ECAR Study of Faculty and Technology 2014
*Click here to read a more in-depth report on the ECAR findings and to view the infographic of the results*
Technology is a critical enabler of teaching, learning, and research. In March 2014, UBC participated in the Educause Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR) study of Faculty and IT, to explore use of technology as it relates to the faculty role. Overall, 152 institutions participated in this survey, with over 17,000 responses received.
UBC results are benchmarked against peer institutions (Carnegie classification Public DR) and all institutions that participated in the survey (ALL).
UBC PARTICIPATION IN STUDY
471 UBC (Vancouver campus) faculty members responded to the survey, for a 15.4% response rate (estimated margin of error ± 4.2%). 439 faculty answered questions related to technology for teaching and learning; 240 elected questions related to research and scholarship. 296 completed the 10 minute survey, while 175 chose the 20 minute version. UBC faculty survey participants span all discipline areas across campus, mapping closely to the campus distribution.
UBC faculty participants are more likely to be full-time (85%) than all faculty who participated in this survey (71%), but similar to faculty at DR institutions (83%). More non-tenured faculty at other institutions (32%) than at UBC (13%) participated in this survey. All other demographic characteristics are remarkably similar.
Consistent with peers, UBC faculty are always connected and use technology frequently. Sixty percent are generally pleased with classroom based technology, less so with technology for research (44%), and physical (34%) as well as online (31%) collaboration spaces.
FINDINGS
Faculty Perceptions
Twenty three percent of faculty believe that UBC has a clear strategy for online learning, compared to 37% at all other institutions. Only 14% believe that UBC has an agile approach to IT infrastructure. Most (78%) agree that UBC takes sufficient measures to keep student data secure.
One third of UBC faculty believe that online learning helps students learn more effectively and will lead to pedagogical breakthroughs. Seventy-one percent believe it makes higher education more accessible.
Faculty were asked to identify one thing that UBC could do with technology to better facilitate or support their faculty role. Almost all faculty responded to this question, with roughly one quarter related directly to the operation, the functionality and/or the viability of Connect, UBC’s learning management system.
Technology for Teaching and Learning
UBC faculty are more likely than their peers to agree that students are prepared to use institution specific and basic technology. However, they are less certain about student ability to transfer that knowledge. As one faculty member said,
My guess is that students could be better at using technology as a tool to solve a specific problem. I think they have trouble imagining alternative ways of using technology e.g. most cell phones have cameras and video capabilities. Students use these to take pictures of board notes and sometimes to record parts of lectures but they often don’t think of using their phones as tools to record observations as part of an experiment in the lab.
UBC faculty believe they would be more effective teachers if they were better skilled at integrating the LMS, online collaboration tools, e-books, free web-based content, lecture recordings and games (or simulations). They are less sure about integrating e-portfolios, mobile devices and social media.
Professional Development
In terms of professional development, most faculty want to learn more about effective use of the LMS, other learning technologies such as video and classroom tools. Some faculty members indicated that they would like flexible, personalized support, preferably one-on-one.
Motivating Factors
Faculty were asked to rank the top three factors that would motivate them to integrate more or better technology into their teaching practices or curriculum. By far, faculty sited “Clear indication/evidence that students benefit” as the highest priority.
Other items were more closely clustered.
- Release time to design / redesign my courses.
- Direct assistance from IT staff.
- Confidence that technology would work the way I planned.
Learning Environments
About half of UBC faculty are satisfied with the variety and reliability of in-classroom equipment. Sixty-one percent are satisfied with ease of use of podium systems; faculty are less satisfied with computers and software available in the classroom. Fifty-six percent are satisfied overall with classroom based technology, and this is consistent with faculty at other institutions.
Learning Management System (LMS)
As at other institutions, most faculty use the LMS to push out information and/or to promote interaction outside of the classroom. Forty-seven percent use it daily, compared to 56% at all institutions.
Most UBC faculty report that they use Blackboard (Connect). Other learning management systems reported in use at UBC are Moodle, Pearson e-College, Wiki, and a homegrown system.
Forty-four percent believe that the LMS is critical to their teaching, 52% believe it is a useful tool to enhance their teaching, and 48% believe it is useful to enhance student learning. Predictably, UBC faculty are unhappy with the operation and the functionality of UBC’s LMS, due in part to its unreliability in the Fall of 2013. This is particularly striking when compared to peer institutions. About half of all participating institutions use Blackboard Learn and 38% of DR institutions do so as well. A recent (May 2014) ECAR paper on the future of the LMS indicated that Blackboard’s Learn product holds 42% of current market share.
Specific Benchmarks:
LMS Overall Satisfaction
- 17.6 % Satisfied
- 28.7% Neutral
- 52.4% Dissatisfied
LMS System Availability:
- 28.9 % Satisfied
- 23.9% Neutral
- 45.8% Dissatisfied
LMS System Response Time
- 13.4 % Satisfied
- 16.2% Neutral
- 69.0% Dissatisfied
LMS Ease of Use
- 15.2 % Satisfied
- 21.8 % Neutral
- 61.6 % Dissatisfied
Technology for Research Support
Thirty-six percent of faculty are generally satisfied with UBC research support, compared to 41% at DR Public institutions.
Roughly 30% of faculty conduct data intensive research. Of those 63% report being satisfied with network bandwidth provided and just under half believe there is adequate research data storage.
Thirty-four percent of UBC faculty are generally satisfied with research computing technologies, and this is consistent with other faculty respondents.
CONCLUSION
These survey results are a call to action. There is significant work to be done to ensure that faculty have access to the technology they need; technology that is reliable, easy to use, and well supported.
The fall of 2013 was particularly difficult due to the unreliability of the LMS, as also described in the IT@UBC Self-Study. The LMS is a critical component of the university technology environment, and must work. As suggested in a recent ECAR Research Bulletin on The Learning Management System Evolution:
For many years, the LMS has been an enduring, somewhat underappreciated, learning environment component, but its institutional profile has risen over time.
Today, it’s an important face for the institution as it evolves into a primary access point for students’ course material and interactions. The LMS is poised to play a more visible role in institutional affairs as administrative and academic leaders increasingly factor its integral educational role and real-time student data into emerging educational models, student success initiatives, and institutional objectives. Additionally, as expectations increase for a seamless and rich learning experience that is both platform and device agnostic, the future LMS must be agile, integrated and interoperable. (p. 5)
There is significant work to be done.
Over the coming months, we will examine specific result areas in more detail. Those reports will be published at ctlt.ubc.ca/ecar. If you are interested in joining an email list related to these results, please email ecar.survey@ubc.ca.
For more information on the ECAR Study of Faculty and Technology please visit: http://www.educause.edu/ecar/about-ecar/technology-research-academic-community
This article was published in the September 2014 CTLT Newsletter, Dialogues. Below is a list of articles included in the issue:
- Celebrate Learning Week 2014
- Reshaping the Campus Experience: Learning Design Environment Workshop
- ECAR Study of Faculty and Technology 2014 (currently viewing)
- Time and Place at UBC: Our Histories and Relations
- Cuban Delights! Visit Cuba in April/May 2015
Find out more about the CTLT Newsletter, Dialogues.