Results of the classroom

needs survey

Please rate your comfort level with technology

Answer
Others seek me
out to provide
technical
support
I use
technology
often in my
instruction
I sometimes
use technology
in my
instruction
I would like to
use technology
more in my
instruction
I do not use
technology in
my instruction
Total

Count

21%

22

53%

56

21%

22

5%

0%

100%

105

74% of faculty indicated that they frequently

use technology, or are sought out for help
with technology use.
This speaks to the reliability of responses to
this survey.

How useful would you rate all classrooms

being configured identically?

How often would you use these classrooms?

Taken alone this response would indicate that we

should equip every classroom identically both in
function and provided technology. However, further
analysis of the following questions indicate a
slightly different opinion and offer some insights
into why this response is as high as it is.

Which would you prefer as the setup for the majority of classrooms on campus?

Answer
The room does not
include a installed
computer, but does
provide multiple
connections that
allow a user to
easily connect to
room projection
The room only has
a installed
computer
eliminating the
ability to connect
an external
computer
The room has a
installed computer
and also the ability
to easily connect
and switch to an
external computer
if desired
Total

Count

19%

20

3%

78%

81

100%

104

While this question would indicate an overwhelming desire

to have an installed computer and the ability to connect a
portable to a classroom projector, the rest of the responses
give a more nuanced picture of faculty needs. In the
comments section faculty indicate a frustration with the
reliability of installed computers in classrooms.
A recommendation would be to explore a solution where
every faculty member has access to a portable for

How useful would you rate an installed

classroom computer ?

How often would you use an installed computer?

The question was not asking about a particular

room or teaching space. Looked at independently
from the rest of the survey, it is clear that the
majority of faculty would prefer an installed
computer. After analyzing other responses and
reading the comments, it might be more accurate
to assume that in some areas an installed
computer is necessary but
not preferred.

How useful is the ability to request immediate

classroom assistance?

How often would you use classroom assistance?

It is telling that 26% of the respondents said they

would use classroom help for every class period.
This would lead to a conclusion that faculty have a
low degree of confidence in the technology
provided.
Further investigating would need to be done to find
out if this is widespread across campus or isolated
in particular areas.

How useful is a wired internet connection in the

classroom?

How often would you use a wired connection?

This question did not specify if we were asking

about student or faculty use. It also did not specify
if respondents were thinking of labs or classrooms.
Based on the responses, it is clear that faculty
understand the benefits of having a wired
connection but it is not possible to determine in
what context.

How useful is a wireless internet connection for

instructors?

How often would you use a wireless connection?

These responses are similar to those of student wireless

usage. The primary difference is that 63% of faculty report
that they would use a wireless connection every day during
class, compared to 59% saying that students would use a
wireless connection in their classes.
While 4% is not a large discrepancy, it speaks to the
tendency for classes
to be conducted in lecture format rather than in an active
learning classroom style.

How useful is a wireless internet connection for

students?

How often would you require students to use a

wireless connection?

Having a robust wireless network is essential for

most classes conducted on campus.
More research would need to be conducted to
determine why 15% of the faculty would use
wireless connectivity infrequently or never.

How useful is having the ability to easily

connect laptop to room projection?

How often would you connect your laptop to

room projection?

Faculty overwhelmingly expressed a desire to use their

own portable computers and devices connected to
classroom projection. This question has a 7% higher
response of use during every class over the response of
use of an installed computer in the classroom.

How useful would you find a TV instead of

Projector?

How often would you use a TV instead of Projector?

Televisions are generally not preferred over

projection in the classroom. The 17% who
reported that they would use a television every
day may be thinking about specific rooms
where this would make more sense than a
projector. Careful consideration will need to be
made to identify these spaces.

How useful would it be to have both a TV &

projector in the classroom?

How often would you use both a TV & projector?

Televisions may be useful to enhance

students ability in seeing projected content
but not in every teaching space and
possibly not in the majority of spaces based
on responses.

