DL Course Evaluation Summaries for Spring 2004
Overall analysis of student
course evaluation summaries as prepared by faculty teaching distance courses. The results were presented to DL Steering Committee
members for discussion of distance program improvements, and action as needed,
What went well in Distance Learning Classes
1.
Students liked
ability to access material on their own time.
2.
Students liked
having option to attend class f2f on some occasions.
3.
Impatica – powerpoints with sound and
no downloading.
4.
Students like
ability to communicate quickly.
5.
Not having to
travel to class advantageous.
6.
Course/instructor-specific
praises.
What
was problematic or should be improved
1.
Some students miss
face-to-face interaction and wanted to get to know classmates better.
2.
Some felt
overwhelmed by amount of work in online class.
3.
Many students
procrastinate.
4.
Many students ask
for some f2f meeting but then don’t come.
5.
Course specific
concerns.
6.
Some students
didn’t like chat sessions.
7.
WebCT is cumbersome.
8.
Some students
still having problems with basic computer skills.
9.
Students didn’t
like mandatory chat times.
10. Some students tried to get too far ahead on
assignments, before understanding material.
11. Would have been easier to mail graded assignments back
to students in certain cases.
Planned
changes for future delivery of course, based on students' feedback
1.
Make sure students
understand correlation between interaction level and course success. Encourage
students to interact more.
2.
Course specific
changes not related to distance delivery such as textbook, assignments, etc.
3.
Instructor to make
sure that students understand participation requirements and how to use WebCT effectively.
4.
Make sure students
understand demands of online learning.
5.
Use more formative
assessments.
6.
Make use of more
features in WebCT.
Biggest
adjustments required for distance instructors
Most instructors noted that
they had been teaching via distance for several terms and no longer had to make
adjustments. One noted that online students want immediate feedback and assignments
graded extremely quickly. Another said that students expect instructor to solve
technical issues. Also,
had to be more lenient with deadlines because of technology issues.
Level
of student services, DDEC, and instructor support
1.
Several noted heavy
use of
2.
One instructor
surveyed students every 2 weeks and noted positive comments from students about
support from DDEC’s Christy Talley and Stacey Rowland
and library’s Carol Goodson
3.
Bookstore should
be open in evening in early semester and mail textbooks to online students.