Understanding of How Communications Students Use Interactive Instructional Technology From a User Experience Perspective

Data Collection

Purposeful sampling was used in the study to identify potential participants (Creswell, 2007). Maximum variation was used to represent diverse experiences between participants to identify common patterns. Participant recruitment included open calls through university student organization email listservs and websites with a link to a simple online screening survey. Students who volunteered by completing the screening survey and who were at least 19 years old were contacted by email with a formal recruitment letter. The screening survey was completed by 49 students. Four students were removed from the pool due to being younger than 19 years. From the 45 students who met the age criteria for the study, 22 chose to participate in the focus groups.

Multiple data types were collected that include unconventional types to strengthen the narrative and add new perspectives. All data came from three major areas: (a) focus group interviews, (b) learning environment observations, and (c) institutional resources. The primary source of data was collected through focus group sessions with college students. All protocols were piloted with one group of students before data collection. Five, 1-hr focus groups were held with three to eight participants in each session. As the participants arrived, a consent form and demographics, technology, and media usage survey were distributed.

The 22 participants were made up of 11 females and 11 males, the majority of which were seniors in college and an average age just over 21 years. The ethnicity of participants was comparable to the makeup of the university. All the participants majored in some form of communications fields such as advertising and public relations, journalism, broadcasting, and film.

The sessions began with a brainstorming session listing technology used by students in college. A follow-up was an icebreaker requiring students to draw a good and bad example of interactive instructional technology (see Appendix A for a summary of all sketches and Appendix B for example sketches). After sketching, semistructured sessions included open-ended questions. Students shared with the group their drawings to frame the conversation. The researcher facilitated the discussion by asking probing questions and guiding the interactions.

Observational data were also collected from informal learning environments from public areas in the university library and student union. Classrooms and other formal learning environments where instructional technology is heavily integrated were also observed. As a result of the focus groups, participants were asked to share relevant materials and links to publicly available resources. In addition, faculty and staff were informally asked to share similar resources the institution provides regarding technology and instructional design initiatives at the university.

Data Analysis

Focus groups were recorded and transcribed. Data were coded using a qualitative software, MAXQDA. Transcripts were in vivo coded and clustered into themes that emerged from the participant responses. Individual cases were then thematically analyzed. A cross-case synthesis was performed that merged relevant artifacts gathered during the study, observations of learning environments, and analysis of institutional resources to provide richer descriptions (Yin, 2014). These findings were written into thematic passages to describe student experiences. Pseudonyms are used in the report to protect participant identities. Triangulation is used for validity in this study between focus groups interviews, learning environment observations, and analysis of institutional resources to provide evidence from multiple sources. Member checking was also used for validation of findings.

Communication Is the Number One Priority

Communication should be the number one priority. If technology is helping or hurting it, that is what faculty need to look at first. (Laura)

Communication plays an important role in technology, social lives, and academic work for students. Social media, email, and various forms of chat are all collectively used, depending on the situation. Students use what they consider normal. Blackboard is easy to follow for announcements and course materials. Sara expressed it is “helpful because you go to the course and the last thing the professor wanted you to know is in the announcements and easy to follow along.” A baseline of communication was expected. Laura pointed out, “Communication is the one thing that needs to be there, whether it is through Blackboard or email.”

However, there were preferences between ways to communicate among students. The communication tools considered “normal” were described with annoyance because of the lack of immediacy and integration with their personal communication practices. Mary described, “the problem with Blackboard and even email is I don’t use it. I am sure you posted that 2 ½ weeks ago and I am sure you emailed me. ‘Oh, there it is.’” If students are not using it, then it results in lack of awareness of important materials and adds confusion. Email is debatable among students. Dana describes, “Email is this scary thing to me. It is something I hate, but everyone uses it. I hate when I have 15 emails in an hour.” She continues, “Email is touchy-feely for me. Those with OCD don’t want a huge inbox. Things just get lost.” It is overwhelming having an inbox full of messages from different students and professors.

These examples highlight the variety of experiences students encounter while working with numerous professors who may use technology differently. Mary points out,

If you are going to have multiple platforms, you have to follow through on all the platforms. If I see my professor create something on Facebook, I expect that the documents I need will be on Facebook. I am not going to think “Oh I should check the other two platforms.” It is kind of a pain in the butt for them I realize, but then just tell me.

Many students described most professors provide multiple ways to contact them. Pam notes,

It is nice to have a teacher accessible on email or Facebook or Twitter or whatever. It is nice to have different options for getting a hold of them rather than email and waiting for a reply because that is annoying.

Pam mentions, “A lot of times they will give you their email, but they suck at emailing you back.” Regardless of the technology used in a course, it is important to communicate clearly and then follow through.

