Laptop Survey, Academic Year 1999-2000 (RPI)

	The Anderson Center for Innovation in Undergraduate Education
about the center people projects papers colloquia sample courses laptop survey links visitor info announcements home best view in ie	Student Laptop Survey Results Academic Year 1999 - 2000 Dr. Brad Lister, Director Anderson Center for Innovation in Undergraduate Education Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY May 23, 2000 Contents: Introduction Background Information Laptop Use Student Opinions Introduction In the Fall of 1999, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute required all incoming freshman to own a laptop computer. Approximately 1300 freshman purchased an IBM 600 laptop through the Institute. In October of 1999, the office of the Dean of Undergraduate Education, the Anderson Center and the department of Computing and Information Services began work on a survey designed to evaluate student laptop use. This survey had the following objectives: To determine how students were using their laptops both in and out of class To gather information on student satisfaction with their educational experience at RPI, in particular as that experience related to laptop use To obtain student input on how the laptop program might be improved The survey instrument was developed by the Anderson Center in collaboration with members of the Laptop Committee, ACS and the Evaluation Consortium at SUNY Albany. The AAHE Flashlight^TM evaluation materials were also consulted. After consideration of several sampling protocols, the decision was made to sample all of the calculus sections taken by approximately 1000 RPI freshmen. The survey was installed on a student accessible WebCT site and Rensselaer's Department of Math Sciences allocated time for the survey at the beginning of the calculus sections during the week of April 10-14, 2000. In total, 441 students completed the online survey.
top	Background Information The sample obtained from the calculus sections consisted of 428 freshman, 12 sophomores and 1 senior (Fig. 1, Table 1). Approximately 72% of the sample were males and 28% females (Fig.2, Table 2). The average GPA was 3.00 (Fig. 3, Table 3). The students were asked to rate their level of computer skill compared to their peers. Ten percent rated themselves as having low, 42% average, 30% above average and 18% advanced skills (Fig.4, Table 4). In general the level of satisfaction with their overall experience at RPI to date was very high, with 87% of the students indicating they were very satisfied, satisfied or slightly satisfied (Fig. 5, Table 5). The surveyed students were similarly pleased with their education at RPI with about 93% very satisfied, satisfied or slightly satisfied (Fig.6, Table 6).
top	Fig. 1 & Table 1. Class composition Back to 'Background Section' Fig. 2 & Table 2. Gender composition Back to 'Background Section' Fig. 3 & Table 3. GPA distribution Back to 'Background Section' Fig. 4 & Table 4. Computer skill Back to 'Background Section' Fig. 5 & Table 5. Degree of satisfaction to date with overall experience at RPI. Back to 'Background Section' Fig. 6 & Table 6. Degree of satisfaction to date with education at RPI. Back to 'Background Section'
top	Laptop Use Overall the students participating in the survey were very pleased with their IBM laptops. Eighty-three pecent were satisfied with their laptops and only 9% were unsatisfied of very unsatisfied (Fig.7, Table 7). Despite the overall level of satisfaction with their machines, more than 43% of the students had problems with their laptops that required returning their laptops to Rensselaer Computer Repair (Fig. 8, Table 8). The majority (56%) of the students sampled sought help from the Vorhees help desk (Fig. 9, Table 9), and were mixed in their satisfaction with the help they received. 52% were very satisfied, satisfied or slightly satisfied, while 48% were very unsatisfied, unsatisfied or slightly unsatisfied (Fig. 10, Table 10). To get a general idea of the degree of student laptop use, the survey participants were asked to estimate how much time they spent using their laptops each week. The results are shown in Fig. 11 and Table 11. Over 70% of the students used their laptops for 10 hours or more each week. Not surprisingly a large amount of laptop use involved accessing the Internet. Twenty times per week was the median number of times that the students accessed the Internet for personal reasons and 5 times per week was the median number of times per week that students accessed the Internet for course related purposes (Figs. 12 & 13, Tables 12 & 13). Students were also making good use of the informational resources available on the campus network (Fig. 14, Table 14). Over 90% utilized the RPI web site, online course registration, grade information, course web sites and RCS services. Only 38% and 36%, however, used the online library catalog and the available electronic journals. With regard to email, the median number of email messages sent per week was 15 and the median number received per week was 30 (Figs. 15 & 16, Tables 15 & 16). Students in the survey sent approximately one email message per week to their course instructors (Fig. 17, Table 17). One of the most important areas that the survey addressed was how students were using their laptops for coursework both in and out of class. As shown in Fig. 18 and Table 18, over 60% of the students were required to use their laptops in 4 or more of their courses during their freshman year. In those courses requiring laptops, over 87% of the students reported using their laptops in class for at least 10% of the total class time, and about 20% for 40% or more of total class time (Fig. 19, Table 19). As Fig. 20 and Table 20 indicate, running basic software packages such as Word, Excel and Web browsers, was the most common use of laptops in the classroom (94% of responding students). The next most common use of computers in the classroom was accessing course web sites (90% of students), followed by collecting/analyzing data (68%), running course related multimedia (60%), simulations (57%), in class presentations (57%), and accessing course related web sites (54%). The great majority of the courses that the surveyed students took during the 1999-2000 academic year had course web sites with 61% of the students indicating that 6 or more of their courses had a web site (Fig. 21, Table 21). The course web sites were utilized for a diverse array of purposes (Fig. 22, Table 22). Not surprisingly, online syllabi and basic course related information were the most common uses followed by submitting assignments, online quizzing, bulletin board postings, running online applications, posting online articles and accessing streaming audio and video. Students accessed course web sites approximately 5 times per week (Fig. 23, Table 23). Another important component of education at RPI is the use of team-based learning. The distribution of the total number of courses requiring team work that were taken by the surveyed students during 1999-2000 is shown in Fig. 24 and Table 24. Most commonly, students had taken 2 or 3 courses during the year that required team-based learning, though 22% of the students indicated that 5 or more of their courses required team work. To get an indication of how laptops were being used to support team work, the students were asked to estimate the number of times they spent per week collaborating outside of class both with and without using their laptops. As Fig. 25 and Table 25 indicate, the median number of such collaborations outside of class was 3 per week. In approximately 2/3 of these outside of class collaborations, the students were utilizing their laptops (Fig. 26, Table 26).
