23 September 2009 Last Updated on 23 September 2009 BB

Some research on web-based learning

I hope that some of you are considering giving eLearning an opportunity at your school. I think if you go to your principal or school board with some research to make your case, it may be easier to sell the idea. When I was completing my master's degree, I did a synthesis of the research specifically about web-based education. I have decided to share it with you. So, what follows might be a little dry. Pay special attention to the short section on the Y Generation.

Literature review

The way in which teachers in the United States are using the Internet is rapidly changing. The 2003 NetDay survey showed that students use the Internet mostly at home for gaming and communication (NetDay, 2004). In contrast, the 2005 NetDay survey showed that 90 percent of grade 6 – 12 students reported using the Internet at school, and about 60 percent used the Internet to contribute to the school’s website (NetDay, 2006). However, only 47 percent of the teachers reported using the Internet for teaching and instructional report, a category that included research, preparation, and presentation of lessons (NetDay, 2006). A recent press release of the results of the 2006 NetDay survey stated that students and parents still want a greater integration of technology in science and math education (NetDay, 2007). This lack of integration may be due to the fact that lots of teachers still feel unsure about how, or why, they have to use this technology in their teaching (King & Hildreth, 2001). Other teachers consider the time and effort required to integrate the Internet into their existing classroom practice too great a commitment (King & Hildreth, 2001). I had the opportunity to observe this response firsthand this year as I listened to our staff’s initial resistant comments to professional development sessions which aimed to equip them to communicate with parents and students via the Internet.

Teachers’ role

It should be obvious that teachers have an important role to play in the successful integration of the Internet into subject-specific teaching. However this integration process can put quite a demand on the teacher. Designing and implementing activities that use the Internet, call on teacher knowledge across a wide spectrum of expertise (Burniske and Monke; Edelson; Garner and Gillingham; Means et al.; Wallace; Kupperman, Krajcik and Soloway; as cited in Wallace, 2004). It requires specialized pedagogical content knowledge, which includes the usual teacher tasks such as planning, implementing, interacting, and assessing, as well as the less common tasks of identifying and selecting resources and materials, and knowing where to fit them into the curriculum (Wallace, 2004). Too often it is taken for granted that a teacher just knows what to do (Wallace, 2004). Having said that, it still is necessary for teachers to find and develop Internet resources because many interesting, and potentially useful, resources are not designed for schools (Wallace, 2004). This makes the preparation phase of teaching with the Internet quite crucial (Wallace, 2004).

There are a number of ways in which a teacher can influence positive learning outcomes in students who participate in online learning. Innovative instructors increase student satisfaction and learning, and when they interact with their students regularly it increases the students’ classroom participation (Finlay, Desmet, & Evans, 2004). These regular interactions should include regular opportunities for personal interaction with the teacher and with peers, and the availability of teachers via email (Riffell & Sibley, 2003). The teacher should always encourage the students to ask questions (Riffell & Sibley, 2003). Student satisfaction also increased when a learning environment was created in which the students knew what were expected of them but at the same time they had some autonomy (Finlay et al., 2004). It should be evident that teachers’ ability, personality, bias, methods, and numerous other variables all have an influence on students’ learning outcomes (Margrain as cited in Slykhuis & Park, 2006).

The Internet and the teaching of science

The Internet has many useful educational applications. It can be used to manipulate information, to facilitate communication, as an environment for creative expression, and as a medium for instructional delivery (Mioduser, Nachmias, Lahav, & Oren, 2000). In Haury and Milbourne’s study (cited in Lin, Cheng, Chang, & Hu, 2002) they mention that in science it can be used to facilitate productive interactions, to find new sources of information, to assist its users with finding solutions to problems, to help its users to stay informed with current developments, to extend classroom instruction by being a valuable tool for doing research, and to help its users to get involved in projects. The integration of information and communication technologies in the classroom should be done in such a way students will be able to learn the skills of communication, critical thinking, independence, and responsibility (Stiles as cited in Aivazidis, Lazaridou, & Hellden, 2006).

However, for web-based science to be meaningful, a science environment has to have the following features: data-driven investigation, modeling, collaboration, and scaffolding (Simons & Clark, 2005). Data-driven investigation engages students as researchers as they access raw data. Creating models of the data may help students to manipulate and make sense of the data. Collaboration is central to scientific inquiry as it helps individuals to activate prior knowledge and experience, and it assists them with the problem-solving process. Lastly, scaffolds are tools, strategies, or guides that assist students to gain higher levels of understanding, and the online environment lends itself to scaffolding (Simons & Clark, 2005).

