The impact of reading online for graduate students

1. Kelly Edmonds
University of Calgary
EYE STRAIN and LEARNING
Stories from Graduate Students on Online Readership

2. STUDY PURPOSE
To gain feedback from graduate students who
worked with digital text in online courses
 Design implications
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Study focus: analyzing students’ reactions to
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the constructs of online text
its integration into curriculum
its differences from traditional forms of text display
the identification of alternate means to learning online

3. ONLINE TEXT definition
Viewing content through:
articles in electronic journals
• online discussion postings from fellow
classmates
• emails messages from group members
• information in linked websites
• web-based notes uploaded by
instructors
•

4. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Increases in student enrolment in graduate studies
- some postsecondary institutions are turning to
online learning as a solution
 Instructors’ favour text over other media options in
online courses
 Increase in electronic resource use, such as library
databases, for learning materials
 Need more studies that address the impact of these
approaches to uncover past
experiences, successes and challenges
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5. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
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Characteristics of Adults as Learners (CAL) model
by Cross (1981)
Focus on who adult learners are, why they
participate, and how they learn
 Adults learners have unique needs affected by personal
and situational characteristics
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Model draws on the theory of Malcolm Knowles and
his notion of andragogy
Adults desire autonomy and choice in their learning
 Use their past experiences to ground their learning
 Take a practical stance towards what they learned
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6. LITERATURE REVIEW (2004, 2005, 2006)
For Online Text
Not for Online Text
Flexibility and access
 Control
 Self-pace
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Loss in readability
Eye strain
Can’t highlight passages
Less permanent
Supplementary
Video better
Not improve learning;
surface learning
Print to save time; costly
Source quality concerns

7. METHODOLOGY
Narrative inquiry

8. NARRATIVE INQUIRY

The study of experience under story on three
dimensions: time, place, and social (Connelly &
Clandinin, 2006)
To capture the experience of learners when interacting
with online text to understand
 How they use, interpret, and learn from various forms of
digital text
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Researcher added her voice
 6 online graduate students: Masters and doctoral
 Interviews (via Elluminate) with simple questions, 2
week reading diary, and text samples
 Analyzed for themes
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9. FINDINGS
... their stories

10. 
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“TERRY”
small rural town in southern Alberta
assistant principal
family*
time was limited*
enjoyed learning and debating ideas
forced him to articulate his ideas
TERRY
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Terry preferred an open learning
environment where he could grow and be
challenged, and develop emergent work
together with other students using
information and communication
technologies
Intellectual
chess game

11. 
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“TONY”
from the northern territories
reflective of his life
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experienced learning fully
felt wealthy with his time given to study
frustrated when fellow students did not
commit in the same way
visual learner - did not like live
discussions
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dissertation: oral history
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text offered a level of intimacy not found
in face-to-face exchanges
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Tony saw online learning as oral learning
with its opportunities for personal
communication
TONY
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adventuresome in spirit
felt a depth from living among the native
culture and spirit
Life is a
journey

12. 
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Susan preferred to read online, gather all
text online, or if needed, borrow a book
from her local library than building a
personal library.
SUSAN
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“SUSAN”
elementary teacher for 25 years
public school in an urban area in
Saskatchewan
interacting with others to learn
working together, sharing skills and
tasks, and building rapport as important
aspects of learning
preferred discussing content than reading
about it
did not read all text online – skimmed
postings/emails; printed articles*
Strong
sense of
community

13. 
Jennifer was aware of the significance
of words and text online, and believed
writing conveys well how one
perceives
JENNIFER
“JENNIFER”
 special education teacher in a
northern rural town in Saskatchewan
 conventional learning style
 struggled with juggling the content
while learning to use the technology
 social aspect of learning online both
puzzling and intriguing; leery of virtual
group members
 enjoyed the different perspectives of
fellow students who worked in various
career and places in the world
New online
learner

14. 
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Robert organized his time and resources
so he could constantly be processing
information throughout his day.
ROBERT
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“ROBERT”
managed faculty development for
instructional skills at a post-secondary
institution in a large urban centre in
Alberta
full family life
strategic about how he engaged online;
post responses after reflection*
online classes were more
permanent, dynamic, and always
available vs f2f
enjoyed group work, online
dialogue, being accountable
enjoyed hands-on problem; exploring
materials and software in the online
Needed freedom in his learning; learn
non-linearly
Specialized
in info
processing
online

15. 
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“SARAH”
worked and lived in an urban centre in Alberta
found it easier to work online versus traveling
to campus for school
needed the instructor to provide a focus for
her lessons
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eventually learned to relax online
negative physical effects of reading online
wanted less quantity of work and content
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more use of advanced technologies to help
learners work deeper with concepts
Sarah considered herself as an analytical and
logical learner who struggled with online
learning and its various activities and
material formats calling on new learning
styles.
SARAH
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guidance helped her manage complex
readings, develop coherent thinking, and apply
ideas to her work
Eyes of an
instructional
designer

16. RECAP OF PARTICIPANTS
Terry: Intellectual chess game
 Tony: Life is a journey
 Susan: Strong sense of community
 Jennifer: New online learner
 Robert: Specialized in info processing online
 Sarah: Eyes of an instructional designer
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17. DISCUSSION: ONLINE TEXT
Agreed with Lit
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Web’s propensity
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Search info
Multi resources
Browsing text
Non-linear uses
Associative linking
Static less useful vs
interactive multimedia
Eye strain; aging
Can’t highlight, note
Juggling time; print
Not the same as Lit
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Supplementary use

18. CONCLUSION
Gap in literature:
 Context of learners
 Personal learning
preferences
 Characteristics of adult
learners
 Personal and physical
development
This study:
 Holistic story
 Narrative inquiry
 Participants’ preferences
 Personal context and
situation
 Struggles:
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Informing instructional design
Life responsibilities
Time constraints
Physical strain
Learning styles
Various online modes
Interacting with others

19. Cross (1981) suggested the
awareness of personal and
situational characteristics of
students may require providing
curriculum that is authentically
diverse in format and
activity, provides students with
choice, and allows relevancy in their
work.