top	Fig. 7 & Table 7. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with your IBM laptop? Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 8 & Table 8. Did you have any problems with your laptop that required returning your laptop to Rensselaer Computer Repair? Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 9 & Table 9. Did you seek help for laptop problems from the help desk at the Vorhees Computing Center. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 10 & Table 10. If you received help from the help desk at the Vorhees Computing Center, how satisfied are you with the service you received? Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 11 & Table 11. Hours per week using laptop. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 12 & Table 12. Average number of times / week accessing Internet for personal use. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 13 & Table 13. Average number of times / week accessing Internet for coursework. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 14 & Table 14. Use of campus network resources. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 15 & Table 15. Estimated total number of emails sent per week. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 16 & Table 16. Estimated total number of emails received per week. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 17 & Table 17. Average number of emails sent per week to course instructors. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 18 & Table 18. Courses during academic year requiring laptop use. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 19 & Table 19. Percent of class time using laptops Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 20 & Table 20. How laptops are used in class. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 21 & Table 21. Courses taken during academic year that had web sites. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 22 & Table 22. How course web sites are used. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 23 & Table 23. Number of times/wk that student accessed course web sites. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 24 & Table 24. Courses requiring teamwork during academic year. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 25 & Table 25. Number of times per week spent collaborating outside of class with & without laptop. Back to "Laptop Use" section Fig. 26 & Table 26. Number times/week spent collaborating outside of class with laptop. Back to "Laptop Use" section
top	Student Opinions Students were asked a series of questions that solicited their opinions on how owning a laptop had influenced their education and learning. As the results below indicate, the students were very positive about the educational benefits of owning a laptop computer. Seventy-eight percent of the students agreed that the use of laptop computers in class significantly enhanced their learning (Fig. 27, Table 27) and 88% agreed that laptop computers made learning more enjoyable (Fig. 28, Table 28). The great majority (>88%) also felt that course web sites had significantly enhanced learning in their courses (Fig. 29, Table 29). Seventy-five percent of the surveyed students agreed that having a laptop computer had significantly enhanced their ability to take control of and assume responsibility for their own learning (Fig. 30, Table 30), and over 86% agreed that having a laptop computer had significantly enhanced the acquisition of skills that they would need in their future work (Fig. 31, Table 31). Laptops were expected to have a pervasive influence on communications amongst students and their instructors and this was borne out by the survey results. Fully 75% of the students felt that having a laptop enabled higher quality interaction with their course instructors (Fig. 32, Table 32), and over 81% felt that having a laptop allowed them to communicate effectively with course instructors and get their questions answered (Fig. 33, Table 33). Students also felt that their laptops significantly enhanced team work. In general, student attitudes towards team-based learning were overwhelmingly positive, with 88% agreeing that working in teams in class significantly enhances learning, and 87% agreeing that working in teams outside the classroom significantly enhances learning (Figs. 34 and 35, Tables 34 and 35). The majority (>63%) of the students agreed that laptops greatly facilitated in-class teamwork compared to courses that did not use laptops in class (Fig. 36, Table 36). The survey instrument also asked the students to rate their level of satisfaction with the training and information that they initially received regarding the use of their laptops (Fig. 37, Table 37). Some 65% were very satisfied, satisfied or slightly satisfied and only 7% very unsatisfied (though see student comments in Appendix 1 below). Finally, students were asked how satisfied they were that RPI provides robust, stable, and readily available access to the campus network and the Internet. Once again the results were quite positive with over 74% of the students feeling satisfied with RPI's provision of network and Internet services (Fig. 38, Table 38).
top	Fig. 27 & Table 27. Use of laptop computers in class significantly enhanced my learning. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 28 & Table 28. Laptop computers make learning more enjoyable. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 29 & Table 29. Course web sites significantly enhanced learning in my classes. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 30 & Table 30. Having a laptop computer has significantly enhanced my ability to take control of and assume responsibility for my own learning. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 31 & Table 31. Having a laptop computer has significantly enhanced the acquisition of skills that I will need in my future work. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 32 & Table 32. Having a laptop enabled higher quality interaction with my course instructors. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 33 & Table 33. Having a laptop allowed me to communicate effectively with course instructors and get my questions answered. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 34 & Table 34. Working in teams IN CLASS significantly enhances learning. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 35 & Table 35. Working in teams OUT OF CLASS significantly enhances learning. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 36 & Table 36. Laptops greatly facilitated in-class teamwork compared to courses that did not use laptops in-class. Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 37 & Table 37. How satisfied are you with the training and information you initially received regarding the use of your laptop, its general operation, network access, use of bundled software, etc.? Back to "Student Opinions" section Fig. 38 & Table 38. How satisfied are you that RPI provides robust, stable, and readily available access to the campus network and the Internet. Back to "Student Opinions" section
top best view in ie	The Lois J. & Harlan E. Anderson Center for Innovation in Undergraduate Education Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute CIUE 3119 CII 110 8th Street Troy, NY 12180-3590 518.276.4831 518.276.4852 (fax) http://ciue.rpi.edu