Student Survey Evaluation 2007
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2007 Duo Evaluation – Student Responses Learning Technologies Team, December 2007
Introduction
This paper summarises and analyses the results of an online survey of students during May 2007. This is the seventh in a series of annual staff and student duo evaluations carried out by the Learning Technologies Team (LTT). The results of previous studies are available online at: (http://www.dur.ac.uk/its/lt/duo/evaluation )
Students were questioned about their use of duo – they were asked about their patterns of use, their opinion of duo’s constituent tools, what works and what they think can be improved. This report analyses the general picture and also considers responses from particular groups of students (second language speakers, distance and part-time students, postgraduates and those with additional learning needs). It concludes with recommendations for the LTT and staff involved in delivering these courses. Many of these are already being taken forward by the LTT.
Contributing authors:
Mike Cameron Malcolm Murray Julie Mulvey, Judith Jurowska Martin Edney Stephen Applegarth Scott Miller
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 1 of 35 Table of Contents
1 Executive summary...... 3 1.1 Overview...... 3 1.2 Positive Feedback...... 3 1.3 Constructive criticism...... 3 1.4 Demographic differences...... 3 1.5 Recommendations...... 3 2 Detailed analysis...... 4 2.1 Overview...... 4 2.2 Overall use and rating of duo...... 5 2.3 Non duo users...... 6 2.4 Tools within duo...... 7 2.4.1 Discussion Board use...... 8 2.4.2 Video...... 9 2.4.3 Online Quizzes...... 10 2.4.4 Interactive Tutorials and simulations...... 11 2.4.5 Voting systems...... 12 2.5 What student most like...... 12 2.6 What students least like...... 15 2.7 Priorities for improvement...... 20 2.8 Other suggestions for improvement...... 22 2.9 Web 2.0 use...... 24 2.10 Different Student Groups...... 25 2.10.1 Faculties...... 25 2.10.2 Second Language Students...... 27 2.10.3 Students with an additional learning need...... 29 2.10.4 Postgraduate Students...... 31 2.10.5 Part-time & Distance Learning Students...... 33 3 Recommendations...... 34
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 2 of 35 1 Executive summary
1.1 Overview The survey achieved a 20% response rate form the student body. 80.7% of respondents either regularly log into duo (47%) or see it as integral to their learning (33%). 64% rated duo as good, 10% rated it excellent and 21.3% as average.
Tools within duo The main reported use of duo was to access documents (lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, readings, etc). Where used appropriately, discussion boards quizzes and video materials were seen to enhance/have a positive impact on learning. Discussion board use may be slightly down on previous years. External tools like Facebook, may be having an impact. Classroom voting systems (where used) were seen to aid participation and learning.
1.2 Positive Feedback Students like the availability of material all in one place, at any time. Students generally found duo easy to use.
1.3 Constructive criticism Students repeatedly requested greater consistency of use and layout between modules. Some students felt duo has too many tabs, others that some courses have too many buttons and unexplained features.
1.4 Demographic differences Respondents with an Additional Learning Need (ALN) rated duo's effectiveness as a learning resource more highly than the student respondents as a whole. 84% rated it as excellent or good, compared to 74.6% of the whole group. Of all the groups, research post graduates currently find duo least relevant to their needs. Opinions are more polarised amongst part-time and distance students about duo’s efficacy as a learning resource. The Faculty of Social Sciences & Health use duo most and rate it most highly, followed by the Faculty of Science, then the Faculty of Arts & Humanities.
Improvements Students were asked to prioritise a list of areas for possible improvement. The three most highly rated items were: access to grades, improved feedback and the inclusion of class timetables. Other areas students would like us to tackle include podcasts, video, the ability to search content, single sign on and explanations/instruction in the use of duo.
1.5 Recommendations Continued support and education for academic staff in design and good practice in the use of duo, encouraging attendance at the ITS training courses provided to meet these needs. LTT staff should work with departments through the Faculty Support Learning Technologists to share good practice. This should make content more consistent and share experience of the appropriate use of discussion boards, assessment tools, feedback audio/video and other interactive materials. LTT staff should review duo for accessibility and usability. LTT staff should build on the existing help documentation and explanations to make them more obvious. Staff and students should be encouraged to submit their own comments and experiences via the new collaborative duopedia wiki.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 3 of 35 LTT staff should conduct a feasibility study into closer integration of University systems with duo.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 4 of 35 2 Detailed analysis
2.1 Overview The annual student survey was launched in May 2007. This online survey was advertised through emails to all students and links were also available from duo. This paper highlights and interprets key results before making recommendations.
Respondents It is acknowledged that the survey sample will be ‘self-selecting’. Like all optional surveys it is likely to obtain responses from groups at either extreme of the distribution – those most content and most dissatisfied with the service. Given it’s online nature, those who are happier using the Internet and log into duo regularly are most likely to respond. 3025 student responded this year (an increase compared to 2654 last year). This figure represents a response rate of approximately 20%. The figure below breaks down the responses by year of study. It is notable that first year students are the cohort most likely to contribute.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 5 of 35 2.2 Overall use and rating of duo Respondents use duo frequently, with 80.7% describing themselves as regular users of duo, or stating that duo is an integral part of their learning. 64.4% rate duo’s effectiveness for learning as good and 10% as excellent. It is rated more highly for impact on learning than communication. It scores highly for ease of use.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 6 of 35 2.3 Non duo users The number of respondents who do not use duo is very small (1.7%). The two biggest categories of non-users were Research Post Graduates (17 of the 44) and third years (13 of the 44). Only 2 first years did not use duo. As well as staff personal web pages, a number of alternatives were cited, including Google, Wikipedia and other University’s content.
