Research the ways faculty employ GeorgiaVIEW as well as the ways students view their experience using it in their face-to-face, hybrid, and online classes to determine the usefulness and feasibility of creating a common course experience for students in the learning management system.
The project lead in coordination with a working group will conduct surveys to obtain information from faculty and students about their LMS use and experience. At the present time, the working group consists of Sarah Mergel, Jennifer Randall, Alicia Briganti, Chuck Fink, and Jaime Parker. The members of the committee represent different departments on campus, plus include a representative from CETL, the Faculty Senate, and a department chair.
We have not identified any specific KPIs have not been identified because the college is still in the studying phase. However, creation of the survey will be indicators that this project is advancing. The project has no baseline measures because the college has not previously studied student, faculty, and staff use of GeorgiaVIEW. At the present time, we have little to no information on exactly how faculty use the LMS in their courses and how student perceive the experience of working in the LMS for their courses. The goal for this academic year was to create and administer the survey as well as study the results.
The study of common course elements in GeorgiaVIEW is a new initiative for Dalton State College in this year’s momentum plan. As such, we have not accomplished anything specific and have nothing to change. Below, we address what we are doing this year to study the issue.
As of October 2024, the working group has drafted a survey which includes questions for members of the campus community on their experiences using GeorgiaVIEW. The group hopes to release the survey no later than November 1, 2024 and leave it open until the end of the Fall 2024 semester.
- The student survey contains questions about completed credit hours, types of courses completed (traditional, hybrid, or online), comfort using the LMS, satisfaction with the LMS, frequency and type of use, and open-ended questions.
- The faculty survey contains questions about types of courses taught (traditional, hybrid, or online), perceptions of comfort and ease of use with the LMS, most commonly used features, and open-ended questions. Faculty can also navigate to the student survey if they have ever taken a course using GeorgiaVIEW.
- The staff survey combines questions from the student and faculty surveys because we have staff who have been students and have taught courses.
In January 2025, the working group will study the data to make recommendations to the administration and the Faculty Senate about the usefulness and feasibility of creating a common course experience for students in the learning management system. Pending feedback from the administration and the Faculty Senate the committee will consider, if necessary, what common course elements might look like at Dalton State.
With any attempt to survey the campus community, we might struggle with getting enough survey responses to draw any conclusions. Additionally, if the college decides the initiative is worth pursuing, gaining faculty buy-in could be a challenge. Finally, the college has one part-time staff member who serves as the GeorgiaVIEW administrator. If the college moves forward, it might need more technical support than a single person can provide.
Depending on the findings of the survey, we may need to investigate adding components to the LMS that might require technology funding. Additionally, we will likely need support to help train faculty in the best practices for using the LMS which would likely require support from the GeorgiaVIEW administrator and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
