University-Wide Digital Skills Training: A Case Study Evaluation
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Design of the Digital Skills Training Programme
2.2. Evaluation of the Programme
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sample Characteristics
3.2. Prior Views of Digital Skills
3.3. Course Completion
3.4. Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model
3.5. Effects of Individual Factors on Evaluation
3.6. Beliefs about Digital Skills
3.6.1. Overall Measures
3.6.2. Effects of Individual Factors on Evaluation
4. Discussion
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Block | Topic | Activity (Duration of Study) |
---|---|---|
1 | Wellbeing in the digital world | Ensuring wellbeing in a digital environment—Keeping Secure at [Host University] (2 h 30 min) |
Being a good digital citizen | Online behaviour: Do’s and Don’ts (1 h) | |
Digital tools to equip you for success | Introducing your Digital Tools for Learning (Library pages, key apps, Office 365 overview) (1 h 30 min) | |
Your online learning platform | Introducing [Host VLE] (1 h) | |
Resources for your studies | What’s out there? Types of information (45 min) | |
2 | Your online learning platform | Core and Recommended Tools- how to use accessibility tool, Blackboard Ally, Microsoft TEAMS, Turnitin, Moodle Assignment, Kaltura and LinkedIn Learning. (1 h) |
Digital tools to equip you for success | Working with Microsoft Office 365- One Drive, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook (2 h) | |
Resources for your studies | Searching for academic information (1 h) | |
Being a good digital citizen | Do’s and Don’ts of online behaviour—Microsoft Teams and Email Etiquette (30 min) | |
3 | Being a good digital citizen | Being a good collaborator (45 min) |
Resources for your studies | Referencing and Citing Your Sources (1 h 30 min) | |
Your online learning platform | Turnitin Practice submission area (N/A) | |
Digital tools to equip you for success | Using Feedback and Reflecting on Practice (45 min) | |
Wellbeing in the digital world | Ensuring Wellbeing in a Digital Environment (1 h 30 min) | |
4 | Being a good digital citizen | Digital identity and employability (2 h) |
Digital tools to equip you for success | Working with Microsoft Excel (1 h) | |
Resources for your study | Working with data (1 h) | |
Being a good digital citizen | Data Protection (GDPR) and Data Storage (30 min) | |
Being a good digital citizen | Reflecting on your digital practices (1 h 30 min) |
Topic | Example Item (Rating) |
---|---|
Demographic variables | Gender (Male/Female/Other/Prefer not to say) Trans status (Yes/No/Prefer not to say) Age (free text entry) Ethnicity (15 categories/Other/Prefer not to say) Disability status (five categories/None/Prefer not to say) First language (English/Not English) |
Qualification and study | Level of study (undergraduate/taught postgraduate/research postgraduate) Year of study (first year/later year) Intensity (Full-time/Part-time) Mode (Campus-based/Distance learning) Location when training (on campus/remote local/remote UK/remote abroad) Fee status (home/EU/international) Faculty (10 categories) |
Prior skills and training | The following statements were rated with 1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree:
|
Beliefs about digital skills | Attitude: “For me to develop better digital skills is…” (1 = extremely bad, 7 = extremely good) Social norm: “Most people like me complete digital skills training alongside their studies” (1 = extremely unlikely, 7 = extremely likely) Subjective norm: “Most people who are important to me would approve of me completing digital skills training” (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Perceived power: “For me to complete digital skills training alongside my studies is…” (1 = extremely difficult, 7 = extremely easy) Perceived behavioural control: “My completing digital skills training is up to me.” (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree) Strength of the intention to continue with digital skills development (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). |
Characteristic | Student (N = 138) | |
---|---|---|
N | % | |
Gender | ||
Male | 34 | 24.6 |
Female | 104 | 75.4 |
Trans | ||
Yes | 2 | 1.4 |
No | 136 | 98.6 |
Ethnicity | ||
