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New student IT study reveals need for ‘pandemic patience’

Kate Martin

A new survey of IT use during lockdown has identified what application students need most – a little bit of empathy.

“Be a little bit more compassionate right now,” says Marden Paul, director, policy, planning, governance assessment in the office of the Chief Information Officer at the University of Toronto.

This was just one of the takeaways as Paul presented the results of the latest EduCause Technology Research in the Academic Community (ETRAC) study to UTM’s I&ITS community. The survey looked at undergraduate and faculty technology experiences between Oct. 12 and Dec. 14, 2020.

EduCause, a non-profit association focused on advancing higher education through the use of information technology, has been conducting these tests with students for the last 16 years. This round was COVID-19 focused.

This survey drew data from more than 12,500 students from 52 North American institutions, with U of T sending out 4,000 surveys and receiving 415 responses back.

The majority of U of T respondents are learning from home due to COVID-19 restrictions, with fewer than five per cent in face-to-face classes. Results showed, however, that despite all being provided with the same resources, students are not all having the same experience.

“Equity is not equality,” says Paul. “Some students will definitely be disadvantaged by this environment, there’s no question about it. Even if they all have the right technology and they have the right applications that work, it’s just not good sometimes for some students.”

The quality of experience reported depended largely on the quality of web service, with slightly more than 10 per cent of U of T respondents saying they lacked reliable access at home, and more than 35 per cent indicating they ‘sometimes have internet connection struggle.’

“One student said the only place to get really good internet connection is sitting on the sidewalk outside the Starbucks,” says Paul. “Sad, but true for some.”

More than just an irritation, internet issues can mean missed deadlines, data lag, inability to do tasks or being forced to share devices, leading to scheduling conflicts. As a result, the majority of U of T students surveyed express a preference for partially asynchronous learning, with some lessons recorded so they can be watched at a more convenient time. These are especially useful for international students who may be in different time zones, Paul says.

There was still great value placed on live sessions though, he adds.

“(Students) liked interactive content like polls, which gave them an opportunity to be asked about a concept in the middle of class and respond to it,” says Paul. “It broke up the lectures and gave them a chance to check their own knowledge and allowed instructors to know if the material was being absorbed.”

What students didn’t like, the survey showed, was clogging up their computers with redundant applications, some of which face international restrictions or aren’t compatible with some devices.

“Someone commented there are five different ways to upload assignments,” Paul says, noting many first-year students might be using these programs for the first time. “We are better with fewer [programs] than we are with more.”

Survey respondents give the U of T faculty high marks (75 per cent agree or strongly agree) for availability, and also expressed approval for breakout rooms, which allow them to work as a smaller group.

“The students very much appreciated chances to interact with other students outside of classroom, chances to interact with professors, and TAs more frequently online,” says Paul. “Wherever that was possible, they tended to be more positive about their learning experience.”

The survey also highlighted the need for clear channels to IT support. Most students (more than 70 per cent) indicated they usually have to fix their own issues, with mixed results.
“We are aware that we’ve asked students to become technologically competent very quickly,” Paul says.

The results show that, despite technical challenges, the adaptive nature of students, faculty and staff has been “quite amazing,” he continues. 

“I look at these results very positively,” Paul says. “(It’s a) tribute to all the collective work and patience.”

The survey will be run again in January 2022.

To learn more, visit the EDUCAUSE website here.