Faculty Survey - Spring 2013

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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, #6 and #7, 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 "Temperature control" and "Classroom environment". But the majority of faculty were satisfied with those areas as well.

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

  • There are ongoing issues of classrooms being too hot. We continue to work with Campus Facilites to address the issue, but it has been difficult to esure enough cooling in our rooms.
    In Spring 2013 Olson had more significant cooling issues that usual. Facilities is upgrading the AC system in Olson during Summer 2013, which should improve the temperature of those rooms.
  • Sightlines can be problematic, espicially as monitor sizes have increased over time. In an effort to help sightlines CLM is replacing iMacs in the basment of Olson with Mac Minis and smaller standalone monitors. We believe this change will greatly improve sightlines in those rooms. If the change is sucessful we will make similar changes in other classrooms as we ugrade them.

Survey Text

On 6/6/2013 Computer Lab Management sent an email to faculty who had taught in the computer rooms during Spring 2013 asking them to fill out this survey.

Survey Results

There were 23 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) 1 2 12 8
Support from computer lab managers 1 1 21 0
Support from the Computer Room Consultant (CRC) 1 2 18 2
Preparedness of the classroom (room cleared out, whiteboard supplies, etc.) 0 2 21 0
Equipment reliability 1 2 20 0
Computer speed and usability 1 0 21 0
Classroom interruptions 1 1 19 2
Larger classrooms (to accommodate more students) 0 2 16 5
Larger classrooms (to allow more workspace at each station) 0 1 19 3
Smaller classrooms 1 0 17 4
Temperature control (room was too hot or too cold) 1 8 13 0
Cleanliness of the classroom 0 0 22 0
Classroom environment (for example: quieter, better layout) - Please specify below 0 5 16 1
Other - Please specify below 0 1 4 7

Improved classroom environment and Other reasons:

  • I wish there were a way to improve sightlines, so that students can see one another and the instructor. I know that the much larger monitors have sacrificed sightlines for greater amount of info that can be displayed, but I wonder if one (or more?) labs could have the smaller monitors.
  • The rooms are not well suited to whole-class discussions, but I am not sure that they could be without completely rearranging everything.
  • The support of the manager Leamy is always prompt and very friendly. He is very knowledgeable and very helpful.
  • Olson 1 is very hot, and very uncomfortable to teach in.
  • I very much liked working with the raised monitors in the SCC classroom and hope you will do the same in the Olson computer classrooms. Because of the layout of the room, however, it was difficult to see the students who sat in the last row. It is very difficult, as well, to clean the whiteboards in those rooms. Instructors should have what they need to clean them and/or lab managers should come to clean them between classes.
  • all is good
  • TEMPERATURE The computer labs continue to be an invaluable resource. Most of the time the temperature in 2103 SCC was also very good/comfortable, but during the heat wave (i.e., on 6/8), it was more than 80 degrees in the classroom. I am not sure if this heat is good for computers, and it was a bit hard for students to concentrate when they took their final exam. Since facilities probably didn't think we were using the classroom at 8 am on a Saturday, I am not overly concerned about a one-time occurrence of heat--but I did wonder if the heat was OK for the computers.
    ENVIRONMENT I think a more modular environment would be optimal to teach in, but changes to the classroom are not even remotely necessary; having access to the lab allows us to do so much more than not having access would, and so "optimal"" environment is pretty low on my list of concerns.

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

Better 7
Same 13
Worse 0
N/A 3

"Better" Reasons given:

  • CRCs were much more friendly and helpful than in previous lab I used (Olson)
  • Sci Lab was a terrible layout and subject to frequent interruption. (I also prefer Mac labs.) (Instructor taught in SciLab in previous quarters and was teaching in Olson this quarter.)
  • Bigger screens and brighter projectors. Also, it seems to me the lights are also brighter in the classroom.
  • always getting better
  • The lab managers did a great job of helping me to make sure only students were using the seats during class. The (about) 6' 2" male (whose name I don't know, sorry) was exceptionally helpful and vigilant.
  • 27 Olson has better air quality than 1 Olson had (when I last taught in Olson).