The Blurry Line Between Personal and Professional Lives

When it comes to the boundary of social networking and academics coming together is something a lot of students are uncomfortable with. Then for faculty to actually use it in a classroom setting is kind of weird to us. (Mia)

The concept of good and bad experiences was something students struggle to articulate. The sketches were meant as an icebreaker, but many describe the task as hard because it was not as straightforward as good and bad. Devin describes, “It was harder for me to distinguish between good and bad because some things have both good and bad aspects. Like, this is good sometimes, but when it’s over-used or not used, then it turns bad.” Dana explains her thought process,

I picked Facebook groups, which I started them out as bad, but I realized that half of the time they are annoying, but they are good because you can connect with people easier to discuss class and a time when you can get together and work on a project or something. Then again all the notifications drive me crazy so I wrote. . . . “Good god, make it stop.” I get excited because I have notifications and it is about stuff for class.

Increasingly, social media is used as part of academic work, which raises questions of boundaries between personal and academic lives of students. Guy describes when professors say you need to be on Twitter or something patronizing like, “‘You need to Twitter.’ Why would you listen to that person? [Students laughing] I just don’t like being told we need to tweet when that is our turf.” Professors should be aware of ways students use technology and be comfortable enough talking about it in the correct context.

There is a concern about sharing their personal accounts with classmates and faculty. Laura expands on the downside of using one’s account when tweeting an event is that “it blows up everyone’s timeline when you are tweeting about, and frankly you don’t care about either. It is 25 tweets within an hour, and it is so annoying.” Bill points out he doesn’t care for mandatory class Facebook groups but thinks they are good for group projects. Mixed opinions create a challenging dynamic where students spend a lot of time with a platform, but hesitant to use it for something that feels “weird.”

Creating Layers of Separation

A lot of my friends have fallen behind in online classes. I think the extra layer of separation lets people put the class on the backburner. Whenever you are showing up for tests, quizzes, or regular classes it is easier to hold yourself accountable. (Chad)

Students discuss online materials as difficult because of the separation it has from the actual class. The content is not different, but where they sit to watch the lecture, when they block out time to review course materials, or how to keep from getting distracted by other online things. By reducing layers, faculty can make connections with students. Students understood at the end of the day it is their responsibility, but they look to professors to help keep them on task. Matt offers a solution.

If there is more interaction I feel like that is the excitement within the class. If students are not intimidated by the professor and teaching methods, I feel like you are grasping more and it is more interesting to you and more valuable to you because it is making it somewhat your own.

As a result, many students feel comfortable with technology and packaging it in a way that is entertaining makes the course engaging and interactive.

Professors may think students are putting off homework, but it is more complex. Devin expands on this, “I know it is hard for online classes, but when they are like four hours long [students laughing], and the audio doesn’t work on half of them.” Rory adds, “And there is zero interactivity. You are literally just sitting there staring at your screen doing nothing.” Matt talks about watching things online before class on his laptop.

Something happens in the environment, and you get sidetracked and looking all over the place except the PowerPoint itself because it is just so boring to watch. You can only stare at a screen for so long before you’re like “Alright, I am going to do something else.”

As a result, students begin to create strategies to make long drawn out things that are not engaging shorter. Emily sums it up, “Yeah, I try to get out of watching the lectures.” Students often noted they watch lectures as part of a group, which allowed them to talk among themselves during the video to ask questions and discuss concepts. Carl thought,

It is interesting, even though online courses are the most individualized version of taking the class, I was like; “I would rather do this with somebody.” I watched it with my roommate every time so we could bounce ideas off of each other. It was almost like having a class where you were allowed to talk the whole time.

Victor describes collaborative, team watching of online lectures as more comfortable.

What I like, let’s say in a large class you don’t typically feel comfortable asking questions versus me and a friend watching the videos. I could be like, “I don’t get this, can you explain.” Whereas with a professor you don’t want to be like “I don’t get what you are trying to teach me.” So I like that you can watch it with a friend and it isn’t cheating, you are just educating each other.

The peer-to-peer learning made things more relaxed and focused on trying to figure things out about the concepts, instead of what the professor thinks about them as a student.

Familiarity With the Interactive Instructional Technology

Simple tech stuff, professors are calling the technician to come in. That takes away 10 minutes of the class then they are trying to rush through the lecture because in their mind they have this amount of material to cover and they are going to cover it whether or not you get it. (Victor)

Technology issues not only waste time, but professors need to understand that the wasted time impacts the entire lesson. Laura explains,

It kind of shaves away the legitimacy of the lecture. If you can’t even figure out how to make us learn that is beneficial and not a waste of everyone’s time. I think people do checkout, but it goes deeper. You kind of lose respect for the subject or how they are teaching it. That seems kind of harsh but. . .

Students expect professors to be comfortable with technology and model the presentation of information correctly. Rory says,

If they don’t themselves want to become experts at technology they use, just have someone help then. Don’t waste our time fumbling around trying to figure it out. Either teach yourself or say to someone “Hey can you come click this button for me, I don’t know how to do it.”

When things are not working, Mia sums it up saying, “I feel like I am not learning anything and we are not being productive, so that is frustrating.”

