Taking an online course for the first time may seem daunting. Students may not know what to expect or how much time to allot for the course, or students may simply forget to log in. In the past, this has led to high rates of attrition, a problem that DELTA is working to solve.
DELTA Senior Multimedia Specialist and Art Director Amanda Robertson (who is also a College of Design Adjunct Assistant Professor) had a particularly high level attrition last spring in her Distance Education (DE) course, ADN 219: Digital Imaging. Ten of Robertson’s 35 students dropped the course.
Remarkably, just one semester later, she reduced her attrition rate to zero in an online class of 44 students.
How Robertson Did It
Attrition can be a problem for any course, but especially for a work-intensive DE course full of College of Design freshmen who are required to pass the course (which teaches visual theories, and technical skills in four major Adobe applications) before proceeding in their major.
“Attrition rates are higher in online courses,” Robertson said. “One reason is time management. Students have a hard time remembering a DE course when they don’t actually go to class. So, they may forget to do the work and make time for the class. Some students forget about the class entirely for a week or more.”
To make sure that students who enroll in her course have an accurate understanding of the work involved in ADN 219, Robertson required her students to sign a Commitment Agreement before enrolling in the class, committing to putting forth the work required to be successful.
Students in ADN 219 hold a viewing in NC State Wolflands, using Second Life to critique each other's work
Students had to agree to seven statements describing the type and volume of work in the course, as well as read over the online Syllabus and resources page of the course website. Robertson only accepted students that were still interested in enrolling in the course after submitting the agreement.
“The online website and especially the syllabus helped me see how my time was going to be spaced out with projects throughout the year, before and during the course,” said Art and Design freshman Christiane Ruggiero.
Because ADN 219 teaches the basic Design Process, success in the course is imperative to being successful throughout a design student’s college career.
Quoted from the Commitment Agreement:
“The Design Process is essential to finding a successful solution to a design problem. The steps of the Design Process aid a designer in fully understanding the design problem through research, analysis, and reflection, and encourage the contributions of different viewpoints to ensure a successful design solution… Only students who are willing to fully commit themselves to exploring and applying the Design Process to their work in Digital Imaging should enroll.”
In addition, the Commitment Agreement introduced students to technologies such as Second Life and VoiceThread, and how these technologies would be used in the course to facilitate collaboration. Robertson felt that informing students prior to enrollment of the technologies students were required to use would reduce drop rates.
Robertson’s work seems to have paid off.
In fall 2010, when Robertson tested her agreement for the first time with 44 new students, not one person dropped her course. Incredibly, Robertson reduced her attrition rate from 10 out of 35 students dropping her course, to zero out of 44 students dropping the course, in just one semester.
Robertson informed students that they would be using technologies such as VoiceThread, which facilitates rich-media collaboration between students and teachers over the Internet.
“The big reason I believe [the Commitment Agreement] was successful is because students take ownership for their own learning, and for the learning of other students in the course,” Robertson said. ”In an online course, I believe it is more challenging for students to realize the impact of their participation (or lack thereof) on other students in the course.”
Using Innovative Technology to Facilitate Collaboration
Robertson also incorporated innovative online technologies in hopes of further lowering attrition. Because collaboration and critique are so important to the design process, Robertson implemented Second Life and VoiceThread to digitally bridge the physical distance between her students needing to collaborate on and critique each other’s work.
Teaching new technologies to students can be difficult, but applying these technologies toward an end result is even more challenging. Robertson used Second Life for online critique: students created a virtual avatar, uploaded their designs in virtual galleries around WolfLands (NC State’s “S”-shaped island in Second Life), and met for a live virtual exhibition to view, explain, and critique each other’s designs.
Students created virtual avatars to represent themselves as they viewed each others' work in Second Life.
“[Second Life] adds a level of personal interaction with students that you really can’t get with any other tool,” Robertson said. “When you’re in Second Life for a decent amount of time, you really become engrossed in it, and begin projecting your sense of self onto your avatar, and begin thinking of others around you with their avatar. …It doesn’t replace face-to-face, but it is the closest thing I’ve found to meeting with my whole class.”
Students also used VoiceThread, which facilitates critique and collaboration by allowing multiple students to post live audio, text or video responses centered around a student’s design.
“[VoiceThread was] good for being able to communicate with other students and make it feel more like we were meeting in a classroom because you could hear other students’ voices when they gave feedback on your work,” said Arts Applications senior Sarah Callahan.
Not only are these technologies useful in ADN 219, but also as tools for critique in any setting:
“I’ve really enjoyed learning how to use the different online programs in Digital Imaging. It will be helpful knowing how to use VoiceThread for future classes, projects,” said Art and Design freshman Allie Haywood.
For her innovative work in ADN 219, Robertson won the Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence for Teaching and Learning with Technology in February 2010. According to the judges, Robertson demonstrated “exemplary use of a wide range of commonly available software and modalities at NC State to create an environment ideal to the expression of the class content in an online critique-based course.”
Although these technologies provide students at a distance with opportunities to interact with and critique each other’s work, if students are not committed to learning these technologies and keeping up with their assignments, they will not be successful in ADN 219. Hence, Robertson implemented the Commitment Agreement, which she feels deserves further implementation and research.
In order to ensure that students enrolled in a course can be as successful as possible, Robertson offers the following advice:
“Provide as much information about the course to prospective or enrolled students prior to the beginning of the semester. This should include the type of work they will be expected to do, the types of technologies that will be used, and any challenges that you anticipate they will face.”
Robertson went the extra mile to ensure that students knew what they were getting into and stayed on top of their work. Robertson met with any student wishing to meet her face-to-face at a coffee shop on Hillsborough Street prior to the start of the semester. Once enrolled, students were placed in buddy groups and given group projects to facilitate communication and help keep students on task. This way they are responsible to not only themselves, but each other, too.
