Digital Learning Insights Survey: UK Education

Learner Digital Experience Insights Survey 2022/23

• The survey explores learners' experiences using digital technology in further education.
• It took place between October 2022 and April 2023.
• FE (Further Education) colleges and sixth form colleges chose their survey period within this timeframe of 3-4 weeks.
• A total of 8,788 respondents participated from 23 organizations.
• 19 of the organizations were in England, 2 in Scotland, and 2 in Northern Ireland, representing 9% of UK FE providers.
• A separate analysis was conducted in 2022/23 on the digital experience of learners in Welsh colleges.
• The organisation with the highest responses included 1,520 learners, representing 28% of their learner population.
• The mean number of responses per organization was 382, or 7% of the learners.
• 3 of the participating organizations contributed fewer than 100 responses.
• There is also a survey for higher education (HE) students, so those results can be found on the 2022/23 HE students' report page.
• Jisc's service offers data to inform choices, evidence improvements, and demonstrate return on investment.
• Participants gain access to their own data for assessment, as well as benchmarking data.

Key Findings

• Most learners used digital technologies for learning both on and off campus.
• Colleges provide good online learning environments in general.
• Digital and data inequity is a growing problem, as many learners lack suitable devices or safe places to work.
• Internet issues, especially wifi, have worsened since the last survey and are more problematic on campus.
• Learner preferences vary, so organizations should continue offering diverse experiences with digital technology.
• Colleges should assess and improve support for digital skills development.
• Just over half the learners agreed guidance about required digital skills was provided.
• Most reported they had not received help in a wide range of digital competency areas, including online platforms and basic IT skills.
• Greater transparency is needed of how learner data is used
• Learners are positive about enabling tech.
• Colleges can provide a more supportive environment.

Methodology

Question Set

• The core question set had 36 questions.
• 4 questions were open ended.
• Sub-questions brought the individual questions to a maximum of 57.
• All questions were optional.
• Most questions were locked to allow benchmark comparisons.
• Organizations could customize additional questions.
• Closed-ended questions had a non-response rate of 7.7% or less, with a median of 4.5%.

Qualitative Open-Ended Questions

• All qualitative open-ended questions were analyzed using semi-supervised topic modelling with NLP (Natural language Processing).
• The CorEx algorithm in Python with anchor terms was used.
• The algorithm classified responses according to survey topics.
• Analysts developed narratives with visualization tools.

Uses and Limitations of Data

• Data is not weighted to match the national FE learner population.
• Comparisons at the level of individual percentage points are not advised.
• Questions and answer options have changed slightly over the years.
• Different organizations participate each year.
• Direct comparisons warrant caution, even with the same question wording.
• Response numbers may exceed the number of people due to "tick all that apply" questions, so percentages may total above 100%. Totals may not reach 100% due to rounding. Null responses are excluded.

Survey findings

• The first theme covered demographics which may affect digital learning.

Gender of participants

• 47% female
• 48% male
• 3% preferred to not say
• 2% preferred to self describe

Level of learning of participants

• 6% entry level
• 27% Level 1 or 2
• 59% Level 3
• 4% Apprenticeship Levels 2,3 or 4
• 2% Higher Education Qualification
• 1% SCQF Levels 4,5 or 6

Age of participants

• 1% under 16
• 82% between 16 and 18
• 10% between 19 and 21
• 2% between 22 and 24
• 1% between 25 and 29
• 5% between 30 and 59
• 0% over 60

Number of years participants have studied

• 52% less than a year
• 10% 1 year
• 29% 2 years
• 6% 3 years
• 3% 4 years or more

Ethnicity of participants

• 9% Asian or Asian British
• 5% Black, Black British, Caribbean, or African
• 5% Mixed or multiple ethnic groups
• 79% White
• 3% Other

Participants with Learning Differences

• 82% no
• 18% yes

Devices used for learning

• 75% smartphone
• 66% laptop
• 45% desktop computer
• 28% tablet
• 10% microphone/headset
• 6% camera/webcam
• 5% additional screen
• 3% other
• 1% virtual reality headset
• 1% none
• This indicates an increase of smartphone use since the 2021/22 survey (68%).
• 5% of learners used only a mobile, 7% used only a laptop.
• Desktop use was more prevalent among men (54%) than women (35%).
• Women (73%) were more likely to use laptops than men (60%).
• Most peripheral devices were uncommon.
• VR devices were least used (1%).

Use of Tools for Learning

• 14% spelling/writing support
• 12% captions
• 7% screen reader
• 6% dictation
• 5% screen magnification
• 3% transcripts
• 3% other
• 1% alternative/ergonomic devices
• 32% of learners use at least one tool that assists learning.
• Screen tinting/overlay tools were most common (3%).

Required Support to use tools

• 85% no
• 15% yes
• 85% did not require support for assistive technology while 15% did require support.

Support offered to use assistive features

• 33% no
• 67% yes
• Of those requiring support two-thirds of them were offered support (67%).
• In the 2021/22 survey only over a third (36%) of learners received support.

Technology at Your Organisation

• The second theme investigates what learners felt about how their organizations supported them with the technology required to learn online.

The Online Learning Environment

• 3% best imaginable
• 21% excellent
• 48% good
• 23% average
• 3% poor
• 1% awful
• 1% worst imaginable
• 73% of learners considered the online learning environment to be above average, while 4% found it to be below average.

