Providing Introductory Psychology Students Access to Lecture Slides via Blackboard 5: A Negative Impact on Performance

Abstract

The present study investigated the impact of making lecture outlines available on-line via Blackboard 5 on exam performance of students enrolled in introductory psychology. Performance of students in a class with access to information on Blackboard was compared to that of students in a class without such access. These classes were held in successive semesters, but had the same instructor, teaching assistants, textbook, lectures, and exams. Results showed that, across the three exams, students in the course with access to information via Blackboard performed significantly poorer than did students in the class without access to it. Performance in the laboratory section of the course, in which Blackboard was not employed, did not differ between classes. Thus, despite several potential positive ramifications of allowing increased access to lecture information, the impact of such access was not positive. The decreased exam performance may have been the outcome of decreased lecture attendance due to access to lecture information outside of lecture and several measures are discussed which could potentially address this possibility. The present results should alert educators not to rush to introduce technology into their course without serious consideration of the potential positive and negative outcomes such an introduction might have.