Presentation Given at the 2009 Sloan C Conference in Orlando, Florida

1. Using Learner Readiness To
Improve Online Student
Retention
Dr. Mac Adkins
eLearningToolBox.com

2. Agenda
• Reflections on learner readiness
• 2009 Online Student Readiness
Report – Dr. Mac Adkins

3. Facts About Distance Learning
• Distance learning enrollments
continue to grow.
• Current economic conditions are
prompting many adult learners to
consider distance learning.
• Some persons are more ready for
distance learning than others.

4. It Is A New Way To Learn
• Most of us learned how to learn in a
typical classroom.

5. More facts
• Some students are more ready for
elearning than others.
• eLearning is a better fit for some
students than others.

6. Your choices …

7. Wouldn’t Your School Like To …
• Know which students are a good fit for
distance learning.
• Know which students are at risk of not
doing well learning at a distance.
• Have a dialogue with students about
learning online.
• Provide resource to help online
students succeed.

8. READI – Readiness for Education At
a Distance Indicator
• Online tool that measures a student’s
level of readiness for studying online
• Used by over 330 Colleges and
Universities
• Taken about a half million students

9. What Does READI Measure?
• Individual Attributes
– Motivation, Procrastination, Willingness
to Ask for Help, etc.
• Learning Styles
– Based on the Multiple Intelligences
model
• Technical Skills & Competency
• On-Screen Reading Rate & Recall
• Typing Speed & Accuracy

10. Versions of READI
• Widely used at the college level.
• New version which is developmentally
appropriate for secondary school
students was just released.
• Spanish version is being developed.
• Malay version is being developed for
the Open University in Malaysia.

11. 2009 National Student
Readiness Report
• National data on online student
readiness

12. Participants
• 150,065 unique students who took the
READI assessment from June 1,
2008 to May 31, 2009
• 272 Educational Institutions
• 42 States

13. Demographic Profile
• 65% were female
• 61% were Caucasian/white
• 65% had never taken an online
course before
• 32% were traditional aged college
students
• 67% were students at an associates
level institution

14. Demographic Profile
• 28% had “social” as their dominant
learning style
• 42% scored within the 80% – 89%
range on the personal attributes scale
• 27% recalled 90% or more of the
reading passage

15. Demographic Profile
• 27% demonstrated between 90% –
100% accuracy on the typing skills
test and typed an average of 28.02
words per minute
• 32% exhibited between 70% – 79% of
mastery of technical knowledge
• 58% scored 100% on the technical
competency skills tests

16. Gender
• Females were found to have
statistically significant higher means
on the constructs of learning styles,
individual attributes, typing speed,
typing accuracy and reading recall.
• Males were found to have statistically
significant higher means on the
constructs of technical competency
and technical knowledge.

17. Ethnicity
• Caucasian/White reported the highest
means for learning styles, technical
competency, and reading recall.
• African American reported the highest
mean for personal attributes.
• Asian or Pacific Islander reported the
highest means for technical knowledge,
typing speed and typing accuracy.

18. Age Range
• Generally speaking, the results
indicated that age does matter. For
constructs related to personal
maturity, older students had the
highest means.
• For constructs related to technical
matters, younger students had the
highest means.

19. Age Range - Constructs
Age Range Highest Mean
13-17 Typing Accuracy
18-22 Typing Speed
23-27 Learning Styles
28-32 Technical Competency
Technical Knowledge
33-37
38-42
43-47
48-52
53-59 Personal Attributes
Reading Recall
60+

20. Age Range - AttributesAge Range Highest Mean
13-17
18-22
23-27
28-32
33-37
38-42 Help Seeking
43-47
48-52 Time Management
53-59 Procrastination
Persistence
Academic Attributes
60+ Locus of Control

21. Number of Prior Online Courses
• The results strongly demonstrated that with
online learning, experience matters. In all seven
constructs measured persons who reported
having taken five or more prior online courses
reported the highest mean.
• The greatest difference in means from students
with no prior online course experience and those
who had taken five or more courses was in the
area of technical knowledge. This indicates that
with experience students can learn to use the
technology required for online courses.

22. Institution Type
• Significant differences did exist between the
institution types with Doctorate Granting
Universities reporting the highest means for
learning styles, technical competency, technical
knowledge, and typing speed.
• Special Focus Institutions (schools preparing
students for specific careers) reported the highest
means for typing accuracy and reading recall.
• Baccalaureate Colleges reported the highest
means for personal attributes.

23. Individual Attributes
• Gender: Additional analysis was
conducted on this construct to reveal that
females have higher individual attributes on
all factors except locus of control.
• Ethnicity: African Americans reported the
highest means on all categories except
locus of control which was reported by
Latino / Hispanic.

