Perceptions of online learning environments

To seek information about perceptions of online learning environments held by teachers and students at the three higher education institutions data were gathered from students, academic staff and professional development staff from three institutions. Participants were invited to complete an online questionnaire (OLES – Students, OLES – Teachers) and to contribute to a focus group.

The OLES (Online Learning Environment Survey) used in this study was a modified (with permission) version of the OLES developed by Trinidad and her colleagues (Pearson & Trinidad, 2005; Trinidad, Aldridge, & Fraser, 2005). After consultation with the original authors a revised OLES survey was developed to meet the intentions and processes of the research project. The nine scales were reduced to eight (removed Enjoyment, because it was not relevant, nor represented part of the validation of the scale). The revised survey had 48 items within eight scales.

After the mean responses from the teachers' and students' responses were analysed, the most highly scoring items and the lowest scoring items were identified to determine which items were agreed upon most and least by the participants in the study (the five highest scoring items and the five lowest scoring items are represented in the table below).

Perceptions of preferred online learning environments

Students' perceptions	Teacher's perceptions
Perceptions of preferred online learning environments (highest mean score)
I prefer it when the teacher/lecturer responds promptly to my online questions.	I prefer students to approach learning in their own way.
I prefer to be treated the same as other students in the class.	I prefer to work with real examples.
I prefer to get the same amount of help from the teacher/lecturer as do other students.	I prefer students to take time to think about their messages before posting them.
I prefer to work with real examples.	I prefer my students to submit assignments online (e.g. email, Learning Management System, Turnitin, etc.).
I prefer it if my work receives as much praise as other students' work.	I prefer to give the same opportunity to all students to answer questions.
Perceptions of preferred online learning environments (lowest mean score)
I prefer to be involved in group work as part of my activities.	I prefer to give the same amount of praise to all students' work.
I prefer to participate in online discussions with other students.	I prefer to give the same amount of help to all students.
I prefer to work with others.	I prefer it when students can learn things about the world outside of the class.
I prefer to ask the teacher/lecturer questions online.	I prefer students to collaborate with other students in the class.
I prefer to collaborate with other students in the class.	I prefer to give equal attention to all student questions.

Furthermore, students' perceptions were compared with teachers' perceptions. Mean responses for student and teacher data was correlated and found a weak negative relationship between the means (-0.26). Then, the five most agreed upon responses, based on calculating the lowest standard deviations, and the five least agreed upon responses, based on highest standard deviations, were identified (see the table below).

Most and least agreed upon perceptions of preferred online learning environments

Students' perceptions	Teacher's perceptions
Most agreed upon perceptions of preferred online learning environments
I prefer to get the same amount of help from the teacher/lecturer as do other students.	I prefer to respond promptly to student questions online.
I prefer it if my work receives as much praise as other students' work.	I prefer it when it is easy for students to contact me online.
I prefer to be treated the same as other students in the class.	I prefer it when students can relate their work to other's work.
I prefer to work on assignments that deal with real-world information.	I prefer students to write and post messages because it helps them to think.
I prefer to study real cases related to the class activities.	I prefer to give the same encouragement to all students in the class.
Least agreed upon perceptions of preferred online learning environments
I prefer to learn things about the world outside of this class.	I prefer to encourage student online participation.
I prefer to relate what I learn to my life outside of this class.	I prefer it when students play an important role in their learning.
I prefer to pursue topics that interest me.	I prefer students to read posted messages at times that are convenient to them.
If I have an inquiry, I prefer the teacher/lecturer to respond quickly. I prefer students to post messages because it improves their writing skills.
I prefer to access assessment information online.	I prefer to use real facts in class activities.

Findings from the data analyses of the students' and teachers' OLES responses with the highest mean agreement score revealed that students were pointing towards the teachers for a better service while teachers were pointing to students for a better performance. Equity featured frequently in student preferences. Not only did items on equity get the highest mean scores with students, but there was the greatest agreement between students on these items. Communication by lecturers features most highly in the student wish list. While questions of equity rated highly for students, three of the equity items were in the bottom five items for lecturers. Both students and teachers put student collaboration, group work and online discussions very low in their preferences. Overall a negative relationship was found between the priorities for students and teachers.

Lastly, areas of overlap (similarities) and differences were identified.

Venn digram — *Similarities and differences between students' and teachers' perceptions of preferred online learning environments*

To augment the findings from an analysis of the data gathered from the students' and teachers' responses to the OLES questionnaires, transcripts from the focus groups conducted in Phase 2 of the project were analysed . Findings from this analysis revealed the teachers' and students' perceptions about the major skills needed by online teachers (see the table below). While there was some overlap between the perceptions held by teachers and students, the students clearly expressed a more diverse and comprehensive set of perceptions about the major skills needed by online teachers.

Students' and teachers' perceptions of the major skills needed by online teacher

Students' perceptions	Teacher's perceptions
Support students Give prompt feedback Track student progress Encourage, motivate Be interesting and engaging Stage the learning Communicate clearly Troubleshoot technology problems Scaffold learning Connect on a personal level, get to know students Create student-to-student connections Make expectations clear Give students opportunity to talk, interact, share	Developing engaging learning activities Planning for interaction Clear communication Building relationships with students Provide scaffolding and support Being visible and present for students

Students were concerned about the quality of teaching, and provided more detail or what they expected in terms of support from teachers. Areas of greatest emphasis were: prompt feedback and clarity of communication by teachers, going beyond content delivery and establishing a personal presence by more frequent communication and by using ICT such as Skype, audio and video so that students can see that the teacher is present and concerned. While staff commented that students needed to be more self-regulated online, students spoke of the need to have more support, clarity and connection, progress reports and active learning with peers. This finding indicates that staff expect students have the skills and motivation to study in an online environment with minimal support, while students comment that they require more guidance, detail and for teachers to provide a staged, progressive learning experience for students. Barriers that prevented teachers from developing the skills required for effective online teaching includes issues such as: a lack of ICT skills, not being aware of the value of interaction in online courses, a lack of time, students' lack of self-regulation skills, difficulty meeting diverse students' needs, lack of knowledge about learning design and a change of teacher identity in the online context. Overall, student comments on the online learning experience tended to negative, while staff indicated the need for more time and more training in both ICT skills and learning design.

References

Pearson, J., & Trinidad, S. (2005). OLES: An instrument for refining the design of e-learning environments. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21(6), 396-404.

Trinidad, S., Aldridge, J., & Fraser, B. (2005). Development, validation and use of the Online Learning Environment Survey. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 21(1), 60-81.