Student Opinions of
Online Learning
Systems
Nicholas Verno, Senior CIS Major
Westminster College
Faculty Advisor - Dr. Terri Lenox
Technology in Education
• Technology is in every aspect of our lives
• Personal, workplace, education
• Educational involvement is growing rapidly
o Computers/tablets in classrooms
o Transition from paper to electronic
o Online Learning Systems
What is an Online
Learning System?
• Defined as any form of educational material which
is readily available for distribution over the Internet
o The intended audience can access the materials easily
• Online Learning Systems, abbreviated OLS, can
take the place of an instructor or be used as a tool
to aid an instructor’s lectures
Types of Online Learning
Systems
• Fully-online OLS – no instructor present, course is
completed in its entirety online
o Synchronous – alongside other students, deadlines are present
o Asynchronous – without other students, no deadlines present
• Partially-online OLS (Hybrid) – course is taken in
online segments and face-to-face segments
Examples of OLS
• Coursera (fully online/asynchronous)
Examples of OLS
• Pearson MyLab (part of hybrid)
What is the Point?
• OLS are designed to make the material more
accessible
• With their ease of use and accessibility, OLS should
revolutionize education for the better
• Do they make learning easier and more effective?
Previous Studies
• 2013 Study by RELATE Education Group
• Traditional Physics class vs. Physics MOOC
o MOOC – Massive Open Online Course
• Concluded that cannot statistically show MOOC or
traditional is better
• Course evaluations at the end determined it was
strictly opinion based
Other Studies
• US Department of Education – 2010
o No statistical evidence
• University of Toledo – 2007
o No statistical evidence
• University of California Davis – 2003
o No statistical evidence
• University of British Columbia 1995-2004
o No statistical evidence
Helpful Insights Into
Online Learning
• Format of the OLS can impact learning
o Association of Institutional Research in Toronto, 2002
• Features of OLS (i.e. extra practice, solution help,
quizzes) can affect the opinions and attitudes
towards online learning
Applying Principles To
My Project
• 8 students engage in using Coursera OLS
o “Learning How To Learn”
• Pre/Post-test design process:
o Determine question types
o Scaled questions at first, switched to open ended
• More personal responses
o Generate questions to receive desired feedback
• Analyze pre/post tests
“Learning How To Learn”
• Asynchronous fully online course taught by Neurobiology and
Engineering professors – University of California – San Diego
• Covers techniques about how to learn across various subjects
o
Math, science, sports, literature, arts, etc.
• Different learning modes of the brain
• Studying practices (memorization, avoiding procrastination)
• 4 hours of video, 3 hours of exercises, 3 hours of bonus
materials
Questions to Answer
• Did the use of Coursera alter their opinions about
the willingness to use OLS in general?
• After working with Coursera, would the students
recommend it to others?
• How does the impact of having prior experience
with OLS change the students’ opinions of
Coursera?
Pre-test Statistics
o 5 of 8 students initially
preferred traditional
o 62.5%
Online vs. Traditional
o 7 of 8 students would
take a fully online
course
o 87.5%
Fully Online Course Participation
Online
Traditional
Would
Take
Would
not Take
Pre-test Statistics
• Major Problem
o 4 of 8 students claimed lack of teacher interaction (50%)
o 2 of 8 students with said format of answers (25%)*
o 2 of 8 students responded understanding was not required
to get the correct answer (25%)*
Major Problem With Coursera
No Interaction
Answer Format
Lack of Understanding
* - with prior experience
Pre-test Statistics
• Major Benefit
o 5 of 8 students said working at their own pace (62.5%)
o 3 of 8 students said having review/extra practice (37.5%)
Major Benefit of Coursera
Own Pace
Practice/Review
Post-test Statistics
• Online vs. Traditional
o 6 of 8 students preferred traditional over online(75%)
o 2 of 8 students preferred online to traditional (25%)
Online vs Traditional
Online
Traditional
Post-test Statistics
• Recommendations
o 5 of 8 students would not recommend taking (62.5%)
o 3 of 8 students would recommend taking (37.5%)
Recommendation For Others
Would
Would not
Conclusions
• What does all of this data tell us?
o Cannot statistically show that one method is better
o Using Coursera changed the opinions of some who initially
thought online was better
o Coursera had a negative effect on some of the
participants’ learning process
o Some participants said using Coursera was better than
previous experiences with OLS
Conclusions
• This small study leaves other questions to be
answered in the future:
o Does a student’s personality affect the opinion of OLS?
o Would varying learning styles steer the opinions of students in a certain
direction?
o If the students weren’t already enrolled in classes at a traditional
university, would their opinions change?