Grant recipients: Elena Neiterman, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences; Christine Zaza, Centre for Teaching Excellence
Image provided by Brett Jordan under the Creative Commons "Attribution" license.
(Project timeline: September 2016 - August 2017)
Description
This project examined AHS students’ and instructors’ attitudes and behaviours regarding the off-task use of technology in class and the perceived effectiveness of a personal technology-blocking app. The data were collected utilizing surveys (478 students and 36 instructors, representing 20% of undergraduate students and 47% of instructors in AHS), focus groups (10 students and 5 instructors), classroom observations, and Freedom app pilot trial with 11 AHS students. Five HLTH 481 (Community Learning Project) students used Community Based Participatory Research to facilitate a student-driven change in technology use in class. Our analysis revealed that technology use for class-related purposes is not perceived as a problem by most students and instructors, but the off-task technology use can create distractions. Freedom app was not effective in reducing off-task technology use. Based on the input from AHS community, we created an educational video and a tool kit for dealing with technology in class.
Questions investigated
- Do AHS students perceive distractions from technology in class as problematic?
- What are AHS instructors’ perceptions about student use of technology in class?
- What is the impact of classroom size on technology-related distractions?
- What strategies do AHS community members identify as most promising for minimizing technology-related distractions in class?
- Do students who are given a free one-month trial of Freedom use the app in class?
- What are students’ perceptions about the effectiveness of Freedom app?
Findings/insights
Students’ self-reported on-task and off-task technology-use was more prevalent in large classes, (>70 students) compared with medium (31-69 students) or small (
Freedom app has not shown to be an effective tool for minimizing technology-related distractions in class. None of the 11 students signed up for the trial used the app consistently or reported it to be very effective for managing the use of technology.
Dissemination and impact
- At the individual level: Students in HLTH 481 received first-hand experience with conducting Community Based Participatory Research, including collecting and analyzing data and working with the community members. Colleagues in SPHHS received a brief on the study results during Lunch & Learn session.
- At the Department/School and/or Faculty/Unit levels: Information about the study was disseminated to AHS teaching fellows and we presented our findings at the SPHHS department meeting. We created and disseminated among AHS instructors a toolkit that provides a list of strategies and resources that can be used to minimize technology-related distractions in class
- At the institutional (uWaterloo) level: We presented our findings at OND 2017 conference and we created and disseminated an educational video about technology use in class.
- At the provincial, national and/or international levels: We are finalizing three manuscripts that will be sent to international peer-reviewed journals on higher education and we will be presenting our findings at the educational conferences in 2018
Impact of the project
- Teaching: The new tool kit and the video will be utilized by Elena Neiterman (PI) in her classes HLTH 301, HLTH 305, HLTH 280, HLTH 350 and HLTH 273. As CTE liaison (Zaza) and SPHHS teaching fellow (Neiterman), both PI provide ongoing support and advice to AHS (Zaza) and SPHHS (Zaza and Neiterman) faculty. The findings from this study will be shared with our colleagues during such consultations.
- Involvement in other activities or projects: The results of this project were disseminated among SPHHS faculty and were instrumental in establishing a school-wide approach to dealing with technology in class.
References
Project Reference List (PDF)