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Running Head: Teaching Learner Support Strategies to Address Challenges in Using Blackboard 1

Teaching Learner Support Strategies to Address Challenges in Using Blackboard

Eva Daniels

University of Colorado at Denver

July 30, 2011


Introduction and Problem Statement

As a Developmental Education Instructor, I must teach my students how to become comfortable with technology at the end of the Integrated Reading and Writing course I teach each quarter. However, this objective becomes challenging when some students have cited feeling discomfort with the technological tasks like saving, uploading and submitting Microsoft Word files in Blackboard. Blackboard is our college’s Learning Management System (LMS) and the medium of delivery for submission of all required assignments in this course.

Incoming students vary in their abilities to upload course content and have even on occasion told me that they did class work assignments, with attendance records indicating their presence. However, no assignments were present in the Blackboard module where they were designated to post. Therefore, what exactly is the problem? As a teacher it can become extremely frustrating to see students lose points for assignments which they were present for in class.

After two quarters of this occurrence, I wanted to find out why incoming students are experiencing difficulty. While I guessed that some students were not familiar with completing tasks in the LMS, or maybe a generational difference was at work, I still saw a resistance even after I modeled how navigate through Blackboard to submit assignments. This becomes a critical issue because students who are not able to upload assignments receive 0% for class work which can be worth ten, to fifteen percent of their total grade. If students are not comfortable with this procedure, their total grade decreases.


Purpose and Intended Audience

The purpose of this action research study is to find out why students are not able to navigate Blackboard fluidly, thereby submitting work in a timely manner into the course module even after the process has been modeled to them step by step. This study will last for three weeks in the beginning of July 2011. Because former students’ apprehension with technology has been a hurdle for them to submitting class work in an on-time fashion, I am conducting this action research. If students can master this task, they will receive credit for completing the work they have done in class which would impact their grades positively. After completion, results will be shared with classmates in the UC Denver Research class and with the instructors in my Learning Community. My Learning Community consists of another Developmental Faculty member and a General Education Lecturer. The purpose of the Learning Community is to have students study central themes shared among three classes.

Research Questions

1) What are some of the barriers that prevent novice users of Blackboard from navigating this LMS fluidly?

2) Based on the barriers observed, what learner support strategies can be implemented to help student navigate Blackboard independently?

Context

I work in a private college setting located in a downtown urban area of New York. There are multiple campuses located in New York and New Jersey. More than 8000 students attend all of the campuses and are on associate and bachelor degree tracks. Approximately half of the population is below the age of 22, creating a student population of varied age groups.

The mission of the college includes promoting diversity, staying relevant and in-line with today’s markets and providing students with the support they need to succeed. International students attend the college representing over one hundred countries.

New students to the college take Integrated Reading and Writing after it has been determined on the placement exam that they require additional support in reading comprehension and essay mastery. This class is a prerequisite to required English courses which include Expository Writing and Public Speaking. There is no formal orientation with Blackboard before taking this course yet students are expected to use Blackboard frequently throughout this beginning course to communicate with the instructor.

Literature Review

Are adult learners fated to lag behind in grasping vital technology? Research suggests that the reasons why adult learners face challenges in becoming computer literate are dependent on a multitude of factors (Olgren, 2000; Kunz, J. L., & Tsoukalas, S., 2000; Merrill, H. S., 2004). While a generational gap is often cited to explain the inability to establish routine uses of


technology for some students, that answer may be too simple a response. As an instructor of a Reading and Writing course which requires mandatory delivery of assignments only through the Blackboard LMS, the initial question has major implications.

If students do not understand how to use Blackboard they will not pass the course. Failing grades will lead to a decrease in motivation and ultimately retention rates at the college which is a major concern. Therefore if students do not develop strategies to navigate this system effortlessly, they could fail the course.

Literature Search Questions

What are some of the barriers that prevent novice users from feeling comfortable using new software?

Based on the barriers observed, what learner support strategies can be implemented to help students navigate computers independently?

Search Procedures

Using the keywords, adult education and technology or adult education and computers, I searched the ERIC and Full Text Education (Wilson Web) databases for peer-reviewed full journal text articles through the Auraria Library. I also reviewed the reference lists of the articles that I found to access further research as to have access to primary source research studies.

Literature Search Findings

BarriersThis literature review will explore the causes as to why adult students may feel uncomfortable using new software or computer applications in a classroom setting. While one may target the student’s lack of expertise as an obvious reason, this lack of mastery appears to be a symptom stemming from a myriad of factors which can also include course design structure, teacher comfort with technology, and students’ attitudes and access to computers. By determining the specific cause, instructors can attempt to educate students with learner support strategies which will help them to independently work with an LMS like Blackboard or any new software application successfully.

