Presentation at the ICEL Conference at CPUT, Cape Town, South Africa on 5 July.

1. Meeting the Needs
of Digital Learners:
Learner Support
Patterns and
Strategies
Greig Krull and Josep M Duart
5 July 2017
ICEL Conference, Cape Town

2. Research Objectives
• Lack of awareness of how students use different devices for
learning and how distance universities can provide effective
support to students using different technologies
Problem
• Determine the academic and technological support needs of
students learning with multiple devices
• To improve the design of learning experiences and support offered
Objectives

3. Effective and timely learner
support can be the difference
between learning success and
failure (Bates, 2015)
Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

4. Help learners develop the
competencies and attributes for
successful online and lifelong
learning (Peters et al, 2017)
Photo by Juliette Leufke on Unsplash

5. Key learner support strategies include early
intervention, anticipatory guidance and
preparedness for study (Brindley, 2014)
Photo by Tran Mau Tri Tam on Unsplash

6. As academic content becomes more freely available,
students will look to local institutions for support with
their learning, rather than for the delivery of content
(Bates, 2015)
Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

7. Learning design and student support used to be
seen as separate activities. However, student
support needs to be integrated into the design
of teaching and learning (Tait, 2014)
Photo by Simon Rae on Unsplash

8. Academic and Technological Support
Academic Support
• Helping students to be able to complete
activities, where to look for information and
provide feedback on progress (Bates, 2015)
• Enables the development of cognitive and
learning skills (Makoe, 2012)
Technological Support
• Enables the development of technical and
technological skills related to learning
• Make meaning of the technologies
encountered at university (Selwyn, 2016)

9. Methodology
Distance University Cases
• UOC: 488 responses (random sample of 5000 students) (May 2016)
• UNISA: 613 responses (random sample of 50000 students) (Aug
2016)
Quantitative Data (Online Survey)
• UOC: 18 interviews
• UNISA: 16 interviews
Follow up Qualitative Online/Telephonic
Interviews

10. Survey Demographics
UOC 46 54
UNISA 47 53
0
10
20
30
40
<25y 26-35y 36-45y 46y>
UOC UNISA
GENDER AGE
UOC 13 19 68
UNISA 16 9 75
EMPLOYMENT
STATUS
UOC 70 30
UNISA 28 72
HOME/STUDY
LANGUAGE

11. Results: Devices Accessed
 Most students have
access to three or four
devices
 On average, students
use three devices for
learning
 Most common accessed
devices: smartphones
and laptops
1 Device
2 Devices
3 Devices
4 Devices
5 Devices
6 Devices
0 10 20 30 40
UOC UNISA
Number of Devices Accessed (Percentages)

12. Use of Multiple Devices for Learning
 Majority of educators do not take students’ use of multiple
devices or personal technologies into account in the design
or facilitation of learning experiences
 The use of handheld devices and the associated
connectivity has not yet influenced the educational models
of distance universities
33%
45%
67%
55%
UOC
UNISA
Take into account Do not take into account

13. Academic Support Needed When
Using Personal Technologies
Explanatory
video tutorials
More
personalised
assessment
feedback
Mobile alerts or
notifications
Synchronous video
conferencing or
chats
Design of
collaborative
learning activities

14. Technological Support Needed When
Using Personal Technologies
Accessibility
from mobile
devices
Digital skills
development
LMS
improvements
Address internet
accessibility and
costs
Discounted rates for
devices and tools

15. Academic Support Patterns
• Review materials
• Online searches
Self-help
• Contact educator /
tutor directly
• Read / post to
discussion forum
Institutional
Support • WhatsApp Groups
• Online networks
• Personal contacts
Peer Support
Influenced by timing factors and
confidence in sharing issues

16. Technological Support Patterns
• Trouble shooting
• Online searches
Self-help
• Contact educator
• Check discussion
forums
Institutional
Support • Family and
friends
• Work colleagues
Informal
Support
Influenced by type of issue and
level of expertise

17. Questions to Consider
Are your
students
aware of
formal and
informal
support
mechanisms?
Are your
students able
to use
various
mechanisms
of support?
Are your
students
supported to
develop their
digital
literacy
skills?

18. FINAL THOUGHT…
Students are making use
of diverse personal
technologies in different
ways
This requires us to rethink
our teaching and learning
approaches and how
support is provided to
students
Image: Unsplash

19. gkrull@iqacademy.ac.za
greigkr
Greig Krull (slideshare.net/greigk)

20. References
 Bates, T. (2015) Teaching in a Digital Age. Tony Bates Associates Ltd.
 Brindley, J. E. (2014) ‘Learner Support in Online Distance Education: Essential and
Evolving’, in Zawacki-Richter, O. and Anderson, T. (eds) Online Distance Education:
Towards a Research Agenda. Edmonton: AU Press, pp. 287–310.
 Makoe, M. (2012) ‘Bridging the Distance: The Pedagogy of Mobile Learning in
Supporting Distance Learners’, in Muyinda, P. B. (ed.) Distance Education. InTech, pp.
63–80.
 Peters, B., Crawley, A. & Brindley, J. E. (2017). Student Support Services for Online
Learning Re-imagined and Re-invigorated: Then, Now and What’s To Come. Contact
North.
 Selwyn, N. (2016). Digital downsides: exploring university students’ negative
engagements with digital technology. Teaching in Higher Education, 21(8), 1006–1021.
 Tait, A. (2014) ‘From place to virtual space: reconfiguring student support for distance
and e-learning in the digital age’, Open Praxis, 6(1), pp. 5–16.