Development, delivery, and outcomes of a distance course for new college students

Library Trends, Summer, 2001 by Nancy O'Hanlon

ABSTRACT

A FOUR-WEEK ONLINE INFORMATION LITERACY COURSE for new college students at Ohio State University enrolled almost 500 students during the 1999-2000 academic year. The course, Internet Tools and Research Techniques, utilizes net. TUTOR interactive tutorials as an electronic text, along with Web-based tests and practice-oriented worksheets that are graded automatically by the course management software. This article presents an overview of the course, provides data about the student population, and examines various measures of success, including performance on assignments, final grades, and student attitudes toward the course. Communication challenges, student self-regulation, and the value of flexible assignment schedules are also considered.

INTRODUCTION

Distance education, defined by Boettcher (2000) as a process "characterized by the separation, in time or place, between instructor and student" (p. 37) is increasingly popular on college campuses across the United States. This trend is documented in a study of 1,600 post-secondary institutions released by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (1999). According to this report, 34 percent of the institutions surveyed offered distance courses in 1997-98. The study estimates that there were 1,661,100 enrollments in all distance courses offered by two- and four-year institutions, with most of these at the undergraduate level. Another 20 percent of institutions reported that they planned to offer distance courses within three years (p. 15). The Internet is the engine of this growth. Of the schools that offer, or are planning, courses, 82 percent intend to provide these primarily through "asynchronous" Internet instruction using e-mail and the Web (p. 39).

A parallel trend in higher education is the movement to define student computing and information literacy requirements for undergraduates in order to prepare students for the workplace. For example, Mendels (1999) notes that students at the University of Texas at Arlington must master five computer-related skills: use of spreadsheet and word processing programs; ability to use the school's online library research services; ability to use e-mail; and ability to conduct Internet-based research. At Ohio State University (OSU), the vice-provost for Undergraduate Studies convened a faculty Committee on Student Computing Competencies in 1999. This group created a list of recommended competencies (http:// gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/cscc/) that extends beyond computing skills to encompass the following research skills:

* use a Web browser to search for information efficiently,

* learn to use the libraries' print and online information sources,

* choose appropriate research tools,

* evaluate and choose the best information sources, and

* use key information sources for your major field.

The OSU Committee also recommended that students have access to different methods for acquiring these skills, from self-paced learning resources to credit courses. In response to that need, University Libraries, in partnership with University College (the unit that enrolls most freshmen at Ohio State) developed a one-credit distance course, Internet Tools and Research Techniques. This course serves a dual purpose related to both of the trends discussed here. It helps students to develop the recommended research competencies and also prepares them to participate in other distance courses or courses with online segments offered by the university. Development, delivery, and outcomes of that course are the focus of this article.

EVOLUTION OF THE DISTANCE COURSE

Although the Libraries' Office of User Education has worked with new students enrolled in University College at Ohio State for the past twenty years, the distance course Internet Tools and Research Techniques (offered as UVC 120) is a new type of partnership for both units. It is the first credit course in research skills offered by the libraries as well as the first distance offering for University College. Additionally, this new course appears to fill a perceived need by students for instruction in this area.

Most new students have had some contact with the Internet before coming to Ohio State, but their experiences are not uniform. Those who are familiar with Web browsing are not usually proficient at searching adeptly in this new medium or evaluating the information they find. Few high schools provide significant instruction in these techniques, so students typically learn what they can on their own or from peers. In a recent study of middle and high school students' Internet use, Ebersole (1999) asked media specialists to review Web sites that students used for their research. The reviewers found only 27 percent of the sites to be suitable for that purpose (see abstract). He suggests that these students are ignorant about how to conduct an effective search online and how to distinguish between reputable and questionable information (see chapter five).