Quality and Profits: Virtual Learning Environment and Real Engagement - A Conversation with students and tutors
Background
This study was
carried out in a Private Business College based in the City of London, which
offers MBA degrees validated by the University of Wales. The college decided to
implement a VLE supporting its campus-based students in October 2010, with the
goal of improving its ‘student engagement’. The college, following a common
practice in the sector, used Adjunct Lecturers rather than Tenured ones, and
the Management was concerned that this affects the Tutor availability and
consequent engagement of the students with the programme or the institution.
The Study
This study
looked what, if any, impact the implementation of the VLE has had on the
student engagement one year after it was rolled out. Two focus groups, one
consisting of five students from across two cohorts, and another consisting of
four Tutors and Course Administrators, were arranged. Also, three separate
interviews were also conducted, two with Tutors using the VLE to deliver their
courses and one with a technical staff member tasked to provide VLE support.
Students’
Focus Group
Five students
from two different cohorts attended the Focus Group to discuss if the
introduction of the VLE enhanced the engagement with the college.
Summary
Broadly, the view was that the availability of VLE allowed better communication with Tutors, as the students could post queries or read what others have said. However, they resented the fact that the college stopped giving printed class notes, which they could read while traveling in the bus. They also pointed out that not all students have a personal laptop, and often it is too expensive for them to print the notes outside.
Broadly, the view was that the availability of VLE allowed better communication with Tutors, as the students could post queries or read what others have said. However, they resented the fact that the college stopped giving printed class notes, which they could read while traveling in the bus. They also pointed out that not all students have a personal laptop, and often it is too expensive for them to print the notes outside.
The students saw
the primary use of VLE as a repository of of course handouts and information.
They said they would rather chat on Facebook or GoogleTalk: They said they
didn’t think the VLE is for anything else other than downloading course
handouts. There were privacy concerns, and the students thought that someone
could be listening if they share too much on the VLE.
The VLE was found
to be easy to use. They could log in, and if they had any difficulty, forgot
the password or couldn’t find information, the support staff was helpful.
However, they thought some of the Tutors couldn’t use the VLE properly: Many tutors
were very inconsistent about uploading their materials, they reported. Students
felt ‘lost’ if they could not find the classroom notes even days after the
actual session.
Finally, they
thought the VLE could be improved ‘if it’s like Facebook’: If they can upload
their photos, and write about themselves. When told that this was already
possible, they said they did not think it was appropriate – the setting was
very official.
Excerpts from transcripts Of Student Focus Group
The moderator welcomed everyone and opened
the proceedings by explaining that the objective is to discuss what impact
Moodle usage may have had on the student experience of the college.
Moderator:
How often did you use Moodle and what did you use it for?
Student C: I log in regularly, let’s say,
weekly once or twice at least. I would use this to download class notes and
read the posts teachers were putting up. Not for all modules though: There is nothing
for some of the modules.
Student A: That’s true. There isn’t
anything for Economics.
Student C: I felt lost on that module. I
told A [Tutor] but he didn’t put things up on time.
Student A: I used Moodle regularly too, but
lack of materials put me off.
Student B: You complain that there were no
notes for Economics, but the tutor gave printed notes. I like printed notes.
I can’t access Moodle when my husband is at home and uses the laptop.
Student A: I requested if the notes could
also be put up. It was easy for me: I didn’t want to carry them around.
Student C: That’s the point. I don’t see
why A [Tutor] wanted to give printed notes. I thought it should be
consistent for all modules.
Student B: I like printed notes. I know the
college is trying to save money, but all students don’t have a laptop.
Student A: Most students have laptop. You
have one!
Student E: I have a laptop, but can’t read
it on the screen. I can’t print all the notes. It is too expensive.
Student B: Well, I don’t have a personal
one. I can’t download much. My husband uses it too. Besides, I can read the
printed notes while I am in a bus.
Moderator:
Did you use Moodle for any other
activity than downloading class notes?
Student A: Not really. There was nothing
much on.
Student C: I did read the posts R [Tutor] was putting up. That was interesting. I also did the quiz
M [Tutor] used.
Student D: I did those too. Yes, they were
good. I hope we are referring to the same thing though.
Student B: I found them interesting. I
later realized that that was meant to be a preparation for the final exams.
Moderator:
Did you use the forum at all?
Student C: To be honest, I find forums a
bit boring. I can’t wait so long to get an answer.
Student A: I get put off by forums. I have
most of the class on Facebook.
Student D: I would rather use Facebook or
GTalk, not Moodle.
