The research was conducted by Dr. Newberry and with the assistance of his students from Cal State University San Bernardino. The focus was on three questions that would enhance the investigation. Question number one dealt in finding a relationship between non-music portable media (podcast) consumption and receptiveness for portable media use in online learning. The second question was used to find out what media types do students prefer to use for different course activities related to instructor-student interaction, student-student interaction, and student-content interaction. The third question used for the research was to inquire about what level of involvement in planning, organizing, grading, and making media choices do adult online learners desire. In order to answer these questions an online survey was used as the instrument and subjects taking the survey had to be highly educated adults.
Literature Review:
The literature review emphasizes on adult learning and andragogy, new media in online education, and social presence and learning with new media. Andragogy is a learning style and not a method; therefore, there are some principles:
1.the establishment of an effective learning climate.
2.learners are involved in the mutual planning of curriculum and teaching content
3.learners are involved in their own needs assessment
4.learners are encouragement to formulate their own learning objectives and to devise their own resources and strategies to meet these objectives
5.learners are offered support and facilitation to carry out their learning plans
6.learners are facilitated in the evaluation of their learning.
These principles of adult education are essential in the area of new media in online education where areas students need to take responsibility of their education; as well what impact will reflect on social presence and how will their social interaction be sustained.
Adult Learning and Andragogy
Andragogy became a relying point for those trying to define the field of adult education as separate from other areas of education. Adult education methods (andragogy) are contrasted with typical school education (pedagogy). Malcolm Knowles introduced andragogy to North American adult educators; self-directed learning appeared as another model that helped define adult learners as different from children (Merriam 8). Knowles’s view of andragogy is that learners become increasingly self-directed as they mature.
The five assumptions underlying andragogy describe the adult learner as someone who (1) has an independent self-concept and who can direct his or her own learning, (2) has accumulated a reservoir of life experiences that is a rich resource for learning, (3) has learning needs closely related to changing social roles, (4) is problem-centered and interested in immediate application of knowledge, and (5) is motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors (Merriam5)
Merriam states that pedagogy assigns the teacher full responsible for making decisions about what should be learned. Andragogy does not rely only what the teacher imparts, rather the learners are encouraged to formulate their own learning objectives and to device their own resources and strategies to meet objectives. To concise, “Knowles’ andragogical model seeks to address. The pedagogical way to address this learner challenge would be to serve up the answer the student craves. Andragogy, on the other hand, has provided a means by which the facilitator of the education process understood the behaviour (96).”
New media in online education
The first-generation Web tools, as many have called them, included email, chat rooms, discussion boards, among others. The second-generation Web tools that promise to take interactivity to the next level. Blogs (Weblogs), wikis, and podcasts (also called vlogs if they use video, or audioblogs if only audio is used) can be implemented alone or in conjunction with applications such as Imeem, Whiteboard, and InstaColl to create engaging learning environments. As new technologies emerge, instructional designers and educators have unique opportunities to foster interaction and collaboration among learners, thus creating a true learning community (Beldarrain, 2006).
Educators are quickly embracing the wiki phenomenon, stimulating many educators to set up wikis of their own to teach other educators how to implement this technology tool. A wiki is a collection of Web pages that are linked to each other, and reflect the collaborative works of many authors. Wikis are thought to be more permanent and serious than blogs and may serve as repositories of knowledge. Teaching models that integrate technologies such as blogs or wikis may afford more learner control, and thus may be more effective at delivering instructional strategies that support knowledge construction (Beldarrain, 2006).
Social Presence and learning with New Media
Social presence in learning with new media is the social interaction between people cooperating and interacting with Web tools. Focusing on either first or second generation Web tools with a more limited social environment than the conventional classroom, it’s important to keep participants engaged in any form of e-learning: synchronous or asynchronous. It’s not unusual to find that participant in non-interactive virtual classroom sessions are multi-tasking, for example working on email or completing work assignments. In some cases, they may have even left their computers!” (Clark 46).
