This document reflects on the use of Digital Experience Insights (DEI) surveys at Aberystwyth University over the past year. The surveys were used to complement existing surveys, provide benchmarking data, and gain support from JISC. Key findings showed areas for improvement like Blackboard consistency and WiFi reliability. Strengths included online assessments and teaching facilities. Over 40% of students rated digital provision as excellent. Findings were used in training and to improve courses. Dissemination included conferences and university communications. Plans are to continue the DEI surveys next year.
Reflections after using digital experience insights
1. KateWright & Ania Udalowska, Aberystwyth University
Digital experience insights community of practice, Nov 2018
Using Digital Experience
Insights - reflections after a
year
14/11/18
3. 0 20
Motivations
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 3
Image from Flickr, used under Creative Commons https://flic.kr/p/daeugn
»Simple
»Well designed
»Credible
4. 0 20
Motivations
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 4
Image from Flickr, used under Creative Commons https://flic.kr/p/fmzatF
»Benchmarking
»Support from
JISC
5. 0 20
Motivations
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 5
BLE MAE’R
GYMRAEG?
Iaith Gwaith logo from the Welsh Language Commissioner’s website
6. 0 20
Engagement
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 6
Image from Flickr, used under Creative Commons https://flic.kr/p/5ueUT6
»Stakeholder
group
9. 0 20
Key findings
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 9
Blackboard consistency and content
availability, WIFI reliability and digital
course activities were identified as the
areas for improvement
Delivery of online assessments,
facilities of teaching rooms and the
software were rated higher than the
benchmarking score
44.8% students described the quality
of AU digital provision as excellent and
45.3% as good
Overall rating
Strengths
Weaknesses
10. 0 20
Key findings
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 10
Blackboard consistency and content
availability, WIFI reliability and digital
course activities were identified as the
areas for improvement
Delivery of online assessments,
facilities of teaching rooms and the
software were rated higher than the
benchmarking score
44.8% students described the quality of
AU digital provision as excellent and
45.3% as good
Overall rating
Strengths
Weaknesses
11. 0 20
Key findings
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 11
Blackboard consistency and content
availability,WIFI reliability and digital
course activities were identified as the
areas for improvement
Delivery of online assessments,
facilities of teaching rooms and the
software were rated higher than the
benchmarking score
44.8% students described the quality of
AU digital provision as excellent and
45.3% as good
Overall rating
Strengths
Weaknesses
12. 0 20
Students' expectations
»More or less technology on your course?
»Using smartphones.
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 12
13. 0 20
Students' expectations
»More or less technology on your course?
»Using smartphones.
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 13
14. 0 20
Using the findings
»Using in training sessions
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 14
15. 0 20
Using the findings – Blank Course Copy
To improve your experience of digital teaching and learning
... what one thing should we DO?
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 15
More organised blackboard
layout upload things to Blackboard in the same way
(some upload Panoptos separately to
PowerPoint slides while others don't etc)
Make AberBlackboard more
user friendly and sensible to
navigate and find required
information.
16. 0 20
Using the findings – Blank Course Copy
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 16
17. 0 20
Dissemination strategy
»AUTEL18 Conference
»TELG
»IS News, Facebook,Twitter
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 17
20. 0 20
Future plans
»Digital Experience Insights 2018/19
23/11/2018 Using Digital Experience Insights - reflections after a year 20
21. KateWright & Ania Udalowska, Aberystwyth University
Digital experience insights community of practice, Nov 2018
Thank you!
14/11/18
Notes de l'éditeur
Introduce who we are and where we come from.
We started using the Digital Tracker as it was then called this time last year. One of our colleagues had heard about the survey at the Change Agents Network. We then saw advertising from JISC and agreed that it would be good to be involved. Our department runs an annual Information Services user survey asking about what our students think of various aspects of IT and library facilities. However, we felt that this survey would complement that nad give us a deeper insight on our students experiences of using technology.
One of the things we were impressed by was the survey was well-designed and not too complicated. It wasn’t very long and so didn’t take students too long to complete. We could see that the questions had been designed to get answers that would be useful to us and would provide the information that we needed. And because it had been designed by Jisc and used by other universities and colleges we knew it was credible.
The other things we were keen to access was the benchmarking data – we felt it would be really useful to know how our students’ responses were similar or different to other universities. It can be easy to spend a lot of time trying to deal with an issue and feel you aren’t getting anywhere with. However, if you know that it is an issue that other people struggle with it puts your solutions and issues into perspective.
[We also knew that signing up with a Jisc service bought with it support, advice and a community of practice which we knew would be valuable (and it has been). ]
As some of you may know, Welsh public bodies are under a statutory obligation to provide materials in Welsh as well as English. Having a survey already translated into Welsh is a real help for us, because it means that we don’t have to get a survey translated. We also worked with Jisc to facilitate the staff survey was available in Welsh, and it was a great experience to see a national body taking Welsh seriously.
One of our key ways of getting uptake across the university was to create a stakeholders group to steer through the use of the service. This included academic and support staff as well as representatives from the library, careers and student support services and representatives from the Student Union. It was chaired by a senior member of staff which meant that it had internal credibility. This group helped to decide the additional questions we added, the dissemination of the survey as well as discussing the results.
A
We have used a range of methods to engage students of which most effective was contacting them via e-mail (emphasizing the £100 Amazon voucher) and asking them to fill in the survey in person offering tea, coffee and cake in return. We have also used flyers, posters, Blackboard banner, Facebook, Twitter, Weekly Bulletin and News Service for communications. The prize draw definitely helped the response rate, however we will look for an alternative top Amazon voucher pize this year.
A
One of the strategies that we use with our IS user survey and we decided to do with this survey, was to contact any students who agreed to it, to answer any questions or ask for clarifications on their comments. We felt that this was important because it shows that the students that their comments were read. We hope that it will demonstrate our commitment to acting on feedback, as well as giving us an opportunity to find out more about the comments, or correct any misunderstanding about our services.
A
Overall rating
A
Overall rating
Overall rating
A
Most students wanted the technology to be used as much as it is now which was interesting to us because...
Another interesting finding...
K
We place more emphasis on the course design and organization when conducting training session on Blackboard and try to work with staff in using more interactive teaching methods such as wikis or tests.
The results that we had helped inform some of the initiatives that we have put in place over the summer. One of these was the blank course copy. We were concerned that students were finding Blackboard modules hard to navigate, and they couldn’t always find the information they needed or were to submit or find their feedback. The information that we gathered through the service gave us more detail of what students thought about their Blackboard courses.
We used these findings are part of our campaign to introduce a new way of setting up modules in Blackboard for the new academic year. We introduced a new menu for first year modules, with bespoke templates for each departments. These modules were then created without copying over previous years’ content, as we had done previously. Being able to compare results before and after this change will mean we can look at the impact on student’s experience.
A
We have communicated the findings with students via Facebook, Twitter and the news service. Me and Kate gave a presentation on the Tracker on this year's Aberystwyth Teaching and Learning Conference. We have shared the fidnings with the Technology Enhanced Group.
A
Ania has written a series of blog posts on the service for our group blog. Each of these have been on a specific aspect of running the Digital Tracker, and contains information that will be useful to staff and students.
A
We run discussions among staff and students on enhancing learning and teaching with technology and we decided to base one of the discussion on the Tracker. After the selection of the new Student Union representatives we have set a meeting with the Academic Affairs Officer to discuss the findings, familiarize them with the project and ask for engagement in the next year's edition.
K
We will run the Digital Experience Insights in December this year. We look forward to comparison students' feedback from both surveys.