Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study at Andalusian Universities

 http://rusc.uoc.edu Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas Submitted in: May 2011 Accepted in: January 2012 Published in: January 2013 Recommended citation CABERO, Julio; LLORENTE, Mª del Carmen; MORALES, Juan Antonio (2013). “Contributions to e-Lear- ning from a Best Practices Study at Andalusian Universities” [online article]. Universities and Knowledge Society Journal (RUSC). Vol. 10, No 1, pp. 226-239. UOC. [Accessed: dd/mm/yy]. <http://rusc.uoc.edu/ojs/index.php/rusc/article/view/v10n1-cabero-llorente-morales/v10n1-cabe- ro-llorente-morales-en> <http://dx.doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v10i1.1159> ISSN 1698-580X Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study at Andalusian Universities  Julio Cabero Almenara [email protected] Professor, Department of Didactics and Educational Organisation, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Seville M.ª del Carmen Llorente Cejudo k[email protected] Contracted Doctor Lecturer, Department of Didactics and Educational Organisation, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Seville Juan Antonio Morales Lozano [email protected] Tenured Lecturer, Department of Didactics and Educational Organisation, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Seville  http://rusc.uoc.edu Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study… Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas Abstract The presence and development of ICTs in higher education is ever greater, and so are the efforts that universities everywhere have been making to incorporate them into areas such as management, research and teaching. It is within this context that the study presented in this article falls. The main objectives of the study were stated in the following terms: a) To identify how lecturers who were recognised for their best practices in e-learning made use of such practices; b) To ascertain the technical, didactic and organisational problems that they found when incorporating this teachinglearning modality; and c) To analyse the characteristics of the materials that were designed for that purpose. To do that, several data collection strategies were used, such as lecturer bios, individual lecturer interviews, an analysis of materials, and a group student interview. The results allowed a number of conclusions to be drawn, such as positive lecturer and student attitudes towards e-learning in general and towards blended learning in particular. Both the lecturers and the students highlighted their usefulness, the flexibility they allow, and the increase in student involvement and participation. Likewise, the need for both the lecturers and the students to have didactic training was identified, as was the urgent need to set up units and services to assist teaching staff with the use of tools, with the design of materials and with the resources available. Finally, the implementation of blended learning was found to increase the students’ academic performance. Keywords distance education, blended learning, best practices, higher education Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas Resumen La presencia y el desarrollo de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) resulta cada vez más apreciable en todos nuestros ámbitos, y son muchos los esfuerzos que las universidades de todos los países efectúan para incorporarlas a actividades tales como la gestión, la investigación o la docencia. Es en este contexto en el que surge el estudio que exponemos en el presente artículo, cuyos propósitos principales se declararon en los siguientes términos: a) identificar los usos que hacen los profesores denominados como de «buenas prácticas» del e-learning; b) conocer qué problemas técnicos, didácticos y organizativos encontraban a la hora de incorporar esta modalidad de enseñanza-aprendizaje; c) analizar las características de los materiales diseñados para tal fin. Para ello se emplearon diferentes estrategias de recogida de información, tales como el biograma, la entrevista individual al profesorado, el análisis de los materiales y la entrevista grupal a los alumnos. En síntesis, podríamos decir que los resultados obtenidos nos permitieron llegar a algunas conclusiones, como, por ejemplo, una actitud favorable, tanto por parte de los profesores como de los alumnos, hacia metodologías en línea, pero, más especialmente, hacia modelos mixtos o semipresenciales, de las cuales destacaron su utilidad, la flexibilización que permiten, y el aumento de la implicación y la participación del alumnado. Asimismo, se identificó la necesidad de formación didáctica por parte de los docentes y los estudiantes, y la urgencia de servicios y unidades de ayuda para el profesorado en lo que se refiere al uso de herramientas, el diseño de materiales y los recursos disponibles. Por último, se detectó un incremento del rendimiento académico de los estudiantes mediante la implementación de acciones formativas