Abstract
Webinars facilitate synchronous communication and are an opportunity for social interaction and collaborative learning between students on distance learning programmes.
We surveyed 30 distance learning students and 19 tutors about their experiences of webinar delivery, in addition to analyzing unit performance pre- (2016–2018) and post- (2018–2020) webinar integration for one Level 4 distance-learning unit in sport and exercise science.
Of the students who responded, 93% reported attending webinars as part of their programme, while 51% of tutors reported delivering a webinar as part of their teaching. Comparisons of unit performance pre- and post-webinar integration revealed an increase in unit attainment and reduction in the number of first time fails. Both students and tutors rated the addition of webinars to the distance-learning programme positively, with students rating the educational and technological quality of the webinars higher than tutors.
In conclusion, utilizing webinars to facilitate social interaction and collaborative learning on distance learning programmes contributed to improved student attainment and progression.
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Stebbings, G., Mackintosh, C., Burden, A., Sims, D. (2021). Improving Student Progression in Distance Learning Using Synchronous Webinars. In: Agrati, L.S., et al. Bridges and Mediation in Higher Distance Education. HELMeTO 2020. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1344. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67435-9_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67435-9_24
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