Non users were asked why they do not use duo. The vast majority declared they prefer other resources or that it is not relevant.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 7 of 35 Tools within duo
The table below shows that the most common reason for using duo is still to access content. There is also evidence of active learning, a third of students are using quizzes and a third are using online submission. From free text comments, the latter can make the submission process easier, and is most valuable when feedback from tutors is also provided online.
Discussion board usage is down this year (407 students, 13% of total response). It will be interesting to see how the new alternatives (Blogs and Wikis) are adopted next year. These tools had not been released at the time of the survey.
Some newer tools have seen only limited uptake as yet: e.g. the ‘Plagiarism and how to avoid it’ tutorial, online portfolios and tagging (social bookmarking) tools.
The PDP tools (developed and maintained by staff from the Academic Registrar’s Office) do not appear to be widely used.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 8 of 35 2.3.1 Discussion Board use
Discussion board use seems to be down on last year (although we asked a different question this year). In May 2006 40% of the students reported reading discussion posts in duo and 16% posed messages. In 2007,13.5% report having used them through duo. This may be in part down to the proliferation of alternative social networking sites such as Facebook.
Comments suggest that respondents learn from their cohort, although they feel discussion boards work better when lecturers contribute regularly. Several commented that it is helpful and saves time when one student asks a question which they have wanted to ask as well. Some pointed to the availability of the discussion as a permanent record.
Those who were less positive suggested said they didn’t use them much, often because other students and teachers did not respond regularly enough.
Example comments it is helpful to discuss problems with coursework etc with other members of the class and with the professor, duo discussion groups are an easy way of doing this and you can reach more people but, if there is no discussion group, Facebook works just as well. Used, but rarely, and contributions were generally hastily constructed and unhelpful Useful for group discussion/preparation for seminars.
Helpful for seminars Seminars are attended with ideas all ready for discussion. Comments made on discussion board can be a useful 'ice breaker' at the beginning of seminars. The discussion board for the Toni Morrison module in English was a useful part of preparation for seminars, Key issues were highlighted by other members of the group.
Helpful for exams read the boards in the modules that used them to help me with summative assignments and revision questions. Regarding past papers, I've been able to check I'm on the right lines for some questions Some of our lecturers have used the board to answer questions relating to essays or the exams which has been a helpful resource. They allowed for feedback and discussion between lecturers and students with regard to exam questions which was helpful. Useful during summative essays and exam period when lecturers use to find out answers to frequently asked questions.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 9 of 35 Online submission
Most respondents who had submitted online suggest it was relatively easy, but 5 students said it was very difficult. Further help and guidance still needed.
2.3.2 Video
Of the 249 students who had used video, 64% said they had a positive affect on their learning.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 10 of 35 2.3.3 Online Quizzes
65% of the 1003 students who had used quizzes in duo suggested they had enhanced their learning.
Several respondents appreciate having a different and more active way of learning: 'Tis active learning. Another learning tool - interactive and real time During P.G.C.E looked at cognitive style - was useful and also interesting. make you actually think, more than just reading something On-line audits for mathematics and English are helpful and give a good insight into how well I am doing and areas which I need to work on. I can do then in my own time and are private to me. immediate feedback a useful way to formatively assess knowledge
Language students in particular find tests and quizzes useful, although one technical problem was recorded: A lecturer tried to use online tests but found nobody was bothering because their computers could not input in the relevant (East Asian) script. It was abandoned. Possibly advice on how to re-script could be included for students taking modules in Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and so on. I have taken some worthwhile Spanish tests from the language department, which were helpful for revision. Vocab tests are ace!
Respondents like quizzes and tests as an aide to exam revision: Better preparation for exams Encouraged me to learn as I went along rather than leaving all revision until the end of the year and panicking around exams! Encourages learning throughout the year, as opposed to exam-time only. Forces you to learn material soon after first being exposed to it rather than much later as in an exam situation. I find I recall more this way Frequent revision required so you learn the material more thoroughly Get to know in how much detail answers to actual exam questions should be. Give me an indication of where I’m at by result without pressure of test situation Gives you an idea of type of questions you might get in the exam. Instant feedback is also really useful and helps you to feel confident and more motivated. good for judging how well we know a topic/revision Good preparation for MCQs in exams.
A few students said they found quizzes more beneficial when they had access to the 2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 11 of 35 answers: can help with revision if answers are provided Don't always give the answers which means there is no assessment for learning opportunity. Engineering Lecturers provide good Problem Sheets, and it's very useful when the answers are provided online so you can see where you went wrong.
Convenience was also mentioned, one student explaining that this made them feel less stressed: easily fit within personal time frame convenient to take tests at home and so use class time more productively it allows it to be completed in my own time, which means I feel less stressed when completing it Allows me to plan my time Moe effectively and take the tests when it is a good time for me
2.3.4 Interactive Tutorials and simulations
This question was designed to gather students’ opinions of online interactive tutorials ( web pages, self test questions, video - similar to the Preventing Plagiarism materials - or Course Genie). From the free text comments, it is clear many respondents were talking about synchronous chat through the live classroom. 62% describe some enhancement.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 12 of 35 2.3.5 Voting systems
16% (478 students) had used interactive voting systems in class (also known as personal response systems). 21% of non users would welcome their use, whilst 52% do not yet know what they are.
