiences on a negative to positive range and incorporated the opportunity for respondents to make additional comment. The questionnaire was followed by Phase 3’s in-depth semi-structured interviews of a number of participants who had indicated their willingness to continue by supplying an email address. Interviews are valuable tools designed to provide rapid, immediate responses and on the spot clarification by both interviewers and the interviewees (Woodhouse, 2005; Guion, 2006). The school was an ideal subject for a case study due to its early initiatives in online course development within the university. The most technical and technical theory units, like programming, had been offered online only since 2006, while information science, archives and librarianship units have been offered online since 2002. In addition, an analysis of student enrolment patterns between online and on-campus modes indicated significant differences, more students enrolling on-campus in technical and technical theory units than online.

6. Research methods

The following sub-sections report the results of the study of student and staff use of online materials and how they felt about the units offered by the school.

6.1 Reasons for studying online

Busy work schedules, greater numbers of students completing part-time work while also studying at university and family commitments for mature age students, mean that many students, in this case 49% of the students surveyed, have difficulties attending on-campus sessions. Convenience, time-saving and flexibility are major reasons why students study online (Hentea et al., 2003; Peltier, Schibrowsky, & Drago, 2007). Indeed, studying wholly online is often the only way rural students can complete their education in Western Australia. The provision of online materials and the opportunity to study wholly online is an important alternative delivery mode for schools and universities.

6.2 Communication channels

The research confirmed the importance of email as a communication channel for the majority of the participants. In the group of wholly online students, 78% used email extensively for study and as a way of communicating with lecturers and peers. More than 70% of participants, regardless of delivery mode, agreed or strongly agreed that they used email frequently as part of their study. Information science students reported the highest percentage (87%) agreement that lecturers respond to their email within a short period compared with other study majors. Those from the 30+ age group, doing their study wholly online, regard contact with and feedback from the lecturer as being extremely important. Most participants (83%) found that lecturers’ email responses were usually helpful and concise, while 63% felt they could usually depend on their lecturers to clear up any confusion they may have been experiencing. An overwhelming need to feel connected to the university and their lecturers or tutors has been reported in the literature (Combes & Anderson, 2006; Salmon, 2002). The feeling of belonging to the university community and the minimisation of feelings of isolation have also been identified as predictors for success in first year experience studies (Combes & Anderson, 2006; McInnes, James, & Hartley, 2000). However, when the data is grouped according to course major, it was evident that more than half of the respondents doing the very technical computer science major wholly online did not find email a satisfactory medium for effective communication. Although the number of respondents from this group was very small, 60% did not agree that their lecturers were able to clear up confusion by using email. This may have been due to the nature of the content which is difficult to convey in an asynchronous, text-based communication. Diagrammatic explanations are often more successful. Chat facilities are especially effective in supporting students studying in a fully online mode, as it allows them to interact with teaching staff and other students, either at a prescribed time each week, or whenever other people are shown to be online (Brown, 2006, p. 32). 52% of participants in this study used chat extensively for study purposes. As a synchronous technology, chat is recognised as being particularly useful.

6.3 Predictors for student satisfaction

Responses confirmed that certain factors are important predictors for satisfaction and success when studying wholly online. Just over half of the wholly online participants (59%) agreed that they were encouraged to communicate frequently with their peers, while a larger number (78%) agreed that group communication motivated them to study. The availability of online material was perceived by students (95%) as a major factor in keeping them on track, while 73% felt that Internet speed was also important. Students generally felt that good quality learning materials were available in their online units. When asked about the less frequently used media types, however, many returned neutral responses. This may have been because a rich variety of media was not made available to them in some units. Students’ perceptions of the quality of the materials may have indicated their satisfaction at having access to extra learning resources, rather than an accurate assessment of their quality.

6.4 Frustrations

Respondents to the questionnaire generally agreed that access to learning materials and group communication using online media encouraged or motivated them to study. They also used the online materials provided frequently, indicating that that an elearning culture was developing within the school. Wholly online students also believed they were confident, self-motivated and self-disciplined. When students were asked if they felt there was little difference between online and on-campus study, it was not surprising that most of the respondents (84%) disagreed. 64% of the wholly online participants considered studying online a frustrating experience. Factors leading to frustration for online students identified in the literature included difficulties in understanding information presented in text formats only, a lack of interaction with lecturers, tutors and peers, and difficulties with technology (Ferguson & Ibbetson, 2005). These findings were echoed by the participants in this research. Over 90% of the students studying wholly online regretted the lack of class room interaction with their lecturers and peers. Student participant no. 49 provided a very clear summary of his feelings: Doing technical degrees I think on-campus would be the way to go for future students. Students studying highly technical subjects also felt that the instructor-learner interaction was an extremely important predictor for success (Ferguson & Ibbetson, 2005; Hentea, Shea, & Pennington, 2003). As a counterbalance, however, was the recognition by 93% of the respondents that the convenience of being able to study online was a major part of their enrolment decision-making. Programming students, especially, were at significant risk of failure or leaving the course when they attempted to study wholly online (Gulatee, 2010). Evidence gathered in 2008 by Gulatee, Brown, and Combes showed that online enrolments had much higher attrition rates, particularly in more technical units of study, like programming. To develop competence, programming students are required to acquire complex conceptual understandings (Jehng & Chan, 1998; Licea, Juares, Martinez, & Aguilar, 2006), while learning the highly technical components of a language which they then must be able to implement to solve problems and deliver a program that works. The final aim of a programming course is to produce students who have a programming mindset, which enables them ultimately to program in any language. Thus for such technical subjects, instructors need to interact more with the students and to encourage them to seek new sources of information in order to become self reliant and independent learners (Grover, 2009; Werner, 2009). The online environment introduces different stresses and feelings of isolation for students (Combes & Anderson, 2006; McSporran & King, 2005), who generally require more support, particularly in technical and technical theory units. High dropout rates and low enrolment numbers in such units supported these conclusions (Gulatee, et al., 2008). Completion of more difficult assignments creates additional problems. Online students, especially in the more technical units, often require more support from instructors than on-campus students.