Social presence it does not entitle a simple social interaction, but cultural exposure. This first generation Web tool, the telecollaboration, that had existed 15 years ago and the researchers focused to find how can this technology be beneficial for students to have a virtual intercultural contact. The telecollaboration refers to the use of online communication tools to connect language learners in different countries, in this particular study, for the development of a collaborative project work. When students are exposed and use online communication tools including email, web-based, message boards, and video conferencing, they are able to experience and discuss their foreign perspective, beliefs and values through the online communications tools (O’ David, 2007).
The ability to engage in communication that reduces uncertainty can reduce stress and result in a heightened state of organizational assimilation-which ostensibly improves one’s contributions to the organization, commitment to membership and tasks, and satisfaction with the organizational experience (J.H. Waldeck et al.).
Methods:
Dr. Newberry and the students from ETEC 543 at Cal State University of San Bernardino conducted this research study in new media in online learning. The graduate students were guided by Dr. Newberry to conduct a research study in new media in online learning and the students were able to locate, evaluate, use and conduct research. The following are the procedures that this researcher study implemented.
The purpose of this study was to investigate new media in online learning. Some of the quantitative study procedures were the recruitment of subjects and instruction of taking the survey (instrument). The participants were recruit by the students from ETEC 543 class session (from Cal State University San Bernardino) and the participants’ requirements were that they had to be 18 years of age and have a background in higher education; this requirement was essential to the study in order to have control over the participant recruitment. The subjects were recruited through informal contacts, by email, face-to-face, and by phone calls.
Moreover, this quantitative research used a survey as the instrument and the process to develop the instrument was to gather questions regarding new media in online learning. To complete the instrument the students from ETEC 543 class were required to submit three questions to their instructor. These were some of the focus questions:
1) Is there a relationship between the amounts of portable media (podcasts) a student consumes and their desire for portable media use in online learning?
2) What level of involvement in planning, organizing, and making media choices do adult online learners desire?
3) Is the use of collaboration to comment on other students’ work viewed as beneficial by online students?
4) What media types do students express a preference for using for a variety of activities related to instruct-student interaction, student-student interaction, and student-content interaction?
Also, the implementation and the procedures were that the participants would take the online survey. The participants were given the URL to locate the survey and they were informed that the length of the survey was 15 minutes or less and that the subjects were to remained anonymous. The subjects took this particular survey by using a questionnaire that measured the attitudes and beliefs of the participants. The choices and the answers from the survey reflected the varying degrees of intensity. Some of the examples used in the survey for the respondents were to answer a question and the measure was as followed 1 meaning that the person did not like it at all and a 5 meaning that the person like it a great deal. One of the negative aspects of this online survey was the full completion of the survey and an insufficient participation of subjects.
Results:
The instrument (online survey) results were accurately. There were 70 participants that took the online survey, but a few were eliminated from the data set because the survey showed lack of completion. The survey was available online for 10 days and the data was collected by November 7, 2007 and analyzed by a program called SPSS. The purpose of the study was to answer three research questions for portable media use in online learning?
Research Question1: Is there a relationship between the amount of portable media (podcasts) a student consumes and their desire for portable media use in online learning?
The answer to question 1, the study focused on items 2, 3, 6, and 9 of the survey. These items were related directly to using podcasts in online learning. In the following table 1 a direct correlation is presented.
Correlations
V2 V3 V6 V9
V2 Pearson Correlation 1 .609(**) .465(**) .293(*)
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .019
N 64 64 64 64
V3 Pearson Correlation .609(**) 1 .656(**) .463(**)
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000
N 64 64 64 64
V6 Pearson Correlation .465(**) .656(**) 1 .407(**)
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .001
N 64 64 64 64
V9 Pearson Correlation .293(*) .463(**) .407(**) 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .019 .000 .001
N 64 64 64 64
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Table1
Reporting the correlations:
Correlation coefficients were computed between the items related to respondent prior use of non-music podcasts and use of portable podcasts for course related purposes. All three correlations were significant at the .05 level. The correlations between prior non-music podcast use and instructional use of podcasts were positive meaning that as respondents reported more use of non-music podcasts they also reported higher preference for use of podcasts in classes. The results of the correlations are presented in table 1.
