Sakai: The Student Perspective Claremont Colleges Consortium Claremont, CA
Jun 30, 2015
Sakai: The Student Perspective
Claremont Colleges Consortium Claremont, CA
Student PerspectivePresenters & Contributors
Mary McMahon, Pomona College Susan Kullmann, Scripps College Elizabeth Hodas, Harvey Mudd College Susan Roig, Claremont Graduate Univ. Ben Royas, Claremont McKenna College Jez Dene, Honnold Mudd Libraries
. . . & many Claremont Colleges students
Claremont Colleges Consortium 7 institutions
Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Pomona and Scripps Colleges
Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute
~ 6,300 students in the Consortium 09-10 Total Student survey respondents
2008 = 865 2010 = 1128
Sakai Student RespondentsBy College
Students’Browser Preferences
2008 to 2010
Internet ExplorerFirefoxSafariOther
Sakai Students’ Self-IdentifiedComputer Proficiency
2008 to 2010
AdvancedIntermediateNovice
Sakai Student Users
The definitions of levels of proficiency varies widely from college to college
• Wider range of browsers suggests different usage habits
Macintosh users increased 9% in 2 years Students across the consortium have
various levels of exposure to Sakai
Sakai ImplementationHow many of students’ classes use Sakai?
None
One totwoThree tofourMore thanfour
2008 2010
Sakai ImplementationHow often do students visit Sakai?
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Almostevery day
Few timesper week
Few timesper month
Once oftwice persemester
Rarely/never
2008
2010
Sakai Use 20082010
Students use Sakai for more courses Students access Sakai course sites
more frequently Benefits of centralization/convenience
reported as much greater Overall students are significantly more
positive about their use of Sakai
Overall ExperienceHow easy is Sakai to use?
2008 2010
14%
72%
9%
2%
4%
18%
73%
7%
0
1%
72% 73%
T=857 students T=1124 students
Which tools do students use?*
2008 (809 students)
1.Resources2.Assignments3.Syllabus4.Announcements5.Dropbox6.Discussion + Forums7.Gradebook
2010 (1101 students)
1.Resources2.Announcements3.Dropbox4.Assignments5.Syllabus6.Gradebook
83%
64%
53%
49%
33%
25%
24%
87%
58%
57%
40%
39%
37%
*Tools with >25% use
Which tools do students find most useful in their courses?*
2008 (780 students)
1.Resources2.Assignments3.Syllabus4.Announcements5.Gradebook6.Dropbox7.Schedule
2010 (1101 students)
1.Resources2.Assignments3.Announcements4.Syllabus5.Dropbox6.Gradebook
76%
45%
33%
32%
19%
18%
12%
87%
40%
39%
34%
31%
27%
*Tools >10% found useful
Overall Experience
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Little or noexperience
2008
2010
2008
9%
53%
25%
7%
5%
2010
15%
61%
20%
3%
1%
Overall Experience:Do students prefer courses that use Sakai?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
StronglyDisagreeInsufficientExperience/NA
2008
2010
2008
9%
54%
19%
8%
10%
2010
23%
57%
13%
3%
5%
Overall Experience 2008 - 2010 Students rate Sakai more positively
(62% 76%) Fewer students strongly dislike Sakai
(7% 3%) More students strongly favor courses that
use Sakai (63% 80%) Fewer students feel entirely unfamiliar
with Sakai (10% 5%)
Feedback - Feature to Change
2008 (403)
1.Navigation (57)Interface (38)
2.None (56)3.Resource/Dropbox (33)4.Login (28)5.Customize tabs (19)6.Discussion tool (14)
2010 (500)
1.Customize tabs (68)2.None (59)3.Remove unused tools (52)4.Navigation (47)
Interface (36)5.Login (32)6.Resource/Dropbox (27)
Feedback – Features to change
In 2008 and 2010, “None” or “No changes” ranked in the top five choices
Other significant results included comments about “faculty ease of use,” “inconsistent use of tools,” and “faculty training”
Some changes require student training – i.e. (automatic) login
Feedback - Drawbacks2008• Glitches, technical difficulties• Dependence on computer access• Confusing• Faculty training• Need to update & check frequently• Need to print, prefer printed copies• Underutilized• Impersonal
2010 (627 students)
• Faculty ease of use (97)• Inconsistent use, unused tools (85)• Not user friendly (53)• Technical difficulties (47)• Prefer printed handouts (44)• Communication (36)• Not checked or updated enough (28)• Slow downloads (21)
FeedbackSpecific technical issues
Inconsistent use No search feature Failure to use email notification Back button Email from Sakai goes to spam Naming conventions for resources Syllabus should be required
Feedback:Benefits
2008
• 24/7 access• Communication between colleges• Archive, back-up of resources• One-stop, centralization• Submit assignments• Convenience
2010
• Easy access to course materials• Convenience• Better organization
- Standardization• Better communication• Saves paper• Gradebook• Cost Effective
Drawbacks: students comments Sakai gives a lot of homework. Announcements are just annoying ways to send
email. Doesn’t include those who aren’t officially registered. [Prof. X] knows that I was doing his homework at
5 o’clock in the morning when it was due. I would like it to be blue. Sakai would be prettier if it
were completely blue. The Claremont Colleges Sakai url is really difficult to
remember. Oh man, it's so ugly. I would make it nicer-looking. Some professors just aren’t that good with
computers.