Examining Student Access in Online Courses: Two Courses Over the Years

Abstract

Studies on how college/university students approach online education and courses have been conducted. The purposes of such studies, including the current paper, is to assess the students’ use of online resources to identify patterns and any room for improvement of their online experience. The author has used the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) to deliver asynchronous instruction in an undergraduate course and to facilitate communication and course organization in a face-to-face graduate course. This paper analyzes student access and usage data from both courses to identify meaningful patterns and insights. The collected data are examined in relation to course enrollment and major course milestones. Information obtained directly from Canvas is supplemented with basic statistical analyses, including descriptive measures such as averages. The findings are then discussed to provide insights into the advantages and limitations of online teaching and learning. Findings include reduced student engagement with online content over time. Graduate students are more likely to stay engaged online versus undergraduate students. Lastly, online group work shows the free-rider effect where some students rely on other group members to finish assigned tasks.