WHAT DO STUDENTS LIKE ABOUT ONLINE TOOLS? AN EXPLORATION OF STUDENT PREFERENCES AND THE UNDERLYING REASONS

Boglarka Kiss Kulenović, Dalia Suša Vugec, Višnja Kabalin Borenić, Romana Pezić

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP240309026K
First page
313
Last page
324

Abstract


In this paper, we present the results of a quantitative survey on online learning carried out among 153 first-year students at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb in the academic year 2021/22. The classes were taught synchronously and interactively over 20 weeks using the Google Classroom learning management system (LMS). At the end of the period, students were asked to evaluate ten online tools and activities based on their perceived usefulness on 6-point Likert scales. Data on gender, general English proficiency and Business English grade were also obtained. The information collected was submitted for descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis. The paper presents the perceived usefulness of selected online tools and discusses the perceptions of usefulness across different sample subgroups. The defining features of online tools that influence student preferences are considered as well. Finally, the authors make suggestions and recommendations on how online tools can be beneficially incorporated into in-person classes and discuss some added benefits of using online tools, such as a possibility of tailoring teaching content to specific students’ needs.


Keywords

online learning, online teaching tools, ESP, tertiary education, student reactions

Full Text:

PDF

References


Agbejule, A., Ndzibah, E., Lotchi, K. "Motivation and Barriers of Online Learners in the Era of COVID-19." Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, 2021. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/429234/978-952-5784-46-6_%282%29.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

Amador, J. A., and H. Mederer. "Migrating Successful Student Engagement Strategies Online: Opportunities and Challenges Using Jigsaw Groups and Problem-Based Learning." Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 9, no. 1 (2013): 89. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=n

rs_facpubs.

Baker, C. "The Impact of Instructor Immediacy and Presence for Online Student Affective Learning, Cognition, and Motivation." Journal of Educators Online 7, no. 1 (2010). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ904072.

Cook, Sara Cothren, Gena Nelson, Natanya Friedheim, Byron C. Bass, Geena Colburn, Misty Figueira-Savella, Gabby Halaby, Nancy Hoadley, and Lauryn Rohde. “Using Technology to Provide Opportunities to Respond in Synchronous Online Learning Environments.” Intervention in School and Clinic 59, no. 2 (2022): 87–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/10534512221140508.

Gershenson, S., and S. B. Holt. "Gender Gaps in High School Students’ Homework Time." Educational Researcher 44, no. 8 (2015): 432-441. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X15616123.

Haydon, T., A. S. Macsuga-Gage, B. Simonsen, and R. Hawkins. "Opportunities to Respond: A Key Component of Effective Instruction." Beyond Behavior 22, no. 1 (2012): 23-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/107429561202200105.

Johnson, D. "The Role of Teachers in Motivating Students To Learn." BU Journal of Graduate Studies in Education 9, no. 1 (2017): 46-49. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1230415.pdf.

Kabalin Borenić, V., Kiss Kulenović, B., and Suša Vugec, D. "Student Reactions to Online Learning and Online Teaching Tools Used in a Business English Course During the Covid-19 Pandemic." CASALC Review 12, no. 2 (2022): 78-95. https://doi.org/10.5817/CASALC2022-2-4.

Kadiresan, V., S. Jung, H. R., and R. Farrell. "Motivating Factors Influencing Online Learning Among University Students: A Study of a Private University in Malaysia." Journal of Social Science Studies 8 (2021): 88. 10.5296/jsss.v8i2.18926. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355846269_Motivating_

Factors_Influencing_Online_Learning_Among_University_Students_A_Study_of_a_Private_University_in_Malaysia.

Kakoulli Constantinou, E. "Teaching in Clouds: Using the G Suite for Education for the Delivery of Two English for Academic Purposes Courses." The Journal of Teaching English For Specific and Academic Purposes 6, no. 2 (2018): 305-317. https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP1802305C.

Karlak, M., and V. Bagarić Medve. "Gender Differences in the Use of Learning Strategies, Motivation and Communicative Competence in German and English as Foreign Languages." Strani Jezici 45, no. 3-4 (2016): 163-183. https://hrcak.srce.hr/193101.

Lin, C. Z., Y. Zhang, and B. Zheng. "The Roles of Learning Strategies and Motivation in Online Learning: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis." Computers & Education 113 (2017): 75-85. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-roles-of-learning-strategies-and-motivation-in-Lin-Zhang/5694a88a27c82ef53c69ccd0130fdf5bbfc1106b.

Lockee, B. B. "Online Education in the Post-COVID Era." Nature Electronics 4 (2021): 5–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-020-00534-0.

Martin, F., T. Sun, and D. Westine. "A Systematic Review of Research on Online Teaching and Learning from 2009 to 2018." Computers & Education 159 (2020): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.104009.

Mau, W.-C., and R. Lynn. "Gender Differences in Homework and Test Scores in Mathematics, Reading and Science at Tenth and Twelfth Grade." Psychology, Evolution & Gender 2, no. 2 (2000): 119-125. DOI: 10.1080/14616660050200904.

Nguyen, T. "The Effectiveness of Online Learning: Beyond No Significant Difference and Future Horizons." MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 11, no. 2 (2015). https://www.researchgate.net/

profile/Tuan-Nguyen-186/publication/308171318_The_Effectiveness_of_Online_Learning_Beyond_No_Significant_Difference_and_Future_Horizons/links/57dc114608ae4e6f18469e8c/The-Effectiveness-of-Online-Learning-Beyond-No-Significant-Difference-and-Future-Horizons.pdf.

O'Shea, S., C. Stone, and J. Delahunty. "‘I Feel’ Like I Am at University Even Though I Am Online: Exploring How Students Narrate Their Engagement with Higher Education Institutions in an Online Learning Environment." Distance Education (2015): Taylor & Francis. https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=2828&context=sspapers.

Rao, K., C. Torres, and S. J. Smith. "Digital Tools and UDL-Based Instructional Strategies to Support Students With Disabilities Online." Journal of Special Education Technology 36, no. 2 (2021): 105-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162643421998327.

Riapina, N., and T. Utkina. "Teaching EAP to Digital Generation Learners: Developing a Generation-Specific Teaching Strategy." The Journal of Teaching English For Specific and Academic Purposes 10, no. 2 (2022): 277-289. https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP2202277R.

Sladoljev-Agejev, T., and V. Kabalin Borenić. "Analytic Assessment of Summaries in LSP Classes: The Challenges and Benefits Involved." Scripta Manent 13, no. 1 (2018): 45-64.

Varol, B., and S. Yilmaz. "Similarities and Differences Between Female and Male Learners: Inside and Outside Class Autonomous Language Learning Activities." Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 3 (2010): 237–244.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP240309026K

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISSN 2334-9182 (Print)
ISSN 2334-9212 (Online)