crb/feh distance learning project student survey 2006 – 2007 school year boces distance learning...

BOCES Distance Learning Program Quality Access Support . .

CRB/FEH Distance Learning Project Student Survey 2006 – 2007 School Year



Distance Learning Student Response Profile and Totals

Host Site Responses

Receive Site Responses

203284 487

From Host Site From ReceiveSite

Total Responses

318169

First Time DLStudents

Veteran DL Students

Section A

3083

158

5 42110

4290

50

100

150

200

250

300

Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors



93%

1%6%

75%

14%

11%82%

9%9%

1. My class in DL had a variety of learning activities and was beneficial.

Agree / Strongly Agree

Disagree / Strongly DisagreeUncertain


Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



90%

4% 6%

66%

17%

17%

76%

12%

12%

2. The teacher gave the same amount of attention to host site and remote site(s).




Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



86%

2%7% 5%

3. I was able to get extra help from the teacher when necessary.

58%

19%

9%

14%

39%

23%

11%

27%




Not Applicable

Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



87%

6%7%

65%

13%

22%

74%

15%

11%

4. I feel I learned as much in a DL class as I would have in a regular classroom.




Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



94%

1% 5%

78%

13%

9%85%

8%7%

5. Class materials such as tests, homework, assignments, etc. arrived on time.




Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



Host Site Responses 78%

11%6%

5%

6. I felt comfortable using room equipment (Elmo, VCR, copier/fax, etc.) when necessary.

77%

7%

11%5%

77%

8%

11%4%




Not Applicable

Section B

Overall Responses



85%

7%8%

80%

9%

11%

7. I was able to clearly hear and understand teachers/aides/students at other sites.




77%

11%

12%

Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



16%

15%

66%3%

8. If I had to make up a missed class, it was easy to do so.

57%

19%

13%

11%

51%

17%

21%

11%




Not Applicable

Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



86%

3%11%

7%

15%

78%

9. Given the opportunity, I would take another DL course.


74%

17%

9%



Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



88%

2%10%

6%

15%

79%

10. I would recommend others take a distance learning course.


73%

9%

18%



Section B

Overall Responses

Host Site Responses



StudentStudentCommentsComments



Student Comments

1. I took Distance Learning because:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I wanted to take these classes and they are not offered here except through DL. I also heard that [the teacher at the other school’s] classes are excellent and are highly recommended.

DL provides opportunities that we don’t have here at our school and I love taking advantage of it. Economics is a class that really interests me and I was willing to go to school an hour early everyday for this class.

I wanted the opportunity to earn college credit. I did quite well in the normal class and I thought I should test myself to see if I was up to the challenge, plus it sounded much more interesting than a normal class.

It was for a required English credit and was the only class that fit into my schedule.

I wanted to do something different and I like that we had an opportunity to take course material that was not offered at our school. I have a strong interest in the civil war and holocaust. I also wanted the experience of interacting with other students

I enjoyed my previous DL Classes and felt I wanted to learn more from this unique teaching strategy.

Section C



Student Comments Section C

Students most frequently said they took Distance Learning because:

8%

7%

12%

4%8%

15%

46%

They wanted that particular subject.

The subject they wanted was only offered in DL.

They needed that course.

They were interested in the technology.

They wanted a challenge, AP or college credit.

They were interested in meeting new students.

They wanted to try something different.



Student Comments

2. What did you like about Distance Learning?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I liked learning with students from Cohoes as well as other school districts, it's interesting to hear the opinions of people with whom you are not acquainted.

It was very similar…almost the same as a regular classroom. I liked the classroom environment and being able to do a lot of the work on line, such as tests and quizzes.

It was a new experience, having a teacher from different school teach the students and getting the opportunity to interact with different schools.

I like that it provided me with opportunities not available at my own school. It also provides a unique learning experience. I liked our teacher, the students from the host site and every activity we did in the class.

I was able to learn from a teacher I had never met and he wound up being the best teacher I’ve ever had.

I liked how the teacher was really into what he was teaching and I liked how modern the systems were.

Section C



24%

3%

8%

9%8%

48%

Student Comments Section C

Most frequently noted as liked by DL students: Meeting and interacting with different students, teachers and schools.

The interesting and comfortable learning environment.

The opportunity to work and learn with technology.

The subject or course material.

The opportunity to try something different.

The teacher or teaching assistant.



Student Comments

3. What didn’t you like about Distance Learning?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Our teacher always favored her school and sometimes we were ignored. At other times we were sitting here saying nothing, as if we weren’t ever there.

I didn’t like not being able to get in contact as much with the teacher. It was harder to address concerns or talk privately about any problems with the teacher.

The temporary technological malfunctions such as fax machine trouble. Sometimes things were too loud, or there were loud sounds with no cause. In the event of a power failure our class had to be paused for a short time.

Sometimes the host site students were very loud and tapped on the microphones.The class size was too big for the 2nd semester when another school came and they didn’t really pay attention. It was distracting.

Sometimes the other school forgets to put their sound on so we spend time trying to communicate with them. When we have aide-subs in the room, they don't know how to run it, then they distract us.

It was hard sometimes since we had to wait for the students from the other sites to arrive which caused the actual teaching period to be smaller.

Section C


CRB/FEH Distance Learning Project Student Survey 2006 – 2007 School Year Section C

Student Comments

Most frequently noted as disliked by DL students:

Not dealing effectively with bell schedule or school calendar differences.

