Vignettes from the Field
Snapshot
Sophia |
Student |
Discipline |
Psychology |
Enrolment status |
Part time, internal |
Year |
4 th year |
Experience |
Positive |
‘If WBLT was taken away, I’d feel let down by the university … it’s like taking away the library or something.’ Sophia
Sophia’s story
Sophia is studying part time and is primary care-giver for two young children. She is currently in her 4 th year of an undergraduate Psychology program, enrolled as an internal student.
Although she tries to come to campus for lectures, there are times when the timetable clashes with school drop off times or it is impossible to drive across the city and be back in time for school pickup in the afternoon.
Because of the distance she travels to campus and her family responsibilities, flexibility and convenience have been two main benefits of using WBLT for Sophia:
I could’ve organised things, my husband could’ve taken the kids to school but it was just much easier that (WBLT) was there.
WBLT and learning
Most of the lectures in Sophia’s program are two hours long and she describes the materials as moderately difficult. Although she does attend most face-to-face lectures, she finds that using WBLT has had a positive impact on her grades and has made it easier for her to learn.
When she attends the face-to-face lectures of lectures with complex materials, she uses WBLT to review:
My preference is always to go along to a lecture, but ( when) I attend, I make little notes through the lectureso if I don’t quite understand something when I’m looking back at my notes, I can go back to it on WBLT.
WBLT has enabled Sophia to pick up questions that later have been part of the exams. In one subject there was one significant part that I didn’t get, and didn’t realise how much of it I hadn’t got until I listened to it again. Listening prompted me to email the lecturer and ask him more questions. It really cleared up a lot of stuff that I didn’t realise I hadn’t understood.
There are some units that Sophia considers too difficult to study without attending face-to-face lectures. Sophia always attends the first lecture in each Semester to make sure I can actually do this course through(WBLT). The lecturer’s style of delivery is also important in determining whether Sophia will rely soley on WBLT. For example, the course I’m doing this year, I wouldn’t do through (WBLT) because, I couldn’t manage it the way he teaches. The lectures have too many different slides that aren’t necessarily on the web. She considers she would miss out on too much in this particular lecture if she didn’t attend.
Sophia always listens to the whole lecture if she doesn’t attend and sometimes just for revision if she has attended:
Lectures that I do go to, face-to-face, I’d still use (WBLT).
Learning Futures
Sophia is concerned that technologies such as WBLT may be used to replace face-to-face lectures in future learning environments:
I think there’s a real temptation to record and put them on iLecture so people didn’t come in. And then have tutorials where people come in and do face-to-face stuff that way.’
In her opinion, that wouldn’t be a good thing:
…because I still like the interactions and the questions that people ask in the lecture and that they add more than the lecturer brings it out. I don’t necessarily think that’d be an advantage but I certainly got the sense from a lot of our lecturers that they were concerned that people ( wont come to face-to-face lectures). They encourage us to come to lectures and say it’s not enough just to come to (WBLT).
I can see such great advantage with face to face so I wouldn’t want that lost either.
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