Kor blimey... Text on-screen?

Kortext have released a report, University of the Future: Transforming learning and improving value (here to go straight to the PDF). Main finding, from "the UK's leading provider of digital textbooks and learning solutions" is, surprisingly - " 89% of students would be more likely to attend a university that enables online collaboration and note sharing and access to the latest editions of textbooks". I wonder where they might find a vendor for such a service...?

OK. Way too much sarcasm. Let's unpack the report.

To begin with, the report has been researched independently by 3GEM. I have no doubts as to the validity of the responses. The headline findings are also arresting at first glance - until you try to extend some of them...

• "69% say that getting core textbooks included in course fees would represent greater value for money." So, 31% believe that spending on texts in addition to course fees would not represent greater value...? 
• "42% felt better routes into employment after university would improve value for money." So, 58% feel that better routes into employment after university wouldn't improve value for money...? 
• "Over half of students (55%) said more contact time with lecturers would represent better value for money." So, just under half of students (45%) said more contact with lecturers wouldn't represent better value for money...? 

OK. The sarcasm continued! Apologies. It's just that reported findings like this raise questions about what exactly was asked of respondents. From here on in this post I'll reflect on those results I reckon are thought-provoking and useful. 

• Students are becoming comfortable with the use of analytics in support of their study: "91% of students would be happy for their lecturer to track their progress if it helped them to achieve better grades"; "76% of students believe dropout rates would improve [in other words, they would reduce...] if lecturers could use analytics to see how they were engaging with course materials."
• And, in support of some of my thinking in the previous post, "82% [of] students believe more people from disadvantaged backgrounds could go to university if a tablet pre-loaded with all required textbooks was included in course fees", and "92% believe universities should provide tech to students with additional learning needs to provide fair access to learning materials."

The best, though, is in the diagram on p.5 illustrating how students prefer to read textbooks: 

• Laptop - 33%
• Smart phones and tablet devices - 29%
• Hard copy - 33%
• Audiobooks - 5%

So, only 1/3 of the sample preferred hard copy textbooks. I admit to finding this quite surprising based on my own work in this area, yet also somewhat heartening. I am aware that around 18% if given the option to choose multiple ways of preference would choose on-screen only, so these higher numbers based on single preference for an on-screen option are very interesting. 

Overall I do think Kortext serves an important function. It does ensure that all students have the course text, and there are clearly advantages to electronic versions that students seem to be enjoying. 

Just one minor grr... 

University classes are now filled with ‘digital native’ students who have no memory of a time when access to the internet was not readily available, meaning universities have a responsibility to meet the changing needs of these learners. Just as millennials turn to Netflix for all their viewing needs and Spotify for their listening demands, there is now the need for universities to make course content available in similar ways and introduce more flexible ways of working (p.9). 

There is no such thing as a 'digital native', at least not in the sense popularised by Prensky. From previous post: "The concept of digital natives is contentious, and actual evidence for the distinction and its homogeneity is questionable [1], [2]". Student familiarity with 'e', though, is a point well made - yet likely more attributable to changes in society than any definite generational characteristic. 

I have some questions about the methodology, but even assuming that the survey was online-only and limited to those students who had used Kortext, the results deserve attention. Not the results cited earlier in this post, unless you're immune to my sarcasm... but certainly those related to analytics, device provision, and student preferences on how to read textbooks. 

Of course, Open Polytechnic simply wrote textbooks out of its customised online course materials entirely... but that's another story. Meantime I do look forward to more from Kortext and genuinely congratulate them on the service they provide.