The relationship between problems with technology and graduate students' evaluations of online teaching

In this study the intent was to determine if the problems with technology that graduate students experience in online classes is related to their evaluations of their instructors. Participants included 131 graduate students in a College of Education. They were from 19 sections of five different online courses. In these courses, students took tests, found information, and participated in chat rooms, discussions, or emails with instructors. A university teaching evaluation scale was used in this study to measure students' perceptions of teaching effectiveness. A second instrument called Survey of Student Experiences in Online Courses measured technological problems students experienced in the online course and the detrimental effect these problems might have had on students' learning. A new variable was created and called impact score. This was the product of the frequency and detrimental effect for each activity. Results showed a positive relationship (r of .26, p = .003) which indicated that the more frequently students experienced technology problems or the more severely their problems impeded learning, the higher they evaluated the instructor and the course.