In class, this becomes a display or test to see how comfortable the professor is with technology. Many students talk about the “update box” that pops up from time to time that throws professors off. Devin sarcastically points out, “Oh, an update box will pop up and that just throws them . . . with the rest of the students responding, Ohhhhhhh [Laughing]. You’d think the world is ending when the update box comes up.” This small item is something all students had experienced. Bill elaborates how he does not understand why professor struggle, “It is the end of the semester and it’s the 10th time it has popped up and they are just like ‘Oh what is this?’” Having professors comfortable when using the technology was important to the students. Laura mentions, “I definitely think sometimes they force more technology into a class that is necessary. It makes everything more complicated.”

Students want to feel confident with the professor’s ability to use appropriate technology because they should not have to worry about it not working and affecting their grade. They see technology as being so ubiquitous there is an expectation of professors being comfortable with technology. It is measured and evaluated by simple things as operating a computer in class, making videos full-screen, and posting grades online. Rory points out, “It is refreshing to have a teacher that is technologically savvy.” Sara agrees, “It should be something we expect, but it doesn’t happen.” Students recognize when professors do not have technology skills. Carl suggests, “Don’t fake it because we are going to know right away if the teacher is faking.”

Building Trust

I can’t imagine having to research things before Google because you get more up-to-date information instead of having to wait for a book to come out you can look it up online immediately. (Mary)

Students describe extreme scenarios when technical issues put further pressure on them while turning in homework online. Alexandria spells it out, “You don’t want to be scared when you have online homework and you are like ‘Oh will it work this time?’” Alexandria elaborates, “Normally there is a deadline and it isn’t working all of a sudden. Frustrating.” Usability issues caused by the technology are especially critical to online assessment. Emily describes,

For my really bad one I drew an online test that you can take in the testing center or you can take them on your laptop depending on the class. One of my classes I could take them on my laptop and it was constantly kicking me off the server and I would be in the middle of the test.

Professors can build up credibility by creating good UXs with technology.

However, having students spend time with a website and creating friction for them to experience creates opportunities for learning. George talks about a website where he became a food detective as part of a course.

It wasn’t designed the best, but it was still interesting to go through. It probably taught me the most in the class, even though it was frustrating. Overall it was the time commitment because you had to do it for a certain amount of time because it tracks you.

Students understand there is a difference between educational materials and their normal media consumption but still look for good experience regardless of the purpose. The students summed up the strategy professors should use when using technology in one word: consistency. Devin explains, “Teachers don’t have to use every possible technology out there. Stick with what they know and the class will go smoothly. Be consistent.”

Technology Will Always Have Problems

If I am expected to troubleshoot something because that is kind of where we are nowadays if something doesn’t work you are expected to figure it out. If they (professors) can’t troubleshoot it and they only know the bare minimum then when something messes up, inevitably time will be wasted. (Carl)

Students are now asked and required to identify, react, and fix things as technology is incorporated as an integral part of their education. Alexandria explains how her class struggled with one site they had to use for a course, “It wouldn’t work on Chrome, so some just didn’t do the first homework assignment which was a big grade. Then when they got to class is when they figured out it only worked in Internet Explorer.” They mention that professors get mad if things are late no matter what the cause. Carl says, “There are always tech problems.” When professors are not familiar with the technology, it is frustrating because things are still due. Victor puts this,

It is like the blind leading the blind then. It feels like a lot of the time a lot of the professors expect you to figure it out and if you can’t figure it out, then it is your bad luck.

Students feel if the professor is going to use technology they should be comfortable with it. Carl takes this concept further by venting,

Professors almost need to be more than comfortable. If I am expected to troubleshoot something because that is kind of where we are nowadays if something doesn’t work you are expected to figure it out. If professors can’t troubleshoot it, inevitably time will be wasted.

Students point out some professors put the onus on them to figure things out if technology does not work. Mary talks about a course where technology was not working, so the students began a Facebook page. The professor was uncomfortable with that and told them to “figure something else out.” Mary explained when they asked the professor for guidance, the response was, “you guys are seniors, how do you not know this?”

Suggestions From Students

Students made recommendations to improve the use of instructional technology. They genuinely want professors to use technology seamlessly. It is expected to be able to use what students feel is “normal.” Technology is not unusual, but part of their culture and daily lives. The students offered the following suggestions.

These suggestions provide faculty a better understanding of student expectations going into a course. Arguably this includes all courses in higher education. Student expectations may seem high, but the common denominator is they expect technology to aid their learning. This requires faculty to play an integral part in the process.

UX Tools for Faculty

UX professionals use many tools to make sure their products function well. Specifically, care is taken to make sure the user can complete tasks, but also have a good experience using the product. Faculty have the opportunity to take advantage of UX tools and techniques to evaluate student experience with instructional technology.

These techniques take advantage of a UX perspective by systematically including students in the process of selecting, integrating, and using technology. Involving students in the process provides them ownership and a voice in their education. Furthermore, a by-product is confidence in their instructor by making it visible the care taken when preparing the experience and the concern to ensure technology is used to facilitate learning.