24. Individual Attributes
• Number of Courses: In all five factors the highest
mean existed for persons who had taken five or
more online courses. This indicates that as a
person’s experience with online courses
increases, that the degree to which their personal
attributes are a good match for distance learning
also increases.
• Age Range: In this analysis it is clear that one’s
individual attributes in relation to online learning do
improve with age. The highest means for all
factors except help seeking were demonstrated by
students 48 years or older.

25. Individual Attributes
• Students at Baccalaureate Colleges reported the
highest means for help seeking, time management
and academic attributes.
• Students at Special Focus Institutions (which
prepare students for specific careers) reported the
highest means for procrastination and persistence.
• Learners at Corporations reported the highest
means for locus of control.

26. Learn More
• www.readi.info
• Request a free pilot of READI
• sales@readi.info
• (877) 411 ELTB (3582) Toll Free
• A product of eLearningToolBox.com

27. Tour of READI
• Student view
– www.readi.info
• Administrator/Faculty view
– admin.readi.info

28. WWW.READI.INFO

29. Information about the instrument

30. Reliability and Validity Information

31. Login Screen

32. Custom User Interface

33. School Specific Questions

34. Ability to Stop and Start the Assessment

35. Automated PIN Email

40. Note the Ability to Change Text Size

43. Info About The Reading Passages

52. Results Reported in School’s Interface

53. Color Coded Results

54. Graphical Results

55. Reporting National Averages is an Option

56. Tabbed Sections of the Report

57. Free Resources Provided
for Each Section
Schools can Provide Info About
Their Own Resources

59. Detailed Info On Each
Learning Style

60. Results
Graphically,
Textually
and
Numerically
Reported

62. READI Administrative Area
• Can be used by faculty and staff who
are reviewing the student’s READI
scores.

63. Usage Metrics

66. Results At A Glance

67. User Group
Set-up

68. Assessment
Settings

69. School Specific Questions

70. School Specific Instructions

71. Search & Export Data

72. Data Export Options

73. Email or Delete Selected Students

74. How Do Schools Use READI?
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
In the
admissions
process
In an online
orientation
course
As an
assignment
in an online
course
Other
Source: 2008 READI Usage Survey

75. READI Usage Patterns
• Most schools provide READI as an option
to students but about 30% of schools do
require that students take READI.
• Most schools make READI available to all
students but about 30% make it available
only to distance education students.
• About 30% of schools go over the READI
scores one-to-one with students.

76. Comments About READI Usage
• READI offers a realistic view of one's ability to navigate in an
online learning environment. It also highlights the individual's
potential conflict area, i.e., doesn't have a computer, etc. From
our perspective, READI offers an unbiased, objective overview of
the student's ability to succeed in an online learning environment.
• Students are encouraged to use the data for their own benefit.
Many report sharing the data with parents and friends, and say
the data is helpful in their online studies.
• We use the data to learn more about student demographics,
learning styles, and preparedness for participating in online
classes. The information we gather from READI informs the
development of student services/tutorials.
• READI addresses all the major problems that online students
face. Even if a student takes an online class when READI
seems to indicate that the student is probably not prepared, at
least that student knows what to expect.

77. Comments about READI Usage
• I believe that the students enjoy the ease of the testing and
immediate results. I think it is a very easy to use and user
friendly tool. I appreciate the fact that you allow storage of
previous assessments.
• READI is a great pre-assessment tool for those students who
would have the intention to go through flexible learning. It allows
both students and administrators to determine where the
students stand in terms of the technical knowledge, competency
skills and the personal attributes in order to achieve Student
Success. Likewise, the READI is a good tool to develop a
baseline for student demographics to better improve the
institution effectiveness plan (IEP).
• READI helped our department dispel some myths about student
preparedness. It helps us bring look carefully at other variables
that affect student success, rather than "lack of technology
experience"

78. Student Comments About READI
• "I was concerned about taking an online course. Reading
your READI report gave me confidence, which is what I
lacked to start the courses. It made me realize that I really
wasn't giving myself enough credit. While the course has not
been easy, and I have had to work hard, I am successful."
• "It was a very interesting assessment! I learned things about
my learning style that I did not know. And yes, it was on the
mark in estimating my comfort level and degree of success in
taking courses online."
• "I think it is a good assessment, it makes the prospective
student aware of the difference from a traditional classroom
setting. Overall I give the assessment an A plus."

79. Learn More
• www.readi.info
• Request a free pilot of READI
• sales@readi.info
• (877) 411 ELTB (3582) Toll Free
• A product of eLearningToolBox.com