Question 1

Mid-Semester Evaluation
PAC 442 - Section B
"Internet and American Life"
University of Illinois at Springfield
Spring 2004

Question 1 - What do you like most about this class?

The discussion and the ability to create my own discussion with the class based on what interests me with the week’s readings.

The interesting articles we read.

The content is relevant to everyday life.

The different subject matter every week.

Some of the posts are funny or emotional or just plain interesting.

The analysis of different aspects of the Internet.

The discussion about the topics.

I can do my work on my own time. I like the flexibility of this class.

Allowance for creativity.

I love the interaction with all of my classmates. I also love the readings for the class.

All of the interaction with the professor and the other students.

The interaction with the class.

Participation by professor.

The instructor is very knowledgeable and offers his assistance whenever you need it.

Burks' involvement in the class discussion and feedback to students.

I like the open discussion that is promoted among students.

Instructor interaction.

Question 2 - What do you like least about this class?

The time it takes to post both a response and your own posting. I also thing the percentage it counts toward your grade is a bit too much.

Requires so much time and involvement.

A lot of the posts are simple, one or two sentence comments that eat up a lot of time opening.

Amount of postings to read.

That this class mostly depends on this open discussion and does not include more, smaller projects.

The large number of posts we have to read.

There is really nothing that I like least about this class. But if I had to pick something it would be the first paper assignment. It is difficult coming up with 2000 words of my own.

Nothing.

Long articles to read each week.

Nothing at all - it is a great course!

All of the posts. I know that we are not required to read all of them, but I feel I am missing something if I don't.

Being so strict about how to discuss the questions; it sometimes hinders discussions.

I really don't think the writing of the papers is fair. I think that it is hard to come up with information out of your own experiences and not be able to use factual basis behind writing the paper and be able to count those words.

Nothing.....yet!

My slow dial-up connection.

Large forums cause blackboard to move very slowly, and I have a lot of computer time waiting for the screen to re-adjust.

Not enough reading.

Question 3 - What could be done to improve this class during the second half of the semester?

More information on little known facts and newer little known trends using the Internet.
Nothing really, I like the class.
Nothing.
It might be interesting for a small group to work on some questions together, and then respond to other groups.
Nothing.
Continue to encourage students to post thoughtful, interesting posts with meat to them in place of the "I like online shopping!" variety.
I think the most of the class is great and enjoy the class very much. At this point, I am not sure that I would change anything for the second half of the semester.
Nothing that I can think of.
I'm not real sure.
I think that other sources besides the Pew studies could be utilized. One week all the class discussed was whether or not someone had dial-up as opposed to broadband.
No recommendations at this point.
Maybe bringing in other sources to develop discussion on besides the Pew reports.
Nothing, except what was noted above.
Additional sources on weekly topics.
I can't think of a thing.

Question 4 - Are you having any technical difficulties? If you are, please describe.

No.

Nope.

In the beginning, my computer could not handle loading the long discussion pages, but, I got a new computer...

Just the slow movement in a forum with many threads.

None here.

Not really.

No.

None.

No, just slow Internet.

Sometimes, with my personal laptop logging me out in the middle of a posting.

Nope. No problems at all.

Yesterday I was trying to log in and it said that I was an "unauthorized user." when I got home from work I tried again and it worked. I hope it doesn't happen again!

Question 5 - Is this class meeting your expectations? Is it meeting the objectives you had at the start of the course?

It is meeting my expectations, but I would be even more involved if the posting requirements weren't so strict.

Yes, the class is very well thought out and monitored very well by the instructor.

Yes, I am enjoying the class.

Yes, I enjoy the class and think I am learning more about the Internet than I knew before.

Yes, I am learning quite a bit from the other students and how they use the common features of the Internet.

It is covering the material that I thought it would.

Not really, I thought this class was going to be overanalytical in a sense that we would seem to obsess over the why without looking at personal input.

Yes, I have taken courses with Burks before.

Yes, I’m really learning a lot.

Yes, it has met and exceeded my expectations. I thoroughly enjoy this class and getting to know my fellow online students.

Yes it is.

Yes.

Yes, it is one of the best online classes I have taken.

Question 6 - Are the topics of interest to you? Is the instructor knowledgeable in the subject matter?

The topics are relevant to everyday life and our instructor seems to use the Internet enough to understand and add to the topics of discussion.

Yes, and very broad.

All the topics are very interesting to me; I love learning about technology.

Yes, the professor offers so many suggestive websites that are related to the posted topics.

The topics are very interesting and the instructor adds other interests to the class by posting outside articles of interest. The instructor is very knowledgeable about the subject matter.