The advantages of a web-based environment

It has been found that students who do Internet-based projects achieve better than students who received regular classroom teaching, and they may also demonstrate a significant increase in attitude scores (Aivazidis et al., 2006; Lin et al., 2002). Project-based learning is an active form of learning that involves two major components. Firstly, there is a main question or problem that gives a sense of direction to the activities, and secondly a final product that is the result of a number of intermediary steps (Lin et al., 2002).

Barak's (2004) study adds additional food for thought by suggesting that online, project-based learning is likely to increase motivation, promote deeper learning, and improve the communication between peers, in the process fostering a joint development of ideas. This is most likely to happen in a situation where the students are required to solve real-life problems in a team, when they are engaged in the design of a challenging project, and if they take responsibility for their work (Barak, 2004). Although my assignment did not quite fit all of these criteria, I found the results of this study encouraging.

A web-based course also has the potential to ‘help students gain a better understanding of subject-related concepts and improve their science process skills’ (Hsu, 2004). These skills include students’ capacity for thinking, analyzing, and constructing knowledge (Riedling as cited in Hsu, 2004). Modern Internet technology often makes the learning context more realistic and engaging through the use of multimedia (Hsu, 2004). If a web-based activity is engaging, it will encourage students to consult a variety of sources, allowing them to learn how to do meaningful classification, inference, hypothesis formulation, and hypothesis testing (Hsu, 2004), all important components of scientific thinking. In one study students felt that learning online made the course more interesting and they were ‘consciously aware that they learned more in the process’ (Seng & Mohamad, 2002). Students actually became more interested in their fields of study, and as a result were more likely to participate in class discussions (Seng & Mohamad, 2002).

Web-based learning provides an environment for the processes involved in cooperative learning such as searching for information, and analyzing and communicating ideas (Blumenfeld et al. as cited in Hsu, 2004). It gives the students adequate opportunities to interact with the teacher, and to ask questions in a non-threatening manner (King & Hildreth, 2001). In one study the teacher actually had more one-on-one contact with the students who were taking the online course than the students in the regular class due frequent email correspondence (King & Hildreth, 2001). The Internet has the potential to makes students’ thinking visible through tools such as discussion boards, and Internet technology allows its users to search the databases with these thoughts, making it possible to access varied information (Hsu, 2004). Bazley, Herklots, and Branson (2002) also believe that the online environment can help connect women to science since it provides young female scientists a safe environment in which they can ask questions and follow their interests as far as they wish.

Another advantage of web-based learning is that students can work at their own pace, in an environment and at a time that is convenient for them, and are therefore more likely to take part in their learning, leading to learning that may be more effective (O'Conell, King and Hildreth, and Moore and Miller as cited in Riffell & Sibley, 2003). It forces them to keep up with the material and to be active learners, it gives them the experience in using technology and finding appropriate information, and it offers them flexibility that is often absent from a more traditional lecture style course (King & Hildreth, 2001). Online learning definitely has the potential to accommodate individual learning needs and teaching styles (Seng & Mohamad, 2002; Hargis, 2001). With Internet technology’s ability to incorporate multimedia-media teaching techniques, manage group projects, and build effective learning communities, it shows great potential as a possible preferred teaching platform in the future (Seng & Mohamad, 2002).

Problems of the web-based environment

Some of the problems associated with Internet-based projects are the ‘unreliability of network connections’, websites with inappropriate content, integrating Internet resources into the curriculum successfully, students’ lack of appropriate search strategies, and students’ lack of comprehension of Internet technology mentioned in Jackson et al.’s study (as cited Lin et al., 2002). According to Moore, Jensen, and Hatch (as cited in Riffell & Sibley, 2003), another drawback of online instruction is that it may decrease or eliminate the interaction between the students in the course, as well as the communication between the students and the instructor. Hargis (2001) points out that there is the danger of an information overload when using the Internet, it lacks an instructional format, it is a challenge to identify the ‘necessary skills and attitudes to enable users to critically evaluate and use’ the Internet as a resource, and it is also a challenge to design and evaluate different learning formats effectively. According to Hsu (2004) people who are new to the Internet find it difficult to learn cooperatively and efficiently. It is evident that the mere presence of technology in the classroom does not guarantee positive learning outcomes (Barak, 2004).

