These are three research methods used to examine the student voice with regards their use and perception of technology in their learning and beyond.
Surveys represent the traditional way of gaining data on opinion and feelings. The benefits today are that they can be quickly distributed to a wide number of people via email and easily completed and returned via email. The researcher can ask specific question to elicit specific data and by using questions with a Likert Scale, can create quantitative data. It is also a method that respondents are used to and familiar with.
The disadvantages are that respondents are self selecting and may represent only those who had a particularly negative or particularly positive experience. Additionally there is the difficulty of asking the right questions and problems where respondents feel they cannot give a true answer as their choices are limited and they cannot provide a free text answer.
Audio logs are a more recent method and in Conole et al (2008) respondents rang in to record their log and were reminded of the survey questions. It was argued that 'audio logs were chosen because such diaries can provide rich data about day-to-day events, as they happen, and contain a realistic account of the activities undertaken by the learners' (2008, p512). This type of data collection is found often in anthropology and I found a study called 'Memoirs of togetherness from audio logs' (Korchagin, 2009) which investigates how family relations can be improved by the use of technology to break down distance barriers. Here participants logged their social events via palm top devices.
Conole also reviews audio logs on Cloudworks (2010), where she outlines the advantages as:
Simple and effective
Captures emotion and immediate feelings
Good response rate from students
Can triangulate with other data
Very rich data gained
Adds a nice angle to presentations of finding
But the disadvantages are:
What devices to use, students or central number
Ethical issues of anonymising
Background noise and recording quality
Further problems might occur when trying to analyse the data and the need to transcribe which may lose valuable emotional material unless a coding methods is used.
Video logs: These also provide rich data and can capture emotion. The video diaries form the LXP project, Laura's video and Jenny and Emma's video capture their enthusiasm for their technologies much more than words could (JISC). The advantages of video logs are therefore similar to audio logs, but also add a richer communication of emotion and feelings and we really do see 'the learner' at work. Wesch's video 'A vision of students today' also captures the learner's voice, but in a more choreographed way (Wesch, 2007).
However, the disadvantages are:
Participants may be more self conscious and not want to take part
Deciding what technology to use involves knowing what learners are competent in using
Or, the costs of setting a up someone to video the learner
The problem of analysing the data and losing even more richness if transcribing it
The learner voice means just that and actually hearing students speak for themselves is the very best way to capture that. Lessons can be learned from disciplines that use video and audio to overcome some of the problems of using these methods. However, any study really needs a range of methods in order to gain the most reliable and valid data and so no one method should be used to the exclusion of others.
Conole, G. De Latt, M. Dillon, T. And Darby J (2008) ''Disruptive technologies', 'pedagogical innovation': What's new? Findings from an in-depth study of students' use and perception of technology' Computers and Education 50:2 pp511-524
Korchagin, D. (2009) 'Memoirs of togetherness from audio logs' Idiap Research Institute found at http://www. publications.idiap.ch/downloads/papers/2009/Korchagin_UCM_2009.pdf [accessed 15/05/11]
Surveys v audio logs v video logs
Surveys versus audio logs versus video
These are three research methods used to examine the student voice with regards their use and perception of technology in their learning and beyond.
Surveys represent the traditional way of gaining data on opinion and feelings. The benefits today are that they can be quickly distributed to a wide number of people via email and easily completed and returned via email. The researcher can ask specific question to elicit specific data and by using questions with a Likert Scale, can create quantitative data. It is also a method that respondents are used to and familiar with.
The disadvantages are that respondents are self selecting and may represent only those who had a particularly negative or particularly positive experience. Additionally there is the difficulty of asking the right questions and problems where respondents feel they cannot give a true answer as their choices are limited and they cannot provide a free text answer.
Audio logs are a more recent method and in Conole et al (2008) respondents rang in to record their log and were reminded of the survey questions. It was argued that 'audio logs were chosen because such diaries can provide rich data about day-to-day events, as they happen, and contain a realistic account of the activities undertaken by the learners' (2008, p512). This type of data collection is found often in anthropology and I found a study called 'Memoirs of togetherness from audio logs' (Korchagin, 2009) which investigates how family relations can be improved by the use of technology to break down distance barriers. Here participants logged their social events via palm top devices.
Conole also reviews audio logs on Cloudworks (2010), where she outlines the advantages as:
But the disadvantages are:
Further problems might occur when trying to analyse the data and the need to transcribe which may lose valuable emotional material unless a coding methods is used.
Video logs: These also provide rich data and can capture emotion. The video diaries form the LXP project, Laura's video and Jenny and Emma's video capture their enthusiasm for their technologies much more than words could (JISC). The advantages of video logs are therefore similar to audio logs, but also add a richer communication of emotion and feelings and we really do see 'the learner' at work. Wesch's video 'A vision of students today' also captures the learner's voice, but in a more choreographed way (Wesch, 2007).
The learner voice means just that and actually hearing students speak for themselves is the very best way to capture that. Lessons can be learned from disciplines that use video and audio to overcome some of the problems of using these methods. However, any study really needs a range of methods in order to gain the most reliable and valid data and so no one method should be used to the exclusion of others.
References
Conole, G (2010) 'Briefing on the use of audio logs' found at http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/3197 [accessed 15/05/11]
Conole, G. De Latt, M. Dillon, T. And Darby J (2008) ''Disruptive technologies', 'pedagogical innovation': What's new? Findings from an in-depth study of students' use and perception of technology' Computers and Education 50:2 pp511-524
JISC (2010) The Learners Voice, found at (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/learneroutcomes/learnervoices
Korchagin, D. (2009) 'Memoirs of togetherness from audio logs' Idiap Research Institute found at http://www. publications.idiap.ch/downloads/papers/2009/Korchagin_UCM_2009.pdf [accessed 15/05/11]
Wesch, M (2007) 'A vision on Students today' [video] found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=dGCJ46vyR9o [accessed 15/05/11]