6.5 Instructor experiences

Staff surveyed for this research were experienced instructors and were teaching in both undergraduate and postgraduate computer and information science. All school staff are required to provide their teaching materials online so that the same materials are available to both on-campus and online students. However, while some of the units have all their materials online, these units were not always offered to wholly online students and students also had to attend on-campus classes. Part of the questionnaire was designed to gain an understanding of instructors’ experience of teaching in an online environment. Almost all the instructors surveyed (94%) believed they considered the online delivery mode when developing their teaching materials. They believed they were pro-active and committed to creating an elearning culture within the school, one that provided teaching and learning materials which fostered and encouraged student engagement and learning in their online units. Staff commitment to the online study mode is indicated by the fact that 73% of the respondents believed they included online specific materials for both on-campus and online students. Most believed that students in their classes made extensive use of the online materials they provided in their units; they were confident about the quality of the online materials they provided. While this is a positive result, it did not necessarily mean that high quality materials were being made available to all students within the school. Results from the historical analysis of school units indicated that few of the units examined had moved beyond a basic or intermediate level and still offered limited resources to students. Even though the school had made a concerted effort to place units online and used an instructional designer and a collaborative team to develop content (Anderson et al., 2005), many of the units examined in this research project still lacked a range of high level interactive learning materials with assessments that catered for online students. Some instructors, obviously aware of these deficiencies, were concerned that the lack of consistency of the teaching environment for online and on-campus students remained an issue, particularly in highly technical units where all students need to be operating with the same hardware and software. Earlier research by Combes and Gulatee (2007) and Dabinett (2006) suggested that contributing factors may be a lack of confidence when teaching online, insufficient training in using unit delivery tools and limited professional development on how to manage teaching loads, combined perhaps with a resistance to change. 67% of staff felt that the inclusion of online units changed the way they assessed their students. Importantly, slightly more than half of the lecturers (53%) felt that it is more difficult to provide a comprehensive assessment of online students’ achievements than those they may observe in the on-campus classroom. Despite the commitment to online learning within the school, this study found that almost half of the staff agreed that teaching online is frustrating. 87% were also concerned that students missed valuable learning opportunities to interact with their peers when working wholly online. More than half of the staff respondents also felt that students learn better in a traditional classroom rather than in wholly online units. Interestingly, a small number of staff neither agreed nor disagreed. These respondents may not have an extensive background in teaching wholly online units or may teach mainly on-campus students with only a few students online. Conversely they may be justifiably confident about the quality of the materials they provide and the abilities of their students. When delivering units online, most staff relied on the same technologies they utilised in the face-to-face setting. Tools such as video or podcasting, which capture classroom teaching in order to enhance online delivery, were rarely used. The greatest variety and range of materials occurred in non-technical units. These findings support the research literature which reports that it is very difficult to provide the immersive environment required when teaching technical subjects online (Gulatee & Combes, 2007). Although most instructors (83%) felt that the quality of the media they used for their units was appropriate, almost all strongly agreed that they needed more time to develop media for inclusion in their online materials. This indicates their belief that using a range of media types in teaching programs significantly increases student learning. However, 67% of the respondents indicated they made no distinction between on-campus and online when designing teaching and learning materials for their units. 80% of the lecturers claimed they always responded to student emails within a short period of time. Most also claimed they try to make their email responses concise but helpful, and use email to clear up any confusion students may be experiencing. Most staff (87%) also felt they encouraged students to communicate frequently with their peers as part of the online learning experience. Data from the student questionnaire supports this finding, except for computer science students. Computer science students found that email responses from their lecturers were not always clear: textual explanations are often very difficult to rite for technical units. Lecturers and students handle graphical depictions more successfully. However, half of the staff participants feel that teaching online is frustrating, and recognised an increased workload when working with individual students via email. Interestingly, most staff did not miss print assignments and appeared to be comfortable with electronic assignment submission and marking. Monitoring students’ progress was also cited as an area of concern by the participants in this questionnaire. Most staff surveyed claimed they provided immediate and consistent email communication to all students, they tried to ensure their email responses were concise but helpful, and they used email to clear up any confusion students may be experiencing. Most staff also felt they encouraged students to communicate frequently with their peers as part of the online learning experience. These results indicate that staff strongly supported and were committed to the school’s elearning agenda. However, despite a lengthy history of engagement with elearning, there are still major issues for staff in the development of comprehensive elearning programs. The attrition rate for online students was also much higher than on-campus students across all types of units, but attrition rates were also high for students completing the more technical units on-campus. This result supports other research findings indicating that the mastery of technical subjects in computer science is difficult for students (Costelloe, Sherry, & Magee, 2009; Gulatee & Combes, 2006). Thus it would appear that teaching technical subjects in an online environment is challenging, even if there is a face-to-face component. Even though the school was an early adopter of online teaching and learning, most of the technical and technical theory units had only been made available online more recently. Many of the time-poor instructors had attempted to cope with the extra workload involved by placing existing classroom materials online, without fully considering how they would be used by the wholly online students, but intending to carry out further materials development during semester and inter-semester breaks.