The Internet and Generation Y

In an insightful article by Weiler (2005) she commented on Generation Y students’ information-seeking behavior based on learning theory. Generation Y students were born between 1980 and 1994 (Weiler, 2005). They are also sometimes referred to as the Net Generation (Brown, 2005). Her findings support the construction of a website as a viable method to achieve positive learning outcomes. Generation Y students are primarily visual learners, and with the Internet being a visual medium, it will benefit this learning preference. Hands-on activities should be directly related to a specific task that a Generation Y student perceives as a need. In this assignment the students picked an organism they wanted to study. Students are at various levels of cognitive development which should encourage teachers to use questioning, discussion, and hands-on activities instead of lecturing as the method of instruction. Once again this assignment satisfies this finding. Students are very concerned about saving time, so I should help them with their time management. Students should not be expected to be able to seek information with high levels of reflective and critical thinking. I should be patient with my students to develop these skills if I find them lacking.

Please remember to cite me if you decide to use it . . .

References

Aivazidis, C., Lazaridou, M., & Hellden, G.F. (2006). A comparison between a traditional and online environmental educational program. Journal of Environmental Education, 37(4), 45-54.

Barak, M. (2004). The use of computers in technological studies: Significant learning or superficial activity? Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 23(4), 329-346.

Bazley, M., Herklots, L., & Branson, L. (2002). Using the internet to make physics connect. Physics Education, 37(2), 118-121.

Brown, M. (2005). Learning Spaces. In Educating the Net Generation (chap. 12). Retrieved April 12, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/EducatingtheNetGeneration/5989

Eagleton, M.B., & Hamilton, M.D. (2001). New genres in literacy: Classroom webzine projects. The NERA Journal, 37(3), 32-40.

Finlay, W., Desmet, C., & Evans, L. (2004). Is it the technology or the teacher? A comparison of online and traditional English composition classes. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 31(2), 163-180.

Hargis, J. (2001). Can students learn science using the internet? Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 33(4).

Hsu, Y. (2004). Using the internet to develop students' capacity for scientific inquiry. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 31(2), 137-161.

Kearsley, G. (2007). Multiple Intelligences (H. Gardner). Retrieved April 12, 2007, from http://tip.psychology.org/gardner.html

King, P., & Hildreth, D. (2001). Internet courses: Are they worth the effort? Journal of College Science Teaching, 31(2), 112-115.

Lin, C., Cheng, Y., Chang, Y., & Hu, R. (2002). The use of Internet-based learning in biology. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 39(3), 237-242.

Maxwell, R. (1996). Writing Across the Curriculum in Middle and High Schools. New Jersey: Allyn & Bacon.

Mills, G.E. (2003). Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (Second Edition). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Mioduser, D., Nachmias, R., Lahav, O., & Oren, A. (2000). Web-based learning environments: Current pedagogical and technological state. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 33(1), 55-76.

NCREL (Ed.). (1995). Metacognition. Retrieved April 12, 2007, from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1metn.htm

NetDay. (2004). Voices and views of today's tech-savvy students. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/VOICES%20AND%20VIEWS%20final.pdf

NetDay. (2006). Our voices, our future: student and teacher views on science, technology, and education. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SpeakUpReport_05.pdf

NetDay. (2007). Speak Up 2006 survey shows that students and parents want greater integration of technology in science and math courses. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://www.tomorrow.org/docs/Press%20Release%20032107.pdf

Oblinger, D.G., & Oblinger, J.L. (Eds.). (2005). Educating the Net Generation. Retrieved April 12, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/EducatingtheNetGeneration/5989

Riffell, S.K., & Sibley, D.H. (2003). Learning online: Student perceptions of a hybrid learning format. Journal of College Science Teaching, 32(6), 394-399.

Ruthven, K., Hennessy, S., & Deaney, R. (2005). Incorporating internet resources into classroom practice: Pedagogical perspectives and strategies of secondary-school subject teachers. Computers and Education, 44(1), 1-34.

Seng, L., & Mohamad, F.S. (2002). Online learning: Is it meant for science courses? Internet and Higher Education, 5(2), 109-118.

Simons, K., & Clark, D. (2005). Supporting inquiry in science classrooms with the web. Computers in the Schools, 21(3-4), 23-26.

Slykhuis, D., & Park, J. (2006). Correlates of achievement with online and classroom-based MBL physics activities. Journal of Mathematics and Science Teaching, 25(2), 147-163.

UCCASS. (2005). Unit Command Climate Assessment and Survey System. Retrieved April 13, 2007, from http://www.bigredspark.com/survey.html

Wallace, R.M. (2004). A framework for understanding teaching with the internet. American Educational Research Journal, 41(2), 447-488.Weiler, A. (2005). Information-seeking behavior in Generation Y students: Motivation, critical thinking, and learning theory. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 31(1), 46-53.

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