62% of those who used them said they improved participation and learning in class.
What student most like It is the access to materials in a convenient location that is most liked by students. The access to email and library tools (particularly J-Stor) in the same place are also popular.
Question 28. What do you most like about duo?
Students commented favourably on duo's efficiency, ease of use, and the ability to access a wide range of information in one location at any time: A large amount of information in one place (all courses, college, etc) All lecture course notes and other documents are available in the same place and usually easy to find. 24 hour access/availability Quick response time (page loading etc.)
They like being able to access course materials and course related information, such as lecture notes, handouts, handbooks, slides, reading lists, past papers, etc. and are appreciative of relevant links, online journals and any extra materials provided by lecturers. They also like being able to submit coursework and access marks.
They like being kept up to date with announcements, news, deadlines, seminars and essay titles. A few comments implied that the respondents also appreciate the feeling of being 'in touch': Ability to access academic material easily, as well as staying within the academic loop with regards to other events going on. 2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 13 of 35 Announcement of information which applies to me can be found easily.
Several students like being able to check email and contact others easily: Ability to sent emails to teachers and students. It enables me to contact any teachers about maters as opposed to physically going to see them for a small question. It's an easy way to find out information about courses and contact details of tutors; it allows me to check my mail relatively quickly. Being able to share resources with other trainee teachers.
Respondents like the security of being able to collect information from missed lectures, from lectures which they have attended but would like to revisit, and to replace lost lecture notes: Ability to pick up past papers and worksheets from lessons if absent. Able to view lecture notes on it, which is useful if you have missed something in the lecture. Can find past lectures notes if I lose mine. Links to websites related to modules. Can make complete notes, which is harder in a lecture situation.
A few comments suggest students like the interactivity of duo Ability to post and read material. Discussion boards and being able to download notes and handouts. Discussion forum with lecturers.
They also like being able to access resources from off campus: Able to access from home/work. Access anywhere, it doesn’t delete your emails forever even if u press delete. Always being able to access online journals, reading lists, etc.
Some respondents commented on the clear layout, and the ease of use and navigation. Clear and easy way to find information, and access documents from course links are quick to find. As a year abroad student, the links to documents that are needed are always there Ease of Use: User friendly skin
Several students commented on the convenience of accessing different resources from one location: Brings together differing aspects of learning e.g. library, Webmail, lecture notes in a single site. Blackboard brings together a lot of resources in the same place. Centralising of many important resources e.g. course documents, timetables, links to library and SPA. Great to have access to library information/Webmail/lecture notes etc on one site The fact that it is linked to other university sites, i.e. Webmail and the library web pages Duo is the 'one stop' portal for most of my university needs. duo provides a really easy way of accessing materials related to my modules, such as extra notes on texts and reading lists, that I would struggle to find on my own. Additionally, the fact that I could carry on using audio material for my language-based module at home was a definite plus.
Other interesting comments referred to the personalised nature of duo, its usefulness for revision, reduced paper use, and the Discovery tab Cuts down on paper use and recognises that different users will require different documents / websites etc - rather than giving ALL students ALL resources, allows for
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 14 of 35 more autonomy. Everything for lectures is available in one place, as is communications or any other paperwork you may need, without having to search around for it. Having emails, careers info and the discovery options are all really useful. I also like the fact it is personalised to each user. Hints on exams, essays and revision are readily available.
The Library
Students are very appreciative of the ability to browse, request, reserve and renew library books online, and keep track of fines and library loans: Ability to request and renew library books online. Library access, fines etc. the library tab that enables searches in the main library and my college library is a good idea (though I had no idea this existed until now)
They also appreciate the ability to access library accounts from off campus: access library resources from outside the uni netwrok being able to renew library books from your bedroom It is always accessible, even when the library is not -this is invaluable when lecturers post relevant articles on subject pages. Having easy access to core learning materials is so helpful! Reading lists and core notes of topics are also essential -I don't know what I would do without them. The library feature. As a distance learner easy access to a range of journals, etc. is essential.
Jstor attracted some very positive comments: Access to emails, library database, J-Stor and course documents is easy and very useful The course documents and how up to date they are, the library bit with JSTOR (JSTOR is my friend)and the way you can find everything you need on it really quickly. Searching the library, and being able to use Grove music dictionary, Naxos & JSTOR in the holidays
Students appreciate access to the library's online journals Link to the library electronic publications and articles Helps me access course paperwork and get to the library online e journals more easily Access to library journals from it.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 15 of 35 What students least like
Inconsistency of layout and navigation, non use of duo, poor course design, leaving unused features visible (tabs and buttons) are mentioned. Some users also reported site problems with Webmail, but it is not clear if this is only through the tab in duo.
Question 29. What do you least like about duo?
Inconsistencies between different modules can be confusing. Several respondents don't like the fact that some lecturers do not use duo. They also dislike the lack of uniformity in the way that duo is used. Not many lecturers use it, instead preferring to use their personal websites. Not used equally by lecturers, more should be done to make sure ALL lecturers use it at least minimally (some of the older lecturers are clearly not very competent/confident will IT). Lecturers should be encouraged to post lecture notes prior to the lecture as it is NOT encouraging laziness, it is a very useful way of ensuring you get the most out of the lecture (& if people are not going to turn up they'll not look at it ‘til later anyway!) Some lecturers still post to their daft homemade web pages from duo, instead of just uploading to there and keeping style uniformity. Different tutors put information in different buttons which can make finding basic information (lecture slides, reading lists) an annoying task. For example, it usually takes a couple of tries to find reading lists as some put it under "course information", very few under "books", some in "course documents" and some even put it in their lecture slides. So it can take a bit of searching. Lack of homogeneity between course information organisation even within the same department. Every lecturer has a different attitude to using it, so some will put lecture notes up, some won't, and some will think they have but they haven't! Some people put their lectures notes up in hard to find folders - like "Other materials for the course" and lots of lecturers ignore DUO as a tool. I feel like they should be some uniform standard.
