LTS Surveys:
Help Desk, Faculty Video Use
In the past few weeks many
students, staff and faculty have participated in surveys
conducted by LTS to help assess our present services as well
as to determine directions for the future. Often
participants never learn the results of the surveys they
take; here is what was learned from two recent surveys.
Help Desk Survey
Every other year
the LTS Help Desk conducts a satisfaction survey to assess
campus perceptions of the Help Desk. The survey sample was
drawn from anyone (faculty/staff, student, parent, alumni)
that contacted the help desk in the Fall semester.
The response rate from
408 recipients was 50%. About 40% of the
questions posed to the Help Desk come from students, while
the survey response rate from students was only 22%, so
students are underrepresented in the responses.
Service Skills
For items relating to service skills responses were very
positive. Respondents rated staff on several criteria with
the following results:
|
Help desk staff
members... |
% that strongly agree
or agree |
|
Give me individual
attention |
|
99.4% |
|
Are courteous |
|
99.3% |
|
Understand my
needs |
|
98.0% |
|
Are willing to
help |
|
98.7% |
Technical Skills
For technical skills, ratings were generally positive,
though lower than service skills...
|
Help desk staff
members... |
% that strongly agree
or agree |
|
Know LTS policies
and procedures |
|
97.3% |
|
Have the library
expertise to assist me |
|
95.6% |
|
Have excellent
problem-solving skills |
|
94% |
|
Have the computing
expertise to assist me |
|
92% |
|
Give clear
explanations/instructions |
|
96.7% |
Referral
We asked
respondents about their experience with help desk referrals
(when the help desk staff member refers them to another
specialist). Respondents were asked how much they agreed or
disagreed with statements about the referral:
|
Help desk staff
members... |
% that strongly agree
or agree |
|
I got the
assistance I needed |
|
94.3% |
|
I got a response
in a reasonable timeframe |
|
95.4% |
|
It was easy to
contact the specialist |
|
94.6% |
Evaluation
The survey provided ample opportunity for comments,
which were largely positive. A review of comments and survey
responses suggests that the Help Desk staff continue to
build/strengthen computing and problem-solving skills.
Suggested areas for improvement did not identify any
particular weakness but reflected the diverse needs of the
clientele served.
Video Use Survey
Another
questionnaire, created by the LTS Information Literacy
Team, was directed specifically to Lehigh faculty. Its
purpose was to reveal how faculty obtain and use films or
film clips as part of the curriculum. For decades the
Libraries have purchased or rented films, video and DVDs
for faculty to support their teaching.
In this new information
environment, LTS is evaluating several options for serving
streaming video as a way to support coursework at Lehigh;
learning current practices informs future directions. 138
faculty members responded to this survey.
|
In response to the
question “How often do you show videos or video
clips in your course?” |
|
Once a month or
more frequently |
41.3% |
|
A few times a
semester |
23.2% |
|
A few times a
year |
5.8% |
|
Occasionally |
20.3% |
|
Never |
9.3% |
|
|
|
|
|
If you use video
in the classroom, do you use: |
|
Whole videos |
8.0% |
|
Video clips |
39.2% |
|
Both |
52.8% |
|
|
|
|
Do you require
students to view videos outside class time? |
|
Yes |
38.8% |
|
No |
61.2% |
|
|
|
|
|
Have you
incorporated video clips into course management
systems (Course Site, Blackboard)? |
|
Yes |
22.6% |
|
No |
77.4% |
One of the
more interesting things learned from the survey was revealed
when faculty were asked to identify the sources for the
videos they use. We presumed that the Library Media Center
collection would be the predominant source from a list of 10
possible sources. (They were asked to indicate all that
apply.)
YouTube
was selected by 56.3% , the Media Center collection by 49.2,
Websites by 48.4% and faculty personal collections by 47.7%.
Faculty members also indicated that they used departmental
collections: 28%, Netflix or personal rentals: 19.5%,
recorded TV programs, 14%; textbook publisher videos: 13.3%;
interlibrary loan: 7%.
When asked
to elaborate on the sources, faculty mentioned the History
Channel website, websites from theaters and performers,
sitcoms, television programs and documentaries, personally
created videos, CNN and other U.S. and international web
news sources, TED talks, website video reports from
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and
government agencies, and many more resources. Clearly a
creative, resourceful and thoughtful use of the video medium
is happening throughout the curriculum.
Over 100
useful comments were received related to the final question,
“How
would access to full-length documentary videos in a
streaming format change your instructional use of video?”
Many faculty were excited about the prospect of online
access to classic videos that are not now accessible in DVD
format.
They also
desire the ability to be able to present small clips from
longer video productions without a tedious fast-forward
process. The good response rate and thoughtful comments
enabled staff to learn a great deal from the faculty about
their present use of video as well as the type of
functionality they desire from newer technologies.
-- Stacey Kimmel & Roseann Bowerman
Article posted November,
2010
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