Information Technology Division
Blended Courses and Boundaries:
Residential Students’ Perceptions
Christina M. Finneran
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Maine
© 2004 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Bowdoin College
• Residential liberal arts college in Maine
– 1,660 students
– student faculty ratio 10:1
• Prior to Spring 2005
– websites for courses (syllabus, readings, sites)
– course listservs
– use of email to instructors
• Blackboard
– Piloted Spring 2005 semester
– Fall 2005 available campus-wide
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Download/Read Course Materials
92%
100
90
80
Not Valuable
70
Valuable
60
50
40
80%
30
20
10
75%
0
Used
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
Not used
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Information Technology Division
Communicate w/Other Students
80
70
Not Valuable
60
Valuable
50
32%
40
30
20
10
50%
26%
0
Used
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
Not used
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Information Technology Division
Communicate w/Professors
90
80
70
Not Valuable
60
Valuable
50
40
30
16%
20
10
50%
0
Used
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
20%
Not used
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Information Technology Division
Research Goals
• Understand the impact of this blended
learning tool on students
– To what degree they perceived a change in
their boundaries between “in-class” and
“out-of-class”?
– Which boundary changes lead to
satisfaction and dissatisfaction?
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Community of Inquiry Model
(Garrison et al, 2000)
Social
Presence
Cognitive
Presence
Learning
Teaching
Presence
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Community of Inquiry Model
(Sloan-C Adaptation, 2004)
Interacting
with
Peers
Interacting
With
Content
Learning
Interacting
with
Instructor
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Framework
In-Class
Online
aspect of
Class
Outside-ofClass
Interaction with Professor
Interaction with Students
Interaction with Content
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Data Elicitation
• Survey
– 10% of matriculated students
– 62% students responded (103)
• Dropped 3 responses > 100 respondents
• Interviews
– 12 students
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Satisfaction
© 2004 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Satisfaction:
Merging of Online and In-Class
In-Class
Online
aspect of
Class
Outside-ofClass
Interaction with Professor
Interaction with Students
Interaction with Content
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Professor:
Online / In-class Boundary Merge
“He [Professor] poses a question for the whole class [on
discussion board]. It’s not graded but he gets an idea
where the students are…helps him structure the
lecture.”
“if you forget to ask in class, then you can ask [via
email, BB discussion board].”
“the discussion board- if i don't understand something i
can ask then, not wait until class and then possibly
forget”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Students:
Online / In-class Boundary Merge
“I’ve been able to express my ideas that I probably
wouldn’t say in class on blackboard and then
somebody might bring that up in class and then I
can talk about it”
“The discussion boards have…given students who do
not like to talk in large group settings a forum to
discuss their opinions and receive feedback”
“I have also been able to communicate better with my
classmates, especially through discussion boards,
which has never happened before.”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Content:
Online / In-class Boundary Merge
“Blackboard enabled me to have a visual view of whats
going on in the class. Its just like class except it goes
as slow as I want it to.”
“It allows me to see assignments before they are given
out in class.”
“When handouts are passed out, it’s not a ‘I have to
make sure I remember where this handout is’ I can
find it in the course of a few minutes online.”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Satisfaction:
Merging of Online and Outside-of-Class
In-Class
Online
aspect of
Class
Outside-ofClass
Interaction with Professor
Interaction with Students
Interaction with Content
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Professor:
Online / Out-of-class Boundary Merge
“I use blackboard mainly for its discussion board. It
allows me to talk directly with the professor…[about]
issues that were not discussed in class, but ones
that I still would like to be answered.”
“I also like the links some of my professors post. A lot of
these are practice quizzes or exercises.”
“Also, i think it's helpful for professors to make an
announcement for class.”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Students:
Online / Out-of-class Boundary Merge
“it is easier to review for exams and such using the
discussion boards- then i can answer and ask
questions- both of which help me learn”
“it has allowed me to think get a sense of what other
students think of the readings (through the
discussion board) and allowed me to respond to the
reading as well.”
“useful in group assignments--allowing me to just share
documents with my group without emailing them or
printing them, which is easier”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Content:
Online / Out-of-class Boundary Merge
“Also, seeing as I do 99% of my work at my computer,
it's helpful to have any all information on my course
(professor's contact info, office hours, syllabus, other
guidelines, course materials, etc.) at my fingertips is
incredibly useful.”
“It has made certain course materials more available
to me. ex: syllabus”
“It has merely provided for another alternative way for
professors to assign work (e.g. discussion boards
and blog assignments). Which has been somewhat
helpful for the classes that have done this for me”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Dissatisfaction
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Information Technology Division
Dissatisfaction:
Online Infringes on In-Class
In-Class
Online
aspect of
Class
Outside-ofClass
Interaction with Professor
Interaction with Students
Interaction with Content
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Online Infringes on In-Class
Interaction with Students
In-Class
Online
aspect of
Class
Outside-ofClass
Interaction with Professor
Interaction with Students
Interaction with Content
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Students:
Online infringes on In-class
“In some classes it has made teaching and learning
completely impersonal because it allows students to
communicate with each other…online instead of face
to face.”
“It has also has negative effects on class discussions in
some classes, because comments are exhausted on
the discussion board instead of in real discussions
in class.”
“Discussion boards sometimes discourage in-class
discussion.”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Dissatisfaction:
Online Infringing on Out-of-Class
In-Class
Online
aspect of
Class
Outside-ofClass
Interaction with Professor
Interaction with Students
Interaction with Content
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Professor:
Online infringes on Out-of-class
“has prevented me from actually going in and seeing
professors instead we should communicate on
blackboard”
“I don't like how teachers make papers/ assignments
due at times that are not in class. ex. midnight
Sunday”
“Blackboard has made teachers assign more work
because now it can be due at any time, not just in
class.”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Interaction w/Content:
Online infringes on Out-of-class
“It makes it so I have to spend outside class printing
out a lot of material, making for a lot of extra trips
to the library.”
“[My teacher] doesn't even hand out a syllabus or
assignment sheets anymore. I don't like this, because
I don't have a computer, and this makes completing
my work for the class much less convenient.”
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Summary:
Satisfaction & Dissatisfaction
In-Class
Online
aspect of
Class
Outside-ofClass
Interaction with Professor
Interaction with Students
Interaction with Content
© 2005 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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Information Technology Division
Questions / Comments
Thank You
© 2004 Bowdoin College. All rights reserved.
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