Many respondents dislike the presence of functions and tabs which they do not use (and often do not know the purpose of). They find this gives a cluttered and distracting appearance. There are over 35 comments in total on tabs (plus more on general navigation). Several comments focus on specific tabs, particularly the Discovery tab: Not really knowing what half the tabs do - for example - Discovery, PDPs, Community. Sections such as "personal" and "careers" - I've never been informed what the benefits of using them are, and so don't use them Still can't work way round discovery tab! That it also has a lot of useless or poorly labelled stuff on it (like the Discovery tab) and that its search function is appalling. The discovery tab- don't use it! The many tabs that I never use and have no idea what they are i.e. discovery, community, pdps. and also the fact its often shut down (even if it is temporary) The random 'community' and 'discovery' etc. tabs that I've never had to use lots of unnecessary stuff on it, particularly under 'personal' tab ...Secondly the HUGE amount of unnecessary clutter. I have no idea what half the tabs across the top even do - I've certainly never had to use them. It can be difficult to navigate and things aren't always where you would expect to find them. The layout is not very user-friendly - I don't quite see why there are so many tabs 2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 16 of 35 across the top which contain similar information. It should be more tailored to a student's individual needs. It’s messy and hard to find what you're looking for. The pages are a mess...and even if you do find the tab you're looking for, different lectures post things under different tabs.. Too many tabs for each module - it's hard to find where teachers have put the information.
There are also comments on the difficulties of using content areas within courses due to their design: have to use lots of tabs- especially in courses, would be better if menus showed what was in there Not all tabs (buttons) work.
From the 11.5% of respondents who state that English is not their first language1, there are a relatively high number of comments on this topic, including: a few sections are not as easy to use as others (e.g. PDP pops in mind) A lot of unused functions appear on the site. all the features I don't use presentation- every department has different tabs and do not use them the same way last year's modules appear in the home page so it takes longer to find the module I want to look at Some sections such as 'Community' are not really useful and people rarely use them The content can be sometimes placed under illogical tabs or can be hard to find. There should have some introductions about what are personal community pdps sections as well as how to use and what's the benefit by using them. Too many sub-tabs. Also the new "search within lectures" facility is rather complicated to use, and doesn’t look very nice either. Too much tab to choose...
Respondents report that duo could be faster, with less downtime. Several students mentioned the number of times they have to re-enter their log in details, particularly signing in/logging out between duo and Webmail. Some of them experience an 'invalid certificate' message appearing which they are unable to prevent. A few students noted compatibility problems between duo and Mozilla, Firefox.
Webmail problems: For some reason getting Webmail when you have the newest version of internet explorer proves to be difficult, usually resulting in me missing out on important emails. I can't get into Webmail from it (and the IT Helpdesk can't help, it's something relating to the security on my laptop.) I dislike the Webmail interface, and would much prefer a pop/imap interface to integrate it better into my system. If it did it can notify me of any new mail quickly, and I can refer to emails offline and without logging in twice, which is quite annoying. This could be done while having a web interface too, so no functionality would be lost. Durham emails cannot be redirected to other addresses (such as to my Gmail account).
Note these comments are criticisms of the University Email System in general, rather than duo. They have been passed on to ITS colleagues who manage the University Email Service.
Some students feel duo could be more user friendly, as they have difficulty navigating, finding information and searching. Several feel the layout could be better organised, and the interface is a bit clunky and dated. If I'm not sure how to do something I find the help section very hard to navigate, and there isn't a useful FAQ
1 See also separate section on this cohort. 2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 17 of 35 Good Practice
Students were asked to identify and explain courses that they found particularly helpful. There were a large number of responses from across the Faculties, some of which are included below. Quizzes, feedback, clear content, relevant links and preparatory materials, Revision information and example questions and answers are all appreciated by respondents.
36. Are any of your modules in duo particularly useful in supporting your learning? If yes, please provide the module code(s), title(s) and tell us what makes it special.
Faculty of Social Sciences & Health 1911 Discipline of Social Sciences. Richard Smith is a legend! He puts up everything we need and more, and always makes sure the students know of any changes or announcements. Discipline of Social Science module- Richard Smith has put a lot of helpful things on there. Anthropology (Peoples and Cultures). Fabulous lecture notes, quizzes and course information. Development economics was especially good. The lecturer put up all lecture notes on duo, some reading and also group essays, as well as some information on careers in development economics. That’s more than any other module! GEOG3651, Geographies of Transformation- lots of notes, links etc. & Manufacturing the Future- absolutely decked out with resources. Trusts and Equity 3rd Year Law was the best attended on duo, with quizzes, links to videos and excellent supervision by Lorna Fox PSYS2091_2006 Research Design and Data Analysis. I like this module as it provides the data files required to do the SPSS work. This allowed me to practise from anywhere during the year. Rebecca Stratling - MGE. Rebecca makes full use of Duo to post material and provide feedback. Excellent. Business creativity and organisational change. The material placed on duo for this module was very good and helped strengthen the delivery more than any individual text book could off. science of consciousness - brilliant information, fully utilised duo Sea Level Change and Coastal Evolution. Not sure Code but a level 3 Geography BSc module by Ian Shannon. soc13341 - issues in criminal justice, excellent communication with students through announcements, really good notes etc. also soci13241 sociology of deviance, same reasons. Sociology of Deviance, the lecturer know how to use the system New directions in social science. Over the last three years the core social science module has excellent duo facilities-lecture notes, summaries and additional info.
