Irvine, V.,
Code, J., & Richards, L. (2013). Realigning higher education for the
21st-century learner through multi-access learning. MERLOT Journal of Online
Learning and Teaching, 9(2), 172-186.
The authors report results from a pilot
study on one type of multi-access course, where students were able to choose
their mode of access. In this case, remote students accessed the course via
webcam and joined their on-campus classmates and instructor who were together
face-to-face.
Multi-access learning is defined by Irvine
as a framework for enabling students in both face-to-face and online contexts
to personalize learning experiences while engaging as a part of the same
course. Multi-access learning is different than blended learning because it
places the student at the centre of the learning experience as opposed to the
instructor or the institution. With multi-access learning, each individual
learner decides how he/she wishes to take the course (e.g., face-to-face or
online) and can then participate with other students and the instructor – each
of whom have their own modality preferences – at the same time.
The paper has addressed following research
questions:
- What was the rank order of learner preference for mode of access?
- How important was it for learners to have choice in selecting access modes?
- How did the experience participating in a multi-access course affect learner perceptions of quality of learning?
Research was conducted using a 17-question
online survey that included demographic information on age, gender, education
program, and teaching area. Items also gathered information on student
experience with online courses, preferences for course access mode, and
open-ended questions. Following the administration of the online survey,
additional qualitative data was obtained through multiple interviews conducted
with a subsample of the participants and separately with the instructor. Out of
class of 26 secondary education students, 16 gave consent to participate in
this study. Fifteen responses were found valid and were analyzed. Following
were the results:
- Learners preferred multi-access for course modality
- All responses by the learners who had taken an online course before ranked the choice of delivery as very important.
- 57% of respondents reported they perceived the quality of learning as increased and 42.9% respondents reported the quality of learning as being the same.
The authors argue that the multi-access
framework is an alternative approach to the MOOC design for those who want
access to higher learning.
Assessment:
The authors have advocated use of
multi-access learning as against MOOC to increase accessibility to higher
education. Due to small sample size and restricted context, the results may not
have universal applicability but they nevertheless argue for suitability of
multi-access learning.
Reflection:
Multi-access learning has its
use in many cases though its feasibility could be low in most of the cases.
Nevertheless, more research in this area may help establish its effectiveness over
traditional classroom sessions and MOOCs.
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