The use of collaboration tools when teaching with Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS)
Abstract
This study was designed to determine whether faculty members utilized collaboration tools within Desire2Learn Inc., in accordance with Chickering and Gamson's (1987) Seven Principles of Good Practice: A Framework for Evaluating Effective Teaching in Undergraduate Education. The population for this study was faculty members at Tennessee State University and at the University of Memphis, who instructed face-to-face, hybrid/blended, and fully online classes using D2L during the fall semester of 2009. Study participants completed an online research electronic data capture survey answering questions on 18 Likert-scale items of 1 (never) to 5 (always). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. The principles were compared by subgroups using t-test for gender and graduate/undergraduate instructors. ANOVAs were used to compare mean score by employment (tenured, non-tenure-track, tenure-track), and by course type (undergraduate and graduate). There were 129 faculty members who completed the study questionnaire. Results suggested that faculty members incorporated all seven principles at varying levels. Gender, type of employment, or the level of classes taught did not make any difference in how respondents taught with D2L. Three categories were used to group the mean scores: high (3.51–5.0); medium (2.51–3.5); and low (2.5–1.0). Based on these scores, high expectation was ranked the highest with a score of 3.51. Principles with median scores were: student faculty contact, 3.08; diverse talents and ways of learning, 3.06; time on task, 2.89; active learning, 2.55; and cooperation among students, 2.38. Prompt feedback was ranked the lowest at 2.07. Recommendations of the study were: Online instructors at both Tennessee State University and the University of Memphis should encourage online collaboration among students, specifically when they teach with D2L. Faculty members should share ideas on the best practices of the meaningful use of discussion boards and video-conferencing tools when teaching with D2L. Ongoing support in leveraging collaboration tools should be provided to both institutions. This will empower D2L instructors to be more creative integrating collaboration tools into their teaching.
Subject Area
Educational technology|Curriculum development
Recommended Citation
Fatima Maria Mncube-Barnes,
"The use of collaboration tools when teaching with Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS)"
(2010).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3404247.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3404247