Faculty of Arts & Humanities Aesthetics PHIL3031 was very well done; almost all lecture notes, plus accompanying texts, and last year's notes left up for more detail - but with a very clear warning that the syllabus had changed and to beware relying on them too much. Bravo, Hamilton and Schellekens. Philosophy of Mind - Matthew Ratcliffe gave a fantastic list of sources. EDUC 1441 Introduction to Modern Art - What makes it special is Anthony Parton, who is the best member of staff I have come across - he makes excellent use of DUO - no lecture notes as such, but PowerPoint shows that he has used, names of art works studies, assignment advice, tutorial times, external links, all displayed in an organised manner, so 2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 18 of 35 there is no confusion as to where anything would be. Excellent. Fin-de-siècle Fiction - Dr James is one of the few English lecturers who actually uses duo. Lots of useful links, reading lists, online texts, etc. Fin-de-siècle fiction in the English dept - very thorough links to articles and journals as well as online reading for hard-to-find texts FREN 1051 Language, Power and the Making of the French Nation - all the slides and lecture notes were put on duo before the lectures, meaning that in the lectures you had a note framework to work with FREN1011, French Language 1 provides really useful material to practise skills and to prepare for lesson/catch up on anything you miss. FREN1051, Language and Power is extremely useful as it provides complete and comprehensive lecture summaries and PowerPoint slides. God, Freedom and the Soul (THEO2361), because Dr. Insole gets the library to scan in some of the materials on the reading list - this is extremely helpful when books are in high demand. HIST 3393 Propaganda in Britain and Germany 1939-1945. As I replied above the heavy use of multi media in this module made the interactive features on duo particularly useful. It was through this module that I feel I made full use of the duo systems for the first time in my three years at Durham. HIST2801: The French Revolution and Modern French Political Culture Useful for links, bibliography. Very well laid out. Regularly updated with lecture notes. Just brilliant! FREN2071: French Language II and Year Abroad Also applies to FREN2051. Job possibilities and grammar notes regularly updated. Great stuff! History 2751: provided many links through duo including to film sources, and also used interactive tutorials History of education, wars and welfare in particular but useful for all of my modules - foundations in medieval England, English household, cold war etc. there wasn't very much for papyrus to print Intermediate Latin 1a. Dr Ingleheart v. good Logic - fantastic duo notes, I would have failed without them Love and Sex in Ancient Poetry-level 3 module, but no idea of code. V. good as all lecture materials and course information are put online. Dr Ingle heart also has made really good use of the discussion board facility. She makes useful announcements to tell us things as well using the 'announcement' feature. Higher Latin 3B-Dr Petrovic has posted tonnes of materials. She has also personalised the format which makes it look a lot more user friendly than the standard cold DUO user interface. Classicists like nice pictures of classical paintings to adorn their desktops. EDUC3261_2006: The 'Isms' of Art in Early C20th Europe: Critical Approaches Really useful links and lecture handouts with PowerPoint, so we can literally replay the lecture, very cool. Sound, Text and Image (EDUC1011) - amazingly helpful, lots of links to relevant information, encyclopaedia access, a brief explanation and link to JStor and how to use it effectively. Generally very detailed, well organised and nicely colour-coded! PHIL2131Theory, Literature and Society and PHIL3141: Gender, Film and Society. Both of these are managed by the same lecturer, and provide all lecture notes, a wealth of additional reading, and links to various online resources that I would never have come across otherwise. Both are well-organised and detailed. PHIL2131: the lecturer posts key texts, key essays, reading lists, seminar questions and lecture notes (after the fact) on it. really really excellent to prepare, follow up and revise with. Propaganda in Britain and Germany (special subject). Whole range of primary sources 2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 19 of 35 online, use of discussion board and online office hours. Propaganda in Britain and Germany Special Subject- it uses all the different functions and helps to keep the interactive nature going after the seminars Sound, text and Image - the PowerPoint shows are very useful Sound, Text, and Image allowed us to access materials in advance for lectures and seminars. An accessible timeline of reading, assessment tasks, and lecture notes allowed me to make sure I was keeping up with all the required work. Spanish Contemporary Cinema-Dr Fouz Hernandez keeps the duo information very up to date.