Course Design


Course design appears to be a heavy influence on whether technology can become a barrier to students successfully using new software as indicated by Olgren (2000) who stresses six guidelines to designing a successful learner centered curricula utilizing technology. Two of these guidelines respond to student discomfort with technology and attempt to ease it by preempting the frustration with preparatory course materials. These two guidelines include providing well designed materials to promote comfort with technology and making the technology “as transparent as possible so that learner’s energies remain focused on learning and not on operating equipment” (2000, p.12) . These prerequisites place the onus on the instructor to design a learner centered course that adapts to the needs of the student.

Olgren in her own activities to prepare students includes “practice activities with step by step directions about how to use each tool” (2000, p 12). As well as course design that orients students to the demands of the class, scaffolding them during the first few weeks seems to be another successful framework for student success with technology. In a research study conducted by Mueller, Wood and Sprecht (2009) students experienced success with using assistive technology for literacy and writing instructions. While this study involved assistive software like Kurzweil, and speech to text software such as Dragon, and not just word processing software and an LMS, students comfort and reactions to the new technology were assessed over a period of eight months for weekly three hour sessions. This information is useful to discover how students used or did not use the technology over the eight month span. Three key results were indicated by the students’ success with use of the technology with students becoming peer tutors for each other independently working on their assignments.

First, Mueller et al (2009) discovered that one key to successful technology use was when students expectations and goals lined up with assignments and the software. Participants were able to choose the writing they wanted to accomplish and select the software that met their particular goals for what they wanted to do for the assignment. This is important so when instructors introduce new assignments the need to make them relevant to students’ goals seems to play a vital role. Secondly, findings showed that tutor assistance was helpful in developing self regulation and independent learning. Receiving that support throughout the initial eight months helped participants to receive support and strategies that led to independent use of the software. Finally, adapting the instruction and the software to the students needs seemed to promote successful use of technology as well.

Merrill (2004) also discusses the implications of best practice for utilizing information communication technologies in the classroom and advocates for matching learner skills with course level and content to ensure optimal learning.

Teacher’s Knowledge of Technology


Additionally, with the implications of course design being an integral component to successful use of technology, teacher comfort with the technology is also a factor in how students adopt technology skills as their own when embarking on the journey of learning new software. Kotrlik and Redmann (2005) examined how and to what extent ABE (adult basic education) teachers integrate technology. They discovered that they do feel “some anxiety” when it comes to integration of technology and “have not been innovative integrating technology at the advanced level (2005, pg. 215).

The Student’s Role

Students’ lack of expertise with technology may also be due to lack of access to computer resources because of a lack of financial resources, time and information according to Kunz and Tsoukalas (2000). These researchers examined barriers to adult students’ computer training and literacy discovering that 67 percent of those students they surveyed did not have a computer at home. These students realized that computers are the gateway to future advantages and benefits yet were faced with the issue of affordability. So if students don’t have access to the technology or software at home due to cost, when will they become familiar with the features of the software outside of the classroom? The familiarity could lead to proficiency in saving files making the task a rote one.

Proficiency in technology use is also a product of the goals and expectations students bring to the course itself as seen in the aforementioned research of Mueller et al (2009). What the students deem as important will play a part in their view of the task of transferring files through Blackboard. The challenge of the instructor is to make required tasks relevant for students’ goals in learning to increase motivation.

Generational Gaps as a Factor

Even the idea of a generational gap causing the barrier has been contested. Githens (2007) discusses the myth about older adults’ use of technology pointing out that these stereotypes are damaging and do not reflect studies that clearly show older adults who are more willing to learn new technology compared to younger employees. Badke (2008) also contests that older students may just require a more step by step approach when learning new technology to become comfortable with the process. Instructors can start by “Providing them with a research model along with strategies that model and use the digital tools they need” (2008, pg 50).


Support StrategiesAfter an instructor can determine the specific barriers for a student navigating a particular technology, they can decide which strategy to employ to scaffold the student to success. McLoughlin & Marshall (2000) advise a set of four skill sets that will help students “learn how to learn” so they are significantly conscious of the steps needed to succeed in online learning. Whether it be formulating a study plan or articulating the steps to complete a task in an LMS, to be effective online learners, students require awareness of their approach to learning and the ability to adjust as necessary and not just the ability to follow directions.

Articulation

The first skill set McLoughlin and Marshall discuss is articulation. When students are able to articulate why they are not doing a task correctly, they have adopted a self regulation strategy promoting independence and meta-cognition. Instructions promoting this type of thinking are helping students to understand where meaning breaks down so they can ask the specific question to get the information they need.