Interpretation of the results

78% of respondents say that there must be an installed computer and the ability to connect an
external computer in every classroom.
60% of respondents say they would use an installed computer every day.
43% of respondents say they would use a wired Ethernet connection every day.
63% of respondents say they would use a wireless connection every day.

25% of respondents say they would use the ability to call for classroom support every day.

7% of respondents say they would connect their personal computer to classroom projection every day.
While it is not possible to draw conclusions based on responses, it is possible to hypothesize on an interpretation of the results.
There is an 18% difference between respondents who request that both an installed computer and external connection be present in
every classroom and the purported use of an installed computer each day. 63% of faculty also reported that they use a wireless
connection and 67% reported they connect their personal computer in a classroom every day. This would indicate that faculty use
different technologies depending which space they are in. If faculty are using different technologies depending on the space, then it
would also make sense faculty have a low degree of confidence that the technologies they require for a given class may not be
available in the spaces in which teach. This would account for the request that all technologies be installed in every space.
Increasing the level of imbedded technology within a classroom also increases the level of complexity, cost, maintenance, and
support. 25% of the respondents indicated that they would use classroom support at least once per day. This indicates that either
the rooms are not adequately equipped, are overly complex, or both. One of the ways we can reduce cost and complexity would be,
rather than installing every technology possible in every classroom, aligning needs to space and reducing the imbedded

Faculty appetite for new

teaching technologies

How useful would having the ability to use real

time video conferencing in the classroom be?

How often would you use real time video

conferencing in the classroom?

A high percentage of faculty reported that having

the ability to offer synchronous distance instruction
as being extremely useful or nice to have. 67%
indicated they would use this at least a few times a
semester.
A recommendation would be for the university to
explore the feasibility of providing an appropriate
platform to meet this demand. It is recommended
that focus groups be created to determine faculty

How useful would the ability for a student to

seamlessly share their device's screen with the
class be?

How often would you allow students to share

their devices screen with the class?

A high percentage of faculty reported that having the

ability for students to share their personal devices
screens with the class as being extremely useful or nice
to have. Faculty also indicated that if they had this
ability they would use it in their classes at least once
per week.
A recommendation would be for the university to
explore the feasibility of providing for this functionality
without designing classrooms around it, based on the

How useful would the ability to wirelessly

connect your computer/device to projection be?

How often would you use wireless connectivity?

A high percentage of faculty reported that having the

ability to wirelessly project their computer to a classroom
as being extremely useful or nice to have. They also
indicated that if they had this ability, 55% would use it
every class and an additional 20% would use it at least
once per week.
A recommendation would be for the university explore

How useful is a digital projector in your

classroom?

How often would you use a digital projector in your

classroom?

There is a clear indication that faculty want to project

content within their classrooms. We currently have this
ability in every classroom on campus. If you look at the
results on the next slide about interactive whiteboards, it
is clear that simply being able to project without regard to
interactivity or writable surfaces is not sufficient. Digital
projectors by themselves do not adequately meet faculty
needs.

How useful would an interactive whiteboard

in your classroom?

How often would you use an interactive

whiteboard?

These results indicate that faculty want to use an

interactive projection/whiteboard system in their
classes. The frequency is evenly distributed which
speaks to the need to align faculty with rooms that
have an interactive whiteboard or for installing
interactive projectors instead of simple digital
projectors when updating classrooms.

You indicated that an interactive whiteboard would be useful to your instruction, what features would you
use? Select all that apply.

For faculty who responded that they would find an interactive whiteboard useful, these additional
questions were asked. It is clear that faculty have a good understanding of the advantages of an
interactive whiteboard and have a desire to integrate them into their instruction.

How useful is a DVD/Bluray Player in

your instruction?

How often would you use a DVD/Bluray

Player?

A high percentage of faculty said that having a

DVD/Bluray player would be extremely useful or nice
to have. 90% reported that they would only use this a
few times per semester at most.
This would indicate that it is not economically feasible
to install DVD/Bluray players in every classroom but

How useful is having an installed

document camera?

How often would you use an installed

document camera?