The teacher’s lack of organization or ineffective use of the equipment.

Technical problems with audio or poor student/microphone positioning.

Lack of interaction with or lack of attention from teacher or other students.

Disruptive students or lack of discipline.



Student Comments

4. What changes would you suggest for the Distance Learning classes?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Section C

Possibly a field trip so the 3 classes could get to know each other and feel comfortable communicating.

Please figure out how to adjust the volume for the schools. Better sound because it crackled at times. A better fax connection so we know our work will always get there.Get a better computer and better ways to interact with the other schools more quickly.

Teachers should focus more on interacting with students that are not at the host site.I would suggest more hands on activities or something that will make us want to talk about the subject.

I would suggest a more organized transportation for paper work. More organization in general in class.

Keep the class size to about 22 max, anything more makes teaching and interacting with everyone way too hard. Do not allow students to attend DL classes unless they sign an agreement to be respectful.

Maybe trying to work out a system in which we don't have to leave class early to go the DL room. A closer alignment of class times with bell schedules, if possible.



Student Comments

Most frequently suggested changes:

Visits by teachers to remote classes and or combined class field trips.

Better discipline, particularly re: loud talking, tapping and class disruptions.

Teachers should use the system more effectively and be better organized.Avoid excessively large class sizes and too many sites in a cluster.

Technical improvements and better student/microphone/camera positioning.More balanced attention to classes by the teacher and better interaction.

Deal more effectively with bell schedule and school calendar differences.



____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There were not very many technical problems and it was comfortable to be in front of the camera. It actually didn’t keep us behind, we were even ahead of the other class. Also that it was easy to communicate with distance learning

The class was fun and enjoyable even though I thought it wouldn’t be because we would always be on camera. I was surprised at all the work we were able to accomplish with the other schools.

How well we can hear everyone and how smoothly it worked! I doubted it would but it works well. I was surprised that the cameras made it like being in the same classroom.

Being able to see other schools really surprised me and being able to talk using microphones so our teacher could hear us. How clear you can see and hear people.

How helpful and encouraging the teacher was even though he was not present in our class. How it all worked, the interaction with other people and a teacher from another school.

How well the teacher was able to communicate the material. This was the best class and teacher I had ever had.

Student Comments

5. What surprised you about Distance Learning?

Section C



55%29%

16%

That it is unexpectedly easy to become comfortable with the system.The environment is comfortable and enjoyable.It worked so well.

Student Comments

Most frequently noted as surprising about distance learning:

An appreciation for the advancedtechnology.

Interaction with remote teachers and students was easy.

Section C



81%

4%15%

Student Comments

I didn’t feel there were any limitations.Yes, the teacher did make effort(s) to compensate for limitationsin the DL system.No, the teacher did not make an effort to compensatefor limitations in the DL system.

6. Did you feel the teacher made an effort to compensate for any limitations in the DL system?

Host Sites Receive Sites

Section C

55%29%

16%



Student Comments

(If you answered “ No”) Please describe what you wish your teacher could have done.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When we had power outages, she didn’t stop teaching (to the other school). She wouldn’t help us understand what we missed…I wish she could have.

I wish she had taught to both classes instead of looking at hers all the time. The teacher ignored our questions.

I am fairly certain my teacher doesn't even know my name. There was no student-teacher interaction and anything would be an improvement.

He could have tried to teach more of the curriculum dealing with the subject material and made the students interact more. I wish he had sent the notes we missed on days that the system wasn't working. I wish our teacher didn't lose work so often.

I wish she done a better job with the other class and getting them under control. The other school was completely unruly. The teacher let people just talk and take advantage.

I wish our teacher had been willing to spend a little more time one-on-one with our students. I wish she could have come to our school once.

Section C



45%

9%

46%

Students most frequently wished that the teacher would:

Make a greater effort to include receive site students in discussions,Pay equal attention to them and get to know them.Visit remote sites at least once and offer some extra help.

Be more organized and prepared.

Receive site students that feel the teacher did not make an effort to compensate



Student Comments

(If you answered “ Yes”) Please describe the efforts the teacher made to compensate.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Our teacher tried to give us all equal opportunities and not focus on the home site. If one school wasn’t participating they would be brought into the lesson and if any [technical] adjustments needed to be made they were made.

We were playing a review game with teams and she made it possible [for students from different schools] to be on the same team.

Our teacher would visit our class sometimes as well as communicating one-on-one through email if we needed help. He came to our school every other week and visited to review before the AP exam.

She repeated what we were doing to those who arrive to class later than the other schools. She planned ahead so time wasn't lost if another school wasn’t present and she found ways to distribute and gather course information and tests.

Our teacher used email, Wiki and Blackboard as well as the fax. He would post quizzes online and took us on trips together so all the classes could meet.

She worked privately with students at each site and even visited the other site. They could e-mail her if they needed extra help or call if they had pressing issues.

Section C



31%

15%

18%

36%

Section C

Most frequently recognized DL teacher efforts

Students that feel the teacher did make an effort to compensate

Provided extra help and review sessions.Visited receive sites and got to know the students.

Promoted interaction and participation.

Used BlackBoard, made e-mail or phone contact available.

crb/feh distance learning project student survey 2006 – 2007 school year boces distance learning...

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