Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa

Vol. 4, No. 1, 2002

Opening the University to Virtual Training Spaces:
A Challenge to Student Autonomy

Thierry Karsenti
thierry.karsenti@umontreal.ca

Faculté d éducation, Département de psychopédagogie
Université de Montréal

C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-Ville
Montréal, Qc, H3C 3J7, Canadá

François Larose
flarose@courrier.usherb.ca
Université de Sherbrooke

2500, boulevard de l'Université Sherbrooke
Québec, J1K 2R1, Canadá

Mauricio Núñez
bpnr@hotmail.com
Université Laval

Pavillon Moraud, Ch.1403, Université Laval, Ste-Foy
Québec, G1K 7P4, Canadá

(Received: September 8, 2001; accepted for publishing: January 16, 2002)

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present the achievements and problems experienced by a group of 140 pedagogy students through the implementation of a course given on the Internet. The data comes from the analysis (of the content) of interviews conducted with several students, as well as of the electronic messages received (n=1614) and of the transcripts of conversations (on line) in real time (chat). The results awaken our interest as they reflect the importance of rigorous pedagogical management, that is, of courses which take into account the specific educational criteria in their production, and particularly in relation to courses taught using the Internet. The results of this analyses will facilitate the choice of more efficient ways of designing virtual courses. We hope that what we have found through this experience may inspire teachers in such production, and that it may contribute to stimulating reflection on the problems which must be avoided from a critical point of view.

Key words: Online learning, autonomy, technology.

Introduction

Over the past fifty years many changes have troubled society: the advent of television, video and a series of electronic games, as well as new information and communication technologies. These innovations, added to the metamorphosis of family traditions and social values, were not without their particular impact on students, who grew up in an environment of significant technological changes that affected, each in its time, the communication structures within the family and society. Thus, the younger generation, unlike their predecessors, have new expectations and needs manifested within various learning environments, including that of the university (Karsenti and Larose, 2001).

With the desire to meet the new challenges faced by university teachers, particularly in regard to motivation and development of technological media integrated into learning environments and into learning, increasingly rich and stimulating, the University of Quebec (Canada) decided to develop and test an Internet course, which was offered to three groups of students. We have confirmed that, in the name of progress, more and more online university courses are proposed to students. Consequently, the following questions arise: Can someone really learn online? Are there any courses whose content is more suited to a virtual environment? Could it be that there are courses that should not be taught through the Internet? In order to answer these questions the management and implementation of that course was the subject of a thorough investigation, which led the study of, among other things, problems and achievements experienced by students dealing with these online courses. This latter aspect will be, in the following pages, the focal point of our attention.

This article aims, based on the presentation of an experience, to open debate on the advantages and disadvantages offered by virtual university training as a non-traditional academic route. To achieve this effect, we must improve our understanding of the problems inherent in a course taught on line. This we propose to do through the analysis of the difficulties encountered, and the successes evidenced by the students themselves, transferred now from the traditional classroom to the virtual one.

The creation of an Internet course: between rigorous pedagogy and the art of teaching

The course Introduction to Educational Research (Figure 1), took into account the numerous recommendations of the survey of Boshier et al. (1997). These researchers conducted an exhaustive study on the quality of courses given by Internet, analyzing a total of 127 courses, based on a framework of codes, and containing 43 different screening criteria. In their conclusions the authors state clearly that not all Internet courses offered, succeed in arousing students’ interest. Their results suggest, among other things, that “there are super-boring courses, which are nothing more than an electronic transposition of slides presented via Internet” (p. 37). At the other extreme, there are “[...] courses crammed with hyperlinks, animations, frills and trimmings that would put Liberace himself in the shade” (p. 37). Moreover, the authors stress that the “virtual” courses are often created without any pedagogical foundation. Evidence shows that, unfortunately and generally, greater use is made of the attraction of the new and modern, than of specific training objectives (Marton, 1999).

At the university where this research was performed, it was considered necessary to develop a course that was captivating and stimulating, with technological applications that would respond to the growing demands of the system’s students, without thereby causing the medium of instruction to override the message. On the other hand, it was equally important to evaluate the successes and the difficulties encountered by students throughout the course, so that the experience would allow us to improve it, and thereby contribute to educational progress and innovation.

With these objectives defined (developing an online course and assessing its impact), the teacher in charge fulfilled the dual role of trainer and researcher, carefully documenting each stage of the course in progress.

