Faculty Survey 2016

Technology is ubiquitous in all aspects of life. However, there appears to be a slower integration in higher education as compared to industry (Trusko, 2015). There is three decades of research supporting the use of technology in the classroom and acknowledging the barriers to its integration. Despite acknowledgement of the barriers, and Universities continued spending of money on technology (Spotts, 1999), integration into teaching remains slow.

A literature review and analysis of the context at TRU has identified that despite the greater availability of educational technology, it is unclear as to what technology faculty are using and how they are using it in the classroom. In November 2016, TRU on campus Faculty were invited to participate in a study about what technology faculty was currently using and how they are using it. The survey questions were adapted with permission from the ECAR Study. Content validity of the survey was obtained by having Stakeholder experts, in the field of information technology services, educational technology, and experienced faculty who were not completing the survey review the survey questions. These experts looked at the context and content of the survey to ensure questions answered the research question. Based on their comments the survey was revised to improve its clarity.

The study was a descriptive study to examine what technology faculty are currently using and how they are using it in the classroom. The survey will contain Likert scale items, and open-ended questions to generate additional comments on faculty uses of various technologies.

Sampling:

We recruited our sample using convenience sampling from the TRU on campus faculty population.

Inclusion criteria:

• Any faculty member currently engaged in face-to-face teaching regardless of employment status.

Exclusion criteria:

• Anyone that is solely in a research position that does not directly teach students.
• Anyone that teaches only online classes
• Instructional Support faculty who do not have a current teaching load
• Anyone who has release from teaching and has not had a teaching workload in the last year

We recognize that there was the potential for bias using convenience sampling because those that select themselves to volunteer may be those that are interested in technology as opposed to those who are not interested in technology.

The number of potential respondents, originally, was 527. After excluding one for opting out, seven invalid emails, and two researchers, the number decreased to 517. The number of people responding to the survey was 110, with 10 being blank, resulting in a 19% response rate. The total number of respondents is 100.