Presentation during OOFHEC2018 Conference (10-12 October 2018) at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark

1. Examining student
engagement with an online
toolkit for academic writing
@hiberniacollege
hiberniacollege.com
Irene O’Dowd
Digital Learning Design

2.  The only accredited online college in Ireland
 Professional masters degrees in primary and
secondary education
 Blended instruction model (45% online, 55%
class-based)
About Hibernia College

3.  Variety of backgrounds and disciplines
 May be changing profession
 Studying part-time
Our students
Our aim is to create engaging, pedagogically
effective online learning objects that keep
students involved in their learning and help
them to be, or to become, self-actualised,
self-directed learners.

4. The problem ...
Topic B
Dissertation
Assignment
Reflection
Postgraduate
Quality
Referencing
Sciences
Usage
HumanitiesPlagiarism
Argument
Quality of
writing

5. The Academic Writing Toolkit
Practical
Used when needed
Accessible

6. The Toolkit grid

7. Bite size principle

8. Variety of activity types

9. Self-assessment

10. Technical areas

11. Research questions
RQ1. Does Toolkit activity in the first five months indicate
that students might return to the Toolkit over time?
RQ2. Is there a relationship between quiz re-attempts
and overall online engagement?
RQ3. What do students think of the Toolkit?

12. Study methods: quantitative
 n=315
 April to August 2017
 Evidence of formative use
 Inferential analysis
Learning analytics is the measurement, collection,
analysis and reporting of data about learners and their
contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising
learning and the environments in which it occurs.
SoLAR – Society for Learning Analytics Research

13. Study methods: qualitative
 Online survey (n=52)
 April to August 2017
 How students experienced the Toolkit

14. Findings: RQ1

15. Findings: RQ2
The correlation suggests that
students who use quizzes
formatively are likely also to be
more engaged online. However,
this is not a straighforward causal
relationship.

16. Findings: RQ3

17.  Short time period needs to be considered.
 Repeated, formative use of the Toolkit is not in
evidence from this study.
 Students who engage more with online content
may be more likely to use the quizzes as
formative tools for learning rather than as
summative tests.
 Instructional design is important, but so is
student context.
 Communication with students is important –
how to use the toolkit, where it fits in with other
supports.
 Scheduling and positioning are also key.
 Learning analytics are powerful but can’t tell you
everything.
Limitations and implications

18.  Time on tasks vs. timing of tasks
 Extended longitudinal study
 Detailed online activity
 Is the Toolkit affecting writing quality?
Next steps

19. Thank you
Questions?