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is setting goals and managing time appropriately to complete assignments and reach benchmarks. This is integral to online learning since there is no instructor verbally telling students to do something in a face to face context. Students independently have to formulate a plan to complete assignments with included benchmarks for success and plan for extra time in case there are misunderstandings or a need to access additional information to meet the requirements of an assignment.

Repertoire of Learning Strategies

If a student is able to call upon a host of learning strategies such as note-taking, time management, and goal setting to complete a task, they are able to succeed in online learning to address assignments in a timely manner. This third skill set involves students having a repertoire of learning strategies. With this skill, students can adapt the correct learning strategy to the assigned task being given.

Self –Evaluation Skills

In navigating new software, students may test themselves regarding whether they understand the required steps to complete a task. The final skill set, self evaluation, involves students being able to articulate their understanding of a task and evaluate if they understand how to do something. Then if they do not, they can access resources regarding the specific piece of the puzzle that is missing. This skill is strongly related to articulation.


Quality of Literature

Most of the literature presented is from peer-reviewed journals and are cited sources, which have been verified through Google Scholar. For example the Githens (2007) article was cited by nine other authors. The research of Mueller et al (2009) was cited by five authors. Also, this literature review has addressed research studies that contain small samples which cannot be used to describe the behavior in larger populations, yet can be observed within context.

Gap in Literature

An abundance of material is available about helping students to succeed in online learning and why there may be barriers to this success. However, finding specific literature regarding using Blackboard specifically and difficulty doing so was harder to obtain. There was literature that focused on student’s physical disabilities and using Blackboard, yet there was a gap with addressing difficulties with students’ discomfort with it.

Through this action research project, I hope to address the needs of learners in my classroom and to diagnose exactly what may hinder them from navigating Blackboard and then to develop learner support strategies that are specific to their needs. For example students who may be used to following directions constantly will benefit from creating a checklist or task list for a Blackboard procedure which will be of value in the absence of an instructor or tutor.

Summary

This action research project will not only attempt to find out why students in this integrated reading and writing class are experiencing difficulty, it will also attempt to allow the instructor to reflect on her own practice and develop learner support strategies for her students to succeed in working in the Blackboard LMS based on their feedback. The research discussed here reflects the many sources of students’ challenges with technology, which may include the teacher’s expertise, course design and delivery, and student roles and habits, and available technology resources. These all play important roles in creating clarity for the specific learning technology being taught.


Methods

This action research study included classroom observations, test email assignments, face to face interviews and a survey using a Likert scale model as data collection methods. See Table 1 for how each data collection method relates to each research question.

Table 1Questions and Methods Research Question Data Collection MethodWhat are some of the barriers that prevent novice users of Blackboard from navigating this LMS fluidly?

Face to Face Interviews/Test Email/Field Notes: Classroom Observations

Based on the barriers observed, what learner support strategies can be implemented to help student navigate Blackboard independently?

Face to Face Interviews/Survey

There were two phases to this action research project. The first phase involved utilizing strategies from the work of Ohlgren (2000) and Githens to create step by step directions for the class to orient students to Blackboard in a low stakes environment. Students would complete tasks and then upload exercises with no penalty but to just show that they understood what to do by completing the task in the LMS.

Then within that orientation a feedback email was sent from each student indicating their current comfort level with using computers and the Blackboard LMS. Since action research involves this cyclical use of observations and evidence to inform the next phase of study, from these e-mail responses, the instructor could isolate students who didn’t feel comfortable and specifically set them apart as potential participants for the study and start the second phase of this project.

After inviting potential students to participate, students signed informed consent forms, then completed a survey using a Likert scale from 1 to 5 titled, “Student Evaluation of Teachers, Course, and Own Comfort with Technology.” After the student completed this survey, they then sat for an interview with the researcher and answered questions that focused on the self regulatory skills of articulation, self-regulation, repertoire of learning strategies and self-evaluation discussed in McLoughlin and Marshall’s (2000) review of learner support strategies for online learners.

Brief field notes were also taken during computer lab classes on Thursdays (Appendix J) to observe whether these two students required assistance and to note in what part of Blackboard they were experiencing challenges.

Running Head: Teaching Learner Support Strategies to Address Challenges in Using Blackboard10

Participants

Two female students agreed to participate in the study (See Appendix C). Both women are first year students at the college. Martha1 is a Criminal Justice Studies major while Janet2 is studying Business Administration. Martha’s has a connection to the college due to the fact her father attended the university. She is African American in her mid twenties and Janet is a Hispanic woman in her early twenties who has attended three colleges before attending this one.