White British | 24 | 17.4 |
White Other | 41 | 29.7 |
BAME | 71 | 51.4 |
Prefer not to say | 2 | 1.4 |
English First Language | ||
Yes | 68 | 49.3 |
No | 70 | 50.7 |
Disability | ||
Physical disability | 11 | 8 |
Sensory disability | 1 | 7 |
Learning difference | 7 | 5.1 |
Mental health condition | 11 | 8 |
Long-term condition | 2 | 1.4 |
None | 107 | 77.5 |
Prefer not to say | 7 | 5.1 |
Characteristic | Student (N = 138) | |
---|---|---|
N | % | |
Student Status | ||
Home | 65 | 47.1 |
EU | 32 | 23.2 |
International | 41 | 29.7 |
Study Level | 2 | 1.4 |
Undergraduate | 74 | 53.6 |
Postgraduate—taught | 60 | 43.5 |
Postgraduate—research | 4 | 2.9 |
Year of Study | ||
First | 111 | 80.4 |
Second + | 27 | 19.6 |
Study intensity | ||
Full-time | 124 | 89.9 |
Part-time | 14 | 10.4 |
Study Mode | ||
Campus-based | 109 | 79 |
Distance | 29 | 21 |
Faculty | ||
Arts and Humanities | 20 | 14.5 |
Life Sciences and Medicine | 20 | 14.5 |
Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience | 16 | 11.6 |
Law | 5 | 2.6 |
Business | 20 | 14.5 |
Natural and Mathematical Sciences | 10 | 7.2 |
Nursing and Midwifery | 19 | 13.8 |
Foundation Studies | 2 | 1.4 |
Social Science and Public Policy | 26 | 18.8 |
Theme (Number of Comments) | Example |
---|---|
Increased confidence (11) | “I feel more confident with using [VLE] as well as referencing my work and also utilising Office365 a lot more than i would have in the past.” |
Increased efficiency or proficiency (58) | “The biggest change relates to my proficiency on [VLE]; I now feel that I can take more advantage of the different aspects of the web page.” |
Increased awareness of digital options (14) | I’m more aware that there are a range of options available to me, and that I don’t have to keep using the same platforms/apps that I previously used but can explore further. |
Digital Footprint (11) | “Understood the importance of a positive digital footprint” |
Careers (5) | I am more aware of my professional conduct during meetings on Zoom or MS Teams. |
Measure (Level) | White British M (SD) | White Non-British M (SD) | BAME M (SD) | Test Statistic F (df) | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reaction (1) | 4.16 (0.63) | 4.21 (0.65) | 4.43 (0.53) | 2.978 (2, 133) | 0.054 |
Learning needs (2) | 4.43 (0.52) | 4.11 (0.84) | 4.35 (0.13) | 2.649 (2, 133) | 0.074 |
Current skills (2) | 7.90 (1.07) | 8.28 (1.20) | 8.15 (1.05) | 2.264 (2, 97) | 0.109 |
Current performance (2) | 71.28 (7.17) | 73.33 (11.32) | 68.04 (12.02) | 0.912 (2, 133) | 0.404 |
Training contribution (2) | 3.94 (0.86) | 3.57 (0.89) | 4.07 (0.68) | 5.181 (2, 133) | 0.007 b |
Behaviour (3) | 3.64 (0.14) | 3.83 (0.10) | 4.03 (0.07) | 3.811 (2, 133) | 0.025 a |
Impact (4) | 3.44 (0.12) | 3.72 (0.10) | 4.01 (0.07) | 8.931 (2, 132) | 0.000 a,b |
Measure (Level) | Home M (SD) | EU M (SD) | International M (SD) | Test Statistic F (df) | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reaction (1) | 4.24 (0.52) | 4.31 (0.63) | 4.47 (0.67) | 1.890 (2, 135) | 0.155 |
Learning needs (2) | 4.31 (0.59) | 4.17 (0.74) | 4.37 (0.64) | 0.913 (2, 135) | 0.404 |
Current skills (2) | 8.00 (1.02) | 8.34 (1.22) | 8.24 (1.11) | 1.224 (2, 135) | 0.297 |
Current performance (2) | 71.46 (9.73) | 71.06 (14.70) | 68.04 (10.21) | 0.910 (2, 99) | 0.406 |
Training contribution (2) | 3.80 (0.85) | 3.60 (0.74) | 4.26 (0.66) | 7.576 (2, 135) | 0.001 b,c |
Behaviour (3) | 3.80 (0.60) | 3.83 (0.63) | 4.12 (0.71) | 3.288 (2, 135) | 0.040 b,c |
Impact (4) | 3.71 (0.56) | 3.84 (0.56) | 4.02 (0.63) | 3.256 (2, 134) | 0.042 b |
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Raji, N.A.S.; Busson-Crowe, D.A.; Dommett, E.J. University-Wide Digital Skills Training: A Case Study Evaluation. Educ. Sci. 2023, 13, 333. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040333
Raji NAS, Busson-Crowe DA, Dommett EJ. University-Wide Digital Skills Training: A Case Study Evaluation. Education Sciences. 2023; 13(4):333. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040333
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaji, Nabila A. S., David A. Busson-Crowe, and Eleanor J. Dommett. 2023. "University-Wide Digital Skills Training: A Case Study Evaluation" Education Sciences 13, no. 4: 333. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040333