Can more interactivity improve learning achievement in an online course? Effects of college students' perception and actual use of a course-management system on their learning achievement

This study aims to investigate how interactivity influence learners' use of interactive functions in the course-management system (CMS) and their online learning performance. A two-tier mediation framework is proposed to examine the mediating effects of different actual-use records concerning the CMS's interactive functions. Data are collected from 381 undergraduate students who enrolled in a general-education asynchronous online course from three universities in Taiwan. The results indicate that the relationships among students' self-reported use of interactive functions, students' perceptions of the usefulness of interactive functions, and students' actual-use logs have some direct influences on students' online learning performance (online-discussion scores, exam scores, and group-project scores). In addition, students' actual-use logs (the number of times of log-ins to the online course, the number of times students read learning materials, and the number of postings on the discussion board) have a mediated effect on students' self-reported frequency of logging into the CMS, students' self-reported frequency of using the learner–instructor/learner–learner interactive functions, and online learning performance. The findings and implications could constitute a useful guide for educational practitioners and designers concerned with the effective integration of interactivity into future online courses.     

Content Management Systems: Enriched learning opportunities for all?

This article examines the popular claim of Content Management Systems (CMSs) that providing a rich toolset and leaving the use under learner control is beneficial to learning. By means of a literature review, the current contribution examines whether all students are capable of using CMS tools so that their learning is enhanced. In contrast to what is assumed, the study conceptualizes tool use as a complex self-regulation strategy that cannot be taken for granted. Specifically, the article reviews empirical studies in relation to three topics: (a) personal agency in tool use, (b) performance effects of tool use and (c) influencing tool use variables. Findings reveal that not every student profited from the CMS learning opportunities; in multiple studies students differed in their tool use, and these differences had significant performance effects. Hence, these findings suggest that the pedagogical claim CMSs make is problematic. Besides this accumulated corpus of knowledge, the review revealed serious limitations in the retrieved studies which could hamper our findings. As a consequence, the review establishes a need for further research into students’ CMS tool use from an instructional design perspective. In addition to the theoretical framework, several directions for future research are given.     

Saving time or innovating practice: Investigating perceptions and uses of Learning Management Systems

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are web-based systems that allow instructors and/or students to share materials, submit and return assignments, and communicate online. In this study, we explored the uses and perceived benefits of using a LMS to support traditional classroom teaching as reported by instructors and students at a large American Midwestern university. We examined two years of survey data focusing on specific uses of the LMS that emphasized either efficient communication or interactive teaching and learning practices. We matched aggregate user log data with corresponding survey items to see if system use was consistent with patterns seen in the survey results. Findings suggest that instructors and students value tools and activities for efficient communication more than interactive tools for innovating existing practices. However, survey item analysis reveals that instructors and students also highly value the teaching and learning tools within the LMS.     

EGameFlow: A scale to measure learners’ enjoyment of e-learning games

In an effective e-learning game, the learner’s enjoyment acts as a catalyst to encourage his/her learning initiative. Therefore, the availability of a scale that effectively measures the enjoyment offered by e-learning games assist the game designer to understanding the strength and flaw of the game efficiently from the learner’s points of view. E-learning games are aimed at the achievement of learning objectives via the creation of a flow effect. Thus, this study is based on Sweetser’s & Wyeth’s framework to develop a more rigorous scale that assesses user enjoyment of e-learning games. The scale developed in the present study consists of eight dimensions: Immersion, social interaction, challenge, goal clarity, feedback, concentration, control, and knowledge improvement. Four learning games employed in a university’s online learning course “Introduction to Software Application” were used as the instruments of scale verification. Survey questionnaires were distributed to students taking the course and 166 valid samples were subsequently collected. The results showed that the validity and reliability of the scale, EGameFlow, were satisfactory. Thus, the measurement is an effective tool for evaluating the level of enjoyment provided by e-learning games to their users.     

Interactive lectures: Effective teaching and learning in lectures using wireless networks

Among the severe instructional shortcomings of lectures is their lack of interactivity. To overcome these problems, the learning environment of the interactive lecture is introduced, in which students and lecturer interact by using mobile computers in a wireless network. In an experimental study, 44 students participated in interactive and in conventional lecture meetings. A quiz service that allowed question to be posted, students’ answers to be evaluated, and the results to be presented graphically, was implemented on mobile computers. The participants rated the interactive condition better, also reporting higher levels of attention, activity and perceived learning success for this condition. Objective measures indicated a slight but insignificant difference toward better learning results in the interactive condition.     

