Online Student Resource Use and the Effect on Student Course Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify potential factors of student resource use that could indicate student success in an online course. This would allow instructors to look for in patterns of use to identify students that may not be successful. Statistical components of the course management system, Blackboard, and online lecture resource, Tegrity, were used to collect student resource use (clicks). Duration of access was also available exclusive to the Tegrity resource. The findings of the study indicate students that used online resources more often were more successful. Successful students used online resources nearly twice as often as their counterparts. Additionally, they spent nearly twice the amount of time engaged in lecture resources watching, on average, 59% of the lecture resources available. Furthermore, there appeared to be a critical window where those who accessed the resources in the first five weeks had a greater likelihood of course success.