Burks is very knowledgeable in the subject matter and provides excellent insight and comments.

They are such a current interest and it is hard for me to ignore the importance of the Internet these days.

Yes, and yes.

Some of the topics are interesting but some seem repetitive. For example, this week we are talking about on-line shopping. At least this seems to be the main topic. I wish the topics could branch out a little more.

Most of the topics are of some interest to me and the instructor is very knowledgeable in the subject matter.

The topics are very interesting and the instruction is very knowledgeable.

Yes and very.

Yes and yes.

Yes, the topics are very relevant and Burks is a real expert in this area.

Yes.

Yes that’s what I like about the class, yes the instructor is very knowledgeable.

Question 7 - Are the "student-led discussions" of value to you? Has Blackboard been a good tool for class discussions, posting assignments, etc.? Have the interactions in Blackboard added to your learning experience?

Yes and no. Some of the students provide material that challenges my thinking while others are, frankly, a waste of my time. The format is valuable since it gives an insight into the thoughts of the class members as compared to a textbook.

Yes, to hear different opinions.

This gives us a chance to think and look onto the Internet, rather than reading material and just feeding the information back to the instructor.

I don't think I’ve taken as much out of the discussions as I’d hoped I would.

While I understand the reason for having the student-led discussions, it seems like most of the subjects are repeated from person to person. Blackboard has been a good tool for this class and the interactions have added to my learning experience.

Blackboard has been great!

I'm really surprised at how well the student-led discussions are working. I wish my other instructors would use this approach!

It is always good to interact with your fellow students, but sometimes it overwhelming the amount and numbers of postings.

It is have to reinvent some of the material 20 plus times, I try to post early.

Yes, but because of the class size it ends up being a lot of reading. They have helped a bit, but not too much.

I really like the student led discussions because they bring out a lot of good experiences. The interaction of the professor with the students has been the best things.

The student interaction adds a little philosophic interest into the discussions.

Yes, I am usually a quiet person in class who doesn't speak much. This way I feel more comfortable voicing my opinion.

I love the student lead discussions and would prefer more of that than the writing. I only wish I had more time to interact and concentrate more on that. There are so many different discussions to be involved in in this class and I enjoy it so much.

Yes. Blackboard is a good tool. Although, I don't care for the updates. It will take some getting used to.

Yes.

I agree they have been very helpful in learning to create arguments and learning how to add value to discussion.

Question 8 - Are you getting the "right" amount of feedback from your instructor?

Yes, at the help of his peer aid.

Yes, very much so.

Absolutely.

Yes.

Yes! I have never had a professor that participated this much in an online class. I really appreciate it.

Yes - Burks always responds promptly. I like the personal e-mail he sends me.

Yes, he is very responsive.

Perfect.

Yes, except I would like our grades posted a little quicker. Most weeks they are promptly put out there, but the last two weeks have taken awhile to get posted. Has last week's grade been posted yet?

Sometimes I feel that the instructor is being too critical at times and that can make people less confident about their discussions.

Yes.

I think so.

Yes, excellent.

Considering the vast number of responses, he is one of the most interactive professors I have ever had.

Question 9 - Is the instructor's teaching style appropriate for an online course?

Yes, I think by letting the students lead their own discussion they are more involved and therefore learning more.

Burks brings great enthusiasm and interesting discussions to the class.

Yes, the instructor is a very good teacher.

Very appropriate.

He is great, it seems that he is always online.

Yes.

Yes. Burks is a competent instructor.

It's much different than other online classes I’ve taken

Yes - he's very interactive.

A+

Yes, the instructor is excellent. He is very dedicated to this class and on-line teaching. He answers all of my questions and every one else’s in a very timely manner. I wish all of my on-line teachers were this dedicated.

Yes.

Oh yes! He is a real role model for an online instructor! I wish my other teachers were more like him!!

Yes it is.

Question 10 - Anything else you want to comment on?

I did not know what to expect from the class, but I believe several of the students have benefited from some of the weekly discussions.

No.

None.

This class is really good and I would recommend it to other students.

Great instructor, seems to be always available to give information and assistance.

Great course! What course are you teaching next semester? I want to be in it!!

Job well done to Burks and Georgianna!

Not at this time.

Enjoying myself!

Nope.

I like using the Pew reports, they are very interesting studies that allow us to add our experience to the research.

I really enjoy how the discussion board is handled by the responses put into the subject line being easy to follow.

I'm just enjoying the class but wish there weren't so many posts without substance. Those seem to be a waste of my time as well as being annoying.