An interactive whiteboard student survey: Development,validity and reliability

The interactive whiteboard (IWB) has become a popular technology for instructors over the last decade. Though research asserts that the IWBs facilitate learning in different ways, there is a lack of studies examining actual IWB use in classroom settings based on learners’ perspectives by means of valid instruments. The purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable interactive whiteboard student survey in order to evaluate the IWB use based on perceptions of students who have been taught with IWBs. In establishing the theoretical base of the survey, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and constructivist learning theories were considered. In addition, with respect to IWB use in classrooms, a number of studies emanated from countries such as the UK, the USA, and Australia were examined, and similar research questionnaires and findings and also reflections of students about IWBs were utilized to create an item pool. A 39-item survey was conducted among middle school students (N = 263) from the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Collected data was exposed to exploratory factor analysis and resulted in a 26-item, three-factor survey, whose factors were named as the perceived efficiency of IWB, perceived learning contribution and motivation, and the perceived negative effects of IWB. The results of the analyses illustrated that this new IWB student scale, which explains 50% of the total variance with a good level of Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient (0.93) is a valid and reliable instrument designed specifically for measuring the use of IWBs in real classroom settings. Besides, theoretical foundations of interactive whiteboard use, the development process of the instrument, and results of validity and reliability analyses were discussed in detail.     

Agent based affective tutoring systems: A pilot study

An important trend in the development of Intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) has been that providing the student with a more personalized and friendly environment for learning. Many researchers now feel strongly that the ITSs would significantly improve performance if they could adapt to the affective state of the learner. This idea has spawned the developing field of affective tutoring systems (ATSs): ATSs are ITSs that are able to adapt to the affective state of students. However, ATSs are not widely employed in the tutoring system market. In this paper, a survey was conducted to investigate the critical factors affecting learner’s satisfaction in ATSs based on an ATS developed by us. The results revealed that learner’s attitude toward affective computing, agent tutor’s expressiveness, emotion recognition accuracy, number of emotions recognized by agent tutor, pedagogical action and easy of the use of the system have significant influence on learner’s satisfaction. The results indicate institutions how to further strengthen the ATSs’ implementation.     

User attitude as a mediator of learning performance improvement in an interactive multimedia environment: an empirical investigation of the degree of interactivity and learning styles

Multimedia technology-based interactive learning/training programs have recently emerged as major tools for learning in educational settings (schools), at home and for training in corporations. Multimedia aspects and an ability to interact with the programs are claimed to enhance the learning experiences. A central thesis of this study is that such “interactive multimedia learning systems” would significantly improve users' attitudes, and that this, in turn, would enhance their learning achievement. An additional thesis of the study is that the “learning style” of the users will moderate the relationship between interactivity and attitude. This article reports the findings of a controlled quasi-experimental study of the influences of “interactivity” on six different dimensions of user attitude (content, format, user-control, feedback, ease of use and motivation) and performance improvement (achievement-gain). The results indicate that interactivity positively influences user attitude, and some dimensions of attitude translate into enhanced user performance. The study finds some interesting support for the moderating effects of learning styles. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Perception of Interactivity: Affects of Four Key Variables in Mobile Advertising

There are indications that interactivity could benefit the effectiveness of mobile advertisements. But there are few guidelines on how to design interactive mobile advertisements. This study investigated the influences of various design features of mobile advertisements on perceived interactivity and the relationship between perceived interactivity and attitude toward mobile advertisements. An experiment consisting of 2 sessions was conducted to test 5 proposed hypotheses with 40 participants. Results showed that the number of user control options and the customizability of advertisements have significant influences on users' perception of interactivity. The more options a message advertisement provides, the more interactive the participants perceive the advertisement; a customizable game advertisement is perceived as more interactive than an uncustomizable game advertisement. But no significant effects of presenting instructional information of mobile Web advertisements and including humorous elements were found. Finally, perceived interactivity was found a strong predictor of attitude toward mobile advertisement.     