semipresenciales. Palabras clave educación a distancia, aprendizaje semipresencial, buenas prácticas, educación superior  http://rusc.uoc.edu Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study… Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas 1. Introduction. Significance of e-learning In recent years, universities have been making ever greater efforts to incorporate information and communication technologies (ICTs) into areas of management, research and teaching. This is demonstrated by the various reports commissioned by the Conference of Spanish University Rectors (CRUE), which clearly show how ICT penetration has grown (Uceda & Barro, 2010). The different causes of such growth were identified and specified in the Universidad Digital 2010 White Paper (Laviña & Mengual, 2008). According to the White Paper, the three basic objectives of ICTs are: 1) To serve as a medium that facilitates the development of the teaching-learning process; 2) To increase the competitiveness of universities by attracting students through online educational processes; and 3) To facilitate mobility through the development of student e-portfolios. Regarding research and studies conducted on this topic, their focus of interest has shifted from technical aspects and the type of platform that should be used, to the analysis of other problems in the field of education. The Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission (PLS Ramboll, 2004) has indicated that research should focus on pedagogical and didactic issues; didactic interaction between students and their lecturers; organisational issues related to ICTs and e-learning in higher education; innovation management; solution sustainability; cost-benefit studies of ICTs and e-learning; modification of exam and assessment rules as a result of ICT use; analysis of whether the physical context constitutes a barrier to intensive ICT use in university campuses; development of new methods to evaluate and assess the quality of e-learning; modification of the culture and attitudes of lecturers; gender issues; and implementation issues. Within the Spanish context, we have found that topics of research into the field of e-learning are very diverse. Furthermore, they focus on a variety of aspects, such as the influence that gender and level of education have on students’ preferences towards methods of this type (Duart et al., 2008); the level of student and lecturer satisfaction with their participation in such educational experiences (Llorente & Cabero, 2008; Cabero, 2010); or their impact on performance (ascertaining whether more, less or equal learning was achieved when comparing e-learning with face-to-face instructional actions). Relevant to the issue in hand is an analysis performed by the U.S. Department of Education (Means et al., 2009), which included more than 1,000 studies of non-university levels conducted between 1996 and July 2008. One of the most significant conclusions drawn from the analysis asserted that students achieved better results from e-learning than from face-to-face instruction. In one of our previous studies, a meta-analysis of studies conducted over a ten-year period on the issue of the educational effects of e-learning (Cabero, 2008), we found that the following topics stood out above all others: e-learning environments and platforms; design of materials and digital objects used in e-learning; and didactic methods and strategies used in e-learning. However, there were very few studies on other important issues such as tutoring and advice in e-learning; technical uses and evaluation strategies in e-learning; organisational and institutional aspects of e-learning; and accessibility and usability, and their influence on e-learning. The satisfaction expressed by teaching staff towards the incorporation of distance education or blended learning processes is one of the factors that has been – and continues to be – widely studied.  http://rusc.uoc.edu Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study… Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas Indeed, it is key to the success of both modalities. In this respect, as Bolliger & Wasilik (2009) point out, there are certain factors that contribute to the success of such instructional actions. These authors have identified the following: a) Student-related (“online education affords access to higher education for a more diverse student population” and “an opportunity for students to engage in highly interactive communication with the instructor and their peers”); b) Instructor-related (“faculty believe that they can promote positive student outcomes”. Other intrinsic motivators include “intellectual challenge, and an interest in using technology […] and research and collaboration opportunities with colleagues”); c) Institution-related (“workload issues are the greatest barrier in the adoption of online education because educators perceive the workload to be higher than compared to that of traditional courses”). An element also noted in several