Faculty of Science Anything by Andy Brinkman, his use of DUO is superb, mainly because he provides a good volume of useful material, not just notes but homework questions & solutions, examples classes and select extra-curricular material. Peter Hatton is also good, again, mainly because his notes are very good, he provides summaries and notes, which is very useful. I think Hatton treats DUO a bit like a course blog in that he adds quirky links to all kinds of other sites with useful information. This makes his DUO more entertaining but a bit time consuming when you've got exams to do. All of the first year Physics course including Core Maths A and B1. These are useful as most assignments re available here, as well as much of the supporting course material Evolutionary Biology - BIOL2241. One lecturer in particular - Dr Gates - uses DUO to advertise scientific articles to read, which are very helpful in support of what we cover. Evolutionary Biology. Dr Gates updated with article links and reading sources as he came across them. MATH3071, Decision theory. The notes that support the course are exceptional. they contain extra worked examples to help in understanding the course material Dynamic earth, GEOL 3011, can submit all work over duo and all lectures and inc reference lists are provided along with practical follow up sessions, plus online feed back is given over duo. Sedimentary and petroleum systems, Geol 3031 again all notes are provided with previous notes from other years which vary but again you get a better insight when reading through them. Numerical Analysis - lots of extra help with past paper relevance, problem examples, notes and light hearted application of the subject Numerical Analysis, MATH2051, lecturer used discussion boards very well. Posted very helpful content about exams on the module page. Good use of AiM quizzes.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 20 of 35 Priorities for improvement
Areas for improvement prioritised by students were access to grades, better feedback and the inclusion of class timetables Podcasts from lecturers are also a relatively high priority. The ability to search for materials in duo is also seen as a priority by nearly half of the respondents. Interestingly students saw adding an MSN-like tool (instant chat and messaging) as a low priority (perhaps because they already use other services). We know anecdotally that many staff see this as a high priority area (particularly those involved in distance learning, or work at both campuses). They would like to have it available as an ‘office hours’ tool. Where it has been introduced in other institutions there is also the suggestion that it facilitates informal, non- timetabled learning between students.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 21 of 35 (continues next page) Priorities for improvement (continued)
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 22 of 35 Other suggestions for improvement All respondents were asked to suggest improvements:
47. Please describe any other enhancements we could make to duo.
Integrate university activities A "central"Durham University events diary, including all college events. bring in more university activities give more information about University activities
Online seminars, audio, podcasts: A suggestion could be to have ONLINE SEMINARS!! An access to recorded lectures from big theatres would be excellent, especially for international students as it is sometimes difficult to understand the teachers (in particular American teachers). As mentioned above it would be a great help to work with video and audio support for the lecturers. Additionally a reference between the Notes (Units) and the Learning box will be a major asset for the DL student. More video of important information or of live class sessions video streaming of lectures, podcasts of lectures
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 23 of 35 Interaction Delivers students suggestion for the lecturer. let students upload material, too Help student to interact with each other and the staff. hours of chat with the lecturers I would like that whenever I have an academic problem in my room, I could log on to DUO and there's someone I can ask directly The communication between students and professor or lecturer
Help for students and lecturers to use duo better Give an introductory lecture to the freshers; prompt the teachers to use it more frequently and more extensively. With DUO better used, there might be less trees to be cut for producing paper! Just making a help section webpage with a FAQ. organise tutorials to explain all the features of duo.
Provide instruction for academic work Essay Samples for first years Do's and Don'ts in exams/summative/formative work Dissertation outlines maybe?
Additional suggestions Duo should include like other university systems a Tab called Finance, where payment to the University accommodation and Fees can be made. This is top priority for me as I find the current system unnecessarily antiquated. Each student should be able to see their timetable on duo (like their exam timetable), including seminars and if lecture/seminar times/dates change the timetable should automatically change. Also, students should be able to see all their grades all year round. Import calendar from Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo, Google, etc. Is it possible if all the course material open for all students? No matter what their major are? Because we can learn more from DUO site. It is a really good website. My other friends who studied in the UK haven't got such great university online system. It works, it's easy to navigate. If only lecturers would place documents, e.g. lecture slides in one folder, labs in another and perhaps sort material by term... Needs some facility so that the homepage displays everything that has changed across all modules since previous visit (e.g. new files uploaded, announcements, discussion threads). See Facebook for example. That there isn't some way that one can be alerted via e-mail or MSN (as is available on for instance Facebook) when updates are made to your modules. At my undergraduate University, the website that was the equivalent to DUO had a feature where you could print off a copy of your unofficial transcript to show as proof of your study and the classes you have completed. This information is relevant when you are applying for jobs or for other programs of study. It would have helped me significantly if DUO had this feature. Firstly the speed - it's abysmally slow from outside the university network. Secondly the HUGE amount of unnecessary clutter. I have no idea what half the tabs across the top even do - I've certainly never had to use them. Also the left hand menu contains far too much junk, especially towards the bottom. In my web design I generally follow a rule of no more than seven items per menu…. Also, the use of frames is extremely old-school and '90s, and there is far too much depth of navigation and too many pages with no content. If you click on the course announcements on the front page of duo, it only takes you to the announcements: you have to come back out and then over to the module tabs if you want to relate the announcement you've just read to the rest of the module. Infuriating. Nothing…duo is a bless from heaven!
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 24 of 35 2.4 Web 2.0 use 80% of respondents use Web 2.0 tools. Facebook being the most popular followed by YouTube.
581 respondents (19%) consciously use Facebook for learning with classmates, and 22 (0.7% learn with teachers.
54% of students say they would use similar tools if available in duo. Students who wouldn’t use a centrally provided tool tended to relate to the idea it would be closed, that it wouldn’t work as well, the feeling that it would be censored, or that students would be observed. These provide interesting insights into both their perception of University services; a perceived differentiation between where students feel online learning and social activities should occur; and finally an implied naivety as to the visibility of their actions to others when using services such as Google or Facebook and the motivation/activities of such external providers.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 25 of 35 Different Student Groups
2.4.1 Faculties 1 The breakdown by faculty below shows that the most responses were received from the Science Faculty followed by Social Sciences & Health, and then Arts & Humanities. As a proportional response rate relative to the total number of students in the Faculty, Science also comes out highest (26%) followed by Arts & Humanities (26%) and then Social Sciences & Health at 17%.
