LIFE Survey Update Enhances Student Feedback - September 16th, 2009

We all get frequent requests to take surveys, often far too many, and they seem like something that we can easily skip. But surveys can help the places we visit and the businesses we patronize provide products and services that better meet our needs.

The gathering of student feedback to inform program improvements is certainly the reason the Laptop Initiative for Future Educators (LIFE) has surveyed its students since the program’s inception in 2002. This year, the survey itself underwent a major revision to improve and expand the data that was gathered. Explains LIFE Coordinator Chad Fulton, “The survey hadn’t been updated in several years. We wanted to ask more questions about how students felt about the program, such as what their computer purchase experience was like, and their perceptions of technology use in classes.” Other new questions gathered information on what type of computer students used before entering the program and what other electronic devices, such as smart phones, they owned and used.

To reduce “survey overload” the LIFE survey was combined with the Student Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) survey. This survey asked students about their general technology needs, as well as their use of LTC facilities and services, such as computer labs, study areas, and Equipment Checkout service. STAC uses survey data to inform requests for new technologies in the College.

An e-mail was sent out in May to all undergraduate and graduate students taking at least one COE course. The message contained a link to the Web-based survey. Only LIFE students completed the LIFE related questions; others completed only the more general questions. LTC IDEA Studio personnel are currently analyzing the collected data.

One interesting result is that 32% of LIFE students own a smart phone. “This kind of information will have great impact on the program’s future planning. It makes sense to try to harness the power of technology that students already own,” says Chad.

A report on the survey results will be issued by the Laptop Steering Committee when the analysis is complete. Chad plans to continue making improvements to the survey, working on getting more responses and perhaps moving the survey to a less hectic time of year. The commitment underscoring such improvements, to use student feedback to guide LIFE program decisions, will remain unchanged.

—Laurie Caldwell, LTC Communications Coordinator