Student Survey 2005

Brief Report of Student Survey of Educational Technology Use

In the fall of 2005, 744 students (25 % of those invited to participate) responded to a web-based survey about their experience with educational technology. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents were undergraduates and 41% were graduate students; about 50% at each level were women (but only 25% of Engineering students). The majority (59%) of respondents were in Arts & Sciences, with smaller numbers in Engineering (17%), Business (10%), and five other colleges (13 to 33 students each).

About 75% of the students owned a laptop computer (see Table 1). More graduate students than undergraduates owned a desktop computer, except in business and engineering. Engineering undergrads were more likely than other undergrads to own a desktop and a USB drive, and less likely to own a laptop. Eighty-three percent of grad students in Arts and Humanities and Social Science and 82% of undergraduates owned a printer. Both a laptop and a desktop computer were owned by 42% of graduate students (60% of those in Social Science) and by 21% of undergrads. Only 3% owned neither (5% of Natural Science and Engineering grad students, 2% of all other students), consistent with other surveys over the past three years. About 80% of respondents used a Windows operating system (down from 90% in prior surveys). Nearly all the rest used Apple/Mac (or Linux, on desktops).

Despite the prevalence of laptop ownership, only one in four students ever took their laptops to class (mostly just for taking notes). Only 4% had a professor who recommended it, and virtually none required it.

Undergraduate students were asked which means of initiating communication with teachers were preferred and which were not preferred or not available, and also which were considered most effective. The most preferred means of communicating with teachers were email and face-to-face before or after class; those rated most effective were office hours and email (see Table 2).

The undergraduates reported that the most frequent means of communication initiated by their teachers were email (41% received it at least weekly), course websites (41%), and face-to-face before or after class (37%). The most frequent means of communication these undergraduates used with classmates were face-to-face (92% used it weekly), phone (63%), and email (61%). In additional comments, a dozen or more students said they would like to see teachers communicate better or more frequently, use WebCT more or more effectively, and get to know students more personally.

Seventeen percent of the undergraduates said that WebCT was used in most or all of their classes; 31% said most or all their classes have a non-WebCT website. Thirty-nine percent had at least one course that used a website in addition to WebCT, and 20% had a course that used another course management system.

Most elements of course websites (e.g., syllabus, course calendar, links to readings and other resources, homework, review sheets) were rated as helpful (either “somewhat” or “very”) by 50% to 75% of students who had used them, except for bulletin board (37%), simulations (33%), and chat (14%). Very similar ratings were given by grad students and undergrads. A course calendar and test-review sheets were the only elements rated “very helpful” by more than half the students. The most typical student response for most website elements was that they were used in one or two of their current courses, but about half the respondents said syllabi and course calendars were used in the websites of most or all of their courses. With respect to in-class technologies, more than 50% of the students rated them all as helpful to their learning, except for clickers (only 45% said they were helpful).

Students were asked to rate how well CU is doing with several elements of the technology environment, on a scale from “totally awful” to “awesome.” The most favorable ratings went to email, CU Connect, and PLUS (see Table 3). The most typical response was “pretty good” for all elements except for WebCal (rated “somewhere in the middle” by 38%) and for on-campus printing (rated “pretty bad” or “totally awful” by 40% of grad students and 29% of undergrads). WebCT and non-WebCT sites were most often rated “somewhere in the middle” by graduate students in Natural Science and in Engineering, as was wireless connectivity by graduate students in Arts and Humanities and Social Science, and by undergraduates in Business.

Report prepared by Mark S. Turbin for the Office of the Vice-Provost for Academic and Campus Technology