Technologies that Support Learning

• 37% online assessment/testing platform
• 33% virtual learning environment
• 30% dashboard for tracking progress
• 26% recorded content and resources
• 24% live stream of lectures
• 20% recordings of live sessions
• 19% applications that support collaboration
• 14% e-portfolios
• 2% AR/VR/XR
• 23% none of these

Support for devices, communication and access to services

• 58% agreed they were supported to use their own devices.
• 69% agreed they were supported to access platforms and services off campus.
• 63% agreed they were supported to communicate effectively online.

Future Investment Preferences

• 32% upgrade platforms and systems.
• 29% more computers and devices.
• 21% specialist course software.
• 10% digital content.
• 8% IT support.
• Learners preferred investment in platforms and systems (32%).

Technology In Your Learning theme

• The third theme highlights issues that have created problems while using digital technology.

Quality of online learning

• 4% best imaginable
• 21% excellent
• 45% good
• 24% average
• 4% poor
• 1% awful
• 1% worst imaginable
• In the 2019/20 survey 76% of learners rated the quality of learning as above average.

Learners preferred to learn:

• 65% mainly on campus
• 28% a mix of on campus and online
• 7% mainly online

Location of learning using technology

• 92% at home: own, shared, family
• 80% on campus: study spaces, libraries, lectures, labs
• 23% public spaces (eg cafes)
• 10% at work
• 5% student accommodation
• 1% none of these

Difficulties With Digital Technologies In Learning

• 32% reported they had no suitable device.
• 20% reported that there was no safe area to work.
• 34% reported there was no private area to work.
• 56% cited poor WiFi connection.
• 34% cited mobile data costs.
• 35% said they can't access the systems.
• 47% reported no issues.

Range of Learning Activities

• 65% online quizzes

• 58% accessed course materials online

• 56% online research tasks

• 45% participated via online lecture/class

• 36% computer-marked test/assessment

• 35% mixed face-to-face/online class

• 28% watched recorded lecture/class

• 15% collaborated online

• 14% online text-based discussion

• 14% online game/simulation

• 11% live polling

• 8% virtual lab/practical/fieldwork

• 3% VR/AR/XR

• 9% reported none of these.

• Under 10% engaged in none of these activities.

• Online quizzes had 65%.

• Accessed course materials online had 58%.

• Online research tasks had 56%.

• Live online lectures/classes had nearly half of learners.

Opinions on learning materials

• 41% said they were engaging and motivating.
• 52% said they were at the right level and pace.
• 71% said they were accessible to them.
• 60% said they were available in good time.

Convenience, Fairness, Impact and Effectiveness of Online Learning

• 72% reported they were convenient.
• 60% reported learners could contribute in ways that they preferred.
• 65% reported learners could make good progress in their learning.
• 45% reported that they felt part of a community of staff and learners.
• 57% reported learners could be assessed fairly.

Involvement in decisions about digital technology

• 44% reported that they had the chance to be involved in decisions about their digital experience

Your Digital Skills theme

• This covers how supported learners felt developing their digital and online tech skills.

Overall Support for effective online learning

• 4% best imaginable.
• 19% excellent.
• 44% good.
• 26% average.
• 5% poor.
• 1% awful.
• 1% worst imaginable.
• Around two-thirds (67%) of learners rated their college's support to learn.

Support For Digital Skills Development

• 56% stated guidance about the digital skills needed for their course.
• 42% agreed with assessment for their digital skills and training needs.
• 45% agreed that they had time to explore new digital tools and approaches.
• 36% agreed with accreditation or certification for digital skills.
• 45% development opportunities for future employment.

Sources of help for digital skills and learning

• 54% lectures/tutors
• 39% friends and family
• 36% online videos and resources
• 34% other learners
• 23% IT staff
• 16% other student/learner service
• 14% library/learning resources staff
• 13% teaching and learning/e-learning staff
• 16% don't look for help

Skills training and support

• 46% basic IT skills
• 45% learning online
• 33% behaving safely and respectfully online
• 30% avoiding plagiarism
• 23% keeping data secure
• 19% specialist software for your subject
• 16% handling digital information, data and media
• 14% participating in digital assessments
• 11% data analysis
• 11% creating accessible digital content
• 11% managing social media or public webpages
• 9% coding/scripting
• 9% online publishing
• 22% none of these

Learner Voices

• This describes both negative and positives of digital technologies
• Several key themes emerged and the responses reveal the diversity of learning preferences.

The positives

• Flexible Workplace - digital technologies contributed to a flexible environment.
• Pace of learning - learners can go at their own pace.
• Convenience and Savings - convenience and savings was key in digital technologies
• Self-Directed Study - digital technologies enhance self-directed study.
• Communication and interaction - the opportunity to communicate.
• Wellbeing - digital technologies help those struggling in in-person environments.

The negatives

• Technical Frustrations - many learners faced tech issues like crashing.
• Poor Wifi Connections - learners cited poor wifi hindered what they could complete.
• Difficulties With Learning - Learners felt it was less effective.
• Lack of Interaction and Engagement - a less social experience for some.

Suggestions

• Provide wide range of support and training
• Improve hardware offering
• Improve online resources.

Explore findings from the UK's digital experience insights survey. It covers learner support, online communication, useful digital tools, and data collection understanding. Insights into further education providers' representation and survey timeframe are also discussed.