1. When did you first visit the website?   a. 1st two weeks of fall 04 b. Middle 10 weeks of fall 04 c. End of fall 04 d. Between fall 04 and spring 05 e. 1st two weeks of spring 05 f. Middle 10 weeks of spring 05 g. End of spring 05 h. After end of spring 05 and beginning of fall 05 i. Between fall 05 and spring 06 semesters j. 1st two weeks of spring 06 k. Middle 10 weeks of spring 06 l. End of spring 06

Response Summary

Answer Value Frequency Distribution - 0% 3     a 0% 22     b 0% 4     c 0% 3     d 0% 10     e 0% 15     f 0% 1     g 0% 3     h 0% 10     i 0% 1     j 0% 1     k 0% 0      l 0% 0

2. About how often have you signed into the website?   a. 0-10 times b. 11-25 times c. 26-50 times d. 50-99 times e. More than 100 times

Response Summary

Answer Value Frequency Distribution - 0% 2     a 0% 34     b 0% 13     c 0% 10     d 0% 5     e 0% 9

Do you spend most of your time…?   a. Reading the discussion messages. b. Reading and responding to the discussion messages. c. Reading the content pages (Getting Started, Success, Tricks etc). d. Copying the content for offline reading. e. Emailing or otherwise communicating with the Distance Learning ccounselor.

Response Summary

Answer Value Frequency Distribution - 0% 3     a 0% 17     b 0% 14     c 0% 26     d 0% 7     e 0% 6

Did you meet other online learners in the Online Companion and take your conversation offline?   a. Yes b. No

Response Summary

Answer Value Frequency Distribution - 0% 3     a 0% 5     b 0% 65

Comments

• The beginning of fall '04 had the most "first visits and it didn't open until 2 weeks into the semester."  I forgot to add fall '05 as an option which is when there were 200 discussion board messages the weeks before and after the first week of class.
• Close to half of the respondents are spending most time reading content.  This preference is also reflected in the responses to the open ended questions.
• Most evaluations were done during the first semester when I posted an announcement.  Since then it has  linked on the left navigation bar - not very visible.  Should be placed more prominently in the redesign.

Title N Frequency Mean SD Median Mode - a b c d e f g h i j k l  First Visit 70 3 22 4 3 10 15 1 3 10 1 1 0 0 4.00 2.65 4.0 a  How Often 71 2 34 13 10 5 9 - - - - - - - 2.18 1.43 2.0 a  Spend Time 70 3 17 14 26 7 6 - - - - - - - 2.59 1.21 3.0 c  Meet Others 70 3 5 65 - - - - - - - - - - 1.93 0.26 2.0 b

How did you become aware of the Online Companion?

Responses

MyWebCT 47 Professor  6 Another Student 3 Other 6 No Answer 8

Comments:

• Currently the only way the Online Companion is publicized is through an email from me to all online teachers a week or so before the beginning of the semester. 

What was the most helpful part of the Online Companion and why?

Responses

#   Results Summary 10 Getting Started   7 Building community (talk to counselors, students) 13 Content   3 Comforting knowing it was there 18 Other - still exploring, didn't use etc   4 Answered why they like online learning   3 Everything   2 Being able to communicate with other students and the counselor.     Sample Responses 6 Probably just all the advice that was given. 7 THE ONLINE COMPANION HELPED OUT HUGE ABOUT THE CONTENTS WITHIN THE LISTED CATEGORIES. 19 the Ed Plan and Careers, because that help me a lot to set my goals and from here where am going. 25 Online Learning Success because it covered options for submitting work online. It also makes students aware of the pitfalls of online classes as well as the advantages. 38 I enjoyed the contents because it had links to other sites. I enjoyed the scholarship info! 39 getting feedback from counselors and other students 45 Many aspects of it were helpful in advising me and giving me information about different aspects of my education. 51 The discussion boards were most helpful because I was able to see my questions answered. 57 HAving a counselor available 24/7 61 The most helpful part of the Online Companion was the Homepage with all the categories and topics. This was helpful because if I have a question I can just look at the topics and find out the answer. 66 Because this is my first online class, Online Companion just gave me different information. For example, Online Companion’s information keeps me focus and helps to make me more successful. 67 The interactive exercises where you can practice downloading and uploading assignments 68 The step-by-step outlines how to do such things as participate in the discussion boards were very helpful. 70 I believe it was all helpful in one way or another. Mostly informative. I don't think one could get lost after going through the online companion. 72 It allows you to talk t counselors without having to see themon campus 73 Asking questions regarding Web CT

What was the least helpful part of the Online Companion and why?

#   Results Summary 28 Nothing or NA or not sure   7 Answered another question   Remainder of Responses   I think it was all helpful.  There is nothing negative about it.   Hard to follow sometimes.   The politics of what you can or cannot discuss.   Lots of material; difficult to know where to start.   I had too many work to read and too little time to turn in.   Waste of time so far...   discussion, because i don't really have time to chat .   Career Exploration because while helping students make career goals, it should go further in tips on how to get into whatever field the student chooses.   Advise and instructions could be formatted to be more easily read.   It can be rather confusinf to operate at time.   Nothing it all helped me as a first timeer   Education Planning--only because I had already decided on a major and was 80% of the way into completion   Everything was helpful as of right now.   Its confusing   chatroom becuase it doesnt work   Getting started..because if your a first time user its difficult to actually get an idea of what your expected to do.   sometimes there are just too many messages to sort through.   navigation of message , message thread should be displayed automaticaly.   With all the information given, the way it is presented online makes it for a dull read. I feel that way because for the most part, everything is lined up in the same area and the only colors up there are red, black and blue.   I thought everything was helpful   It doesn't allow you to talk to financial aid advisors.

What suggestions do you have for improving the Online Companion?

# Results Summary 38 none, great job, no improvement needed   Remainder of Responses   Maybe make the layout a little easier to follow.   Make it more easier if possible   More concise material might be helpful 2 making it easier to navigate 2 Make it easier to find.   less material on homepage. seems like too much junk   More email   help me to make my chatroom work   if there is a chat room why is it that every time i log on into a chat room, no ones there to help you.   should be automated or flash tutorial to make you use every function   When students first sign on to WebCT, it would be nice if it when straight to the Online Companion.   I would suggest to improve the links inside the tutorial.   Open up and promote chat discussions on various topics.

What other comments do you have about the Online Companion?

Responses

User ID Response 29 No further comments   It is fine just the way it is.   Over all it was pretty good.   IT IS REALLY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND THE BASICS.   I think it is a wonderful, worth-while tool to have.   It was very helpful and insightful   Good material included with online companion.   I'll be sure to use it more in the future!   very hard to find things   Good job and good idea for people who can't take classes on campus. Thank you for us!   nice to check out   having a good time at online class~   It's a good tool for a student to have at their disposal.   I think this a great on-line set-up!   most people do not know of this service   The online companion has been more of a source of information and a place to ask questions without having to go on campus to meet with an advisor.   I like and appreciate the online services.   it's helpful in various ways   Its a good thing to learn because it can be helpful to students.   its nice....its my first time so i dont know too much about it but so far its cool i like it   it isnt very helpful.   find way to attract more students   It is a good tool for students to use when they have questions. Instead of calling all the time they can turn to this and a lot of the information will be found here.   It is a good idea to have a place where students can find information to better themselves as students. Sometimes, it is hard for students to go up to the different campuses; this way, it is at your finger tips.   I am really happy that this Online Companion was here. This is my first time taking classes on-line and I feel as though the Online Companion has been very helpful   Keep up the good work.   it would be nice if instruction about this Online Companion is given as soon as students register