Whereas traditionally, DE courses have been video-recorded lectures, students may not be prepared for what a specific DE course requires. Robertson’s decision to require a Commitment Agreement informing students beforehand of technologies and work volume appears to have effects in just one semester.
Taking an online course for the first time may seem daunting. Students may not know what to expect or how much time to allot for the course, or students may simply forget to log in. In the past, this has led to high rates of attrition, a problem that DELTA is working to solve.
Remarkably, just one semester later, she reduced her attrition rate to zero in an online class of 44 students.
How Robertson Did It
Attrition can be a problem for any course, but especially for a work-intensive DE course full of College of Design freshmen who are required to pass the course (which teaches the design process, visual theories, and technical skills in four major Adobe applications) before proceeding in their major.
“Attrition rates are higher in online courses,” Robertson said. “One reason is time management. Students may have a hard time remembering a DE course when they don’t actually go to class. So, they may forget to do the work and make time for the class. Some students forget about the class entirely for a week or more.”
To make sure that students who enroll in her course have an accurate understanding of the work involved in ADN 219, Robertson required her students to sign a Commitment [DMM3]Agreement before enrolling in the class, committing to putting forth the work required to be successful.
Students had to agree to seven statements describing the type and volume of work in the course, as well as read over the online Syllabus and resources page of the course website. Robertson only accepted students that were still interested in enrolling in the course after submitting the agreement.
“The online website and especially the syllabus helped me see how my time was going to be spaced out with projects throughout the year, before and during the course,” said Art and Design freshman Christiane Ruggiero.
Because ADN 219 teaches the basic Design Process, success in the course is imperative to being successful throughout a design student’s college career.
Quoted from the Commitment Agreement:
“The Design Process is essential to finding a successful solution to a design problem. The steps of the Design Process aid a designer in fully understanding the design problem through research, analysis, and reflection, and encourage the contributions of different viewpoints to ensure a successful design solution… Only students who are willing to fully commit themselves to exploring and applying the Design Process to their work in Digital Imaging should enroll.”
In addition, the Commitment Agreement introduced students to technologies such as Second Life and VoiceThread, and how these technologies would be used in the course to facilitate collaboration. Robertson felt that informing students prior to enrollment of the technologies students were required to use would reduce drop rates[AR4].
“The big reason I believe [the Commitment Agreement] was successful is because students take ownership for their own learning, and for the learning of other students in the course,” Robertson said. ”In an online course, I believe it is more challenging for students to realize the impact of their participation (or lack thereof) on other students in the course.”
Using Innovative Technology to Facilitate Collaboration
Teaching new technologies to students can be difficult, but applying these technologies toward an end result is even more challenging. Robertson used Second Life for online critique: students created a virtual avatar, uploaded their designs in virtual galleries around WolfLands (NC State’s “S”-shaped island in Second Life), and met for a live virtual exhibition to view, explain, and critique each other’s designs.
[Second Life image]
“[Second Life] adds a level of personal interaction with students that you really can’t get with any other tool,” Robertson said. “When you’re in Second Life for a decent amount of time, you really become engrossed in it, and begin projecting your sense of self onto your avatar, and begin thinking of others around you with their avatar. …It doesn’t replace face-to-face, but it is the closest thing I’ve found to meeting with my whole class.”
“[VoiceThread was] good for being able to communicate with other students and make it feel more like we were meeting in a classroom because you could hear other students’ voices when they gave feedback on your work,” said Arts Applications senior Sarah Callahan.
Not only are these technologies useful in ADN 219, but also as tools for critique in any setting:
“I’ve really enjoyed learning how to use the different online programs in Digital Imaging. It will be helpful knowing how to use VoiceThread for future classes, projects,” said Art and Design freshman Allie Haywood.
For her innovative work in ADN 219, Robertson won the Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence for Teaching and Learning with Technology in February 2010. According to the judges, Robertson demonstrated “exemplary use of a wide range of commonly available software and modalities at NC State to create an environment ideal to the expression of the class content in an online critique-based course.”
Although these technologies provide students at a distance with opportunities to interact with and critique each other’s work, if students are not committed to learning these technologies and keeping up with their assignments, they will not be successful in ADN 219. Hence, Robertson implemented the Commitment Agreement, which she feels deserves further implementation and research.
In order to ensure that students enrolled in a course can be as successful as possible, Robertson offers the following advice:
“Provide as much information about the course to prospective or enrolled students prior to the beginning of the semester. This should include the type of work they will be expected to do, the types of technologies that will be used, and any challenges that you anticipate they will face.”
Robertson went the extra mile to ensure that students knew what they were getting into and stayed on top of their work. Robertson met with any student wishing to meet her face-to-face at a coffee shop on Hillsborough Street prior to the start of the semester. Once enrolled, students were placed in buddy groups and given group projects to facilitate communication and help keep students on task. This way they are responsible to not only themselves, but each other, too[AR8].
[AT9] Whereas traditionally, DE courses have been video-recorded lectures, students may not be prepared for what a specific DE course requires. Robertson’s decision to require a Commitment Agreement informing students beforehand of technologies and work volume appears to have effects in just one semester. [DMM10]
[AR8]I agree – the other piece was duplicating what was already written. Some way to reword this last sentence so that it is a good one to land on. You can also include the link to the survey. I’ll create a new one for next semester, anyway.
[AT9]Not sure you can link these two items. You could always refer to her as G.C. award winner at some point and link to the other story there.
[DMM10]I can delete this paragraph if it’s unnecessary/repetitive and end with “