Summary presentation of the results of the experiment

1. The method

The data presented below derive, in part, from an analysis of the content of 16 semi-structured interviews and three group interviews (focus group) conducted with students enrolled in the course Introduction to Educational Research. The course was made up of a total of 82 women and 52 men enrolled in three different groups. All were pedagogy students in the second or third year of training, and averaging 21 years of age. The interviews were conducted with a randomly-chosen sample. They were done by research assistants trained in qualitative methods toward the end of the Fall 2000 session, the academic period in which the above-mentioned course had been given.

Work with focus groups had one variation. First, we proceeded to give an open call (via email) to students enrolled in the course, and who wanted to participate freely in the encounters, all in virtual mode. The encounters were held each week (on Wednesday evening, online and from home) for a period of six consecutive weeks, after which we continued with a meeting every two weeks. The coordinator of the sessions was the course teacher herself, who organized each “encounter” based on the themes addressed in the context of the course.

The data also arise from the analysis of 1,614 Electronic messages received from the three groups of students who participated in the study, as well as the transcription of electronic conversations (chat), in the synchronous mode. This analysis reveals, among other things, two major problems experienced by students. We will present these problems below, together with an important advantage: the possible increase of students’ positive attitudes and their motivation to learn.

2. The problems

Both the analysis of transcriptions of conversations conducted in the form of chat, and the electronic messages received, highlighted the negative impact of a virtual course, though momentary, on student motivation. In fact, although students’ motivation increased towards the end of the course, it was not that way in the beginning, thus demonstrating the need for a large initial effort on students’ part to become acclimated to a virtual environment and its pedagogical particularities. The decline in motivation appeared to be the result, in great part, of the “technological newness”. At least that was we assumed—which in itself was curious if we considered the fact that this was the first experience these students had had with a virtual course.

Nevertheless, a more detailed analysis of available textual material reveals two major problems students experienced: certainly the problem of their personal technical deficiencies; but more than anything else, the problem of a clear lack of autonomy.

While it is easy to presume that the technology was the main obstacle encountered by students enrolled in the course, the results of our analysis clearly show that this was not the case: the difficulties connected with information technology and communication were of least importance. The biggest problem experienced by students seemed to be their own lack of autonomy—the difficulty they had in managing their own learning. As Lamontagne emphasizes (1999), students had difficulty in “relearning how to learn.” This finding was particularly evident after four weeks of courses, when the learning environment had become more familiar, and everyone could already navigate the course site with ease.

For some students, the autonomy granted to them in the beginning seemed difficult to administer, most notably during the first weeks when they thought that, lacking strict rules, regular schedules and classrooms where they had to present themselves periodically, “the work could be done at the last minute” (excerpt from an student’s Email). Thereafter, the students themselves said they were not “accustomed to learning by themselves” (excerpt from an student’s Email), or perhaps they were not ready to learn in a course where “you have to become the one that imposes discipline when a student (me) does not work [...]” (excerpt from an interview with a student), or even that having “suddenly so much autonomy, requires much discipline, and at first I was not ready “ (excerpt from an interview with a student).

A detailed chronological analysis of electronic messages received (n = 1.614), clearly demonstrates the nature of the difficulties encountered by students at the beginning of the course. The angle of the temporal analysis is probably the most revealing of the difficulties experienced by students.

Analysis of Electronic messages received

A general categorization of the electronic messages received allows us to classify them into four groups: messages relating to content and course structure, messages that highlight problems (called “obstacles” in the graphs), work turned in (all work had to be sent via Internet) and various messages (no direct connection with the course). The distribution of the 1,614 electronic messages received is illustrated in Figure 2.

1. Analysis of the “obstacle messages” received from the first to the fourth week

During the first four weeks, as illustrated in Figure 3, the proportion of technical problems is relatively high (34%), but remains below the problems related to learner autonomy.

2. Analysis of the “obstacle messages” received from fifth to eighth week

It is interesting to note that the technical problems experienced by students went from 34% during the first four weeks, to 2% over the next four weeks. How to explain this reduction of the importance of the technical problems? It seems important to note that the course over the Internet was, technically, exceptionally simple. All the students needed was the latest version of a browser (Netscape 4.0, Internet Explorer 4.0x). All functions of the course were accessible through these browsers. Technical problems were associated more with the process of the “burden” of programming on the Internet (and its installation), characterizing the latest versions of browsers, such as the use of an electronic messaging server (provided free to all students enrolled in the course). The technical simplicity of course was such that after sending in the first assignment, and after the first meetings in synchronous mode (chat) within the course site, all students could easily manage technically.

Most of the problems encountered seemed to be linked with the lack of autonomy, as illustrated in Figure 4. A certain increase is noted in problems classified as “other”, among which are evident, above all, problems related to finding information in databases.

