Questionnaire

A questionnaire has been distributed across the entire HE sector in the UK. The purpose of this questionnaire is to provide a snapshot view of the current status of use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) - with particular emphasis on the WWW - by staff and students in the UK HE Foreign Language sector.

In each institution one person was asked to provide information; as it is clearly impossible to provide exact answers to some of the questions without carrying out an unreasonable amount of local research, repondents were asked to make as close an estimate as possible in these cases. The picture which we are hoping to get from the survey will be representative of current use. It will be repeated in 2 years’ time to determine to what extent the situation has changed. Hence the main significance of the survey lies in its comparative and not its absolute value. The feedback provided through this survey will help to determine the content of the training sessions offered under the WELL project and the types of resources to be covered at our website.

One hundred responses were received. The responses has been analysed and a summary of the results is shown below.

The most significant findings which the questionnaire has brought to light are

• Most institutions have as yet made little use of telematic resources to support learning and teaching, despite a high level of investment in hardware and infrastructure.
• The commonest use of Web resources is as a source of materials which are downloaded by the lecturer and distributed to students. Instances of interactive use or exploitation of communicative potential are very limited.
• Most training in Web use has been carried out through individual initiative rather than institutional policy.
• The major obstacle to more effective use of telematic resources is identified as lack of staff training.

All data will be uploaded to this page during May.

Q: Numbers of computers available to staff

Q: What types of computer are available to staff?

Q: What are the main limitations on use of the Web in teaching in your Department/Centre?

Q: Do staff use any of the following for language teaching?

• Word processing
• Email
• CALL packages
• Other CALL activities
• World Wide Web

Q: Roughly what proportion of your staff routinely make use of the Web to deliver part of the curriculum?

Q: How have staff learned to use the World Wide Web?

Q: Existence/significance of ICT strategy

Q: How do staff perceive the application of computer skills in teaching in relation to career progression?

Q: How is the Internet used for teaching?

Q: Roughly what proportion of your students routinely make use of the Web for academic purposes?

Q: Roughly what proportion of your students routinely make use of the Web for other purposes?

last updated 8th May 1998

Author:William Haworth