CourseInfo Instructor Survey, Spring 2000

Norm Vaughan, Jim Zimmer

Academic Development Centre

Mount Royal College

Important Note: The purpose of this survey is to gather information, from an instructor perspective, regarding the effect that the web based course development tool - CourseInfo has on the teaching and learning process. The information gathered in this survey will be used in a research study which will help to inform the selection of a Mount Royal College supported web development tool, and its effective use in teaching contexts. Participation in this survey is voluntary and your responses will be kept confidential and anonymous. Completion of this survey will constitute informed consent in this study.

1. Did you have any prior experience creating web based course material before using CourseInfo?

o Yes

o No

2. How would you rate your computing skills?

o Novice

o Intermediate

o Advanced

3. Approximately how long did it take you to learn the CourseInfo software well enough to begin using it?

o 0-3 hours

o 4 -6 hours

o 7-9 hours

o more than 10 hours

4. Approximately how long did it take until you became comfortable using the CourseInfo software?

o 0-2 weeks

o 3-5 weeks

o 6 weeks or more

5. Do you have access to the Internet at home?

o Yes

o No

6. From where do you usually access your CourseInfo web site(s)?

o A computer workstation on-campus

o A computer workstation off-campus

o Both of the above, roughly equally

7. For the following items, rate how easy it was for you to perform the following operations in CourseInfo. You are welcome to comment on any of these items in the "Comments" section below.

1 = Intuitive, not necessary to read any supporting documentation or ask for any help

2 = Fairly easily handled or understood using the support documentation or by asking for help

3 = Difficult and confusing

	Intuitive	Fairly easily handled	Difficult and confusing	Did not use this feature
The ability to organize your entire course in CourseInfo was:	1	2	3
Understanding how to upload files from your computer to the CourseInfo server was:	1	2	3
The ability to copy and/or move files in CourseInfo was:	1	2	3
The ability to edit text and html files in CourseInfo was:	1	2	3
The ability to create unique names for folders, files and links within your CourseInfo course site was:	1	2	3
The ability to add links to external sites was:	1	2	3
The ability to add hyperlinks within the course was:	1	2	3
The ability to modify the appearance of pages was:	1	2	3
The ability to participate with students in a discussion forum was:	1	2	3
The ability to participate with students in a chat session was:	1	2	3
The ability to send e-mail to individual students or groups of students within CourseInfo was:	1	2	3
The ability to receive student assignments and send comments to students via the digital drop box was:	1	2	3
The ability to enroll students in your course site was:	1	2	3
The ability to input, retrieve and view student data such as records and marks was:	1	2	3
The ability to give specific privileges to students such as access to group areas was:	1	2	3
The ability to generate student tests and quizzes in CourseInfo was:	1	2	3
The ability to generate student tests and quizzes that combine a variety of questions (e.g. multiple choice, short answer, fill in the blanks, ordering, multiple answer, true/false) was:	1	2	3
The ability to integrate feedback into student tests and quizzes was:	1	2	3
The ability to modify and reorder questions and answers was:	1	2	3

Comments pertaining to any of the items above:

8. Please rate the usefulness of the following features of CourseInfo for you and your students. You are welcome to comment on any of these items in the "Comments" section below.

	Very Useful	Useful	Somewhat Useful	Not at all Useful	Did not use this feature
Access to course documents (lecture notes, assignments, etc.)	1	2	3	4
Discussion Board	1	2	3	4
Virtual Chat	1	2	3	4
Small group communication tools	1	2	3	4
E-mail links to students and instructors	1	2	3	4
Links to external course-related websites	1	2	3	4
Online quizzes	1	2	3	4
Online gradebook	1	2	3	4
Instructor (digital) drop box	1	2	3	4
Statistics about student usage	1	2	3	4
Student calendar	1	2	3	4
Instructor Help Manual	1	2	3	4
Student home pages	1	2	3	4

Comments pertaining to any of the items above:

9. Please respond to the following items. Feel free to make comments in the "Comments" section below:

In comparison with courses in which you did not use CourseInfo, how likely were the students in this course to:	Much More Likely	Somewhat More Likely	About the Same	Somewhat Less Likely	Not Sure
. . . interact with you.	1	2	3	4
. . . discuss ideas and concepts taught in the course with their classmates.	1	2	3	4
. . . participate effectively in in-class discussions.	1	2	3	4
. . . work on assignments with other students.	1	2	3	4
. . . search for answers to their questions, rather than ask you or other students.	1	2	3	4
. . . use the Internet as a source of course-related information.	1	2	3	4

Comments pertaining to any of the items above:

10. Indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements. Feel free to make comments in the "Comments" section below.

Because of the way I used CourseInfo:	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	StronglyDisagree	Undecided
. . . my students are better able to understand the ideas and concepts taught in this course.	1	2	3	4
. . . my students spent more time on course-related work.	1	2	3	4
. . . my students had access to a greater variety of learning materials.	1	2	3	4
. . . my students are acquiring skills that will be useful in their chosen profession.	1	2	3	4

Comments pertaining to any of the items above:

11. Indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements. Please feel free to make comments in the "Comments" section below.

	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	StronglyDisagree	Undecided
High level (or advanced) html programming skills are required to use CourseInfo.	1	2	3	4
CourseInfo was compatible with the existing needs and expectations of my students.	1	2	3	4
CourseInfo made it easier to put my course material online.	1	2	3	4
I was able to use CourseInfo without a need or a commitment to entirely overhaul or change my entire course.	1	2	3	4
CourseInfo offers advantages over the way that I have previously taught my course.	1	2	3	4
I received few complaints from students about having to use CourseInfo as part of my course.	1	2	3	4
Students seemed to enjoy using CourseInfo.	1	2	3	4
I would use CourseInfo again with another class or course.	1	2	3	4
I would recommend the use of CourseInfo to other instructors	1	2	3	4
Overall, I thought the use of CourseInfo enhanced my course.	1	2	3	4

Comments pertaining to any of the items above:

12. Please list the features of CourseInfo which were most beneficial to you as an instructor.

13. Did your approach to teaching or your teaching practices change as a result of the way you used CourseInfo?

14. Describe briefly how you think your use of CourseInfo affected the students' learning experience in your courses either positively or negatively (e.g. understanding of course related knowledge and skills; development of generic skills such as computing, writing, information research; access; convenience).

15. What improvements to CourseInfo would you suggest or recommend?

16. Any additional comments you would like to make about CourseInfo?