TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY AND STUDENTS PERFORMANCE

1. TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY AND STUDENTS PERFORMANCE Clement G. Yedjou, Mark Hardy, Paul Tchounwou, and Gregorio Begonia Department of Biology/Environmental Science Ph.D. Program, Jackson State University

2. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE • To reach non-traditional students and to meet their educational needs around the world, more colleges are turning to distance education. • Current instructional technology can potentially provide effective learner-centered, personalized education for non-traditional, non-residential students around the globe. • As students and faculty move from traditional, on-site learning and teaching, they must learn to make the necessary adjustments.

3. 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION • Everyone who experiences online education realizes that this is the beginning of a new paradigm for learning and teaching. • Welcome to the 21st century! and enjoy your journeys along the information highway.

4. TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY • Teaching with technology requires a significant effort. • Students do not tolerate errors • Make sure it works • Require stable system operation • If we do not adopt technology in education, prospective student will go elsewhere! • We need to take this very serious if we want to continue to rate first institution.

5. Electronic mail: Course information Grade distribution World-Wide WEB: Access to up-to-date course information Distribution of lecture notes, lab manuals, assignments, etc Excellent advertising tool Simulations: Study of complicated systems Students control of parameters Video analysis: Study real-life effects Students involment in every stage List servers and news groups: On-line discussions EXAMPLES OF TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY

6. Multimedia Use video, films, and audio tools in class Requires students access outside lecture Computerized homework systems Provide immediate feedback to students and teachers Has changed the interaction between students and teacher and TAs Distance learning: Video links allow students at distant locations to participate in our classes Computerized data Illustrate important concept in class Change qualitative lecture demonstrations into quantitative measurements Ability to respond to student input EXAMPLES OF TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY

7. Computerized Homework Assignments(Comment From Students) • Student#1: I found that WebCT forces me to keep trying at the homework problems until they are correct, which gave me a better understanding of the material. • Student#2: I believe that is a tremendous help, because it forces me to redo the test and found out what I did wrong and correct the mistake. This helps to have a strong foundation in order to continue onto the next section chapter. • Student#3: I get immediate response feedback from the instructor about any difficulties I encounter while working on the problems.

8. BENEFIT OF ONLNE LEARNERS Students taking distance learning often share the following characteristics: 1. Increased Learning • Better student work • high expectations, • Increased depth of understanding • Greater retention of course content • More meaningful discussions • Deeper level of engagement with material • More thoughtful comments and responses • Learn technology skills for future education, work, and life • Learn life skills such as time management, independence, and self-discipline • Learn to take greater responsibility for the learning process • independent pursuit of continuing education, • older age than average students, • and a serious attitude toward learning.

9. BENEFIT OF ONLNE LEARNERS 2. Leveling of the Playing Field • Students can take more time to think and reflect • Students can edit their comments before communicating them • Shy students tend to thrive online 3. Interaction • More student-to-teacher interaction and discussion • More student-to-student interaction and discussion • A more student-centered learning environment • Less passive listening and more active learning • Greater sense of connection 4. Convenience • Increased flexibility of time • Accommodates students’ schedules • Can work online any time of day or night

10. MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ONLINE EDUCATION • People who have little or no experience with online learning or teaching tend to harbor some misconceptions. • The most common misconception is that online classes will be fairly sterile and impersonal. But once a person starts to interact with other group members, they quickly discover that an online learning environment can be very rich and very personal. Participants often establish online friendships. Furthermore, people find that they are drawn into the subject matter of the class much more deeply than in a traditional course because of the discussions they get involved in.

11. MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ONLINE EDUCATION • A second misconception is that online education is only for people who have a lot of experience with computers. • It is true that you have to have some minimal computer skills to participate, but you certainly do not need to know very much about computers. With modern software, participating in an online course shouldn't require much more technical know-how than what you need to operate any other piece of office equipment. • On the other hand, you do have to have convenient access to a properly equipped computer system in order to participate regularly in an online class; this means having a machine at work and at home.

12. MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ONLINE EDUCATION • A third misconception is that online classes will be easy -- easier than conventional classes. • However, almost all participants report that they find online classes much more work and much more rewarding than traditional courses they have taken. This has to do with the amount of thought about the subject matter that results from online discussions. Such classes require the self-discipline to do the preparation required for online participation and activities. For instance, homework is homework, whether online or offline!

