New  Media  -­‐  the  challenge  for  traditional  media,  advertisers  and  communicators  -­‐  

       

Erasmus  Course  Evaluation      

Lecturer:  Ana  ADI          

Session  2011/2012  Semester  2  –  May  2012  

 

At   the  end  of   the  New  Media   course,   the  25  participating   students  were  asked   to  take  a  survey  in  order  to  evaluate  the  New  Media  course  together  with  the  lecturer’s  method,   approach   and   enthusiasm.   The   evaluation   survey   was   accessible   online  leaving  students  with  the  option  of  taking  it  at  their  own  pace  and  in  the  absence  of  the  lecturer.  To  avoid  bias,  students  were  asked  to  submit  their  answers  before  their  final   grades  were  delivered.   15  out  of   the   total   of   25  participating   students   in   the  course  took  the  survey,  offering  responses  from  60%  of  the  course  participants.  

The  survey’s  structure  of  the  previous  semesters  has  been  maintained.    

Overall,  66.6%  of  the  responding  students  (10  out  of  the  15  respondents)  found  the  course,   the   overall   content   and   the   overall   teaching   effectives   as   “excellent”.   All  other  answers  recorded  rated  the  course  as  “very  good”  or  “good”.    

 

 1.  Overall  course  evaluation  results  

   Asked   to   evaluate   specific   aspects   of   the   course   or   the   teaching   process,   the  students   responses   confirm   the   high   evaluations   of   the   overall   course   as  most   of  their  answers  provide  “excellent”  or  “very  good”  ratings.  The  lecturer’s  enthusiasm  was  rated  by  the  majority  of  students  as  “excellent”  followed  by  equal  evaluations  of  “the   lecturer’s   use   of   technology”,   “the   lecturer’s   availability   to   offer   extra   help  when  asked”  (80%,  12  out  of  15),  “the  lecturer’s  use  of  examples  and  illustrations”  and  “the  lecturer’s  ability  to  present  alternative  explanations”    (73.3%,  11  out  of  15).      This   indicates   that   the   lecturer’s   support   is   not   only   needed   but   also   very  appreciated   when   the   course   is   problem-­‐based   and   the   students’   learning   is   the  result  of  an  exploratory  yet  applied  process.          

2.  Specific  course  elements  evaluation    

 Among  other  aspects  of  the  course  evaluated  were  the  relevance  and  usefulness  of  the   course   content   (60%   excellent,   9   out   of   15),   the   balance   between   theory   and  practice  (46.6%  excellent  –  7  out  of  15  -­‐    and  53.3  very  good  –  8  out  of  15)  and  the  use  of  class  time  (40%  excellent,  40%  very  good  –  6  out  of  15).    

   

3.  Other  course  dimensions  evaluated  

 Three  qualitative  questions  were  part  of  the  survey  as  well.  They  aimed  to  determine  the   areas   that   students   most   liked   or   disliked   as   well   as   identify   elements   that  students  would  have  wanted  the  course   to  cover.  Even  with   the  course  covering  7  sessions  at  a  total  of  24  hours  of  contact,  some  students  still  suggested  the  course  to  take  even   longer  or   to  be   scheduled   in   such  a  way  as   to  provide   them  with   some  decompression  and/or  reflection  time.      With   regards   to   the   content   covered,   the   students   answering   the   qualitative  questions   indicated   a   desire   to   generate   marketing/advertising   campaigns.   With  more  students  coming  from  a  business  background,  this  suggestion  is  not  surprising.      Two   students   suggested   that   the   impact   of   new   media   on   journalism   practice  assignment   would   be   replaced   with   something   else,   another   writing   for   the   web  activity  being  suggested  as  an  alternative.      

   

4.  Suggested  improvements    

One  the  changes  suggested  makes  reference  to  the  new  media  impact  on  journalism  day   and   practice.   Taking   into   account   that   most   students   in   this   semester   had   a  background   in   business   and/or   business   administration,   their   suggestion   reflects  

their   different   subject   interests   as  well   as   their   contact  with   journalism.  However,  discussing   about   creative   industries   and   new   media   production   and   influence  without   making   reference   to   journalism,   citizen   journalism   would   depict   an  incomplete  picture.  

 Finally,  among   the   things   the   students   liked   the  most  were   the   interactivity  of   the  course,  the  social  media  audit  exercise  and  the  perceived  expertise  of  the  lecturer.    

 

 5.  “What  did  you  like  more  about  this  course”  answers  

   

Observations  and  Conclusions:  All  the  answers  given  to  the  questions  asked  are  in  the  higher  positive  range  with  the  majority  being  in  the  range  of  very  good  and  excellent.      The  areas  marked  the  students  as  being  excellent  (obtaining  also  the  majority  vote)  were:    

• The  relevance  and  usefulness  of  the  course  content  (60%)  • The  lecturer’s  interest  in  whether  they  learned  (53.3%)  • The  lecturer’s  enthusiasm  (86.6%)  • The  lecturer’s  use  of  technology  (80%)  

• the  lecturer's  encouragement  given  to  you  to  express  yourself  (66.6%)  

 The  practical  aspects  of   the  course  were  mentioned  as  strong  points  of   the  course  and  good   learning  experiences.   It  should  be  noted  that  this  semester   featured  two  individual   assignments   and   one   teamwork   project.   To   showcase   the   student’s  assignments  the  students  chose  wordpress  as  their  showcase  platform:    http://kathonewmedia.wordpress.com    The  students  final  projects  will  also  be  shown  on  in  this  space.      It  is  notable  that  many  of  the  students  indicate  as  an  important  factor  the  lecturer’s  enthusiasm   and   support.   As   with   previous   semesters,   this   shows   reiterates   the  potential,   if   not   the   need,   for   courses   to   be   delivered   in   a   more   interactive   way  where  students  are  constantly  given  challenges  to  solve  together  with  the  lecturer.  Having  a  problem-­‐based  learning  approach  in  this  case  is  perhaps  the  best  solution,  ensuring  the  students  apply  and/or  discover  the  content  they  need  in  order  to  fulfil  their  tasks.          Recommendations  and  suggestions:    Taking  into  account  the  students’  observations  and  in  an  attempt  to  make  a  link  to  the  areas  determined  in  the  course  evaluation  as  having  a  potential  for  improvement  it  is  suggested:  

• Extended  encouragement  to  use  alternative  platforms    • Extend  the  discussion  to  hardware  changes  and  impact  • Present  the  journalism  day  in  a  different  light  to  make  it  relevant  to  business  

students.