99 of the 133 students who describe themselves as expert computer users are from the Science Faculty.
All faculties have a high number of students who describe duo as a regular or integral part of their learning. Arts & Humanities: 613 out of 820 74% Science: 946 out of 1166 81% Social Sciences & Health: 881 out of 1039 84%
Social Sciences & Health have only 5 respondents out of 1039 who do not use duo, and only 1 of these states that their lecturer does not use duo.
Noticeably, Social Sciences & Health respondents are slightly more positive than the total sample when asked about its effectiveness as a learning resource, whilst Arts & Humanities were slightly less positive. Science almost exactly reflected the whole survey
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 26 of 35 Results filtered by Social Sciences & Health in comparison to unfiltered results
Results filtered by Arts & Humanities in comparison to unfiltered results
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 27 of 35 2.4.2 Second Language Students
Respondents whose first language is not English rated duo's overall effectiveness at a similar rate to the sample as a whole
They also rated duo's impact on their social communication slightly higher, with 13.5% putting it at high or very high, compared to 7% of unfiltered respondents.
Only 18.4% of second language respondents have used the 'preferred language' feature, but of those who have used it, 92.7% said it was either of some help, or very helpful.
Other stated that they preferred to work in English no need,,,my English is good enough for browsing DUO, but browsing it in the first language would make my parents know Durham Uni a bit more.. English is fine. I'd actually prefer the interface to be in English than my mother tongue. While I think in my mother tongue, phrases such as 'courses', 'email', 'password' in English are actually more familiar to me than in Chinese! I have had no problems using duo, as I speak/read/write English like a native. I manage duo efficiently linguistically speaking, I prefer it the way it is. I see no reason why non-native speakers should be treated differently. If we come to Durham, we have to speak English anyway, don't we? I think the students who can study here do not need a second language because they can use English every well I understand everything on duo. I there is a word that I do not understand I can look it up. Using duo in my own language would hinder the improvement of my English skills. Though it may be helpful but it would remove the advantage of the learning experience in the language of education, which is mainly English. However, it could enhance the language acquisition for languages' students.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 28 of 35 Suggestions from second language users for improvements to duo:
27. Please describe anything that would make duo easier for you as a speaker of English as a second language.
Several students asked for a dictionary.
Clear non-technical language and clean layout with simple explanations: English is my main language; but could make a "?" button which could be pressed which either explains the function in terms of something understandable etc it's better to use normal language rather than technical term More friendly lay out USE SIMPLE ENGLISH Maybe a better description of everything you can use DUO for... Simple straight forward instructions, such as 'click here for grades'? I think its already straight forward enough and user friendly not too much technical language
An introduction for new students An orientation from the University may be necessary. Brief introduction of the use of DUO at the welcome screen (or at least optional...) can use widely There should be a brief introduction on the FrontPage as for how to use it, so that students, especially those not confident with being among the English environment, could use DUO more effectively and get familiar with it as soon as possible. There will be perfect if there are some introduction lecture teaching about how to use DUO.
Other suggestions: I think the specific module pages should be updated more often with all relevant info, should have a common format, lecturers/professors should indicate the content of their uploads more clearly Probably the usage of duo has the principal login for the e-mail... Some international students don't even know that it exists
Encourage discussion: It would be better if duo provides a forum rather than discussion board, people tends to discuss more in forum. I would like to connect to my cohort through Duo however I find it difficult
Positive feedback In my opinion, DUO is just perfect as a tool to help us. It makes me understand better what the books say through the lectures and seminars which are on Duo. Being IT literate I have never found difficulty using duo. Moreover duo is an amazing tool, user friendly and easy to use. Duo is a very useful tool and I think it should go on as now. DUO is structured quite clearly. I am fine with it just the way it is. Duo is the best appliance in the world. Everything is great, easy to use. Good work! I haven't got any suggestions to make as DUO is quite user-friendly already.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 29 of 35 2.4.3 Students with an additional learning need Respondents with an ALN rated duo's effectiveness as a learning resource more highly than the student respondents as a whole. 84% rated it as excellent or good, compared to 74.6% of the whole group, and 0% rated it as poor or very poor, compared to 4.1% of the whole group. Whilst these results are excellent, it is worth noting that there are a very low number of respondents who state they have an ALN (1.3%, or 40 out of a total of 3025 respondents).
Most students with an ALN rated duo's positive impact on their learning as medium (48% compared to 34.7% of the unfiltered group).
They rated duo's capacity to save them time more highly, with 0% rating this as low or very low, and 88% rating it as high or very high (compared to 9.6% and 64.5% respectively in the unfiltered group).
The majority of both respondents with an ALN and respondents from the unfiltered group rated duo's ease of use as high, with 48% and 49.2% respectively.
Respondents with an ALN rated duo's impact on social communication slightly higher than the unfiltered group. 62.5% rated this as medium to very high, compared to 33.8% of the unfiltered group.
Does duo address your particular learning needs?
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 30 of 35 Partially sighted, so just enlarge type in Firefox with ctrl + =, so not a feature of DUO but meets my needs. Yes, my dyslexia means that sometimes my note taking in exams is poor so having a copy of the PowerPoint slides available is amazingly helpful. Yes- duo is laid out in an easily accessible manner, the fonts used are readable, and the sections are easy to use. This is important as I am dyslexic.