Using a voting system in conjunction with interactive whiteboard technology to enhance learning in the English language classroom

This study discusses the pedagogical potential of an interactive voting system used in conjunction with interactive whiteboard technology. The data discussed here are drawn from a qualitative study, carried out in the context of a British university pre-sessional programme in English for Academic Purposes and Study Skills for international students in the summers of 2003 and 2004. Research data were collected via a variety of ethnographic research instruments, namely classroom observations and feedback from critical colleagues, teacher’s field notes, video recording of classes, semi-structured interviews with students, and pre- and post-course student questionnaires. The findings indicate that the electronic voting system was seen to increase considerably the scope of interactivity during the lessons by helping students to enhance their development into active participants. However, the data have also indicated that the levels of interactivity in the approaches adopted in the context investigated could still be considered relatively “shallow”, and some suggestions have been provided to improve this aspect of technology use.     

Technology to support parental engagement in elementary education: Lessons learned from the UK

This paper compares and contrasts two projects in order to better understand the complex issues surrounding the use of technology to support parental involvement with schools and their children’s learning. The Becta-funded ICT Test Bed evaluation (2002–2006) had the intention of saturating schools (in three areas of social deprivation) with a range of technologies, including 23 elementary schools. The ESRC/EPSRC/DTI-funded Homework project (2003–2006) used participatory design methods to develop and evaluate technology to link home and school in a elementary school in the South East. Both projects shared a common theoretical foundation, that of socio-cultural theory. The theory influenced the evaluation methodology employed in both projects and in the Homework project it additionally influenced the design of the technology intervention. Findings suggest that technologies with readily accessible and interactive resources that are flexible can help develop parental engagement. However, simpler and less resource hungry solutions such as the use of websites and email can provide opportunities for quick wins. In relation to transporting technology between home and school, there are issues for both staff and parents. Without purposeful use, these challenges act as a barrier once they outweigh the novelty effect. We conclude that parental needs are complex and that engagement needs to be sensitively scaffolded rather than focussing on the technology. Participatory design offers an effective means of addressing this and should be the starting point. The technology should facilitate independence and mediate access to a shared space for collaborative activity. The content and guidance needs to be purposeful and relevant, offering a means to integrate learning across the learner’s broader context, including school and home seamlessly.     

Separating models of learning with faulty teachers

We study the power of two models of faulty teachers in Valiant’s PAC learning model and Angluin’s exact learning model. The first model we consider is learning from an incomplete membership oracle introduced by Angluin and Slonim [D. Angluin, D.K. Slonim, Randomly fallible teachers: Learning monotone DNF with an incomplete membership oracle, Machine Learning 14 (1) (1994) 7–26]. In this model, the answers to a random subset of the learner’s membership queries may be missing. The second model we consider is random persistent classification noise in membership queries introduced by Goldman, Kearns and Schapire [S. Goldman, M. Kearns, R. Schapire, Exact identification of read-once formulas using fixed points of amplification functions, SIAM Journal on Computing 22 (4) (1993) 705–726]. In this model, the answers to a random subset of the learner’s membership queries are flipped.     

The impact of animation interactivity on novices’ learning of introductory statistics

This study examined the impact of animation interactivity on novices’ learning of introductory statistics. The interactive animation program used in this study was created with Adobe Flash following Mayer’s multimedia design principles as well as Kristof and Satran’s interactivity theory. This study was guided by three main questions: 1) Is there any difference in achievement improvement among students who use different interactive levels of an animation program? 2) Is there any difference in confidence improvement among students who use different interactive levels of an animation program? 3) Is there any difference in program perception among students who use different interactive levels of an animation program?     

Automatic detection of learning styles for an e-learning system

A desirable characteristic for an e-learning system is to provide the learner the most appropriate information based on his requirements and preferences. This can be achieved by capturing and utilizing the learner model. Learner models can be extracted based on personality factors like learning styles, behavioral factors like user’s browsing history and knowledge factors like user’s prior knowledge. In this paper, we address the problem of extracting the learner model based on Felder–Silverman learning style model. The target learners in this problem are the ones studying basic science. Using NBTree classification algorithm in conjunction with Binary Relevance classifier, the learners are classified based on their interests. Then, learners’ learning styles are detected using these classification results. Experimental results are also conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed automated learner modeling approach. The results show that the match ratio between the obtained learner’s learning style using the proposed learner model and those obtained by the questionnaires traditionally used for learning style assessment is consistent for most of the dimensions of Felder–Silverman learning style.     

Analyzing the Role of Interactivity in User Experience

An experimental investigation into the role of interaction in user experience (UX) with a controlled manipulation of interactivity features (e.g., avatars, interactive video) in a university information website is reported. The more interactive version had better affect and hedonic ratings, even though its perceived usability was worse. Analysis of qualitative data showed users were attracted to the interactive features, although they complained about poor usability. The results of the experiments are discussed to consider the role of interactivity in UX and the differences between users’ quantitative judgments of UX and their comments on interactive features, which reveal different perspectives.     