other studies (Llorente & Cabero, 2008; Lu & Chion, 2009; Ginns & Ellis, 2009; Ballesteros et al., 2010) is the high level of student satisfaction when participating in experiences of this type. 2. Method Within the framework of the excellence project entitled Usos del e-learning en las universidades andaluzas: Estado de la situación y análisis de buenas prácticas (e-Learning Uses at Andalusian Universities: State of the Art and Analysis of Best Practices, PO7-SE-J.02670), several studies were conducted (Cabero, 2010; Ballesteros et al., 2010) to ascertain the perceptions that the different universities’ managerial and teaching staff had of the way in which e-learning was being incorporated into the universities, the level of student satisfaction when participating in e-learning and the specific experience of the Andalusian Virtual Campus; and to perform an analysis of some of the experiences that were being implemented, which were recognised as best practices. The study presented in this article is a best practices case study involving multiple cases (Stake, 1998; Pérez Serrano, 1994; Bisquerra, 2004). Studies of this type can provide us with a range of important data, enabling us to learn more about issues such as ICT use, the problems that ICT implementation poses, or ICT solutions to the communication problems that lecturers encounter in classrooms. In addition, such studies provide us with the opportunity to gather the opinions of the main actors of the didactic act (Rodríguez et al., 1996). One of the most important aspects of these studies is the selection of cases. In our study, we therefore considered a series of criteria that had to be taken into account, such as representativity, suitability to the objectives, time allowed for the study and, of course, the desire for those involved to collaborate. Since it was impossible for us to gain direct access to the lecturers, we decided to ask those in charge of e-learning at each university to provide us with information about those lecturers who: had a track record of successfully using e-learning in their respective universities; had at least one year of experience in instructional actions of this type; and were recognised by their fellowlecturers for their best practices. In other words, an ecological rather than a statistical representativity. Our objectives were stated in the following terms: a) To identify the use that these lecturers made of best practices in e-learning; b) To ascertain the perceived technical, didactic and organisational problems of incorporating e-learning; and c) To analyse the characteristics of the materials they used in their teaching.  http://rusc.uoc.edu Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study… Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas In order to do that, we decided to use four types of data collection strategy, which, due to space constraints, we shall not elaborate on here. However, should the reader be interested in learning more about them, they are described in Cabero (2010). In short, they were: a) A bio of the lecturer teaching the subject; b) An in-depth interview with the lecturers delivering the experience; c) An analysis of the materials produced; and d) An interview with groups of students. Regarding interviews, it is worth clarifying that they are considered one of the most commonly used tools in education research for collecting participants’ data (Cohen & Manion, 1990; Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). So, in our case, semistructured interviews covering the issues shown in Table 1 were used for both the lecturers and the students (Rodríguez et al., 1996). Table 1. Issues covered in the interview protocols on e-learning LECTURERS STUDENTS Concept Experience and training Motives for use Positive aspects Negative aspects Necessary competencies for lecturers Necessary competencies for students University demands Perception in their university Fellow-lecturers’ perceptions Comparisons with other modalities Changes in performance Positive aspects Negative aspects Recommendations to lecturers Recommendation to the university Needs covered by this instructional action Regarding the processing of data collected from the various techniques, we used the HyperRESEARCH program developed by Hesse-Biber (1994). The stages were pre-analysis, category system (CS) formation (Table 1), coding and data analysis (Pérez Serrano, 1994). The study sample comprised 30 lecturers (14 female, 16 male) from several Andalusian universities, 53% of whom taught an online subject. Of these subjects, 36% were taught by a single lecturer, 27% by two and 23% by three. Regarding length of service, 63% of the lecturers had been teaching at universities for between five and 15 years, and 37% for longer than 15 years. Regarding e-learning, 43% had been delivering it for between two and five years, 54% for more than five and just 3% for one year. Furthermore, 54% of the lecturers taught in the field of Social and Juridical Sciences, 23% in Science and Technology, 20% in Health Sciences and 3% in Arts and Humanities. To complete the sample description, we would like to point out that 33% of the lecturers were tenured university lecturers, 27% were contracted doctor lecturers, 23% were temporary lecturers, 13% were tenured university school lecturers and 7% were adjunct lecturers. A total of 141 students were interviewed. The distribution among the universities was as follows: Malaga (40%), Pablo de Olavide University (36%), Huelva (9%), Seville (8%), Jaén and Cadiz (3% each) and Cordoba (1%). In every case, the instruction was delivered in the blended learning modality (Llorente & Cabero, 2008).  