Student B: It is very official, isn’t it?
Student A:
Besides, we can’t say anything there. You would be watching! [Laughs]
Everyone
laughs.
Moderator:
Did you find Moodle easy to use?
Student E: Yes, it was easy. I lost my
password, but T [Technical Support] was very helpful.
Student A: Yes, he was helpful.
Student C: I couldn’t find the courses
first, but he helped me to find it.
Student D: He also came to our class and
trained us. Our group gave her trouble. May be the other group was more
friendly to him.
Student B: No, we gave him trouble too, but he was helpful.
Moderator:
Did you think Moodle was a good thing for the college to do? Did it help you
overall?
Student C: Yes, it was helpful. It was easy
to write to tutors and get their feedback.
Student B: Why, you could have emailed
them?
Student C: It isn’t the same thing. If I
emailed them, they could have been bothered. May be they were busy. They could
write in Moodle when they are logged in.
Student A: Not really. They could respond
to emails when they like.
Student C: I felt otherwise. It is more
like phone calls when you can send a text.
Student D: That’s interesting. I felt the
same way. Though I didn’t use Moodle that much.
Student C: I felt the tutors were more
accessible once we had Moodle.
Student A: I agree to that.
Moderator:
I can see the point. What improvements would you suggest if we have to work
more on Moodle?
Student C: Well, you can make it like
Facebook. We could have had our photos and write about ourselves.
Moderator:
Could you not already do that?
Student C: May be we could. I didn’t figure
it out fully.
Student D: Could we? But what’s the use?
Student E: We already knew each other in
the class. May be to know people from other groups.. yes, that would have been
good.
Student A: Some students in our group did
that. But only few.
Student C: It would have been good if we
could access the library from Moodle. I mean, without having to log in to the
University library.
Student B: May be you could give us courses
on Moodle other than what we are being taught.
Moderator:
Like what?
Student B: Like English. It would have been
good to have an English course.
Student E: You mean, like an Online one?
Student B: Yes.
Student E: Oh, that would be good. Only if
this is free though. [Laughs]
Moderator:
That may be a good idea. Anything else?
Student A: May be, you can have one Moodle
tutor. Someone who helps us with all the courses on Moodle.
Student D: How would that work? One person
can’t do all the courses.
Student A: My point is – we have A [Tutor] for Economics, M [Tutor] for Marketing. It is easy that way. If there was one person for Moodle,
it would have been good.
Student C: We have T [technical
support].
Everyone
laughs.
Student B: By the way, did you think he
knew when we are logging in and out? He told us that he can see the usage
report.
Moderator:
Most probably he can.
Student D: That will scare me. I never used
it much.
Student E: Me too. Would he be able to see
what I am doing on the site?
Student C: He would. What were you doing?
[Laughs]
Everyone
laughs.
Student E: Nothing much, but it is the
passwords I was setting. [Laughs] I
did go to him when I lost my password afterwards. How silly?
Student A: He may not see your passwords.
Would he?
Student C: May be, he can.
Moderator:
Is there anything else you can think of before we close?
Student A: Not really. I think Moodle is
good.
Student B: I think you should give printed
handouts, but Moodle is good. We can write to Tutors easily and see what others
are writing, too.
Student C: Nothing to add. I have spoken
much. I think Moodle can be improved and would love to help the college if it
needs my participation.
Student D: Well, I haven’t used much. May
be I will.
Student E: Nothing much to add. I am
worried if T saw the passwords. I shall ask him.
The moderator thanked everyone for
participating and closed the session.
Two Tutors and
two members of the Course Administration team joined the Focus Group to discuss
whether the VLE has improved the ‘student engagement’ at the college.
Summary
There were some divergence of views in the Group: One Course Administrator felt that the ‘VLE has done a lot and could do a lot more if the Tutors were using it more’, the Tutors generally felt that the students are not interested in using the VLE and that the forums bear evidence of the same.
There were some divergence of views in the Group: One Course Administrator felt that the ‘VLE has done a lot and could do a lot more if the Tutors were using it more’, the Tutors generally felt that the students are not interested in using the VLE and that the forums bear evidence of the same.
The Tutors
agreed that the VLE was a good platform to share their class notes, but they
were unsure how much they could do as they were adjunct tutors and did not want
to lose control of their materials once they have shared it in an electronic
format.
The question of
access came up and that it is wrong to assume that everyone has a laptop and
internet connection. The tutors also felt that they are being stretched as the
VLE demanded more of their time. There was also an issue of prioritizing for
students who would use the VLE and others, who would focus on print-based
study.