_____________________________________________________________________
Podcast/Tasks Player Enhanced
_____________________________________________________________________
Prior Use .609* .465* .293*
* P<.05
_____________________________________________________________________
Table 1 Correlations Between Prior Non-Music Podcast Use and Preference for Portability in Class Podcast Use (N = 64)
Research Question 2: What level of involvement in planning, organizing, and making media choices do adult online learners desire?
Research Question 2 we will examine the mean results for items 11-52 which were the items we developed for the use of different technologies for common course related communications.
Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
V11 64 1 5 4.70 .749
V12 64 1 5 2.77 1.244
V13 64 1 5 3.03 1.391
V14 64 1 5 2.48 1.098
V15 64 1 5 2.95 1.290
V16 64 1 5 3.33 1.209
V17 64 1 5 2.75 1.234
V18 64 2 5 4.36 .932
V19 64 1 5 2.91 1.281
V20 64 1 5 3.41 1.269
V21 64 1 5 2.58 1.152
V22 64 1 5 2.80 1.143
V23 64 1 5 3.55 1.272
V24 64 1 5 2.78 1.253
V25 64 3 5 4.72 .519
V26 64 1 5 2.56 1.344
V27 64 1 5 2.73 1.312
V28 64 1 5 2.31 1.220
V29 64 1 5 2.56 1.355
V30 64 1 5 2.70 1.422
V31 64 1 5 2.48 1.272
V32 64 2 5 4.75 .563
V33 64 1 5 2.50 1.380
V34 64 1 5 3.00 1.480
V35 64 1 5 2.13 1.106
V36 64 1 5 2.33 1.261
V37 64 1 5 3.14 1.500
V38 64 1 5 2.14 1.180
V39 64 1 5 4.22 .967
V40 64 1 5 2.67 1.346
V41 64 1 5 3.41 1.477
V42 64 1 5 2.33 1.183
V43 64 1 5 2.58 1.295
V44 64 1 5 3.67 1.381
V45 64 1 5 2.36 1.252
V46 64 1 5 4.11 1.170
V47 64 1 5 3.22 1.453
V48 64 1 5 3.34 1.300
V49 64 1 5 3.17 1.340
V50 64 1 5 3.55 1.356
V51 64 1 5 3.39 1.410
V52 64 1 5 2.66 1.263
Items 11-17 are related to communication with the instructor about problems in the class (instructor-to-student).
Items 18-24 are about communication with other students to learn more about each other (student-to-student).
Items 25-31 is related to the question about receiving grades form the instructor and other evaluations (instructor-to-student interaction questions).
Items 32-38 are related to submitting assignments for instructor for grading (instructor-to-student interaction questions).
Items 39-45 are about sharing my assignments with the other students for peer review (student-to-student interaction questions).
Items 46-52 are about receiving course lectures and course related content (student-to-content).
Another way to look at this is to look at the means for each technology across all the items.
Email items 11, 18, 25, 32, 39, 46
Video Conference items 12, 19, 26, 33, 40, 47
Blog items 13, 20, 27, 34, 41, 48
Podcast (audio only) items 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49
Podcast (enhanced) items 15, 22, 29, 36, 43, 50
Threaded discussion items 16, 23, 30, 37, 44, 51
Voice over Internet items 17, 24, 31, 38, 45, 52
Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Email 64 1.67 5.00 4.4766 .61926
Video 64 1.00 5.00 2.7708 1.03489
Blog 64 1.00 5.00 3.1536 1.13712
pod_audio 64 1.00 4.83 2.5000 .92820
pod_enhanced 64 1.00 5.00 2.7943 1.04051
Threaded 64 1.00 5.00 3.2969 1.09813
Voip 64 1.00 5.00 2.5286 1.02118
Valid N (listwise) 64
Reporting these data:
Means were computed for each of the technology items across the various course related communication tasks. Email was rated as most preferred (M=4.45, SD=.62), threaded discussion was next preferred (M= 3.30, SD =1.10) with blogs almost being rated almost as highly (M=3.15, SD=1.13) and near the middle of the scale. Enhanced podcasts (M= 2.79, SD=1.04), video conferencing (M=2.77, SD=1.03), audio only podcasts (M=2.50, SD=.93) and voice over Internet (M=2.52, SD=1.02) were below the middle of the 5 point Likert scale indicating that they were not preferred for course related communication. These means are reported in table 2.