A high percentage of faculty said that having a document

camera would be extremely useful or nice to have. 67%
reported that they would only use this a few times per
semester at most.
This would indicate that it is not economically feasible to
install these in every classroom but we should schedule
faculty in rooms that do have an installed camera or have

How useful is sound amplification in your

classroom?

How often would you use sound amplification?

A high percentage of faculty said that having a the ability

to amplify either voice or computer audio would be
extremely useful or nice to have. Because of the even
distribution between faculty who say they would use it
every class to those who would never use it, it indicates
that we need to align faculty needs to the appropriate
space and technology. It does not indicate that adding
sound amplification to every classroom would be

How useful is having the ability to use

lecture capture in your classroom?

How often would you use lecture capture?

A high percentage of faculty said that having the ability

to record their lectures would be extremely useful or nice
to have and that they would use it relatively frequently
throughout the semester. 12% reported that they do not
know what lecture capture is.
We currently have the ability for every faculty member to
record all of their lectures from any room on campus. We
need to further educate faculty about lecture capture and

How useful is the ability to write on multiple

surfaces in a room?

How often would you or your students use

multiple surfaces to write on?

88% of faculty said that having a more than one surface to

write on would be extremely useful or nice to have. 45%
reported that they would use this every class. These
responses indicate that we need to make writable space a
higher priority than we currently do.
When these numbers are combined with the comments about
projection screens covering up the limited available
whiteboard space, and a desire to have interactive
whiteboards in classrooms, this indicates a desire for our
current classroom configurations to adapt more easily. We

How useful are clickers? (ability to poll in class)

How often would you use clickers in your

class?

These numbers are in line with the current

percentage of faculty using clickers in their
classrooms. This indicates that the current
solution is appropriate to faculty demand.
An additional question should have been asked
to determine if faculty would like to use
classroom response tools, and are not currently,

How useful are adequate electrical outlets for

students?

How often would students use electrical

outlets in your class?

This is the clearest response in the survey. We

need to provide a better experience for students
in our classrooms by providing adequate power
outlets for their use.
A follow-up question should have asked about our
current offerings. Anecdotally our classrooms do
not currently meet students needs.

How useful is classroom flexibility? (ability to

rearrangethe room to suit needs of instruction)

How often would you rearrange your class to

meet your teaching needs?

A high percentage of faculty reported that having the

ability to rearrange classroom layout as being
extremely useful or nice to have. 62% indicated that if
they had this ability they would use it in their classes at
least once per week.
A recommendation would be for the university explore
the feasibility of providing the appropriate furniture to
accommodate this desire. This directly aligns with

Final thoughts
There were several themes in the comments section:

A desire for wireless video connectivity (for both faculty and students)
Lack of interactive displays/projectors
Problematic classroom computers
Lack of instructions for classroom equipment
Complex, old, and unreliable equipment
Layout of rooms (screens that cover whiteboards, televisions that are placed where students can injure themselves)
Speed and reliability of classroom support
Desire for flexible classrooms (easily move furniture to meet needs)
Need for classroom simplicity

There was one comment that which was particularly telling and encompassed much of what the survey tells us.
There seems to be a disconnect between DTS' and faculty's perceptions of classroom technology, in that faculty see technology as a tool that may or
may not help with teaching whereas DTS assumes any new technology is (1) automatically better and (2) that the faculty should immediately drop what
they're doing and spend any amount of time reconfiguring or overhauling their teaching style to serve the new technology. Keyword = serve. While some
new technologies have proven tremendously beneficial, not all are. Good teaching starts with the good student-teacher interactions, and I'm seeing more
and more each year students who are so reliant on technology and so "trusting" of it that they can't think for themselves or recognize when technology is
malfunctioning.

We (ITS) have an obligation to put user needs first when it comes to what we provide in our classrooms. Based on the responses from this
survey, as well as discussions with faculty and students, we will be forming a classroom steering committee to help identify what we as an
institution want in our teaching spaces.
We would like to thank everyone who participated. Your responses will help us deliver the best possible learning environment for our students.