Data Analysis

Qualitative Data

To analyze the qualitative data from the face to face interview responses I used the procedure of Categorizing and Coding Martha and Janet’s Interview and survey responses. First I reviewed the survey (Appendix D) and interview responses, unitized, categorized and coded the data, and then identified emerging themes. Then, I took a written record of the data gathered from the interview and cut up the paper to isolate phrases from the participant to tape to index cards. Then, I categorized these index cards into groups and categories to see patterns (see Appendix E).

Analyzing Key Experiences is another procedure for analyzing the qualitative interview response data. This also involves finding thematic links through participants’ responses yet focusing on milestone or key experiences that impact how the participant may relate to the study. The third data analysis used was concept mapping (Appendix G & H). Based on the themes and responses of the participants, concept mapping involves brainstorming possible learning strategies for Martha and Janet based on their interview responses.

Field Notes are the final source of qualitative data (Appendix J). On lab days which were on Thursdays, I observed Martha and Janet and noted if they asked questions about technology and what was done as a result.

Quantitative Data

The survey, titled “Student Evaluation of Teachers, Course, and Own Comfort with Technology,” (See Appendix D) contained questions presented in a Likert Scale format that organized statements to link to those barriers that prevent students from understanding new technology such as Blackboard. Some of these barriers included: Student’s Role, Teacher’s Knowledge of Technology and Course Design. A score of 5 signifies that a participant strongly agrees that she is comfortable with technology while a score of 1 indicates the student strongly disagrees with that assessment. I then averaged the scores of each participant to get a sense of their comfort with using computers.

1 Pseudonyms have been used in this paper2 Pseudonyms have been used in this paper


Ethical Procedures

To protect the privacy of the participants, I individually met with them to ask if they were interested in participating in this action research study. After receiving their consent verbally, they then signed an informed consent form after I read and reviewed the form emphasizing that they can withdraw at any time. To ensure privacy, I would meet with them on an individual basis and have used pseudonyms within this report to maintain students’ privacy.

Modified ScheduleSee Appendix I for a modified schedule and explanation due to adjusting my approach in selecting students for this action research project.

Findings: Phase 1Preempting Barriers from the Beginning

Conducting the literature review for this action research project immediately informed my teaching in the classroom to the extent of allowing me to give a technology orientation on the features of Blackboard. On the first day of class on July 6, 2011, I met 19 students in the computer lab and introduced them to the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS). I informed them that this LMS would be the delivery system for their papers, and class assignments. Therefore understanding how to use this system is essential for their success. I walked them through three main areas of Blackboard that they would use.

To address one of the barriers of learning new technology on the instructor’s end, I adhered to course design that supports the learner providing step by step directions (Ohlgren, 2000; Githens, 2007, ); I wanted to preempt troubling issues with students and distribute guidelines to using Blackboard (See Appendix A) to promote self-regulation. After giving this orientation, I polled the class and asked them to send an e-mail through Blackboard to me gauging their current comfort level with Blackboard and computers. I also asked them to upload a test file to Blackboard to practice sending files to the instructor, which would be a routine practice for them throughout the course. I used this activity to isolate a potential sampling of students who were experiencing challenges working with Blackboard.

One of the emails, I received from Martha said “I’m not comfortable at all with computer's.”


The second participant, Janet, indicated, “I am very comfortable with computer I know alot about computer because i have three people in my family who loves computer so am pretty good at it.”

On that first day of class, I noticed that Janet was not able to log into the network, so she had to contact Help Desk during class. This action seemed to have caused her to not upload another assignment during this class which included uploading a Microsoft Word file to Blackboard. Therefore, I felt that she may be a student who could be a possible participant as well.

After separating these two students as potential participants and receiving their informed consent, I proceeded to interview and ask them to fill out a survey gauging their technology confidence based on multiple factors. What follows is phase two of this action research project involving participants’ responses to the two research questions of identifying barriers to learning new technology and teaching self regulation strategies to help students succeed.

Findings: Phase 2Identifying Barriers to Technology

Discomfort

The first barrier to technology noted, was feeling uncomfortable. Martha averaged a score of 3.6 out of 5 on the survey. She disagreed with the statement asking her level of comfort in using Blackboard in class to complete homework and assignments. This response correlates with the feedback e-mail sent in class. She also indicated if she didn’t know how to upload an assignment in Blackboard, she would “ask students, teachers, even try to Google it if I was unsure.” According to field notes, (Appendix J) during all of the lab classes, she asked the instructor or other students questions about navigating Blackboard also indicating that she does not know how to do these assignments. When asked how would she know that she understood a technology skill or lesson, Martha said, “she would feel comfortable with no hesitation…I wouldn’t have to repeat asking questions.” So discomfort with technology for her is directly related to asking questions of others for information.

