At the end of each semester, Learning Design and Technology (LearnDAT) at Michigan State University conducts a survey of faculty and students who are teaching or taking one or more courses which use ANGEL.

These surveys began in December, 2003 when MSU first adopted ANGEL.  For several semesters, the surveys repeated the same 16 questions and collected extensive open ended comments and suggestions.  As online teaching and learning became part of everyday teaching and learning at MSU, LearnDAT surveys expanded to more fully understand faculty and student online behaviors, needs, and interests.

Major topics addressed in each survey are listed here, along with links to each survey report.

Fall 2011

Disciplinary Assessment Practices and Interest in Turnitin’s Plagiarism Checking and Advanced Grading Functions

[Faculty and Student Survey Report]

Fall 2010

Co-creating the Classroom Community: Instructor and student experiences

These surveys focused on assessment practices and interest in assessment-related functions available in Turnitin, a commercial plagiarism-checking and assessment support tool Michigan State University may adopt.

[Faculty and Student Survey Report]

These surveys reveal how instructors assign and students use electronic collaboration tools to connect with other students within the context of a course experience.

Fall 2009

Technology and Pedagogy Expectations for an In-Person Course

[Faculty and Student Survey Report]

These surveys compare instructor and student expectations about the ideal uses of instructional technology during and outside of class to support in person courses.

Fall 2008

Web Accessibility Policy Faculty and Student Surveys

[Faculty and Student Survey Report]

These surveys assess potential impacts of MSU’s new web accessibility policy, framing general questions within the larger context of higher education and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Spring 2008

Faculty Survey on Video for Online Learning

[Faculty Survey Report]

This semester's Learning Design and Technology faculty survey asks about uses of and interest in using video for online learning. The survey asks about three distinctly different forms of online video: external (third party) video clips, live video, and pre-recorded instructor-narrated media (potentially including video introductions, mini-lectures, and full length lectures). The benefits and drawbacks of each approach are assessed.

Fall 2007

Electronic Library Resources

[Faculty Survey Report]
[Student Survey Report]

These reports document the large extent to which Michigan State University faculty who teach using online tools accessed electronic library resources and assigned online readings in their courses in fall, 2007, and the many ways in which students used those same services.

Spring 2007 - Online Learners: What A Difference a Year Makes

Survey of MSU Students enrolled in at least one course using ANGEL, Spring 2007

[Survey Report]

This study originally set out to characterize online learners in Spring 2007. Analysis by year in school, from freshman to doctoral student and lifelong learners, revealed significant differences by year across 35 of 38 variables measured. While year in school is certainly not the only factor influencing the learning context for online learners, locating a student in the progression of college education let's us picture other aspects of that person's life.

Perspectives on the Online Learner’s Environment: Freshmen in Spring 2007

[Survey Report]

The report is a reminder that online coursework takes place in the context of competing activities, often when students, particularly freshmen, are in the presence of others, and often accompanied by self-induced distractions. How much time each student spends online varies widely, but a great many spend very little time.

Perspectives on the Online Learner's Environment: Fully Online Only Students in Spring 2007

[Survey Report]

Fully online students tend to be serious, older learners with good study habits and a strong commitment to learning. They did not grow up in the Net Generation, but they have adapted to it. In fact, from a professorial perspective, they are better at online learning than their younger counterparts. Fully online learners typically follow embedded links within online readings to learn more. They often print articles and course pages to read offline. They avoid distractions such as TV, music, or IM while studying and are usually alone while they do coursework.

Motivations for and Interest in Innovating in Online Teaching

Michigan State University Spring 2007 Survey of Faculty Using Angel
[Survey Report]

The vast majority of instructors use online tools believe that by doing so they enhance the student experience. Half cite lack of time as a barrier. Class announcements and PowerPoint are the most commonly used online tools, followed by the grade book. 60% are favorable towards upgrades (25% are neutral and 14% are unfavorable), with nearly half of respondents looking forward to gradebook and quiz enhancements and more than one third anticipating use of WIKIs, blogs, and enhanced visual appearance.

Fall 2006

Breeze Meeting Survey of Faculty and Staff Users (n=21)

[Survey Report]

The tool-specific survey asked Breeze Meeting users about the reasons, frequency, and group size for which they use Breeze Meeting, features used and features desired for both meetings, presentations, and teaching, technical problems and sources of support, and importance of the tool to their work.

Spring 2006

Digital Natives and Digital Instructors (n=1616 and n=118)

[Survey Report]

The study answers questions such as, is there a technological generation gap? What are the expectations and desires of students today regarding use of technologies for online teaching and learning?  Should instructors who lecture podcast their lectures?  If live lectures are posted online, will students still come to class?   

