Survey Reveals Tools Ohio State Students Demand
According to Ohio State participants in EDUCAUSE's latest Students and Technology Research study, 70 percent of students report retaining the most information when classes incorporate some online components. That’s just one of several insights we collected from the student survey.
Ready to support your students with the learning resources they demand? Here are the specific tools Ohio State students wish professors would incorporate in their courses:
1. Lecture Capture or Recorded Lectures
Sixty-three percent of the student respondents at Ohio State want professors to start recording their lectures. We know--no one really loves listening to a recording of their own voice. But recording your lectures and posting them online allows students to go back, on their own time, to hear you explain a concept again (and again). To offer lecture recordings, faculty and staff have access to Mediasite. Mediasite records your lessons and uploads the video and audio recordings to share with your students. Record from the podium in central classroom pool classes, or from your own computer.
2. In-Class Polling Tools
According to 27.8 percent of the survey participants, Ohio State students wished instructors used more in-class polling tools to increase class engagement. In-class polling allows students to interact with the course material, and can illustrate comprehension to help the instructor adjust their lecture accordingly. Think about it as your own little focus group for your course!
Professors in the past have had students buy or rent clickers to incorporate in-class polling in their curriculum, but Top Hat has emerged as a free and improved in-class polling tool. Top Hat allows professors to display lecture material, poll students, post discussion prompts, track attendance, and sync grades with Carmen. The best part? Students can access and respond to Top Hat prompts using devices they already own, such as smartphones, laptops or tablets.
3. E-books
Of the Ohio State students survey participants, 41.2 percent wanted professors to use more e-books or e-textbooks rather than paper textbooks. The cost of textbooks shouldn’t disrupt a student’s academic success, and with open and affordable alternatives they don’t have to. The Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) is a cross campus partnership that funds and supports instructors that want to adopt, adapt or create open educational resources for their courses.
If you want to learn more about incorporating affordable content into your teaching practices, sign up to attend "Affordable Learning: Strategies and Best Practices." This workshop will be Tuesday, March 28 and will provide attendees in-depth examples of how other Ohio State insturctors have adopted, adapted or created open educational resources.
4. Free, web-based content to supplement-related course materials (iTunes U)
A little over 56.8 percent of Ohio State respondents would like to see more professors utilize free, web-based content (such as iTunes U) to supplement related course materials. Such materials are available to both professors and students for free as well as catalogs learning material taught by Ohio State and other top-ranking institutions. Free supplementary materials will not only reduce the financial load of your students, but they can also allow you to collaborate with other universities and enhance your course curriculum.
Students are looking for more ways to be engaged in class. The ECAR Student Survey gives them a voice to share how. Ohio State provides instructors with tools and support to meet these needs. Visit the ODEE Resource Center to learn more about incorporating these tools into your course.