Learner Digital Experience Insights Survey for Further Education PDF

Learner digital experience insights survey 2022/23 UK further education (FE) survey findings Jisc data analytics September 2023 Jisc data analytics Jisc 0333 015 1165 4 Portwall Lane [email protected]...

Learner digital experience insights survey 2022/23 UK further education (FE) survey findings Jisc data analytics September 2023 Jisc data analytics Jisc 0333 015 1165 4 Portwall Lane [email protected] Bristol digitalinsights.jisc.ac.uk BS1 6NB @JiscAnalytics 0203 697 5860 Contents Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 2 Summary.......................................................................................................................................... 3 Methodology.................................................................................................................................... 4 Survey findings................................................................................................................................ 5 Theme one: you and your technology......................................................................................... 5 Theme two: technology at your organisation.............................................................................. 7 Theme three: technology in your learning................................................................................... 9 Theme four: your digital skills.................................................................................................... 13 Learner voices: positive and negative aspects of learning using digital technologies............. 14 Get involved................................................................................................................................... 18 Introduction The digital experience insights survey for further education learners took place between October 2022 and April 2023. Participating FE colleges and sixth form colleges were able to select their own survey period within these dates, typically a three to four week window. There were 8,788 respondents from 23 organisations. 19 of these were based in England, two in Scotland and two in Northern Ireland. These 23 organisations represent 9% of all further education providers in the UK. A separate analysis of the digital experience of learners in colleges in Wales was conducted in 2022/23. The highest number of responses from a single organisation was 1,520 learners (28% of their total learner population) and the mean number of responses was 382 per organisation (on average 7% of the total number of learners in each organisation that participated). However, three of the 23 organisations contributed fewer than 100 responses. A survey indicating the digital experience of higher education students is run simultaneously and results can be found on our 2022/23 HE students report page. Through Jisc’s digital experience insights service, organisations can gain valuable data to inform strategic, operational and digital investment decisions, evidence year-on-year improvements and demonstrate return on investment. Organisations that take part have access to their own data to assess their unique situations as well as benchmarking data. Full information about the digital experience insights surveys is detailed on our information page. Summary Our 2022/23 digital experience insights survey for learners in further education explored learners’ experiences of using digital technology, including the environments in which they learned and the support offered to them by their organisations. Most learners were enabled to learn using digital technologies, and they did so both on and off campus. However, a large minority did not engage with the wide range of digital technologies that may have been offered to them as part of their learning and they encountered several barriers that prevented them from engaging equitably. Colleges generally provide good online learning environments. However, digital and data inequity is a growing problem. Many learners still do not have suitable devices for learning. The survey results show that a worryingly large number of learners felt that they had no safe or private place to work in. Learners also experienced a range of issues with problematic devices and digital infrastructure, most notably with unreliable wifi and mobile data costs. Internet connectivity issues have become more acute since last year’s survey and is far more of a problem on campus than off campus and should be addressed as a priority. Learner preferences for learning using technology, predictably, are varied, so organisations should look to continue to offer a range of experiences using digital technology – supporting learners who want to primarily learn online and off campus to do so where appropriate, and supporting on campus learning experiences for others. Colleges should assess the support they provide for digital skills development. In our survey, just over half of learners agreed that guidance about the digital skills required for their course was provided by their organisation. However, most learners reported that they had not been offered help in a wide range of digital competency areas. This included support for learning using online platforms, and basic IT skills. Organisations also have work to do to improve how learners are made aware of how their data is collected and used, and in involving learners in decisions about their digital experience. Learners generally remain positive about how digital technologies enable them to learn in ways and places that suit them. By addressing the more problematic and persistent issues learners encountered and raised in this year’s survey, colleges can seek to provide a more supportive and responsive learning environment. This will help to deliver the more positive possibilities of learning using technology and help to stop the negative aspects from preventing learners to reach their course and future career goals. Methodology The question set The core question set contained 36 questions (of which four of these were open ended qualitative questions). These often had sub-questions making the total number of individual questions a maximum of 57. All questions were optional so that respondents could leave questions blank if they did not wish to answer. Most questions were locked (standardised across all insights surveys) to allow benchmark comparisons. Additional pages were customisable so that organisations could add additional questions pertinent to their local needs. All relevant closed-ended questions had a non- response rate of 7.7% or less (with a median non-response rate of 4.5%). Qualitative open-ended questions All qualitative open-ended questions were analysed using semi-supervised topic modelling, a form of Natural Language Processing (NLP). This used the CorEx algorithm, implemented in Python, using anchor terms developed with domain experts in Jisc to steer the model towards creating the most useful set of topics for classifying responses. The algorithm then classified the responses from the survey according to the topics in the model, and this could be used