Access to Technology Resources

Availability of technology resources and information is also a barrier to understanding technology (Kunz & Tsoukalas, 2000) for Martha. She strongly disagreed with the statement asking if she had access to information about how to use software and technology resources in the survey.

When Family Responsibilities and School Work Conflict

Having available time to access technology and practice using the computer is also an indicator of success with navigating software fluidly (Kunz & Tsoukalas, 2000). Janet agreed with all of the statements on the survey, scoring 5 out of 5, and strongly agreed


especially with the statement asking if she had time available to use the computer at home to improve her technological skills.

However, during the interview she shared a key experience in response to what resources she would use in case she couldn’t complete an assignment. Janet shared that during an instance at home, “I was trying to take care of the kids” and “I was getting frustrated.” “He [the boyfriend] told me to calm down and he said, I will take care the kids.” That revealed more information that conflicted with one of her responses to the survey. This experience indicates that there are family responsibilities that conflict with Janet reading and perhaps even ultimately practicing computer skills. The theme that I would use to analyze this key experience is that she has a strong external support system that intervenes on her behalf and that she may suffer in silence instead of asking directly for help. On the other hand Janet relayed another instance in class, when she “couldn’t get to something in Blackboard”… and she chose to “ask another student for help.” So at times, Janet will request assistance.

Self-Regulated Support: What does the student already do?

Articulation

Martha practices articulation explaining during the interview, “I feel comfortable with no hesitation” when she understood a technology skill. Janet needed clarification on the question regarding evaluating if she understood a technology skill. On her second response, she said, “depends on what it is…In my computer class, steps teach how to do it…If it doesn’t look like the book have to do it over.” Janet refers to models from information sources to check her understanding. If they model does not match what she has, then she knows that her assignment is incorrect.

Self Evaluation Skills

Janet also practices self-evaluations skills by the example of referring to the model in her computer book for understanding and prefers to work in “little groups” and be in her “little mode.” She says, “like in math” [she can] “quickly quietly by myself think through stuff.”

Self-Regulated Support: What can students learn?

Self Regulation

When asked how Martha would approach writing an essay with two weeks to prepare, Martha suggested, “Jotting things down” and “pre-write, jot down certain things I want to ad into the essay.” Janet responded to this question that she would “make sure I have all the information,” “break it down to each paragraph,” and “do a little graph” and “write


it.”What wasn’t mentioned here was how both students would plan their time. This may indicate that Martha and Janet would benefit from learning self-regulation skills that would involve them both planning a time schedule to complete assignments on the computer and then uploading it at the prescribed time before the deadline.

One of the key experiences (Appendix F) that came up during Martha’s interview was in response to how she decided to attend this particular college. The key theme of “legacy” stood out here as Martha answered this question. She discussed how her father had attended this school. With this question I wanted to understand how the student self-regulated and planned to make the decision to attend the college. The response would tell me about the students’ process of independently making decisions. Martha responded by mentioning her father’s attendance at the school and her friend’s desire to go to the school. What Martha didn’t mention was her choice to attend here. This would seem to suggest that external influences impact her life to a great extent.

Checks for RigorTo ensure reliability and validity, the following checks for rigor are included:

Credibility

To ensure credibility multiple sources of evidence were used for triangulation of data such as interview, survey, and email responses along with field notes in the form of classroom observations. Where multiple sources do not agree, more questions come to the surface regarding the findings which are presented in this study.

Transferability

This study can be conducted by another instructor using similar forms and procedures within a class that uses an LMS as a part of a hybrid course design.

Dependability and Confirmability

Scanned consent forms, snapshots of actual emails, and direct quotes taken from the interview from students ensure that students’ feedback rather than observer opinions is presented in this report.

Comparison of Research to Literature Review Research Findings and Literature Review results agree that there are multiple factors that influence a students’ level of comfort with new technology. In this action research study, lack of time due to family responsibilities, discomfort, and access to technology information are indicated barriers to learning new technology. This assessment agrees with Kunz & Tsoulakis (2000) assessment of barriers when working with Ontario students. The learner support strategies that McLoughlin and Marshall (2000) describe are strategies that both Martha and Janet would benefit


from strengthening though they already practice some form of these strategies already especially when checking for correct information and asking for assistance.

