Transcript Intro Psych Web Resource Project

Increasing Student Use of
Web Resources via
Greater Integration
Charles M. Slem
Psychology and Human Development
Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, California
INTRODUCTION
Web resources to complement course.
 Rogers (1995) of theory of diffusion.

» Met perceived need.
» Advantage over existing technology.
» Easy to experiment with.
25% students not make use by first exam.
 Add high visibility to improve use.

METHOD

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Two sections of intro psych course (n=590).
Brief demonstration of web resources to both
sections.
One section has web resource lecture outline
used in lieu of overhead transparency.
Survey at end of Exam Booklet (anonymous)
» Use and Evaluation of Web Resources
» Exam 1 and Exam 3.
RESULTS
Higher Use & Evaluations when Web
Resources part of Lecture Presentations
 80% of all students use web resources and 61%
rate them as “very helpful” at first exam.
 Significant differences between groups.
» Exam 1 Use: 1.72 vs 2.57, (df579, t=-9.1, p<.001)
» Exam 1 Evaluation: 1.17 vs 1.60, (df579, t=-7.8, p<.001)
» Exam 3 Use: 1.50 vs 2.34, (df589, t=-8.3, p<.001)
» Exam 3 Evaluation: 1.17 vs 2.17, (df589, t=-6.2, p<.001)
RESULTS - Use

50 .00 %
Standalone
» 26% do
not use
» <20% use
“a lot”
45 .00 %
40 .00 %
35 .00 %
30 .00 %
25 .00 %

Integrated
20 .00 %
» 6% do not
use
» 50% use
“a lot”
15 .00 %
10 .00 %
5.0 0%
Standalone
0.0 0%
Not Use
Integrated
A Little
Some time s
A Lot
RESULTS: Evaluation

Integrated
» 83.4% rate
Very Useful
90 %
80 %
70 %

60 %
Standalone
» 50.1% rate
Very Useful
50 %
40 %
30 %
20 %
10 %
Standalone
0%
Not Use ful
Integrated
Some what Us eful
Ver y Us eful
DISCUSSION
Visibility increases adoption.
 High use because resources met criteria
for rapid diffusion.
 Highly integrated and interactive.
 BlackBoard and WebCT not meet criteria.
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