Developing a Diagnostic Tool for Assessing Tertiary Students’ Readiness for Online Learning

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Developing a Diagnostic Tool for Assessing Tertiary Students’ Readiness for Online Learning

H. Pillay
K. Irving
A. McCrindle

Abstract

The increasing investment in developing high quality systems for online learning has focused more on technology with little regard for learners’ readiness to learn through such systems. One of the reasons for this was an assumption that most students have the necessary capacity (technical and attitudinal) to deal with online learning. This assumption is increasingly being challenged in recent years. This paper explores the difficulties experienced by online learners and develops a diagnostic survey instrument to ascertain learner factor analysis, four factors were identified: Technical skills, Leaner self-efficacy, Learning preference and Learner attitude. This paper reports on the design and development of the survey instrument.

Keywords

Online learning, Student readiness, Diagnostic tool, Learning skills and dispositions, Tertiary learning

Annotation

The authors of this paper develop a diagnostic survey instrument to help practitioners find what skills and resources online students lack. Ultimately, the researchers find that students’ ability to succeed in online classes come from four basic areas: technical skills, learner self-efficacy, learning preference, and learner attitude. Students deficient in one or more of the areas could areas in less than optimal learning outcomes or class satisfaction. Utilization of this diagnostic tool would allow schools to identify at-risk students who may need additional support in any of the above-mentioned areas.

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