http://rusc.uoc.edu Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study… Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas Table 2. Category System DIMENSIÓN CATEGORÍAS LECTURERS e-Learning modality 1) Motives (infrastructure, ICT potential, personal interest, subject content and ICT knowledge). 2) Face-to-face/e-learning: communication, time, effort, productivity, face-to-face add-on and content. 3) Platform: system personalisation, compatibility with other programs, advice and subject. 4) Positive aspects: relating to students, speed (ease, individualisation and availability of materials). 5) Negative aspects: work, use made, confusion and organisation of students. 6) Changes in performance: yes, no and other. 7) Ratio: between 10 and 25, between 35 and 40, between 50 and 65, between 70 and 80, and tasks. 8) Assessment: student satisfaction, results from different assessments, assignments and practicals, and supplementary assessment. 9) Fellow-lecturers’ perceptions: sceptical, offers advantages, involves extra work and does not replace face-to-face education. Lecturer 1) Competencies: didactic training, technical mastery, group work and interest. 2) Training: centre course, university course, self-directed learning and projects. Students 1) Competencies (motivation, documents, technical mastery and participation). 2) Training: technical use and virtual teaching. Measures Training, assessment, platform, technical resources, staffing resources, teaching staff’s interest, making a general improvement, ICT potential and platform capabilities. STUDENTS e-Learning modality 1) Positive aspects (‘e-Learning modality’: immediacy, communication, accessibility, studentmonitoring, convenience, simplicity, collaboration. Specific experience: assessment, motivation, continuous work, methodology). 2) Negative aspects (‘e-Learning modality’: impersonal, technical problems, lack of approach, Internet connection, lack of information. Specific experience: information and assessment system). Suggested improvement 1) Lecturer (information, training, related to reality). 2) Institution (techniques, information and proposals). Needs covered Time, communication and technology. 3. Results In order to present the most significant results of the study, we have taken the Category System (CS) as the reference. So, regarding the analysis of the ‘e-Learning modality’ dimension, the results for the lecturers are shown in Table 3. These values allow us to get a first impression of the importance that the interviewed lecturers placed on the different topics. Worthy of note among these are the positive aspects of e-learning, the elements of blending face-to-face instruction and e-learning, and the problems that such blending involves. Significantly, the problem of e-learning platforms, which, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, has been a major concern of research into the incorporation of e-learning, did not have as much impact or significance for the teaching staff. Regarding the ‘Lecturer’ dimension, the aim was to gather all the comments that the lecturers made about themselves and their work when it came to incorporating one or several subjects in e-learning modality into their teaching (Table 4).  http://rusc.uoc.edu Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study… Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas Table 3. Categories forming part of the ‘e-Learning modality’ dimension of the lecturers’ CS CATEGORIES F % Motives 30 10,23 Face-to-face/e-learning 45 15,35 Platform 19 6,48 Aspects Positive 54 18,43 Negative 25 8,53 Changes in performance 27 9,21 Ratio 30 10,23 Assessment 27 9,21 Fellow-lecturers’ perceptions 36 12,28 TOTAL 293 100% Table 4. Categories forming part of the ‘Lecturer’ dimension of the lecturers’ CS CATEGORIES F % Competencies 47 54,65 Training 39 43,35 TOTAL 86 100% The ‘Competencies’ category considers all references to relevant aspects that need to be taken into account for the successful delivery of e-learning. Of the subcategories forming part of it, the one with the highest frequency, with almost 60% of the references being made to it, was Technical mastery (comments referring to the need to have a technical mastery of computer and platform use). This is followed by Didactic training (comments stating that one of the basic competencies for delivering e-learning is didactics), with