Results of a 2020-2021 TLED Innovation Grant
Does lack of access impede OER usage in the Dual Credit classroom?
Increasingly, DC faculty have observed students accessing classroom content using their cell phones as well as using them to write essays, complete discussion board posts, and read online content. This project proposes that a tablet device helps increase student engagement with OERs and other class materials. Like traditional students, Dual Credit students are often challenged with a lack of technology and resources. The radius of coverage for the ACC Dual Credit program is so large and includes many rural areas. Thus many of these students do not have easy access to ACC's technological resources like the computer and learning labs. One of the primary goals of our effort was to create a Dual Credit specific OER program that will lower one more barrier for students.
88% of students surveyed primarily used their tablets during the semester.
This was the highest percentage over other types of technology: 50% used a mobile phone, 62% a school laptop, and 38% a personal laptop.
61% of students in the non-pilot control group reported they spent an hour or more struggling with technology over the course of the semester.
An unforeseen advantage of the iPads was decreasing student frustration with technology while participating in virtual learning during the 2020/2021 COVID-19 pandemic. Many students involved in the pilot would report issues during the semester with their ISD-issued devices. Some of the issues included slow internet at home, unreliable operating systems, or blocked ACC sites. One student wrote in that they often used their ACC iPad to access class materials because their school Chromebook blocked many sites (including the ACC library site) they needed access to. Out program exit survey showed that students in the iPad pilot classes preferred to use their ACC tablets over other devices.
"[The iPad] was more effective. It made the textbook more accessible and engaging to use." - From pilot program exit survey
Post-Pilot Recommendations
- Create a Dual Credit specific iPad lending program that allows faculty to check out groups of tablets to their students at the beginning of the semester.
- Train dual credit faculty on using the technology and help them integrate it into their course especially those using OER resources.
- Further research how using iPads in conjunction with the Apple TVs can increase student engagement in the face-to-face classroom.
Credits:
TLED Innovation Grant Participants: Lauren "Lola" Watson (Engl 2322 at Lockhart High School) and Sarah Stayton (Engl 1301 at Jarrell High School). Email Lola at lauren.watson@austincc.edu for more information.