S4.2.8

=Students are provided with personal and learning support during the same hours that they are engaging in e-learning activities. =

Evidence
Student Induction to E-learning (SIEL, draft March 2010) emphasizes that one of the criticisms and weaknesses of e-learning is that its retention rate is demonstrably lower than traditional face to face classes. Online courses have a failed retention rate 10-20% higher than traditional courses. It is argued that total support for new e-learning students is needed to ensure good retention rates. This support necessarily must take many forms in a complete package. ‘A student’s first set of experiences with e-learning can be either a barrier to retention or contribute to the likelihood of persistence’ (p. 7). Consequences of a poor set of first experiences with e-learning include individual and social effects, disruption to a student’s goals, cost to the student, negative testimonials, and loss for future participants in e-learning in general. The SIEL report reviews the literature on best practice for student support and lists many recommendations.

Resources
The primary focus for institutions, according to (SIEL draft March 2010) is to anticipate the needs of the students. Improving post-secondary student e-learning and retention involves putting mechanisms in place to assist with communicating student and institutional expectations prior to the student’s first e-learning experience. Understanding best practice for student induction, undertaking self-assessment to evaluate institutional e-learning induction practices, and preparing first-year students for e-learning all during the early weeks of their first course. The SIEL report details in a matrix how all this can be done.

Too some degree this can be automated. Leacock & Nesbit (2007) describe the gStudy tool. This is a piece of learner support software. It enables and develops self-regulated learning skills by prompting students and hinting at what strategies they should be using as they learn from multimedia resources. gStudy is different from LMSs in that it contains a browser that enables students to access any web content. Also, gStudy runs a suite of mark-up and information finding tools to support the study process. One important feature of using gStudy is that teachers can analyze it in order to gather information about the use of gStudy by students and gain insight into how they are learning, and how they are behaving when studying.