participated in the EDUCAUSE student and faculty studies to shape the higher education IT community's understanding of h
EDUCAUSE RESEARCH SNAPSHOT
ONLINE LEARNING ATTITUDES
I
n 2017, our annual student technology survey coincides with our biennial faculty technology survey, giving us the opportunity to directly compare the technology attitudes, experiences, and preferences of these two groups. Although there is considerable overlap in student and faculty opinions about technology, the differences highlighted here reflect their respective roles and present the actionable opportunities for IT leaders.
Tens of thousands of respondents participated in the EDUCAUSE student and faculty studies to shape the higher education IT community's understanding of higher education om fr s technology use nt e d in 2017. tu
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Students took, on average,
Experience with online courses
3.7 courses with at least some online components last year, and faculty taught an average of
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tudent and faculty preferences for the learning environment are closely aligned. 79
71
Students Faculty
6%
3.2
9%
Online
sections.
14
9
Hybrid
Face-to-face
Students and faculty differ in their opinions about the effectiveness of learning environments. 13% Students match their preference for hybrid Face-to-face learning with a belief that it is the most effective 5% learning environment Online for them. only
Despite the fact that faculty prefer teaching in a hybrid environment, they remain skeptical of online learning. Nearly half do not agree online learning is effective.
45%
77%
Hybrid
Disagree
22%
Agree
Experiences with campus technology Both faculty and students have positive technology experiences on their campuses. Nearly 8 in 10 students and 7 in 10 faculty members say their overall campus technology experience is positive.
S
tudents and faculty are satisfied with most features of their institution’s learning management system (LMS). For both groups, course content and student progress are primary concerns.
Students are most satisfied with... • Submitting course assignments • Accessing course content • Checking course progress
77%
Classroom policies on device use Faculty are more welcoming of devices than students think, especially when it comes to students’ smartphones.
Banned or discouraged in class
Students say: 19% Faculty’s policies: 20%
75% 66%
83% • Creating or posting content • Receiving course assignments reliably 81% • Entering student progress information and managing assignments 75%
What students and faculty want
W
e asked students what technologies they wish their instructors used more, and we asked faculty what technologies they think could make them more effective instructors. Both agree that content and resource-focused technologies should be incorporated more and social media and tablets should be incorporated less.
LAPTOPS
35 48
TABLETS
40 Faculty are most satisfied with...
Encouraged or required
20 41
24
SMARTPHONES
70
7
52
21
More of these... • Lecture capture • Early-alert systems •OER • Video and multimedia production • Collaboration tools
Less of these... Students • Tablets • Social media • E-portfolios
Both
• Smartphones
Faculty
What would motivate s nt faculty to integrate to or de e ign n u s more or better t timde tio t s a e e technology into s /r ic ha fit ea n nd e t ne el sig ses their teaching? i R e r c d ou ar n e c le ide ld b C v u % e o w 4
% 37
3
START STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENT AND FACULTY DATA Colleges and universities use the EDUCAUSE Technology Research in the Academic Community (ETRAC) data to develop and support their strategic objectives for educational technology. With ETRAC data, institutions can understand and benchmark what students and faculty need and expect from technology. Institutions can use data to improve IT services, prioritize strategic contributions of IT to higher education, and become more technologically competitive among peers. There is no cost to participate and campuses will have access to all research publications, the aggregate-level summary/benchmarking report, and the institution’s raw (anonymous) response data. Learn more at http://www.educause.edu/etrac.