3. Analysis of the “obstacle messages” received from the ninth to the eleventh week

During the next four weeks, we see a most significant reduction in problems associated with lack of autonomy. All the students enrolled in the online course seemed to found the “rhythm”, and messages such as those exemplified before, became increasingly rare. The students seemed to have been (re)converted into autonomous subjects in their learning process: “[...] at first, I was not accustomed to the discipline. But after a few weeks, I found everything really good. It was the first time in a long time I felt responsible for what I was going to learn [...]. “(Excerpt from an interview with a student). These results are illustrated in Figure 5.

4. Analysis of the “obstacle messages” received in the last four weeks

The analysis of the “obstacle messages” received during the last four weeks of the course suggests that students progressed significantly in terms of autonomy, thanks to the Internet course. Only 3% of the “obstacle messages” are related to the lack of autonomy, as illustrated in Figure 6.

Achievements

Despite these obstacles, the analysis of electronic messages received, and of transcripts of conversations conducted in chat mode, highlight how an online course can help develop students’ motivation for learning.

Transcript analysis of the exchanges in synchronous mode (chat) and electronic messages received, appears to emphasize the cognitive overload caused by a situation demanding autonomy and responsibility at a higher level than usual for students. Not being accustomed to such a demand, their initial reaction, in relation to their attitudes and motivation before this new learning environment, was negative. This result is apparent when particular attention is given to the problems experienced by students.

Indeed, the willingness of students appears much higher at the end than at the beginning of the year, its having been necessary to make an initial effort to acclimate themselves to this new virtual pedagogy. Thanks to this course offered by the Internet, students have been guided to think differently about their relationship with time and space, thereby to appropriate a new way of learning. This seems to have imbued them with greater motivation. Moreover, even if several students were not accustomed to self-administer their learning, there are more who indicated that self-administration as an achievement of the course. Some even said that having a greater responsibility pushed them to work harder, to participate more actively, allowing them to “learn to learn” (student).

Conclusion

The integration of information and communication technologies into university pedagogy is a challenge, and the problems that inevitably accompany it should be handled at once, with wit and wisdom. The experience of offering a course on the Internet, held at the University of Quebec, let us note that the virtual courses seem to have a very positive impact on student motivation, but there is still a significant gap between the presential college classes and the virtual classroom. Indeed, our study shows that this gap is not caused by technology alone, as many suspect, but rather appears to be caused by a lack of student autonomy.

Our analysis states the importance of a rigorous pedagogical management of virtual courses, in other words, the need to create online courses that make use of technology to promote learning in the service of pedagogy, and that, with the purpose of increasing the students’ motivation, while helping them become independent in their own learning process. It is therefore imperative to avoid the courses that are only papers presented on the Web (Boshier et al., 1997) or that lack any educational rigor in their educational development (Tardif, 1996).

We must not forget an important element observed through the experience of the Internet course: in the short term, the courses seem to have a negative impact on student motivation, even if in the long term the effect produced is radically different.

Finally, even if the courses offered by the Internet seem to generate greater motivation in students, we must not deceive ourselves into thinking that you just press “enter” to make everything turn out fine. A teacher who would like to teach a course on the Internet, as Lougheed pointed out (1998), must build the “classroom” with all its parts, taking into account elements that in a regular classroom it would be his/her job to check, such as that the door not be locked, that the lights are turned on, that the pages of the manual not address topics having no relationship to the course, that the blackboard be found at the fronts the class and that students are properly accommodated.

The results of this experience of a course taught on the Internet, conducted by the University of Quebec, seem very positive and promising. However, other research studies need to be done in a similar field, with the aim of discerning the advantages and disadvantages of such methods of teaching or learning, both with future teachers and their trainers, teachers of the schools of education

References

Basque, J. & Rocheleau, J. (1996). La technologie éducative en réseau : réseaux technologiques, réseaux humains. Ste-Foy: CIPTE, Télé-université.

Boshier, R., Mohapi, M., Moulton, G., Qayyum, A., Sadownik, L., & Wilson, M. (1997). Best and worst dressed web courses: Strutting into the 21st century in comfort and style. Distance Education, 18 (2), 36-49.

Corbin, A. & Strauss, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA.: Sage Pub.

Electronic references

www.rescol.ca (Canada)
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ (Australia)
http://thot.cursus.edu/ (France)

Translator: Lessie Evona York-Weatherman
UABC Mexicali

Please cite the source as:

Karsenti, T., Larose, F., & Nuñez, M. (2002). Opening the university to virtual training spaces: A challenge to student autonomy. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 4 (1). Retrieved month day, year, from: http://redie.ens.uabc.mx/vol4no1/contents-karsenti.html