Faculty Survey - Spring 2014

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Survey Interpretation

Computer Lab Management (CLM) periodically surveys faculty who teach in our computer classrooms. CLM uses this information to improve the quality of service in the computer classrooms.

The survey results, especially questions #2 and #6, show that overall faculty are quite happy with the computer classrooms. In Question #2, the majority of faculty feel that each area "Needs little or no improvement". The comments from faculty were overwhemingly positive.

The top areas listed for improvement in Question 2 were "Classroom availability", "Preparedness of the classroom", "Larger classrooms", "Temperature control" and "Classroom environment". But the majority of faculty were satisfied with those areas as well. CLM will focus our efforts to improve those areas in the future.

There were several questions and/or concerns raised by faculty, so CLM will follow up on these items:

  • We are working with Design and Construction Management to improve the lighting in 90A & 90B Shields. We will focus on improving the lighting at the front of the room.
  • We will purchase portable document cameras and have them available for checkout in all our computer classrooms.
  • We have adjusted the display settings for the Mac minis in Olson and Shields to make PowerPoint default to projecting the slides
  • Sightlines can be problematic, espicially as monitor sizes have increased over time. We will continue to replace iMacs with Mac minis & smaller monitors to improve sightlines.
  • There are ongoing issues of classrooms being too hot or too cold. We continue to work with Campus Facilites to address the issues and try to keep the temperature more consistent.

Survey Text

On 6/2/2014 Computer Lab Management sent an email to faculty who had taught in the computer rooms during Spring 2014 asking them to fill out this survey.

Survey Results

There were 37 responses.

Question 2. Please rate the following aspects of our services:

  Needs significant improvement Needs some improvement Needs little or no improvement No opinion
Classroom availability (able to reserve times needed) 2 4 21 10
Support from computer lab managers 1 2 29 2
Support from the Computer Room Consultant (CRC) 1 3 25 7
Preparedness of the classroom (room cleared out, whiteboard supplies, etc.) 2 5 29 0
Equipment reliability 0 5 29 0
Computer speed and usability 0 2 32 2
Classroom interruptions 0 3 27 6
Larger classrooms (to accommodate more students) 1 6 17 11
Larger classrooms (to allow more workspace at each station) 0 4 20 12
Smaller classrooms 3 2 18 14
Temperature control (room was too hot or too cold) 3 6 24 3
Cleanliness of the classroom 0 1 33 1
Classroom environment (for example: quieter, better layout) - Please specify below 1 8 22 5
Other - Please specify below 5 2 3 8

Improved classroom environment and Other reasons:

