2007 Faculty Technology Use Survey Information

In the spring of 2007 ATS conducted a semi-annual survey inquiring into technology use and support at Colorado College. Fifty-four faculty (or 34% of the 159 faculty the Dean counts) completed the survey. Given the low response rate it is not possible to generalize the results of this survey beyond this sample.

Demographic Information

• College Wide: Four adjunct faculty responded to the survey; seven non-tenured track faculty; six assistant professors; seven associate professors and 10 full professors. The majority of the respondents (49) indicated that they teach 5-6 courses each academic year, one each said they taught 1-2 courses and 7-8 courses, and 3 respondents said they teach 3-4 courses each academic year. The majority of respondents (24) have taught 21+ years at the post-secondary level while 16 respondents indicated they have taught 7-12 years. Lastly, seven respondents indicated they had taught 4-6 years and another seven indicated they had taught 13-20 years.
  
• Humanities: Seventeen faculty responded from the following academic ranks: 2 were adjuncts, 2 were non-tenured track, 4 were assistant professors, 2 were associate professors and 7 were full professors. One respondent teaches 3-4 courses each academic year while 16 teach 5-6 courses each year. Ten respondents, a majority of the Humanities respondents have been teaching at the post-secondary level for 21 years or more. Three have taught 13-20 years, another three have taught 7-12 years and one respondent has only taught 4-6 years.
  
• Natural Sciences: Twenty-one faculty responded from the following academic ranks: 2 were adjuncts, 3 were non-tenured track, 6 were assistant professors, 1 was an associate professor and 9 were full professors. The majority (18) of respondents teach 5-6 courses each year while 2 respondents teach 3-4 and one teaches 1-2. Ten of the respondents have taught at the post-secondary level for twenty-one plus years while one has taught 13-20 years, 4 have taught 7-12 years and 6 have only taught 4-6 years.
  
• Social Sciences: Fourteen faculty responded from the following academic ranks: 2 were non-tenured track,5 were assistant professors, 3 were associate professors and 4 were full professors. The majority of respondents (13) teach 5-6 courses each year while one teaches 7-8 courses each year. Eight of the faculty responding indicated they have taught at the post-secondary level for 7-12 years while 2 indicated they have taught 13-20 years and 4 indicated they have been teaching for 21 years or more.
  
• Interdisciplinary Studies: Two faculty responded the Interdisciplinary Studies areas. One indicated they were as assistant professor and one indicated they were an associate professor. Both respondents indicated they teach 5-6 courses each year. One indicated they have taught 7-12 years at the post-secondary level while the other indicated they had taught 13-20 years.

Some interesting findings…………

What are CC faculty doing with technology and how do they want to learn about technology?

The most preferred ways faculty like to learn new technologies are:

• Just do it and see what happens
• Take a class or attend a demonstration
• Have a friend show me

The two most preferred times to attend technology training are: lunchtime (12:00–1:00 pm) and afternoons (1:00-4:00 pm) on week days during the block. AND the most preferred way in receiving technology training is one-one-one with an ATS team member.

The technology most used by CC faculty is: the digital camera, followed by editing digital images and then creating a web page.

The #1 technology used in preparing for classes is: the Internet.

The technologies used most in teaching are:

• Communication w/students via email
• the Internet

What do CC faculty expect of students or what do they believe students know or believe?

The majority of faculty either allow or (would allow if students asked) the use of laptops in the classroom.

In terms of how computer proficient students should be the respondents from Humanities and Natural Science were both split fairly evenly in their expectations.

• 8 Humanities faculty, 9 Natural Science faculty, 3 Social Science faculty and both of the Interdisciplinary faculty expect their students to have a Basic Understanding of computers – they should be able to do word processing, email and web browsing.
  
• 9 Humanities, 11 Natural Science, and 8 Social Science faculty believe that their students should have an Intermediate Understanding of computers - the should be able to download and transfer files from one location to another and troubleshoot minor computer difficulties.
  
• Only 1 Natural Science faculty member and 3 Social Science faculty members expect their students to have an Advanced Understanding of computers – should be able to create digital media, create web pages, and can help the professor and fellow classmates use the computer.

When asked how much class time per block faculty would allot to their students to learn a new technology the majority of respondents in Humanities (9), Natural Sciences (11) and Interdisciplinary Studies (2) indicated that it would depend on the class. There was no clear majority among the Social Science faculty with 4 each saying 1-2 hours and it depended on the class; 2 each saying 3-4 hours and 1-2 class periods; and one respondent indicated 3+ class periods.

What prohibits faculty from using technology?

The number one obstacle to learning a new technology for CC faculty is…..big drum roll and lot's of surprise here…..Time!

Other obstacles/reasons faculty do not want to learn or use technology.

• Lack of interest and relevance.

• The perception that technology really hasn't delivered what it promised it would.

• Unreliability of technology: the network goes down, the CD/DVD drive doesn't work, the LCD projector doesn't work, etc.

• The technology changes too rapidly.

• Technology can be a barrier between faculty and students. In the face-to-face environment and culture of CC it feels like it's just an unnecessary add-on to the class setting.

• Instant messaging and on-line chat do not belong in the classroom and are not needed in the CC classroom.

What stops faculty from attending workshops?

• So much of the training occurs during block breaks and faculty are often away traveling at conferences or are preparing for the next Block.

• The workshops seem inefficient because they are trying to meet everyone's needs. If they were more focused either by department or subject area it may seem more relevant and pertinent.

• Workshops seem to go at either too slow of a rate or too fast of a rate, they need to be tailored for different user levels.
  

How ATS is responding to the concerns raised in the Survey

•  ATS plans to continue our partnership with the Crown Faculty Center to offer lunch sessions on topics of interest.

•  Examine the possibility of offering half-day afternoon training sessions during the block.

•  Create training sessions tailored to department or division-specific needs.

•  Begin a conversation with faculty about the role of ATS in support faculty research.

There are a variety of documents posted here if you would like more detailed information about the survey results.

Executive Summary compiled by Amanda Udis-Kessler
Thematic Organization of Comments compiled by Amanda Udis-Kessler
Divisional Breakdown of the responses compiled by Peggy Quinn.

If you would like to discuss any of the comments or results of the survey please contact your Academic Technology Specialist.