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.

Questions?

Susan Kullmannsusan.kullmann@scrippscollege.edu

Mary McMahonmary.mcmahon@pomona.edu