  • I eliminated my computer-based laboratory (one week of 10) for my large multisection laboratory class because I was unable to get the necessary time in a computer lab.
  • Hi--a few new things this year -- I was in 1 and 27 and had the same problems in each Powerpoint's default setting is to show the worktop on screen and the screen version on the desktop -- not hard to correct on the spot but super annoying esp since students do presentations in my classes.
    also worth mentioning but probably not news to anyone: many times I was unable to open word .doc and .docx files for no obvious reason and the techs were unable to help with this
    last thing -- the new set up with the moveable screens sometimes leads to lost power connections
  • My classroom only occasionally experienced problems with the printer, but on several occasions the room was freezing (I understand the air conditioner was broken.) The CRC staff were very helpful when this happened.
  • Classroom is too frequently too hot. Turn down thermostat temp, please. Otherwise, the facility is GREAT. Thanks!
  • A layout that allows for class discussion as well as computer use would be ideal. Otherwise, all is fantastic -- the staff are the best I could imagine, the software current, the computers running perfectly, the room clean, etc. Thank you for another fantastic quarter.
  • Need to have weekend access to more classrooms so students can do their homework assignments (my classes were using Hutchison and Science Lab computer clusters)
  • It would be nice if the CRC could quickly check to see if the whiteboard is clean. This quarter the instructor before me wrote all over the whiteboard and never cleaned it once, etc.. Most instructors are very good about that. Perhaps send an email to instructors via Wrye Sententia that they should try to leave the classroom and leave the computer station as they found it.
  • 90A Shields is very dark, so if we could get brighter lights, or choice of brighter lights, it would be great.
    I don't know where the CRC are in Shields. Maybe email us all with that information?
  • For classroom environment, the room was a little dark, and didn't seem to have additional lighting. Brighter lighting would definitely help with the teaching. (90A Shields)
  • I'm not sure if this fits under environment and I have already addressed this with Tim Leamy, but my only real complaint about Shields 90B is that it is a bit dark, especially at the front of the room. I understand that we don't want it to be too bright in a computer lab, but it's difficult when I do lecture and when I have my students presenting to have the front of the room so dimly lit. Other than that, this new computer lab is great! I love the smaller computers; the students can't hide behind them as easily as with the larger MACs in other labs.
  • It would be great to have some non-computer table space for students to work together or for students when we're not using the computers. Although my classes are taught in the computer lab, it would be nice to feel like we don't have to spend every minute looking at the computer screen, and the current set up begs for staring at screens for 90 min twice a week.
  • 247 is the ideal computer classroom for writing and discussion activities. 27, as are the other classrooms are spread out in rows that are divided from each other by computer screens and makes interaction difficult. Perhaps laptop computers would help.
  • white boards are cleaned with a spray chemical that makes them look clean and white. they are good to write on for the first time. after that, however, there is a problem. the dry erase markers do not erase well, so we are unable to re-use the board (as designed) and must instead spray the white board to clean between each writing.
    also, some times the dry erase markers aren't new enough to use.
  • Olson 247 seems a little cramped. The space works well when students work by themselves, but the layout is not conducive for group work.
  • Students regularly came into the room to try to use the computer lab while class was in session. Though the lab manager would tell them to leave, occasionally the students came up and asked if they could sit in the back of the room and work. It would be best if the policy was to just ask students not in the class to leave.
  • There were days when the room was unbearably cold. Even after I informed the authorities, nothing was done immediately.
  • I was intending to present and run the class from my laptop, but from the first week there was something wrong with either the VGA cable or dongle in the room, because the screen would constantly flicker and flash when my laptop was plugged in, but not when the instructor computer was being used. When I tried to get help with this problem from the consultants (pressing the "HELP" button), they had no idea how to fix it, they said they would pass on the information to the manager, but it was never dealt with, and I had to teach from the instructor station the whole rest of the quarter. (27 Olson)
  • 1 Olson is so cold that many of my students wear jackets during class (and some wear gloves)
  • Students in the stations against the window regularly complained that the room was too cold.
  • The light switches continue to be hard to figure out. I like the fact that there are a number of choices. Perhaps I'm just switch challenged :) (2102 SCC)
  • The room had a few people in it and the class in session sign was not posted and I had to do it myself. There was only one interruption. The room was very clean but the whiteboard did not erase very well.
  • There needs to be a way to lock the doors from the inside--this is a huge safety issue. I realized they only lock by key when the door was open but not unlocked. The lab attendant was nowhere to be found for more than 20 minutes, and I had to leave the door open when there was construction, noise and fumes, right outside the classroom.
    It also occurred to me that it was an obvious safety problem. There is no way in those classrooms to barricade the door with furniture. I realized this before the UCSB shooting, but my students felt very vulnerable after when we discussed it in class and they realized there would be no way to prevent an active shooter from entering that room.
    On a less important note, the new version of SmartSite did not consistently work with Firefox or IE. I pointed this out twice to lab attendants at the beginning of the quarter and was told they passed the information on their superiors and never heard anything again. The only browser that worked with SmartSite was Safari.
  • The pens for the whiteboard were all dried out by the time it got to my class at noon.
    Crc did not know how to operate dvd and could not explain it to me; there were a lot of interruptions and wasted time on that day. Finally Tim Leamy came and fixed it but the whole procedure was disruptive.
  • The computer lab assistants were very helpful. The computers worked well throughout the quarter. I really appreciated the help I received when I needed it.

Question 3. How would you rate your overall experience teaching in CLM Computer Classrooms this quarter compared with previous quarters?

Better 3
Same 22
Worse 2
N/A 8

"Better" Reasons given:

  • As explained above, the size of the monitors in is much better for an instructor. The students can't hide behind them to avoid class participation. I also love the new smart screens.
  • Light control works well. (2102 SCC)

"Same" Reasons given:

  • It's been great all along.
  • Great service and great facilities
  • The class has been in great shape, and the staff are very helpful and knowledable.
  • It's always excellent.
  • The room and the setup was perfect for my class.
  • It was great last time.
  • It was great last time.
  • "Same" in this case equals excellent experience!
  • I like that in Shields 90A/B you have the option to make the screen blank. In SCC 2012, the entire screen/projector shuts down. Some times, it is nice to hide the screen to get students to think about their own ideas rather than what is being projected.
  • My experience in the CLM computer classrooms has always been excellent.

"Worse" Reasons given:

  • for reasons stated above -- lots more technical problems than in the past
  • It wasn't a bad experience at all, but there were several students coming in and out of the room who weren't in my class, and it was a little awkward with the consultant hanging around. Previously I had taught in Hutchison with no consultant and hadn't had problems with excess students. Again, not a big deal just noteworthy.

Question 4. What pedagogical issues, if any, have you faced while teaching in a computer classroom?

  • I eliminated my computer-based laboratory (one week of 10) for my large multisection laboratory class because I was unable to get the necessary time in a computer lab.
  • None all is good
  • As noted, a room layout that allows for/encourages discussion would be great.
  • verbal face to face interaction among students is often difficult.
  • None (4 responses)
  • Having a smaller classroom would be helpful to keep the students grouped and not spread out across computers, otherwise the experience was fine.
  • None. I designed this class to be taught in a lab.
  • Last quarter, while teaching in Shields 90B, I wished I could have had access to a document camera as well. Since this was an ESL class, a lot more modeling is done using print texts. This sacrifice made it hard for the students to follow certain aspects of reading and grammar instruction, like highlighting, annotating, and editing/error finding/correcting.
  • It's hard to hear and see the students from behind there screens. I ask them to turn them horizontal. And that is better...
  • The room was larger than what I needed and it might have been better to have asked for a smaller room. I could have asked students to only use the first two rows to make it easier to work with each of them.
  • All the computer classrooms should have dimmable lights. Lights all the way off during presentations put everyone to sleep, and they need some lights to take notes on paper. They are not allowed to use the computers during student presentations as they then have their backs to presenters and fail to make eye contact and are less engaged.
  • Students getting distracted by email/unrelated internet searching. Easy to discourage if you walk around a bit...

