Participants

The rationale for utilizing the case study strategy was to reach an in-depth understanding of the perception of learners and teachers towards online distance learning. The participants were selected utilizing purposeful sampling strategies. These sampling strategies are described in Table 4.1 below: Data collection was administered in the form of interviews and online surveys, which developed deep

Page 108 insights into the participants' perceptions, disclosing their views of online learning. Category Group Data Collection Method Size of Sample

Students Online survey 236

Interview 12

Teachers Online survey 14

Table 4.1

Participants Category

Table 4.1 above shows the category of participants, data collection method, and the size of the participant sample.

4.6.1 Recruitment of participants

The following steps were taken over the course of two semesters to engage participants in this study to recruit learners and teachers.

4.6.1.1 Recruiting learners

At the beginning of the Spring semester (2013) I requested the Foundation Programme to allow me to meet students at least once in the first week to conduct an introductory orientation session to show the students how to handle online assessment activities and the online survey.

I manage to meet all students with the help of the instructional designer of the online course and a technical support staff from CET.

After these points were covered, students were informed that the course would be available till the end of the semester. They were encouraged to take the course and make use of all its components before completing the online survey.

Page 109 The last question in the survey requests that students submit their contact details should they be interested in taking part in a face-to-face interview with the researcher to further explain their views on the experiments. It was made clear to them that participating in the survey and follow up interview is voluntary and will not have any direct influence on their official assessment and grades.

Two weeks before the end of the semester the students received an announcement in the course and by e-mail that the online survey was made available. One week later students were sent a reminder via e-mail.

Consent forms outlined the purpose of the research and its expected duration, described the procedures to be followed and stated the manner in which confidentiality of records identifying the subject were maintained. All survey questions, including all consent and assent forms, were made available in both English and Arabic in the Online Basic Computing Skills Course on SQU Moodle

(www.squmoodle.com). In addition, students were given a choice to complete the

survey in the language they preferred (Arabic/ English).

The student questionnaire was completed by 236 students during two semesters (Spring, 2012 and Fall, 2013). I managed to interview 12 students who volunteered to participate in a follow-up interview (8 girls and 4 boys). Interviews were conducted to obtain more in-depth information with regard to learner perceptions of their experience taking the online course. They were also conducted to solicit any suggestions and feedback they might have had for future development in the design of the online course and online practices in Sultan Qaboos University. Students who indicated in the online survey they would be available for an interview provided their contacts either an e-mail address or a mobile phone number. I then communicated with them and set a schedule for possible slots to choose from. Interview slots were scheduled to take place in the last week of the semester, timings ranged from 2:00 to 6:00 pm to give flexibility to students. The interviews took place in a room in the same teaching block where classes were held to save students time and encourage them attend the interview sessions. The same procedure of introducing the course and

Page 110 interviewing students was repeated for the second semester (Fall 2013). Below is the interviews schedule for Fall 2013:

Date Time Slots Interviewee

Sun 15/12/2013 2:00 - 4:00 pm Student A 4:00 – 5:00 pm Student B 5:00 – 6:00 pm - Mon 16/12/2013 2:00 - 4:00 pm Student C 4:00 – 5:00 pm Student D 5:00 – 6:00 pm - Tue 17/12/2013 2:00 - 4:00 pm Student E 4:00 – 5:00 pm Student F 5:00 – 6:00 pm Student G Wed 18/12/2013 2:00 - 4:00 pm Student H 4:00 – 5:00 pm Student I 5:00 – 6:00 pm - Sun 22/12/2013 2:00 - 4:00 pm Student J 4:00 – 5:00 pm Student K 5:00 – 6:00 pm - Mon 13/12/2013 2:00 - 4:00 pm - 4:00 – 5:00 pm Student L 5:00 – 6:00 pm - Table 4.2

Interviews schedule for fall 2013

4.6.1.2 Recruiting teachers

At first, 25 IT teachers from the Foundation Programme were contacted via e- mail through the programme coordinator. This was done with the dual purpose of ascertaining their willingness to participate in the research and providing them with an orientation of the nature of the online course and online student and teacher surveys. Through the IT Programme coordinator, an invitation to attend an orientation presentation for the research was sent. Then, the researcher with the support of an instructional designer, held a preliminary meeting with the lecturers of the IT Foundation Program in order to explain the research rationale and its objectives. 25 IT teachers attended the presentation and those who

Page 111 agreed to participate in the study were asked to read and sign a consent form. A demonstration of the online course and the online survey was given to them. Only those teachers who agreed to participate were logged on the course as viewers. Fourteen out of 25 agreed to participate both in filling in the survey and to be interviewed afterwards in case the researcher needed further clarification of their views (Refer to Appendix E, p. 234 for participants‟ consent form)

Teachers were then asked to sign a consent form, which outlined the purpose of the research and its expected duration, procedures to be followed, and manner in which confidentiality of records identifying the subject would be maintained. All survey questions, including all consent and assent forms, were made available in English on the online Basic Computing Skills Course on SQU Moodle

www.squmoodle.com).

The online questionnaire for teachers was completed by 14 teachers during the same period of time that the online course was made available for students in Spring and Fall semesters of 2013.