Aberystwyth University has once again run the Students Digital Insights Survey, a survey that asks learners the impact of online and technology implemented learning. This year over 600 students at Aberystwyth University took this survey.
The Key Metrics
The JISC survey has changed in the last year with some of the key metric questions being changed, for the questions that have stayed very similar or the same we can compare to last year’s results.
Key Metric
2020-2021
2021-2022
Supported use of own devices
60%
81%
Access to online platforms off-site
67%
74%
Online learning environment
40%
83%
Quality of online learning on course
69%
80%
In a majority of these key metrics we saw a positive increase with Aberystwyth University having improved from the previous year. This trend of improvement is mirrored throughout the survey results. In the case of questions which changed in the key metrics a lot of them are incomparable because of the changes made. For example, last year asked about ‘Well-designed’ online learning materials. This was changed to ‘Engaging and motivating’ online learning materials. With online learning trends questions relating to motivation are typically exceptionally more negative, making questions that use these adjectives much more negative.
Aberystwyth University is taking part in the Digital Experience Insights project aiming to explore our students’ experiences of technology.
It allows us to get better insights on how students use technology and benchmark our results against other HE intuitions in our sector. We can then use this information to enhance the student digital experience.
The Student Digital Insights Survey 2022 is now open until the 18th April.
This spring, Aberystwyth University ran the national Jisc digital experience insights survey. Over 1,000 of our students told us about their attitudes and experiences of technology in learning and teaching. Here are some of the key findings from this survey.
Summary of key metrics
Question
Our data %
UK data %
Wales data %
Well-designed online learning environment
40
41
44
Supported to use own device
60
54
56
Enabled to access online systems/services from anywhere
67
68
67
Well-designed online learning materials
56
53
54
Quality of online and digital learning on course
69
66
68
Supported to learn online/off-campus
57
51
53
Able to access all support services you needed online
51
49
50
How well you were supported to learn online
58
61
62
The data relates to the percentage of students that agree with the statements shown.
The benchmarking comparisons are also shown.
Five out of eight key metrics are higher for AU than other UK and Welsh organisations.
General trends are mirrored in other UK and Welsh organisations (areas achieving lower results for AU are low nationally).
You and your current learning situation
Assistive Technologies
17% of respondents said that they used at least one assistive technology.
13% of these students said we have offered them support to use assistive technologies.
Problems when learning online
Digital platforms and services at your organisation
Technology in your learning
Improving the quality of online and digital learning
Students were asked what one thing should we do to improve the quality of online and digital learning. This was a free text question, which we analysed for themes. Common themes included:
42% mentioned improvements to online learning design and organisation
14% mentioned more engaging and interactive online learning
12% mentioned more interaction with other students
11% mentioned more live teaching sessions
10% mentioned better digital provision
9% mentioned more interaction with lecturers
6% mentioned building digital skills and capability
Positive aspects of online learning
Students were asked what aspect of learning online, if any, had been most positive for them. This was a free text question, which we analysed for themes. Common themes included:
54% mentioned flexibility
27% mentioned access to materials and resources
12% mentioned contact with lecturers
10% mentioned benefits for wellbeing and disabilities
7% mentioned engaging and interactive teaching
7% mentioned digital technology
6% mentioned contact with other students
Negative aspects of online learning
Students were asked what aspect of learning online, if any, had been most negative for them. This was a free text question, which we analysed for themes. Common themes included:
45% mentioned lack of motivation or engagement
23% mentioned online learning design and organisation
21% mentioned lack of social interaction
14% mentioned wellbeing issues
14% mentioned issues with IT systems
9% mentioned lack of contact with staff
6% mentioned lack of practical skills
Overall quality of online and digital learning on course
69% rated us as good or above
Developing your digital skills
Support and guidance for digital skills development
How much do you agree that we have given you:
% agree AU
% agree Wales
% agree UK
Support for learning online/ away from campus
57
51
53
Guidance about the digital skills needed for your course
40
41
43
An assessment of your digital skills and training needs
22
26
28
Where do students go for help?
Learning effectively online
Students were asked what one thing should we do to help you to learn effectively online. This was a free text question, which we analysed for themes. Common themes included:
35% mentioned improvements to online learning design and organisation
14% mentioned better access to lecturers
14% mentioned more engaging and interactive online learning
13% mentioned more training and help with digital skills and technology
8% mentioned more help with wellbeing issues
8% mentioned better access to resources and materials
6% mentioned better digital provision
How well supported to learn online did students feel?