Summary and Discussion of FindingsOriginally, I started this project with the proposition that students gave little attention to detail when navigating BB specifically to submit assignments. However, as the study progressed, this study showed that there are multiple factors that determine student behavior which include discomfort with technology, lack of time to practice on computers, and unavailable access to technological information and resources. Personality types are also significant to consider especially in a class where there is a social person who readily will ask for assistance and an independent type who will depending on the circumstances. Differentiating for both types of learners will help to aid their comfort with technology so the content becomes transparent enough for students to directly engage lesson content. This comfort with technology also can be rooted in providing on-hand instructional support on-site through verbally prompting, and with printed step-by-step directions in class, and partnering up these students with those who are proficient in technology.

Implications for PracticeJanet articulated that she refers to models to clarify and confirm knowledge. Janet’s concept map (Appendix H) involved creating models for her to follow since she mentioned that she uses these models for her computer class to check if she is correct in her interview responses. Providing guidelines for her, which tells her how to check if she has uploaded and assignment correctly with screen shots of what the correct way looks like will help her to know for herself when she has uploaded a file correctly or has uploaded the file to the right area and confirm knowledge for her.

In Martha’s concept map, she mentioned that music helps her to remember ideas and perhaps an instructor could create an easy to remember acronym for her that she could set to music. She would possibly remember the steps this way. If we could take a familiar song that she knows and use lyrics that are new (which would be Blackboard instructions) we could link new information to already remembered information to adapt new information for the student.

To capitalize off her use of external resources, sitting Martha next to someone who is comfortable navigating Blackboard would assist her to increasingly become independent. Another learner support strategy is for her to be able to articulate and self-evaluate if she has correctly uploaded a file on her own. In the case she may be home, and cannot ask a student or an instructor for assistance, having a guide with screenshots of how to do major tasks in Blackboard like uploading files would be helpful for her. In this case, she could refer to the guide which would provide visual scaffolding for her. This is in line with Olgren’s (2000) recommendation “to make technology so transparent for the student as to not get in the way of the content and course objectives.

Due to Janet’s interview and survey responses, she would benefit from differentiated instruction that provides support during class that would check in with her even without her request. This is in


line with Mueller et al’s (2000) observations of students who benefitted from tutors’ assistance while learning new software. Since she has a history of not asking for help directly in the instance of her being “frustrated” at home, and refraining from asking the instructor for help about Blackboard during the first class session, making a point to check in with her during a class session just to check for understanding could be a strategy for this particular student to help her navigate Blackboard more fluidly. While she does like working alone, cooperative groups of pairs, since she said “little groups” would be fine for her, might be an option. Pairing her with a student who is knowledgeable about Blackboard will perhaps also assist her during class.

Conclusion While both students exhibited distinct learning styles and ways of accessing information, learning strategies which accommodate these varying characteristics would best appeal and suit them. Martha, who has major external sources of influence in her life and is able to articulate when meaning breaks down for her while navigating BB, would benefit in reviewing printed steps of tasks with diagrams in Blackboard. Also pairing her with another student would appeal to her social personality and desire to seek information from external resources. On the other hand, while Janet has a more internal locus of control, she would also benefit from printed step by step directions with graphic models and from an instructor or student partner who supports her during Blackboard tasks and initiates to ask if she requires assistance.

Instructors who teach hybrid courses involving an LMS and face to face instructional time may benefit from reading this study. They too can formulate plans to discover students’ learning styles and give low-stakes technology orientations to their students before major assignments are due. This orientation can isolate students who may experience a discomfort with new software. Instructors then can plan to support this group of students throughout the next couple of weeks until they feel confident navigating the LMS without assistance.

Limitations While there is valuable information to be accessed through student feedback, there are limitations to this study as well. Many different personalities and learning styles are present in the classroom and two are focused on here. Teachers will want to find self-regulated techniques for multiple learning styles for students who don’t fall into the learning style types mentioned in this study. Also for isolating students using an e-mail to assess comfort with Blackboard, field notes is an additional and more qualitative way of evaluating comfort. All students may not feel comfortable writing about their discomfort with technology since they may want to appear capable of handling the class for the instructor.

This study also would be beneficial over a longer period of time to account for students who may have shown discomfort with the technology while in class. Due to the allotted eight week span of time for this action research project, there was a limited opportunity to gather new students who may have indicated comfort with computers in the test e-mail, yet showed later signs of discomfort through their lack of uploading a file or doing so in an incorrect section of Blackboard. Also, due to the two participants, this sample doesn’t allow one to draw conclusions about a large group.