1. DEMOGRAPHICS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE
   1. Students
   2. Student Online and Blended Course Enrollment
   3. Instructors
   4. Number of concurrent ANGEL-enhanced courses instructors taught and enrollment
2. RECIPES FOR BLENDED ONLINE LEARNING
   1. Currently Used Lecture Delivery Technologies
   2. Should Live Lectures Be Recorded and Posted Online?
   3. Instructor and Student Recipes for Blended Online Learning, Beyond Lectures
   4. Textbook, Course Pack, or Online Reading Assignments?
3. MSU and Other Email
   1. Number of email accounts
   2. Percent of Faculty with Only MSU Email
   3. Percent of Students with Only MSU Email
4. LIFE ONLINE: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES ACROSS GENERATIONS
   1. Technology Ownership across Generations
   2. Time Online and Searches per Day 
   3. Internet Technologies in the News: Podcasting and Blogging
      1. Blogs
      2. Digital Photos Watching Digital Videos Online
      3. Online Communities, IM Buddies, and TXTing
      4. Gaming
5. TIME USE, TIME PRESSURES, AND MULTITASKING

Fall 2005

Student and Faculty Surveys (n=3641 and n=141)

[Survey Report]

The Fall 2005 study compares and contrasts instructor and student perspectives, asking parallel questions of both groups.

Topics:

• Instructor demographics and class details
• Student demographics and class details
• How much learning should be online?
• Preferred course format (fully online, blended, enhanced, fully in person)
• Preferred lecture modalities for learning
• ANGEL login frequency, time spent online overall and doing coursework
• Email and office hours
• Technical problems and institutional support
• Instructor & student interest in interactive and lecture delivery tools including student portfolio tool
• Technology ownership
• Sub-analysis of online-only ANGEL students

Spring 2005

Student and Faculty Surveys (n=2504 and n=167)

[Student Survey Report] [Faculty Survey Report]

32,278 MSU students enrolled in one or more courses which used ANGEL. 1,428 Michigan State University instructors activated the Angel course space. 

Students are disappointed if a class does NOT incorporate online content.  Email exceeds office hours as the medium for one-on-one faculty-student communication.

Student questions:

• Student demographics, online classes
• Student and faculty ANGEL expertise
• Perceived impact and future potential of ANGEL on learning
• Desire for media formats and course tools
• Hours online spent studying
• Student-instructor communication (including emails send & received)
• Preferred course format (fully online, blended, enhanced, fully in person)

Faculty questions:

• Faculty and Course Demographics
• Use of email for teaching & office hours
• Hours spent teaching online
• Prevalence of online cheating
• Online tools and learning outcomes
• Student and faculty ANGEL expertise
• Technical problems and institutional support
• Use and assessment of different ANGEL functions
• Open-Ended questions (18 pages of write-in faculty comments and 36 LearnDAT Tips related to specific comments and questions)

Fall 2004

Student and Faculty Surveys (n=3715 and n=160)

[Student Survey Report] [Faculty Survey Report]

ANGEL had been in use at MSU for more than one year, and it had become a mainstream part of MSU classes. 

By the end of Fall 2004, some faculty are deeply involved with online learning. They teach differently than before and have strong belief in the potential. Others are less enthusiastic, using Angel as a minor supplement to their normal teaching style.

Student questions paralleled the spring 2004 survey:

• Student demographics and technographics
• Hours online spent doing coursework
• Most used ANGEL functions
• Ease of use and technical problems
• Perceived impact and future potential of ANGEL on learning
• Preferred course format (fully online, blended, enhanced, fully in person)

Faculty questions paralleled the Fall 2003 and spring 2004 survey:

• Familiarity and experience with ANGEL
• Technical problems and institutional support
• Current and future potential of ANGEL
• Use and assessment of different ANGEL functions
• Faculty and Course Demographics
• Open-Ended questions (18 pages of write-in comments and 38 LearnDAT Tips related to specific comments and questions)

Spring 2004

Student and Faculty Surveys (n=1807 and n= 103)

[Student Survey Report] [Faculty Survey Report]

This second survey now includes faculty AND students, asking the same basic 16 questions as the fall 2003 survey did.

Student questions:

• Student demographics and technographics
• Hours online spent doing coursework
• Most used ANGEL functions
• Ease of use and technical problems
• Perceived impact and future potential of ANGEL on learning
• Preferred course format (fully online, blended, enhanced, fully in person)
• Open-ended comments and suggestions (19 pages)

Faculty questions paralleled the Fall 2003 survey:

• Technical problems and institutional support
• Current and future potential of ANGEL
• Use and assessment of different ANGEL functions
• Faculty and Course Demographics
• Open-Ended questions (18 pages of write-in comments and 31 LearnDAT Tips related to specific comments and questions)

Fall 2003

Faculty Survey (n=83)

[Faculty Survey Report]

The first short LearnDAT survey of MSU faculty using ANGEL, conducted at the end of the first semester of campus-wide availability. 

Comparisons are made between faculty teaching fully online and those teaching blended courses.

Faculty questions covered:

• Technical problems and institutional support
• Current and future potential of ANGEL
• Use and assessment of different ANGEL functions
• Faculty and Course Demographics
• Open-Ended questions (14 pages of write-in comments!)