13. DISTANCE LEARNING INTERACTION • Some studies reveal deep doubts among students and faculty that distance learning ever can have the degree of interaction in a non-distance environment. • For example, a study by Smith (1996) found that about 30% of the nearly 400 respondents to a survey about distance learning options would never choose DL because they felt that it could never provide the qualities they desire in a face-to-face course. • However, studies such as one by Miller and Webster (1997) have found no significant difference in assessments of interaction between students in a synchronous (face-to-face) and asynchronous courses. • Horn (1994); Hirumi and Bermudez (1996) are among those who find that, with proper instructional design, distance courses actually can be more interactive than traditional ones, providing more personal and timely feedback to meet students’ needs than is possible in large, face-to-face courses.

14. ASSUMPTIONS/HYPOTHESIS/GOAL • ASSUMPTION • Technology will make your life easier. • The more sophisticated the technology the better. • HYPOTHESIS • We hypothesize that online education will enrich student knowledge and performance based on the innovative technology. • GOAL • To compare an “intro to biological science online course” with an equivalent course taught in a traditional face-to-face format on a variety of outcome measures.

15. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 1. to improve classroom instruction by creating innovative discussions and hands-on-activities through hybrid and online courses. 2. to help develop student awareness and critical thinking skills in the field of Biology and Environmental Science Education.

16. LESSON DESIGN The fundamental lesson design include the following events: 1. Informing the learner of the objective: carried out with a detailed syllabus and list of objectives presented for each unit and each lesson 2. Presenting materials: carried out by using the same format for every lesson 3. Eliciting performance: carried out by quizzes, activities, practice problems, discussion forums and exams 4. Providing feedback about performance correctness: carried out with graded and returned exams and answer keys, small group discussions, emails and posted announcements 5. Assessing performance: carried out with exams and small group discussions 6. Enhancing retention and transfer: carried out by using and expanding upon the same basic statistical information over and over and applying it on exams and in discussions

17. RESULTS • Out of a total of 18 students who took BIO101 last year, 11 (61%) filled out an online course evaluation form. • The question regarding the way the course was taught had very high ratings (95% and up) for last year. • The largest proportion (70% or more) of people who took online class last year was residential students. This may suggest that students who choose to take the course online will be happier with the format than those who are forced to take it online, which is to be expected. • All of these results are limited by the low response rate. Since the evaluations were anonymous, there is no way of knowing whether the students who did not fill out an evaluation form are similar to those who did.

18. ONLINE BIO101 FINAL GRADE(Fall 2006)

19. ONLINE BIO101 FINAL GRADE(Grade Distribution of Fall 2006)

20. FACE-T0-FACE BIO101-73 FINAL GRADE(Fall 2006)

21. Percent of Students Who Agreed or Strongly Agreed with Each Statement on the Online Course Evaluation.

22. CONCLUSIONS • To summarize the course structure and materials, I quote 1 of my students: “I believe this is my 2nd class completely online. I was very impressed with the organization and your hands-on involvement. I learned a lot. • Organization and involvement are key components for a successful online course. • I think that hybrid and online courses can be very successful, but one cannot underestimate the importance of the professor’s involvement with the students.

23. CONCLUSIONS • For most students, there must be enough interaction with the professor to keep the course from being an independent study course. • Online students who did complete the course were equally satisfied with their grades and were more positive about the value of the course, and more willing to recommend it to others. • Findings from the present study demonstrated that students perform comparably on tests and exams in both traditional and online courses, but enjoy online courses more.

24. OUTCOME • These data will provide helpful information and explanation to the Vice President of the Academic Affair, Deans, Department Chairs, and all other people who are concerned about the performance and effect of students in online education, especially here at Jackson State University, Jackson, MS.

25. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge the following credible persons: • Dr. Della Posey:Associate Vice President of the Academic Affair at JSU. • Dr. Edelia J. Carthan: Distance Learning Coordinator at JSU. • Mrs. Raymonda Delaware-Mays: Academic IT Specialist at JSU. • Mrs. Emily A. Miller-Bishop: Academic IT Specialist at JSU.

26. THANKS