This action research project is an observational study, instead of a randomized control clinical trial where there is a control group not receiving the treatment and an experimental one receiving it. Since I, the observer determined the differences I saw, I granted the treatment to just two students. Yet, identified differences for these two students also could be due to a varied factors including tension on the first day of class.

ReferencesBadke, W. (2008, July/Aug). Information Literacy Meets Adult Learners. Online , 32 (4), pp. 48-50.

Githens, R. P. (2007). Older Adults and E-Learning. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education , 8 (4), 329-338.

Kotrlik, J. W., & Redmann, D. H. (2005). Extent of Technology Integration in Instruction by Adult Basic Education Teachers. Adult Education Quarterly , 55 (3), 200-219.

Kunz, J. L., & Tsoukalas, S. (2000). Riding the Technology Wave: Experiences of adult literacy and teachers in Ontario. Canadian Council on Social Developkment.

McLoughlin, C. and Marshall, L. (2000). Scaffolding: A model for learner support in an online teaching environment. In A. Herrmann and M.M. Kulski (Eds), Flexible Futures in Tertiary Teaching. Proceedings of the 9th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, 2-4 February 2000. Perth: Curtin University of Technology. http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf2000/mcloughlin2.html

Merrill, H. S. (2004). Best Practices for Online Facilitation. Adult Learning , 14 (2), 13-16.

Mueller, J., Wood, E., Hunt, J., & Sprecht, J. (2009). Assessing Adult Student Reactions to Assistive Technology in Writing Instruction. Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal , 13-23.

Olgren, C. H. (2000). Learning Strategies for Learning Technologies. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education , 7-16.


Appendix A

Daniels

CSK98

Blackboard Orientation Materials

Every Lab Class

1) Log into the computer, with your username and password2) Choose Internet Explorer from the icons on the desktop or from the start Menu at the

bottom left corner of the screen.3) Go to Blackboard by typing in my.berkeleycollege.edu or the full address

http://www.my.berkeleycollege.edu into the web address (url) field4) Log in with your Blackboard username and password5) Click on CSK98 under your Courses section

Finding class work on Blackboard

1) Go to Course Material2) Click on the name of the Current Week: For example, click on Week 13) Click on Assignments4) Click on the title of the Class work to be completed. For example, click on the title

“Upload this test File due 7/7/11” You will then see instructions for the assignment.

Creating a Microsoft Word File

1) Go to the start Menu at the bottom left corner of the screen.2) 3) 4)

Saving the Microsoft Word File

1) 2) 3) 4)

http://www.my.berkeleycollege.edu/


Appendix A

Uploading Files to Blackboard

1) Return to the Assignment area by clicking on the title link within the current Week.2) Click on the title link of the Assignment.3) Click Browse my Computer in the Attach File section.4) Choose the file from your flash drive or from My Documents. (where you can save it

temporarily)5) 6)


Appendix B –

Martha’s E-mail Response to Her Comfort with Blackboard


Appendix B –

Janet’s E-mail Response to Her Comfort with Blackboard


Appendix C – Informed Consent Forms


Appendix D –Martha’s Survey Responses


Appendix D- Martha’s Responses


Appendix D -Janet’s Survey Responses


Appendix E

Categorized and Coded Data for Martha’s Interview Responses

Questions Participant Response Category Code/Group Name

2) How would you describe your learning style? How do you learn best?

“by writing, being hands on”

Repeating things to myself

“Big on music. Sometimes I

will try to add rhythm to it.

Remember things faster that

way”

Learning Awareness- Able to

articulate how she learns

best.”

3) Describe your work style. How would you approach writing an essay you have two weeks to complete?

“Jotting things down”

“Basically pre-write, jot down

certain things I want to add

into the essay.”

No time Frame Here

4) How do you know

if you understand a

technology skill or

lesson?

“I feel comfortable with no

hesitation” I would know if I

wouldn’t have to repeat asking

questions

Comfort = Learning

5) If you didn’t know how to upload an assignment to Blackboard, what would you do?

“I would ask, students,

teachers, even try to Google it

if I was unsure.”

External Focus on Answers.

6) What resources I would use the tutors, Making Social Connections=


would you use if

you became

frustrated or could

not complete an

assignment in

Blackboard?

professors,” ask questions, use

a dictionary and person that

has knowledge I’m asking.

Fact Finding

Categorized and Coded Data for Janet’s Interview Responses

Questions Participant’s Response Category Code/Group Name

1) How did you make the decision to attend college?

“I tried different schools”

“I have two kids”

“let me just try close to

school”

“will be easier for me”

Multiple Exposures to College

Environment

Convenience Important

Family Responsibilities

Present

2) How would you describe your learning style? How do you learn best?

