Report from the Faculty Technology
Survey
Introduction
In the spring of 2009 the School of Social Work ERIC Committee distributed an online survey to faculty,
staff, and students regarding informatics at SSW. The survey included questions regarding the use of
applications for teaching, presentations, developing reports and publications, and conducting research.
The survey queried respondents about current use, current level of ability to use resources, interest in
developing new skills, and interest in acquiring new tools and materials. Fifty individuals started and 39
completed all questions in the survey. Of those who provided information about themselves, 27 (35%
return rate) were faculty, 2 adjunct faculty, 4 Ph.D. students, and 10 staff Seven did not identify their
position.
This report will cover the faculty portion of the responses to the survey in detail. The following report
will provide the results of the survey with emphasis on the faculty responses. The purpose of the report is
to provide information for the faculty and administration about current utilization of informatics and
needs for the future. This would include the use of tools and materials for teaching, presentations,
developing reports and publications, and conducting research. It is intended to inform the development of
information technology resources to help facilitate effective teaching and research.
Familiarity with Technology
In response to the question ‘When teaching with technology and preparing course materials, do you
generally consider yourself’, faculty were mainly comfortable and very comfortable with technology
used.’ (Q2) 42.3% were very comfortable however a sizeable amount of 23 % were uncomfortable or
very uncomfortable.
Level of Ease with Technology
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
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In response to the question ‘Which of these technologies do you use?’(Q3), followed by a variety of
software provided in a list, faculty mainly seemed to currently be using Blackboard, Video/DVDs and
PowerPoint, with Blackboard the highest at 24 out of 26 responses.
Variety of Technology Used Currently
25
20
15
10
5
Yes
No
0
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Instruction Technology Training
In various parts of the survey training needs were queried and assessed. In response to the question,
‘Would you like to receive training on this technology?’(Q6), most responses centered around basic and
intermediate level training for all the software.
The level of training requested was also determined in the survey. Both Blackboard and PowerPoint were
requested for at the intermediate level the most. The highest level of training requested was for
Blackboard followed by Web-based resources for teaching and PowerPoint.
Faculty Training Requirements
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
No
Yes-Basic (to learn the
technology)
Yes-Intermediate (to improve
current skills)
Yes-Advanced
Training Faculty Requested
Other
2%
Outlook
19%
Web-based
Teaching
Resources
24%
Blackboard
26%
PowerPoint
21%
Video/DVD
8%
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Faculty Importance Rating for Different Technology
PowerPoint was rated the number one technology importance-wise for teaching by faculty with
Blackboard following closely. When asked ‘How important is this technology to your teaching?’(Q5)
PowerPoint topped the list with 17 out of 24 respondents thinking it very important. Overall Blackboard
was tied as 21 responders put Blackboard in the first two levels of importance as compared to 20 for
PowerPoint.
Faculty Importance Rating for Different
Technology
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Very Important
Somewhat Important
Somewhat Unimportant
Not at all Important
Blackboard PowerPoint Video/DVD Web-based
Teaching
Resources
Outlook
Other
Another important factor that was found was that more than half the responding faculty did not know
what other technology was available. 54% acknowledged that they did not know what was available.
Faculty Knowledge of
Technologies They want to
Use
I don't know
what other
technologie
s are
available
54%
Yes
21%
No
25%
.
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Frequency of Use of Different Technologies
In response to the question ‘How often do you use the technology?’(Q4), PowerPoint was by far the most
heavily used software with 24 out of 26 responses being either always or regularly. Blackboard was at 15
out of 24 followed closely by Outlook.
The Highest demand for skill sought was for Web-based Teaching resources followed by outlook.
Frequency of Use of Different Technologies
30
Number of Faculty
25
20
15
Never, but want to use
10
Never, don't want to use
5
Rarely
0
Sometimes
Regularly
Always
Technology
A point to note is that when asked to rate the importance of the same technologies for teaching, in
response to the question ‘How important is this technology to your teaching?’(Q5), PowerPoint was rated
‘very important’ by 17 of the 24 respondents. Blackboard followed with 13 and Video/DVD with 8. This
is pretty consistent with what is found in this section.
Research Software Results
In the research part of the questionnaire, faculty showed almost even distribution over the software
discussed. In response to the question ‘What technologies do you use in your research-related activities,
including statistical, reference management, grant proposal writing, APA style, charts/graphics, and
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collaboration activities?’ (Q10), 63.2% faculty used quantitative and 57.9 % used reference management
software and 52.3% used project or team management software and 47.4% use Qualitative software.
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Series1
Research Software Training Needs
25
20
15
Yes – advanced
10
5
0
ERIC committee Survey 2009
Yes – intermediate (to
improve my current skills)
Yes – basic (to learn the
technology)
No
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More faculty felt that they needed training than those who felt they did not need training. Basic training
was requested for in Qualitative software and Reference management software. The quantity of total
responses varied in each category, ranging from 7 in other, 19 for Quantitative software, 20 in Qualitative
software and Project management, to 22 for Reference Management.
Frequency of Use of Research Software
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Quantitative
Qualitative
Reference Management
Project or Team Management
Other
Technology Use Inhibitors
One of the important aspects of the survey was to target what caused faculty to not want to use
technology in their classes. In response to the question ‘Which of the following issues concern you
when using information technology to do your work? Please check all that apply ‘(Q15), the largest
issue that came up with using technology with almost a quarter of the faculty who responded was lack
of skills in technology. This was followed closely lack of time and by needing upgrades.
A surprising find was that 20% of the respondents to this question actually were not sure technology
contributed to their students learning. The same amount did not know that they had pedagogical
support in the school.
The following factors were reported as inhibiting the use of technology:
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Technology Use Inhibitors
Students may not be It costs too much.
2%
proficient.
5% It's too much trouble.
3%
I'm not convinced it
would improve my
research capabilities
5%
I'm not convinced it
would improve student
learning.
7%
I don't have time.
16%
There is no incentive .
3%
I’m concerned about
losing my own
intellectual property
rights.
2%
I don't have the
necessary skills.
24%
I don't have
pedagogical support.
7%
I need upgraded
hardware.
10%
I don't have on-site
support.
5%
I don’t have technical
The applications and
support in my
media I want to use
department.
don’t
run on machines
9%
in the classrooms.
2%
Conclusion
Several important factors can be gained from the survey results.
One of the most important ones is the lack of knowledge of what is out there to be used and that almost a
quarter of the respondents were in the ‘uncomfortable’ zone with technology.
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Another interesting factor was that responses showed that faculty rated the importance of Blackboard as
high and were keen to get trained in using it along with other technologies like Web-Based resources and
PowerPoint.
This data can now be used in informing management and faculty, and planning training and technology
for the school academia.
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