_____________________________________________________
Technology Mean Standard Deviation
_____________________________________________________
Email 4.45 .62
Threaded Discussion 3.30 1.10
Blogs 3.15 1.13
Enhanced Podcasts 2.79 1.04
Video Conferencing 2.77 1.03
Audio Only Podcasts 2.50 .93
Voice Over Internet 2.52 1.02
______________________________________________________
Table 2 Means and Standard Deviations of Technologies Used for
Course Related Communication (N=64)
Research Question3: Is the use of collaboration to comment on other students’ work viewed as beneficial by online students?
Research Question 3 we will examine means for items 53-56, which were the items we developed related to andragogy.
Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
V53 64 1 5 4.28 .983
V54 64 1 5 3.77 1.165
V55 64 1 5 3.80 1.198
V56 64 1 5 4.41 .886
Valid N (listwise) 64
Reporting these data:
Means were computed for having a lot of choice items related to andragogy. V56: Having a lot of choice about the type of media or communication technologies used in the class was the most preferred (M=4.41, SD=.886). V53: Having a lot of choice about the assignment that I do for the class the second was with (M=4.28, SD=.983). The third V55: Having a lot of choice about how assignments that I do for the class are graded or evaluated (M=3.80, SD=1.198) and the final V54: Having a lot of choice about the due dates for assignments in the class (M=3.77, SD=1.165). These means are reported in table 3.
Andragogy Means Standard Deviation
(V56) type of media or communication 4.41 .886 technologies used in the class.
(V53) choice about the assignments 4.28 .983 in class
(V55) choice how assignments are 3.80 1.198 graded or evaluated
(V54) choice about due dates for 3.77 1.165 assignments in the class
Table 3 Factors related to andragogy in adult learning environments. (N=64)
Discussion:
This study reflects that previous experience with non-music podcast and preference for portability in instructional podcast existed and the correlation was high or strong for the first correlation, item 2 correlated to item 3; which asked about the preference for listening to instructional podcasts while engaged in other activities. It can be linked that previous experience with non-music podcasts is highly related with the desire or the preference for listening to a instructional podcasts while engaged in other activities.
One of the interesting findings in this study was the high preferences in e-mail usage. The e-mail scores highest at a 4.4766 that quite high and the mean scores for the rest of the technologies are below 4. This reflects the familiarity with the e-mail tool and which can also state that e-mail is more popular because is one of the first generation Web tools (that can be set 15 years ago).
The study seemed clear that adults prefer more control in organizing, grading and media choices in classes. This result can be easily identify and relate to:
The five assumptions underlying andragogy describe the adult learner as someone who (1) has an independent self-concept and who can direct his or her own learning, (2) has accumulated a reservoir of life experiences that is a rich resource for learning, (3) has learning needs closely related to changing social roles, (4) is problem-centered and interested in immediate application of knowledge, and (5) is motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors (Merriam5)
Adults want control of their learning and create their own environments and tools to achieve knowledge. Also, when students are exposed and use online communication tools including email, web-based, message boards, and video conferencing, they are able to experience and discuss their foreign perspective, beliefs and values through the online communications tools (O’ David, 2007).
The study showed that many people that had higher education preferred e-mail, one of the first generation Web tool. In the future, the study can be amplified to study the causes of students and people with higher education who preferred using first generation Web tools, rather than second generation Web tools such as, Blogs (Weblogs), wikis, and podcasts (also called vlogs if they use video, or audioblogs if only audio is used) can be implemented alone or in conjunction with applications such as Imeem, Whiteboard, and InstaColl to create engaging learning environments. One last thing that needs to be improve in the future is the control of the subjects and that they meet the requirements to take the survey.