“I like little groups”

“in my little mode” “Like

math, quicker quietly by

myself, think through stuff.”

Likes to Work Alone

3) Describe your work style. How would you approach writing an essay you have two weeks to complete?

“Make sure I have all the

information”

“break it down to each

No time frame here is

mentioned


paragraph”

“do a little graph write it”

4) How do you know if

you understand a

technology skill or

lesson?

This question was asked a

second time to answer the

question: The first responses

were: “I would ask questions”

“to see if it’s right”

Unclear on question asked

“depends on what it is”

“ In my computer class, steps

teach you how to do it…If it

doesn’t look like the book

have to do it over.”

Refers to Models and

Examples for Confirmation

6) If you didn’t know how to upload an assignment to Blackboard, what would you do?

“Depends –email the teacher”

“Ask someone in class”

“In class the other day, “ I

couldn’t get to something in

Blackboard” “ask another

students for help”


Appendix F

Analyzing Key Experiences for Janet’s Interview Response

Question #6 –What resources would you use if you became frustrated or could not complete an

assignment or task for school?

Quote/Key Experience Theme

“First, talk to my boyfriend”

“he calms me down”

Strong external support system

“I was trying to read my books and take care of

the kids”

Busy

Multiple Responsibilities

Limited Available Free Time to Study or Read

“I was getting frustrated.” Suffering in Silence

Not asking for assistance

“he [my boyfriend] told me to calm down and

he said, I will take care the kids”

External Support Intervened and Interrupted

Frustration

Figure Analyzing Key Experiences for Martha’s Interview Response

Categorized and Coded Responses to Interview Question #1

Quote/Key Experience Theme

“always been a decision…just had a million

excuses as to why”

Procrastination

“I had a friend of mine who attended here

which caused me to pick this school”

Strong External Influence

“And my father actually attended this school” Legacy/External Influence


Appendix G

Concept Map for Martha’s Responses:

Martha

Strong External Influences "father" and "friend" - repertoire of learning strategies may benefit

student

"million excuses "- Needs study plan

with time benchmarks - self

regulation

Strong External Influence- Use

cooperative learning to help student to learn information

from others

“Big on music. Sometimes I will try to add rhythm to it. Remember things faster that way”Set technology

instructions to music


Appendix H

Concept Mapping – Janet’s Responses

Janet

Asked a classmate for help before

asking instructor

Likes to work alone: cooperativ e learning may be a hindrance

Yet may be hesitant to ask for

help since boyfriend

intervened when she was frustrated

Uses Models to gain confirmation of

knowledge: Providing Models for this students

will be helpful.


Appendix I: Modified Schedule

Tasks Original

Deadlines

Modified Deadlines

Develop Research Tools: Surveys,

Interview Questions, Informal Comment

Sheet

Now-7/7/11 7/11/11 – Due to change

in approach, I pushed back

the creation of the

research tools.

Literature Review Due 7/9/11 No Modifications

Get Informed Consent from Students 7/5/11 7/13 -7/14/11 –Decided to

change my approach and didn’t

want to announce this project to

students yet but evaluate

behavior.

Administer Survey in First Lab Class 7/7/11 No Modifications

Interview Students Based on Results from

Survey

7/9/11 7/13 -7/14/11 – Hunting downs

students individually can be

hard so this was the quickest

time that I could reach them.

Draft Data Analysis 7/19/11 No Modifications

Draft of Action Report Due 7/26/11 No Modification

Final Action Report Due 7/30/11 No Modification


Appendix J: Field Notes on Thursday – Classroom Lab Observations:

Thurs 7/14/11 – Lab Class

Martha had a question about how to save her journal as a draft.

Another student was helping her do this as well.

I walked over to her and she couldn’t find her draft and wanted to know where it was.

I instructed her on how to find drafts while in the Journal section of Blackboard. She was able to recover it during class.

Janet uploaded her journal successfully to Blackboard without questions during class.

Thurs 7/21/11– Lab Class

Martha didn’t upload her class work assignment.

She did successfully e-mail her grammar quiz to me.

Janet uploaded her class work and e-mailed her quiz successfully to me.

Wed 7/27/11 – No Lab Day,

Spoke to Martha outside of class regarding the fact that she didn’t upload a class work assignment and we uploaded it together on Blackboard.

Thurs 7/28/11– Lab Class

Martha had a question during class on how to forward e-mail; I directed another student to help her do the task.

Martha demonstrated how to upload a Blackboard assignment in front of the class with the Epson pen.

Martha also helped another student navigate Blackboard to forward his e-mail.

Janet was absent