128 · Representative Documents: Assessment Reports and Instruments
INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON
Survey Report: Listening and timeline use
http://variations2.indiana.edu/pdf/m544-listening-and-timeline-use.pdf
Survey report ::Listening and timeline use Page 2 of 26
Executive Summary
After introduction of Variations2 timelines in one of the classes at the IU school of music,
two surveys were conducted to collect data about students’ listening habits and use of the timeline
tool as well as identify the level of satisfaction with Variations2. In addition to surveys, log files
of Variations and Variations2 were analyzed to back up findings from surveys.
During the week of November 9, 2004 and at the end of the fall 2004 semester students of
the M544 “Piano literature: 1850 to the present” class were asked to fill out a questionnaires
asking about frequency of use, tool preferences and general satisfaction with Variations2. Most
questions in the first and second surveys were different a few questions about listening as well as
background information questions were the same. Thirteen and seven responses were collected
for first and second surveys respectively.
In general, students reported that Variations2 helped them prepare for class and somewhat
motivated them to do the listening. All respondents of the first survey reported using Variations2
a lot. Even though Variations2 was available for installation at home and some students installed
it, most of them listened to Variations2 recordings in the library (10 out of 13 in the first survey.)
The number of hours spent listening depended on the time in the semester: students spent more
hours listening with Variations2 closer to exams. This pattern was confirmed by log file analysis.
Surveys and log file analysis also demonstrated that students accepted Variations2 and its
timelines as a learning tool. They used Variations2 intensively during Unit 2 (the unit of the
semester when Variations2 links were made available in the syllabus by instructor). They also
used Variations2 in preparation for the final exam. Six respondents from the second survey said
they preferred Variations2 over Variations. All second survey participants reported missing
Variations2 in the last unit of the class, when there were no Variations2 links in the syllabus.
Students indicated high satisfaction with the timeline tool. The average helpfulness of
Variations2 timelines was rated as high as 6.6 (from 7 being the highest rating). The visual
representation of a piece in a timeline was rated 6.5 on average
Overall, the study provides empirical justification for switching from Variations to
Variations2 indicating that students like Variations2 and are willing to use it in preparation for
class and will accept using it in class. Due to small samples sizes and relatively low response rate
from second survey, further surveying is necessary to substantiate findings from this study with
larger, more representative data.
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