Who needs to do what where?: Using learning management systems on residential vs. commuter campuses

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are web-based systems allowing instructors and/or students to share materials and interact online. This study compared differences in LMS use between instructors and students at a large residential campus with students at a smaller commuter campus. Responses to an online survey about LMS activities and tools were categorized by three different interaction types: Learner–Instructor (LI), Learner–Content (LC), and Learner–Learner (LL). Aggregated log data was also analyzed to see if students’ use was consistent with their beliefs. Respondents from both campuses rate highly all activities and tools within the LMS. Findings suggest that residential students value activities and tools supporting LC interaction more than commuter students, while commuter students value activities and tools fostering LL interactions more than residential students. The aggregated log data was consistent with the survey data showing a higher level of activity in the most heavily used LC-oriented tools for the residential campus and higher activity in the LL-oriented tools for the commuter campus.     

“I'm a Visual Learner so I like this”: Investigating Student and Faculty Tutorial Preferences

Online tutorials are useful for reinforcing information literacy concepts addressed in library instruction. A wide range of tutorial types cater to different learning styles and feature varying levels of interactivity. In this study, students and faculty reported experiences using two types of tutorials teaching basic search strategies—an interactive tutorial, and a video tutorial. Although both groups favored the video, faculty were split about which tutorial they would rather assign, a discrepancy suggesting questions about how tutorial developers should balance user preferences with learning needs. These findings provide valuable insights for librarians and instructional designers considering creating information literacy tutorials.     

Face-to-face,blended, flipped,or online learning environment? Impact on learning performance and student cognitions

This study compares four learning environments: face-to-face learning (F2F), fully e-learning (EL), blended learning (BL), and flipped classroom (FC) with respect to students' learning performance. Moreover, this present research studies changes in perceived flexibility, intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy beliefs of students, and the interaction effects in these student variables on learning performance. Two learning environment design elements: (1) lectures (2) group discussions building on guiding questions, were manipulated to create the four learning environments. Third-year undergraduate students (n = 106), enrolled in the “Animal and Human Physiology” course at CanTho University (Vietnam), were randomly assigned to one of the four learning environments. The results suggest a significant positive differential effect on learning performance when studying in a FC and BL setting. No significant interaction effects could be observed regarding changes in perceived flexibility, intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy. However, significant differences between learning conditions were observed in perceived flexibility. Analysis of focus group data corroborate the finding that students experience more flexibility in time and place when studying in FC, BL and EL environments. In addition, students in a FC environment reflect significantly larger positive changes in their self-efficacy. But, the qualitative data show how positive perceptions about flexibility, motivation and self-efficacy are often cancelled out by negative perceptions.     

Video lecture format, student technological efficacy, and social presence in online courses

Online platforms are frequently used as an alternative environment for individuals to meet and engage in a variety of activities, like attending courses online. We examined the effect of adding social presence cues in online video lectures and technological efficacy on college students’ perceived learning, class social presence, and perception that the videos aided learning. Participants rated their technological efficacy and completed an online class with video lectures that either included the video (image) of the instructor or not. The interaction between technological efficacy and video manipulation predicted lower ratings of perceived learning, social presence, and video usefulness, particularly for students with lower technological efficacy. A mediated-moderation analysis showed that, the interaction between person (efficacy) and media (instructor image in video vs. no image) predicted greater perceived learning through the mediators of perceived usefulness of videos, class interactivity, and felt comfort in the class.     

The influence of achievement goals and perceptions of online help on its actual use in an interactive learning environment

This study explored the influence of achievement goals and perceptions of help-seeking on a learner’s actual use of help in an interactive learning environment. After being shown a web site on statistics, 49 psychology students answered a questionnaire on achievement goals and their perceptions of help-seeking. They were then asked to solve statistics problems in an interactive learning environment. In this environment, they were allowed to use instrumental and executive help. The results showed that high mastery goals were related to a high perception of a threat to the learner’s autonomy but not to the use of help. Performance goals were positively related to a perception of threat of not being considered competent and negatively related to the use of help and especially instrumental help. The implications of these results for future research on the help-seeking process in an interactive learning environment are discussed particularly in relation to the Technology Acceptance Model of the use of help.