Question 5. What technological issues, if any, have you faced while teaching in a computer classroom?

  • again, stated above (Hi--a few new things this year -- I was in 1 and 27 and had the same problems in each Powerpoint's default setting is to show the worktop on screen and the screen version on the desktop -- not hard to correct on the spot but super annoying esp since students do presentations in my classes.
    also worth mentioning but probably not news to anyone: many times I was unable to open word .doc and .docx files for no obvious reason and the techs were unable to help with this
    last thing -- the new set up with the moveable screens sometimes leads to lost power connections)
  • None, all is good
  • The projector had been set to laptop mode, and I didn't know how to switch it, but one of the employees made himself available and showed me how to change it.
  • None (8 responses)
  • It took me a while to figure out something with the new screen/computer set up, but once I did, it was great.
  • Computers were slightly slow, but very usable for teaching. The class network share didn't connect correctly (even after relogon for the one or two who tested) for about a quarter of users. Our class was small enough that we just asked students to switch computers - rather than call the CRC - and it worked out.
  • the computer doesn't work
  • Availability of specialty software for students outside of scheduled class time, but before the IET Virtual Lab is available. Students have cited not having access to software between 8am and 8pm as a hindrance to completing their scheduled assignments.
  • We had a security issue in that the computers did not want to let us into the website we were using. We told all the youth to just click continue; but next year it would be nice to avoid that.
  • None that i can think of at the moment.
  • It would be VERY helpful if each student had a home directory that they could save files to that would be persistent through out the quarter. Ideally this same home directory would be accessible regardless of which computer they logged into from the classroom.
    Computers are a bit slow for some of what we are doing.
    It would be great if we had the option of booting into a linux environment.
  • I never figured out how (or whether it was possible) to put what was on student workstation screens up on the projector. This would have made small group presentation of in-class assignments much easier.
  • Streaming to projector from laptop. Is the projector HD?

Question 6. How was your overall teaching experience in the computer classroom?

  • strangely not as good as in the past due to the problems mentioned -- I had one day where the screen didn't work at all, one day where SmartSite wasn't working (not your fault, I know), lots of times documents wouldn't open, every time I used Powerpoint ...
    I am trying to be specific so this stuff can get fixed, but really it is hard to complain about getting to teach in such well equipped, well supported classrooms
  • Excellent (5 responses)
  • Great (6 responses)
  • Terrific
  • Very positive.
  • Very good. I appreciate everything you do. Thank you.
  • Overall, great. Availability of Final Cut Pro 7 was an issue for us in scheduling, but not worldstopping since this room was available with video editing software.
  • Very good
  • Great-the room was perfect for our purpose, and it was sooooo nice having the link already on the desktop.
  • It worked fine for us.
  • Good, basically. I appreciated the ability to plan for both individual and small group activities on SmartSite or Google Docs or whatever. There was a problem, however, with the fact that my class had 38 students (cap of 40) and it was scheduled into a lab that only seats 30. As a result, students with decently portable laptops had to bring them to class, and we spent the first 4 weeks stealing chairs from other rooms before support staff finally put extra folding chairs in the cupboard.
  • Good
  • Aside from temperature control, everything is fine
  • Very good
  • Great - I especially like the flexibility of allowing other students in to the room to use the computers. Perhaps they'll learn something new via osmosis.

Question 7. Do you have any other comments or suggestions regarding the computer classrooms.

  • I eliminated my computer-based laboratory (one week of 10) for my large multisection laboratory class because I was unable to get the necessary time in a computer lab.
  • Very happy with the service and facilities
  • Nope. Thanks!
  • Tim Leamy is fantastically helpful, responsive, and competent. Kudos on a job exceptionally well done!!!
  • Very helpful to talk to Tim beforehand. He remembered a few things I needed that I'd forgotten, and gave me some tips about campus resources related to this class (video clips). Very cool!
  • Yes. I would like to commend the very skilled and profession tech support staff. They - the entire team - are patient (with us Luddites), courteous to a fault (especially with us Luddites), and highly technologically skilled. I especially want to thank tech staff member, Areeb Mahmood, who helped me with a last minute set-up of a timed writing test for my students. I really appreciate all the assistance that Areeb and the other tech staff provided to me during spring quarter. IET RoCks!!!
  • Regarding my comment on classroom size. It is fine for now, but I am hoping that my class grows some, in which case we may outgrow the size of the classroom.
  • I wish we could feed picture and sound from a student work station direct to the projector.

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