Abstract
A cloud-based teaching and learning platform, LectureTools, was piloted at City University of Hong Kong in the 2012-13 academic year. LectureTools is an online platform that provides a suite of cloud-based teaching and learning applications. It combines the functions of interactive presentation, real-time student response system, student inquiry and online note-taking synchronised with the presentation slides, into one cloud-based platform. A comprehensive study investigated the effectiveness of the platform for enhancing student motivation among graduate (n=158) and undergraduate (n=96) students. Both groups of students reported enhanced motivation when using LectureTools. The scores on all six learning motivation scales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, a psychometric instrument based on the cognitive view of motivation, increased when students engaged with the tool in class. Those who used the tool scored significantly higher on intrinsic goal orientation than those who did not use the tool. The students’ quantitative feedback showed that they found the tool useful and that it improved their motivation. Qualitative feedback from the instructors indicated that the tool was useful for engaging passive students. They reported that the most useful function was the interactive online questions with real-time results, while the in-class student inquiry function was difficult to use in practice.
Highlights
A cloud application is an application program that functions in the cloud and can be used by anyone with a Web browser and a communication device that can connect to the Internet
It combines the functions of interactive presentation, real-time Personal Response System (PRS), student inquiry and online note-taking synchronised with the presentation slides, into one cloud-based platform
The significant improvement in intrinsic goal orientation (5.80 vs. 5.35) in this study suggests that students perceived themselves to be participating in the teaching and learning activities (TLAs) for an intrinsic reason such as challenge, curiosity or mastery
Summary
A cloud application (or cloud app) is an application program that functions in the cloud and can be used by anyone with a Web browser and a communication device that can connect to the Internet. Cloud-based applications such as Google Apps, YouTube and Facebook have become very popular in recent years (Miller, 2008). These applications provide users with a convenient way to access to useful information and functions for leisure, work and study through standard Web browsers or mobile devices. Teachers tend to select userfriendly cloud-based applications based on pedagogical choices, pragmatism and external imperatives (Backhouse, 2013). They may not always consider how the technology affects the student learning experience. An interdisciplinary study of cloud-based teaching and learning tools to evaluate student motivation (psychometric parameter) and tool functionality (system components) and the correlation between them is of value to the community
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