7. Conclusion

This case study has investigated the experiences of a group of students who were studying wholly online and of the instructors who maintained the unit materials the students were utilising. Respondents to the Web questionnaire who were enrolled as wholly online students, who reported that difficulties attending on-campus sessions were the main reason for their online enrolment, experienced high levels of frustration. While students valued the convenience of online learning because it allowed them to access learning materials at any time and enabled them to continue their employment as well as study, they reported that the lack of face-to-face communication and interaction were problematic. Students completing records, archives and library studies units, being more often required in their employment to work online, and completing fewer technical units, were found to be best able to cope. Other barriers, when working wholly online, included feelings of isolation and frustration, especially if students believed they lacked the support routinely provided to on-campus students. Waiting too long for the feedback which solved a problem exacerbated feelings of isolation. Contact with peers and the instructor became very important to them, as the literature had revealed: “Some of the major factors that might affect learner satisfaction in the literature are motivation, interaction with instructors and other students, support services, course materials, …” (Yukselturk, 2009, p. 264). Many students felt uncomfortable with technology and, without support from staff and peers, were in danger of falling behind and struggling with their study, as predicted by Oomen-Early and Murphy (2009). Findings in this study indicate that the technical teaching environment had a major impact on the Web-based delivery of some computer science topics, even in games programming units where no one was actually studying wholly online.

For wholly online students, issues arose in particular technical units when specific technology, software applications and the hardware required to run them, were being used as minimum standard teaching tools. Students are required to have technical knowledge and understand hardware specifications before they start such units of study. Learner readiness, or lack thereof, was also an issue reported, while negotiation of access through firewalls maintained by the university’s central information technology support service was also problematic in some cases. Across the school and across all curriculum areas, this case study found that most of the instructors preferred to teach in a traditional classroom, because it is easier to communicate with students, to provide instant feedback and to explain or discuss any queries or misunderstandings that students. Staff also felt it was easier to motivate students and monitor academic progress in the face-to-face classroom. More than half of the instructors believe that replicating the teaching and learning environment in technical units that require a lot of hands-on activity, is extremely difficult. They feel that theoretical knowledge is much more suitable for online study because students in these units do not require the immediate presence and assistance of the instructor. More than half of the staff, and almost all of the students interviewed in this case study, also think that technical content is more difficult to learn in an online environment. The negative perceptions reported by staff and students in this case study also create a barrier that is difficult to overcome. Even though the school in this case study had taken comprehensive steps to ensure successful online study programs and continues to support an elearning culture, technical computer science units still suffer poor enrolments and high attrition rates. Low rates of staff and student satisfaction continue to be a barrier to successful online delivery. Findings from this case study clearly indicate that there are considerable barriers to successful teaching and learning online, particularly of technical subjects. These barriers appear to be a direct result of the online environment, as well as of the nature of technical subjects and the learning outcomes required for proficiency in these areas.

8. Future study

Online learning can be enhanced by using visuals and animation in virtual environments for online study. Future study is planned to review the potential of using virtual worlds as tools in online learning to create social networks and communities, aspects of the learning environment that have been associated with the motivation and retention of students in higher education. Barriers and enablers for effective online learning environments need further analysis, as does the technology used for virtual worlds and animated simulations, to provide other dimensions to online courses of study. Future papers will propose that this extension of the online learning environment is one way to engage students and create a sense of belonging and being an active participant in a learning community. Using the Cyber Classroom model (Schlager, Farooq, Fusco, Schank, & Dwyer, 2009) to create community and a sense of belonging is one possible future avenue for online education.

10. Appendixe: Research Questionnaires

Staff Questionnaire Instrument

Student Questionnaire Instrument