A number of
suggestions were made about what improvements can be done to the VLE.
“It would have been good if we could ask the students to keep
writing a blog throughout the programme, and if this could be shared with other
students. Since the blogs are contained within the individual courses, and only
shared within the cohort, this isn’t possible now.” (Tutor, Male)
Excerpts from
transcripts Of Tutor and Staff Focus Group
The moderator welcomed everyone and opened
the proceedings by explaining that the objective is to discuss what impact
Moodle usage may have had on the student experience of the college.
The moderator explained that a similar
focus group for students have already been arranged, and this session is to get
different perspectives from Tutor and Staff.
Moderator:
Let me start with an open question. Do you think the students are more engaged
in the college after the introduction of Moodle?
Tutor A: Depends on what you mean by
engagement. If you compare this with what was happening a year back, it is
certainly better now. Can’t say whether that is because of Moodle or something
else.
Staff A: I agree. I think the students are
more engaged, but there are a number of reasons for this. We have improved many
things now. But, yes, Moodle has done a lot and could do a lot more if the
Tutors were using it more.
Staff B: Yes, agreed. Students spend a lot
more time on the campus, now that the reading room is so much more better. I
think they use Moodle more. But then we have better students now than we had
before.
Tutor B: I agree with others. I think the
students are more engaged with the college. I think they don’t care about
Moodle though.
Staff A: Why do you say that?
Tutor B: I don’t think they access it
often. I don’t know what they have been telling you, but my students don’t even
log in.
Staff A: It is about tutors, I would think.
I have heard that some tutors don’t put up notes, and they don’t log in,
therefore. I think it is two way.
Tutor B: I set up quizzes on Moodle. These
were meant to be formative assessments, to help them in their exams. Only three
students out of twenty actually did these.
Tutor A: I agree with you. They don’t care
about Moodle. They mostly want printed notes.
Staff B: I have heard students talk about
the quizzes and I thought they found them really useful.
Staff A: I think different students are
different. I am sure Moodle helps those who want to go the extra mile.
Tutor B: My problem is that I have a
limited time and whether I should give it to help students who don’t use Moodle
or those who do. It is not always true that the good students are using Moodle:
There are others who are equally good but may not be that IT savvy.
Tutor A: Or may not have a laptop. It is a
mistake to assume that everyone has personal laptop. Particularly these
international students.
Staff A: I agree. I think if we expect them
to use Moodle, we should give them a laptop as a part of the course.
Staff B: And, internet connection? I think
that would be a problem.
Tutor A: I think they should arrange their
Internet. Though they don’t want to spend money on everything.
Staff A: I am not sure what can be done, but in the immediate
term, may be we should encourage everyone to put more activities on Moodle.
That will encourage the students and the word will spread.
Tutor A: I think many tutors will have a
problem. Most tutors are just contracted ones in this college, and they may not
want to share their materials electronically. What if the college takes their
material and then employ another tutor?
Staff A: Yes, I think that’s an issue. I
have heard this before.
Staff B: Also, there is an issue that some
tutors may put up materials where they may not have copyright. I have seen
someone trying to put up a Harvard Business Review article. I am not sure how
he got the PDF and whether he could share it on Moodle.
Tutor A: I am not clear what I can share on
Moodle. I usually follow the same rule as I do for photocopies. I hope that
will be the case.
Staff B: I am not sure.
Tutor B: I think it would be quite similar,
but may be that’s something the college can do – get a clear policy out. That
will help everyone.
Tutor A: Also, a policy on Intellectual
Property. The college can assure Tutors that their materials will not be used
for any other purpose. I am sure no one intends to do that anyway, so it is an
easy statement to make.
Moderator:
I shall note it down as an action point. Both, copyright and intellectual
property…
Staff B: Yes, I think that would be good.
Also, I would like to see a more
personal feel of the VLE, so that everyone can create their profiles and also
participate in the forum. I am as much part of this course as anyone else: I
would love to have an account and at least be able to see what people are
saying.
Staff A: You mean, you would be in the
courses? I am not sure that’s a good idea. The students will feel that you are
watching them.
Staff B: This is not about watching. We are
expecting them to do more than their courses there, right? So, if I am part of
it, may be I can ask them to do various other things. Like a debate.
Tutor A: I am not sure you will be able to
do that within a course forum. That will distract everyone. But may be there
could be a general forum, where you can do that. In fact, I think you should
have a general forum where you should do that.
Staff B: Is there something like a General
Forum?
Tutor B: I am not sure. I think everything
is inside the course pages.
