Student preparedness for university e-learning environments

Highlights

• Students find some facets of e-learning challenging.

• Students are poorly prepared for research and critique.

• Student and staff perceptions of student preparedness can vary markedly.

Abstract

The current generation of learners have been referred to as ‘digital natives’ in reflection of their apparent ease and familiarity with digital technology. However, questions remain about how prepared students are for university e-learning environments. This research explores student and staff perceptions of the level of preparedness for students for a university e-learning environment mediated by a Learning Management System. Findings suggest that while students may be reasonably prepared to deal with the technology of e-learning, for activities such as, reading and writing, being clear and concise in responses, synthesizing ideas, planning strategies, making arguments, and working with others, students are not well prepared.

Introduction

Prensky (2001) argues that the rapid proliferation of digital technologies over the past decades has had a profound influence on the students we teach. According to Prensky, a “discontinuity” has developed and as a consequence, society can now be broadly categorized into two groups, “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” (2001, p.1, 3). As digital natives, students today “are all ‘native speakers’ of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet” (Prensky, 2001, p.1).

Prensky's work, which has subsequently been expanded upon by other authors, has led to the idea that the post 1980s generation—those who have grown up with access to computers and the Internet—are “inherently technology-savvy” (Margaryan, Littlejohn, & Vojt, 2011, p. 429). In a university context, which has seen the rise of e-learning as the preferred method of course delivery, it might seem reasonable to expect that these technologically-savvy, digital native students would be well suited for such learning environments. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that students often to struggle with e-learning. Further evidence can be found in attrition rates for e-learning courses which are generally higher than for traditional face-to-face courses (Waugh & Su-Searle, 2014). All of these act to question the preparedness of students for university e-learning environments.

This paper reports the results of a study designed to explore the preparedness of students within the context of a university e-learning environment. In this study, students and staff at a regional university in New South Wales, Australia were asked to rate 58 e-learning competencies according to their level of student preparedness. These e-learning competencies had been previously developed using a process known as Hybrid BARS.

The original motivation for the study was a response to a series of questions posed by Arif (2001), on the preparedness of students for e-learning:

As a starting point, is the student well prepared for using the computer technology? Then, is the student competent in using the Web for accessing course content and navigating through it easily? Moving towards educational concepts, is the student well equipped for self-assessment and judgment to adapt new directions in learning? Finally, the ultimate question, is the student ready for a change in the old studying techniques to the new ones? (p. 37)

Coincidently, the works of Prensky and Arif are contemporaneous. However, while Prensky argues that as ‘digital natives’ students should be well prepared for e-learning, Arif questions to what extent students actually are. The aim of the study reported in this paper was to look beyond the supposed preparedness of students for university e-learning environments in order to determine their actual preparedness for such environments.