ERIC Number: ED428699
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1998-Jun
Pages: 8
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Are We Really Doing Students a Favour? A Study of the Use of an Electronic Study Guide in Distance Education.
Messing, John
The goals of this study at Charles Sturt University (Australia) were to collect and interpret data about the way that students used various features of an electronic study guide in the context of a distance education setting and to uncover any relationship that affected the desirability of this medium of delivering educational materials. The study was conducted for the duration of a full semester for five consecutive semesters. Data were collected using computer logging procedures within the study materials which recorded every action along with time-based data. Surveys were used before the start of the subject to determine the level of experience with computers and computer-based learning materials. Surveys and interviews were used after the teaching period to gather data about student reactions. Data were analyzed according to the following factors: (1) a meaningful gain in relation to the goals of the project; (2) a payoff in making the life of the participant somewhat easier; and (3) a measure of the pleasure or satisfaction derived from the project. Findings indicated that there are misconceptions in the literature about how acceptable such products really are. Contains 17 references. (DLS)
Descriptors: Appropriate Technology, Computer Assisted Instruction, Distance Education, Educational Environment, Educational Technology, Electronic Publishing, Foreign Countries, Higher Education, Hypermedia, Instructional Material Evaluation, Interviews, Printed Materials, Student Attitudes, Student Surveys, Study Guides, Use Studies, User Needs (Information), User Satisfaction (Information), Virtual Universities
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A