nearly 30% of the references being made to it, thus indicating the importance that the teaching staff placed on it. Another dimension of our CS is ‘University’, the aim of which was to gather all the comments made about the different important elements that need to be addressed when delivering e-learning. Table 5 shows the frequencies and percentages of the two categories forming part of it. Table 5. Categories forming part of the ‘University’ dimension CATEGORIES F % Measures 47 68,12 Perception of e-learning 22 31,88 TOTAL 69 100%  http://rusc.uoc.edu Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study… Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas Our final dimension is ‘Student’, with the lowest frequency of all: there were 56 references to be precise, a figure that represents 11.11% of the total of references made to it in the interviews. Table 6 shows the frequencies and percentages of the categories forming part of it. Table 6. Categories forming part of the ‘Student’ dimension of the lecturers’ CS CATEGORIES F % Competencies 31 55,36 Training 25 44,64 TOTAL 56 100% In the ‘Competencies’ category, the Technical mastery subcategory (comments referring to the need to have a technical mastery of computer and platform use) had a higher percentage (45.16%). This is followed by Documents (comments referring to the ability to use documentation stored on the platform in order to deliver the subject, which included working with documents in different languages), with 25.81%. Turning to the results of the student interviews, the dimension with the highest representativity was ‘e-Learning modality’ (f = 521, 68.37%). This was followed by ‘Suggested improvement’ (f = 146, 19.16%) and ‘Needs covered’ (f = 95, 12.46%). The aim of this dimension was to gather the references that the students made to the instructional system. After analysing all of the interviews, the resultant categories were the following: ‘Positive aspects’, with the highest frequency (f = 355, 68.13%), followed by ‘Negative aspects’ (f = 166, 31.86%). And as we can see in Table 7, within each category, the references made to ‘e-Learning modality’ had the highest frequency: f = 275 (52.78%) for ‘Positive aspects’ and f = 135 (25.91%) for ‘Negative aspects’. Table 7. Categories forming part of the ‘e-Learning modality’ of the students’ CS CATEGORIES F % Positive aspects e-Learning modality 275 52,78 Specific experience 80 15,35 355 68,13 Negative aspects e-Learning modality 135 25,91 Specific experience 31 5,95 166 31,86 TOTAL 521 100% Likewise, another dimension that had a higher frequency was the one referring to ‘Suggested improvement’ (f =146, 19.16%) (Table 8).  http://rusc.uoc.edu Contributions to e-Learning from a Best Practices Study… Julio Cabero, M.ª del Carmen Llorente and Juan Antonio Morales, 2013 2013 by FUOC CC CC RUSC VOL. 10 No 1 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Barcelona, January 2013 | ISSN 1698-580X Original title: Aportaciones al e-learning desde un estudio de buenas prácticas en las universidades andaluzas Table 8. Categories forming part of the ‘Suggested improvement’ dimension CATEGORIES F % Lecturer 79 54,10 Institution 67 45,89 TOTAL 146 100% Finally, we come to the ‘Needs covered’ dimension, which accounted for 12.46% of the references that the students made (Table 9). Table 9. ‘Needs covered’ subcategories CATEGORIES SUBCATEGORIES F % Needs covered Time 38 40 Communication 28 29,47 Technology 29 30,52 TOTAL 95 100% If a more qualitative supplementary analysis of the results is performed on what the lecturers generally perceived as this instructional modality’s most useful positive aspects, then the following points can be underscored: a) The potential to place a large volume of materials at the students’ disposal for their education. Furthermore, such materials can be made available in a variety of resource formats (text, audiovisual and multimedia). [The advantage for lecturers is that we know we’re placing the best possible resources at our students’ disposal, and we have information available about our students’ progress and ways of working, and about the amount of work they do too, which we simply don’t have in face-to-face instruction. (A. P. I-1)]1 b) The fact that students can consult materials whenever they want. This allows the instructional action to be more flexible. [Basically, to ensure that students have real-time access to all the information that we’re able to place at their disposal. To all the information and all the tools, so that they aren’t constrained by place or time. (A. P. I-2)] c) The potential to communicate with students, both synchronously and asynchronously, and to be able to deliver tutoring and perform student-monitoring more successfully. [The positive thing is that we’re able to interact with students too, basically through communication systems; that would by very hard to do without technology. (A. P. E-2)] 1. The original Spanish text of the interviews/comments has been translated into English from this point on.