Appendix:
Survey Items
1 Do you own a personal media player (iPod etc.)?
2 Listen to non-music podcasts on a portable media player.
3 Listen to course podcasts while I engaged in other tasks such as commuting, working, walking etc.
4 Read a transcript of a course podcast on my computer instead of listening to the audio version.
5 Print a transcript of a course podcast to use as a listening guide and to help me focus on the podcast content.
6 Listen to an audio only podcast on a portable media player.
7 Listen to an audio only podcast on a computer.
8 Use a podcast that included visual aides such as charts, graphs and images to help illustrate the content of the podcast.
9 Use a podcast that included visual aides such as charts, graphs and images on a portable media player.
10 Use a podcast that included visual aides such as charts, graphs and images on a computer.
Communicating with the instructor about problems in class:
11 Email
12 Video Conference
13 Blog (Text Based)
14 Podcast (Audio Only)
15 Podcast (Enhanced with Graphics)
16 Threaded Discussion or Bulletin Board (Text Based)
17 Voice Over Internet (Example: Skype, Audio Only)
Communicating with other students to learn more about them:
18 Email
19 Video Conference
20 Blog (Text Based)
21 Podcast (Audio Only)
22 Podcast (Enhanced with Graphics)
23 Threaded Discussion or Bulletin Board (Text Based)
24 Voice Over Internet (Example: Skype, Audio Only)
Receiving grades and instructor evaluations of my work:
25 Email
26 Video Conference
27 Blog (Text Based)
28 Podcast (Audio Only)
29 Podcast (Enhanced with Graphics)
30 Threaded Discussion or Bulletin Board (Text Based)
31 Voice Over Internet (Example: Skype, Audio Only)
Submitting my assignments to the instructor for grading:
32 Email
33 Video Conference
34 Blog (Text Based)
35 Podcast (Audio Only)
36 Podcast (Enhanced with Graphics)
37 Threaded Discussion or Bulletin Board (Text Based)
38 Voice Over Internet (Example: Skype, Audio Only)
Sharing my assignments with other students for peer review:
39 Email
40 Video Conference
41 Blog (Text Based)
42 Podcast (Audio Only)
43 Podcast (Enhanced with Graphics)
44 Threaded Discussion or Bulletin Board (Text Based)
45 Voice Over Internet (Example: Skype, Audio Only)
Receiving course lectures and course related content:
46 Email
47 Video Conference
48 Blog (Text Based)
49 Podcast (Audio Only)
50 Podcast (Enhanced with Graphics)
51 Threaded Discussion or Bulletin Board (Text Based)
52 Voice Over Internet (Example: Skype, Audio Only)
53 Having a lot of choice about the assignments that I do for the class.
54 Having a lot of choice about how assignments that I do for the class are graded or evaluated.
55 Having a lot of choice about the due dates for assignments in the class.
56 Having a lot of choice about the type of media or communications technologies used in the class.
References:
Bedi, Ajay. An andragogical approach to teaching styles. Education for Primary Care 15(1), 93-97.
Beldarrain, Yoany. Distance Education Trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education 27(2), 139-153.
Clark, Ruth C. Harnessing the Virtual Classroom. T+D 59 (11), 40-43
http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=19666778&site=ehost-live
Clyde, Laurel A. Education Blogging. Teacher Librarian 32(3), 43-45.
Harder, G. & Reichardt R. Throw Another Blog on the Wire: Libraries and the Weblogging Phenomena. Feliciter 49(2), 85.
Jarvis, Peter. From pedagogy to andragogy. Adults Learning 9(5), 23.
Meriam, Sharan B. Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education 89, 3-11.
O’David, R. Evaluating the outcomes of online intercultural exchange. ELT Journal: English Language Teachers Journal 61(2), 144-152.
http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com /login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24848086&site=ehost-live
Rau, P.P., Gao, Q., and Wu L. Using mobile communication technology in high school education: Motivation, pressure, and learning performance. Computers & Education 50(1), 1-22.
http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=27050196&site=ehost-live
Waldeck, J.H., Seibold D.R., and Flanagin A.J. Organizational Assimilation and Communication Technology Use. Communication Monographs 71(2), 161-183.
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