to interpret the answers to the question. The analysts developed narratives based on this analysis, using visualisation tools such as Tableau or PowerBI. Uses and limitations of data The data is not weighted to match the national FE learner population (eg by gender) and therefore we advise against comparing at the level of individual percentage points across the years, especially as the questions and answer options have changed slightly between the years. Additionally, different organisations have taken part in the survey year-on-year, so direct comparisons across the years should be treated with a degree of caution even when the question wording is exactly the same. Please note that the number of responses is sometimes greater than the number of people who responded to a question (for the 'tick all that apply' questions) and so percentages may total above 100%. Totals may also not come to 100% due to rounding. Null responses are excluded in all calculations. Survey findings Theme one: you and your technology In the first theme, 'you and your technology', we established learner demographics (including age, location, gender, ethnicity and impairments that may impact learning). We also established key statistics on the devices and technologies used for learning. Gender of participants Level of learning of participants 47% female 6% Entry level 48% male 27% Level 1 or Level 2 3% prefer not to say 59% Level 3 2% prefer to self describe 4% Apprenticeship (Level 2, 3 or 4) 2% HE qualification Age of participants 1% SCQF Levels 4, 5 or 6 1% under 16 82% 16 to 18 Number of years participants have 10% 19 to 21 studied 52% less than a year 2% 22 to 24 10% 1 year 1% 25 to 29 29% 2 years 5% 30 to 59 6% 3 years 0% 60 and over 3% 4 years or more Ethnicity of participants 9% Asian or Asian British Participants with learning differences, health conditions or impairments 5% Black, Black British, Caribbean or 82% no African 18% yes 5% Mixed or multiple ethnic groups 79% White 3% Other Devices used regularly for learning Use of tools or features that assist (could tick all that applied) learning (could tick all that applied) 75% smartphone 14% spelling/writing support 66% laptop 12% captions 45% desktop computer 7% screen reader 28% tablet 6% dictation 10% microphone/headset 5% screen magnification 6% camera/webcam 3% transcripts 5% additional screen 3% other 3% other 1% alternative/ergonomic devices 1% virtual reality headset 32% of learners said that they used at least 1% none one of these features or tools that assist Smartphones (75%) and laptops (66%) were learning. the most used devices for learning in FE. There has been a slight increase in Of those reporting to use other features smartphone use since the 2021/22 survey (3%) the most common were screen tinting (68%). 5% of learners used only a or overlay tools. smartphone for learning, while 7% used only a laptop. Desktop use was more prevalent among Support required to use assistive men (54%) than women (35%), and women features (73%) tended to use laptops more than men 85% no (60%). 15% yes Most peripheral devices were not commonly Most learners (85%) said that they did not used. The use of VR devices for learning require support to use assistive technology remained uncommon overall (1%). features or tools that support learning but a significant minority (15%) did require support. Devices given or loaned 75% no 25% yes A quarter of learners were given or loaned a device. Support offered to use assistive features we asked if learners had received support to use assistive technology features. The 33% no 2021/22 survey found that just over a third 67% yes (36%) of learners received support. This indicates that there may be a mismatch Of learners who required support to use between organisations offering support and these features, around two-thirds (67%) said learners taking up the offer of support. that support was offered. In previous years, Theme two: technology at your organisation In theme two, ‘technology at your organisation’, we investigated what learners felt about how their organisations supported them with the technology required to learn online. This included what tools or features were offered as part of the digital learning environment, how well organisations supported learners to access systems and services off campus, and how well learners understood how their data was collected and used by colleges. Learners also indicated their preferences for future digital investment. The online learning environment Technologies that support learning 3% best imaginable (could tick all that applied) 21% excellent 37% online assessment/testing platform 48% good 33% virtual learning environment 23% average 30% dashboard for tracking own 3% poor progress 1% awful 26% recorded/pre-recorded content and resources 1% worst imaginable 24% live stream of lectures 73% of learners considered the online learning environment to be above average 20% recordings of live sessions (best imaginable, excellent or good). Only 19% applications that support 4% thought the online learning environment collaborative activities to be below average (poor, awful or worst imaginable). 14% e-portfolios 2% augmented/virtual/extended reality (AR/VR/XR) technologies 23% none of these A wide range of platforms, systems and applications were provided to learners to support their learning. 41% of learners were provided with either live streams of lectures/classes, recordings of live sessions or recorded/pre-recorded content and resources. A third (33%) of learners had access to virtual learning environments. Most learners were generally positive about 37% were provided with online assessment the various aspects of support for using platforms. systems and services at their organisation. Just under one quarter (23%) of learners 58% of learners agreed that their reported that none of these were provided organisation supported the use of their own (16% in 2021/22). devices, and 69% of learners agreed that they were supported with accessing platforms and services off campus. Most learners felt positive about their ability to Useful digital tools or apps communicate effectively online, for example Learners were asked to provide an example through messaging and notification systems of a tool or app they found useful for (63% agreed). This has remained consistent learning. There were 6,755 responses to for the last four years of this survey this question. (approximately 63% agreed every year). The top 10 tools or apps named by learners were: Data collection and use 1. Microsoft Teams (16%) 46% agreed that they understood how 2. Showbie (12%) their college collected and used their data (35% neutral, 19% disagreed) 3. Quizlet (4%) 49% agreed that they were comfortable with how their college collected and used 4. YouTube (3%) their data (44% neutral, 7% disagreed) 5. Microsoft Word (3%) Less than half of learners agreed that they understood (46%) and were comfortable 6. Moodle (3%) (49%) with how data was collected and used by their college. 19% did not understand 7. Seneca Learning (2%) how their college collected and used their 8. Padlet (1%) data. 9. Microsoft Office (1%) 10. OneFile (