"Same" Reasons given:

  • All was good winter and spring
  • Working in our computer classrooms is, and always has been, delightful. The staff is well trained and attentive, the rooms are clean, and the equipment always works.
  • I love teaching in the computer rooms. Your staff is doing a great job!
  • The only difficulty was scheduling a time. When I've tried to schedule far in advance, I haven't been able to make an appointe, and when I've waited there are some availability issues.
  • Great, as always.

"Worse" Reasons given:

  • None given

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

  • sightlines--see above. (Comment from above: I wish there were a way to improve sightlines, so that students can see one another and the instructor. I know that the much larger monitors have sacrificed sightlines for greater amount of info that can be displayed, but I wonder if one (or more?) labs could have the smaller monitors.)
  • As noted above, it is very difficult to have discussions, partly because of the tall monitors, and partly because students have their backs to each other.
  • none (8 responses)
  • It's a little hard asking students to move around and work in groups. Also, some students can hide behind their monitors, which can make it challenging to get everyone involved in a real-time oral discussion. (That said, it's a lot easier to have everyone engaged in an electronic discussion, and there are ways to leverage the electronic dialogue to improve the oral communications....) (2103 SCC)

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

  • Occasionally the screen would not work right, or the instructor's computer would not project onto the overhead. I would recommend that the consultants check each classroom for that aspect before each class. They do a wonderful job making sure things are clean and tidy, but it would save the instructors some time if the screen and instructor;s computer were checked esp. before the very first classes at 9AM.
  • None (7 responses)
  • Student sometimes struggle with PowerPoint displays when giving presentations. The views cannot always be swapped in "presentation view." I had this problem in 241 and 247 as well.
  • On the first day of class the internet was down. The dimming lights are difficult to manage. I had to ask the lab managers to help me the first time I used them and they didn't know lower the light either. Instructions should be placed next to them so that they are clear to anyone who wants to dim lights.
  • Because equipment is not dual-boot, we are arguably a bit constrained by the Mac environment. For example, I do not support my student's creation of Web pages and photo editing efforts in the lab because I am not a Mac user by design--and I don't know of a way to troubleshoot use of lab software before I teach. This is something I should probably be rethinking, as students are increasingly comfortable incorporating images and code into their text--as they should be. Maybe I could log in remotely to experiment with Mac tools/software, even when working on a PC?
  • I only taught a couple of labs this year in the computer classroom and it worked well. One possible concern if I do more is that most of what we do is linux or unix based, so Windows is a sub-optimal solution. But this is probably easily solved using virtual box, or equivalent.

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

  • Very good! (2 reponses)
  • Excellent (3 reponses)
  • Good. (3 reponses)
  • One of the good experience is that Mr. Leamy is checking and helping with more challenging set ups . We had never a delay or problem even we had a course in two rooms at the same time.
  • It's a really great experience. I enjoy teaching in the labs.
  • Great (5 reponses)
  • It was wonderful. The labs are one of the main reasons I (continue) to teach at UC Davis.
  • Outstanding. Thank you very, very much.
  • Worked well.
  • Great! The classroom was configured well for learning and team work. The technology was easy to use and efficient. I particularly appreciated being able to project documents from my iPad. The only software that I would have liked to have available for students to use is Adobe Acrobat Professional.

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

  • Keep up the fantastic work, please!
  • We appreciate all you do--thank you.
  • Please maintain this resource.
  • There is no food and drinks allowed in the classrooms which is highly understandable. A room where catering set ups are possible would be a huge help. I felt the first questions here are a little negative. I have to say I'm so glad that we have these rooms. Not everything on campus works so smooth. We need more affordable computer rooms which are not under the restriction of class needs.
  • keep up the good work!
  • Being able to see a real-time calendar of availabilities and locations across the campus (especially integrated as resources into our calendaring system) would be really helpful.
  • Thanks for an outstanding program.
  • Overall, a thousand thank yous. The labs remain an invaluable resource to students and faculty alike. (Students--especially those returning to school after an absence--repeatedly say this; I can get you testimonials if you ever need any.)

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