Keynote presentation at 'Digital Futures: A Symposium for ELESIG Members', Southampton, 2nd December, 2014.

1. Twenty Shades of Gray:
Reflecting on Digital Realities and Digital Futures
Professor Mark Brown
Director, National Institute for Digital Learning
Dublin City University
2nd December, 2014

2. Set against the backdrop of the
“Bridging the Distance Project”

4. Set against the backdrop of the
“Bridging the Distance Project”
…and the challenge of
retention, progression and completion

5. Allan, I., & Seaman, J. (2014). Grade Change: Tracking Online Education in the
United States. Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group,
LLC.

6. 66
%
79%

10. ‘However, when we adjust for course level and do not focus on a particular
group of students, Massey University and the Open University have
comparable extramural course completion rates‘ (p.30).
Guiney, P. (2014). Extramural students’ participation and achievement: Trends, patterns, highlights. New
Zealand Ministry of Education. Wellington

11. What are the completion rates in your own institution?

12. The problem…
• Large body of literature on first year
• Gap in the literature on the experiences of first-time
distance (online/off-campus) learners
• Off-campus learners study under conditions far less
common than campus-based learners
• Emergence of online learning literature on student
experience
• Dearth of research that presents the learner voice

13. Research objective…
To improve the supports and services
available for first-time distance learners.

14. Research objective…
To improve the supports and services
available for first-time distance learners.
• To investigate the experiences of being a first time distance
learner ‘in their own words’ from a student perspective

15. Research objective…
To improve the supports and services
available for first-time distance learners.
• To investigate the experiences of being a first time distance
learner ‘in their own words’ from a student perspective
• To develop a set of overarching principles for enhancing
distance learner engagement and success;
• To develop a conceptual framework for identifying the most
effective use of various intervention tools, supports and
resources at early stages of the study lifecycle.

16. Methodology…
• Design-based research
• Mixed method approach
• Strong phenomenological dimension

17. Method…
• Phase 1 - Audit of existing services
• Phase 2 - Baseline and end of semester survey
• Phase 3 - Stories of first-time distance learners
• Obtained full human ethics approval process
• 140 volunteers from pool of 850 potential
participants
• 20 participants broadly representive of distance
learners

18. Participants…
Gender Female (13) Male (7)
Age Under 25 (4), 25-29 (4), 30-39 (6), 40-49 (4), 50-59 (2)
Ethnicity Pakeha / European (12), Māori and/or Pasifika (8)
Location A campus town (11), Other urban town (3), Remote (4), Overseas (2)
Delivery Mode Distance only (17), Mixed mode (3)
Total Papers (Units) Undergraduate: One (6), Two (6), Three (0), Four (6); Postgraduate (2)
Discipline Business (8), Humanities (6), Education (3), Sciences (3)
Prior Education High school (8), Diploma (2), Degree papers (5), Degree (5)
Employment Full time (11), Part time (3), Casual (1), None (3), Full time mother (2)
Dependents None (11), One (1), Two or three (5), Four or more (3)

19. Video Diaries…
• Adapted from JISC (2007), Arnold & Riddle
(2007) and Cashmore, Green & Scott (2010)
• Aim for video diary of ≥ 5 m/pw for ≤ 6 wks
• Actual video diaries were 2 – 16 m/pw for 7
– 16 wks
• Participant withdrawals: 2 early, 5 in W7, 5 in
W14, 8 in W16
• Data collection aided by ‘reflective prompt
framework’

20. 30 – 39 years
Maori
4 papers (module)
College of Humanities
Remote location
Not employed
7 children
Insights from first-year…

21. 30 – 39 years
Maori / Pasifika
4 papers (module)
College of Business
Wellington
FT employment
1 guardianship
Insights from first-year…

22. 20 – 29 years
European
2 papers (module)
College of Humanities
Urban location
FT employment
0 children
Insights from first-year…

23. 50 - 59 years
Maori / European
2 papers (module)
College of Business
Auckland
Seeking employment
Insights from first-year…

24. 60+ years
European
1 paper (module)
College of Education
Remote location
Employed 3 days
Insights from first-year…

25. Two broad groups…
• Support Seekers (25%)
• Lone Wolves (75%)

26. Support Seekers…
“Moodle is very useful – I've managed to work my way
around it; as well as the library website and the online
tutorials.”
“I went to Uni and I saw a counsellor and she was just
awesome. She also put me in touch with the Teaching &
Learning Centre. I came away from Uni this morning feeling
so much more positive.”
“My paper coordinator writes real mean in the forums... and
there's been a couple of times I've wanted to write on there
but I'm a bit scared of her reaction so I figure it out myself.”

27. Lone Wolves…
“I think one of my papers had a contact course during
semester break but because of work and stuff like that I
didn't go... I couldn't make the time.”
“Moodle is available but people's base fears of putting
something out there and being wrong... it's very different to
leaning over to a peer and checking for immediate
reinforcement.”
“I’ve been trying to integrate my wife in to talking about
what I'm doing but it’s hard as it can be sometimes quite
technical with writing essays and stuff.”

28. Life happens…
"I've finished my paper (module), which is such a
relief because, in the last six weeks, I just wasn't
really interested in it. Other things in my life meant
it went on the back-burner and was something that
was frustrating and it got in the way of... well, life
got in the way of the paper (module) really."

29. Three lessons…
1. Online/distance learning was perceived to
enable study to fit around other life, work and
family commitments; however, students have
relatively little conception of the actual
demands of studying by online/distance.

30. Three lessons…
2. Online/distance students that begin with well
articulated study goals that are aligned with
their wider aspirations and realistically balanced
alongside life's other commitments also typically
report active study orientations.

31. Three lessons…
3. Although learner stories affirm the importance of
the first few weeks of study, there are ebbs and
flows in the life of an online/distance student
over the semester and a second critical at risk
phase was identified in later weeks.

32. Metaphorically how can we use new digital
technologies to provide caves, campfires,
watering holes and mountain tops which
promote a stronger sense of belonging and
connectedness?

33. • Move away from a ‘goulash’ approach
• Institutions need to analyse their
retention strategies and ‘spot the
leaks’
• Develop a framework informed by the
literature to support and scaffold for
student success across the study
lifecycle

34. Pathway Intervention
What do we do for failing
students
Secondary Intervention
What do we do for at-risk
students?
Targeted/Selective Primary Intervention
What do we do for targeted groups of students?
General/Primary Intervention
What do we do for all students?
Adapted from Wilson (2009)
Success Pyramid
Wilson, K. (2009). Success in the first year: The impact of institutional, programmatic and personal interventions on
an effective and sustainable first year experience. Paper presented at the First Year in Higher Education Conference,
Brisbane.

35. Study Life Cycle
Shillington, S., Brown, M., MacKay, A., Paewai, S., Suddaby, G., & While, F. (2012). Avoiding the
goulash: Closing gaps and bridging distances. Open Learning: Journal of Open, Distance and
eLearning, 27, (1), 65-80.

43. Final point…

44. Off Campus
in Class
Final point…
Synchronous Asynchronous
Off Campus
out of Class
On Campus
in Class
Acquisition
Participation
On Campus
out of Class

45. “He [she] who asks a question
is a fool for five minutes; he [she] who
does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”
Chinese Proverb

46. Contact Details
mark.brown@dcu.ie
@mbrownz
http://www4.dcu.ie/nidl
http://www.slideshare.net/mbrownz