18. Please describe anything that could be done to make duo easier to use/more helpful for you. All the lecturers should put notes up on duo. I am dyslexic and can't take notes in the lectures as I can't listen and write at the same time. Would be useful if all lecturers would put the notes and extra stuff such as quizzes on duo. I think digital drop boxes for summative work could be more clearly explained or linked. integrate emails and duo together so that when your log on you can seen all your course modules and emails It's simple to use, easy to find things - perhaps a search engine could be added to find things even faster and easier?! but generally great make lecturers name files in a consistent manner as the current names do not make sense More and more complete notes available online (a lot of the lecturers I have are very good at this actually. Past Exam solutions would be very helpful for revision (again some already do this)
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 31 of 35 2.4.4 Postgraduate Students
There are a high number of taught postgraduate respondents whose first language is not English (117 out of 200 or 58%).
There are also proportionally more part-time and distance learning taught postgraduates than any other cohort. (55 out of the 83 part-time students, and 34 out of the 48 distance learning students).
Not surprisingly, there is a huge difference between taught and research post graduates. There are very few courses in duo aimed at research post grads, only the Post Graduate Researcher’s course. There is also a post graduate annual review tool. Features such as the Discovery tab may be of value to students if explained to them.
Taught postgraduates 69% use duo regularly or see it as an integral part of their learning.
Research postgraduates 15.1% use duo regularly or see it as an integral part of their learning.
Taught postgraduates 63.5% rate duo as a good to excellent learning resource.
Research postgraduates 44.7% rate duo as a good to excellent learning resource.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 32 of 35 Comments from Post Graduates
Taught postgraduates 29. What do you least like about duo? It's not really designed for postgraduate students. Some Masters modules haven't been set up on duo, therefore cannot see course documents, deadlines etc.
Research postgraduates 29. What do you least like about duo? Doesn't seem to be terribly user friendly or useful to postgraduates. I couldn't easily find what courses I am enrolled in for the coming semester easily. Has little for research pg/is not used much for research pg It's not particularly geared to postgraduates. its hardly used by anyone else. Most content irrelevant for a post-grad philosophy research student. My use of duo has been minimal to date, so can't really answer... Not much that is useful for research postgrads (I hardly use it these days but I did as an undergraduate) Not used by postgrad supervisors very much. More communication tools would be useful here.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 33 of 35 2.4.5 Part-time & Distance Learning Students Rating of duo is more polarised for this group, with more at the top and bottom ends of the spectrum when rating duo.
A higher number of respondents from this cohort rate duo's effectiveness as Poor or Very Poor (10.4% instead of 3.4%, and 1.5% as opposed to 0.7% respectively). However 13.4% rather than the overall figure of 10.2% rate duo's effectiveness as Excellent.
A higher figure of respondents from this cohort rated duo's capacity to impact positively on their learning, its time saving, and its ease of use as very low or low.
For duo's positive impact on students' learning, 22% of part time or distance learners rated this as very low, or low, compared to 9.8% of the whole group of respondents. The percentage who rated duo's impact on their learning as very high is very slightly greater than the control group (7.4% compared to 7.0%).
Similarly, a relatively high number of part-time and distance learners rated duo's time saving capacity as very low or low (18.2% compared to 9.6%). Those who rated it as very high are similar to the control group (15.2% compared to 15.6%).
10.3% of this group rated duo's ease of use as very low or low compared to 8.5% 48.6% rated duo's ease of use as high or very high compared to 61%.
2018 年 1 月 19 日 Page 34 of 35 3 Recommendations Focus on the learning role within duo, rather than the community role. Investigate the feasibility of integration with other institutional systems, including Microsoft Exchange (email), Banner, Timetabling and single sign on. Investigate tools to improve feedback to students. Share good existing practice within faculties and departments through the Faculty Learning Technologists. LTT staff should build on the existing help documentation and explanations to make them more obvious. Staff and students should be encouraged to submit their own comments and experiences via the new collaborative duopedia wiki.
Continue to promote computer aided assessment, video and interactive tools that students suggest enhance their learning. Continue to promote podcasting and online seminars where appropriate. Continue to explore pedagogically appropriate use of interactive tools such as blogs, wikis, and online interactive self-study tutorials. Continue education efforts to share good practice on course design with departments and academic staff. The LTT are looking to bid for a Blackboard Greenhouse award to develop a usability advisor that would make recommendations to academic staff and allow them to make changes quickly that would improve course design. Consider strategies for increasing student education with regards to duo. This could take the form of developing online courses, supporting specific induction events, etc. LTT staff will consult departmental representatives about this via the duo grapevine network. Promote existing online resources such as the ‘Plagiarism and how to avoid it’ tutorials to both students and staff. Consider measures to explain the various tabs and features of duo such as the Discovery tab. Promote the Discovery Tab so that it becomes more relevant to students. This feature is gradually being rolled out to departments. For example, Foundation and Medicine are using these successfully to collaboratively share and make content searchable for staff and students. Where it is used, it is popular. For students in departments yet to use it, it may seem an unexplained distraction, though any staff member or student can make use of its file sharing facilities. Evaluate duo for usability and accessibility. Continue to lobby Blackboard about the use of frames. Second language students would prefer less technical language. Perhaps a dictionary that would allow students to highlight words and then look up their meaning could be incorporated. Consider learning from and/or integrate with tools like Facebook. In particular, the interface and mechanisms for communicating new content would be of use to duo users.
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