Tutor A: That’s an idea I have thought
about before. I teach in the Leadership programme students. It would have been
good if we could ask the students to keep writing a blog throughout the
programme, and if this could be shared with other students. Since the blogs are
contained within the individual courses, and only shared within the cohort,
this isn’t possible now.
Tutor B: Yes, that might have been a good
idea. Is that technically possible?
Moderator:
Yes. I shall take that away as an action point.
Tutor A: Well, sometimes I don’t know
what’s possible and what’s not. So, I don’t try it out. I always thought that
we should do something at the programme level, but couldn’t figure out how this
is to be done.
Tutor B: Yes, I mostly stick to the
template too.
Tutor A: This is another thing to explore.
It is not just student engagement. I think we should explore how to engage the
tutors too. Once tutors are engaged, the students will automatically be
engaged.
Staff A: That’s not necessarily true.
Tutor A: It is. You should think that the
tutor would be stretched with the VLE as they have to respond to student
queries at odd hours. They must feel it is worthwhile to do so.
Tutor B: Yes, it is true. I often answer
the questions posted on Moodle at odd hours. Some students always post them at
middle of the night.
Staff B: You surely don’t have to it
immediately. You can always do it later.
Tutor B: That’s not the way I work. I feel
uncomfortable if I don’t answer a query when I saw it. I always write
something.
Moderator:
Is there a difference when a student writes an email and when she posts a query
on Moodle?
Tutor B: Not really, not from my point of
view.
Tutor A: May be there is a difference. I
think the moodle query is more urgent. I shall tend to respond to that
immediately. Emails can wait slightly longer.
Staff A: I agree. I would think a student
will post urgent queries on Moodle.
Tutor A: It is also about everyone
watching.. [laughs]
Tutor B: Yes, especially you guys.
Tutor A: On a serious note, I treat the
Moodle queries as if all the students have the same question, whereas emails
are about one student having a specific query.
Tutor B: But good thing about Moodle is
that sometimes, the other student will answer it before I do.
Moderator:
How often does it happen?
Tutor B: It happens. Some students are
always on, and quite helpful.
Tutor A: There are differences, though.
Girls get more help than the boys. Prettiest girl gets maximum help. [Laughs]
Everyone
laughs.
Staff A: That’s always the case, isn’t it?
Tutor A: Are we talking about some kind of
strategy to engage students on Moodle then? [Laughs]
Everyone
laughs.
Moderator:
Before we close this session, any other suggestions on what improvements we can
make to Moodle to improve student engagement?
Tutor A: I think we should start with Tutor
engagement. It should not be seen as a distant big brother thing that the
college is doing and tutors have to follow this. One should talk to all tutors
and make them see the benefits. They have to do more work. The college should
actually look at the Tutor contracts and see how they are rewarded for the
extra effort they have to put up for Moodle.
Tutor B: I agree to this. And we should
also look at student champions. The students should talk to students about
using Moodle. I think that programme level course idea is very good. If the
students are writing a blog and if other students can read it, that would be
great.
Staff A: I think Moodle should be
redesigned. It should be more colourful and young. May be we should allow
students to put their pages up. I don’t think they know what all they can do,
and may be we should teach them.
Staff B: I also think we should address the
issue of access. Seriously think of giving laptops to everyone and may be an
internet connection too, if that’s practicable.
The moderator thanked everyone for
participation and closed the session.
The Interviews
Two semi-structured interviews were set up with Tutors primarily to discuss and validate the key observations from the Focus Groups. The tutors agreed that the VLE is not being used to its ‘full potential’: They thought the system is too restrictive, and they are not able to adapt it to the way they would like to approach a subject as this can’t be easily done. They thought one needs to be sure about copyright issues, where they want to share an article or some web-based material to their students, which they could do easily print off. They also thought that the college should clarify their stance on the tutor materials shared on the VLE: If they are reassured that this material will not be used for any other purpose other than the course they are teaching, they would be far more comfortable sharing the same.
As far as
student engagement is concerned, they pointed out that their timing is being
stretched as the students keep posting things all the time, and they feel
obliged to respond as soon as they can. They agreed that there are different
kinds of students, and some never use the VLE: But it is ‘something that really
helps the students who want to go an extra mile’.
The interview
with the Technical Support person explored some of the improvement areas
highlighted by Focus Groups. He appreciated the limitation in terms of
programme level support in the VLE used (Moodle 1.9). He suggested that the VLE
should be integrated with a portal software, which may allow greater programme
level support, social features and single sign-on system that was being talked
about.
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