What Students Want: Descriptions of Quality in Online Learning

1
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning
AACIS Conference November 4, 2005

• Susan Smith
• Weber State University

2
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Project Original Plan
• Survey
• -methodology
• -administration
• -response rates
• Results
• Promising Research

• Presentation Outline

3
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning
4
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Utah System of Higher Education

• 4 Universities
• 2 State Colleges
• 3 Community Colleges
• Applied Technology College
• Utah Electronic College

5
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Focus groups
• Change of approach
• Previous surveys
• End of Course Evaluations
• Online Administration
• Response Rate

• The Project

6
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Research Structure and Methodology

• Student success
• Student retention
• Student motivation
• Educational assessment

7
What Students WantDescriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Schools invited to participate
• Utah State University
• Weber State University
• University of Utah
• Southern Utah University
• Utah Valley State College
• Dixie State College
• Salt Lake Community College
• College of Eastern Utah
• Snow College
• Utah Applied Technology College

8
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• The Educational Assessment Survey
• Question Categories
• Participation/Responses

9
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Motivation

10
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Technology

11
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Would you take another online course?

12
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• What Could Have made This Course Better?

13
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• What would you really like to say to your online
  instructors?

14
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• What should we have asked on this survey that we
  didnt?

15
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning
16
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• New Survey

17
What Students WantDescriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Schools invited to participate
• Utah State University
• Weber State University
• University of Utah
• Southern Utah University
• Utah Valley State College
• Dixie State College
• Salt Lake Community College
• College of Eastern Utah
• Snow College
• Utah Applied Technology College

18
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Why taking online courses?

• Where do you access your online courses?

19
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Was this course a positive experience?
• What makes a course a positive experience?

20
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Did your instructor use all the technologies
  available to him/her?

What tools would you want your instructor to use?
21
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• What was the biggest issue/conflict/success in
  this course?

22
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• What did your instructor do well in this course?
• What could your instructor have done better?

23
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning
24
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• What should we have asked?

25
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Trends
• Courses are organized, easy to navigate and
  include clear course objectives

26
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Trends
• Student expectations for successful learning
  environment

27
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Trends
• Motivation

28
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Trends
• Communication

29
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Trends

• Expressing opinions

30
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Trends
• Student skepticism

31
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Promising Research
• Sharing Data
• Improving Technology-Enhanced Education

32
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Conclusions

33
What Students Want Descriptions of Quality in
Online Learning

• Susan Smith
• Weber State University
• ssmith_at_weber.edu

• Rene Weston-Eborn
• reneweston_at_msn.com