Sophia Cortez Survey seeks technology feedbackÂ
Information Technology invites undergraduate students to participate in the EDUCAUSE Students and Technology Survey, which collects data on how technology impacts students’ academic experience. The voluntary and anonymous survey will remain open through Dec. 12.
Veronica Serna, program coordinator for Strategy and Business Relationships, told The Rider the survey is conducted with the participation of universities all over the country.
“[EDUCAUSE does] surveys to gather information about anything from technology and how the technology is working for the students,” Serna said.
The program coordinator added this year the survey will include distinct categories, such as mental health.
“We have over 525, a little bit over 500,” Serna said, referring to the number of UTRGV students who have participated. “… This year, we started doing a variety of areas where to distribute flyers, where to put posters and it’s been very helpful.”
She said IT seeks to improve technology benefits, such as internet access and computers on campus, with the results of the survey.
Irma Hermida, business relationship manager for Information Technology, said students’ feedback helps the future of digital learning at UTRGV.
“Well, we want them to be honest about their experience, right?” Hermida said. “… It doesn’t take that long; it takes about 15 minutes. It’s their opportunity to shape the future of digital learning on our campus.”
She added the survey also evolves depending on current technological trends.
“Like [artificial intelligence] is the big thing now, right?” the manager said. “So, how in the last year has that impacted them?”
Daisy Guillen, an early care and early childhood studies senior, said she has never taken the survey before.
“I thought it was a little sketchy because I read a part where it said that you could win something in a raffle so I thought maybe it was spam,” Guillen said.
After The Rider explained to her what the survey was about, Guillen said she thought the survey can help students transition fully into technology and can help the transition from Blackboard to Brightspace.
Hermida said the data allows comparison between nationwide universities and the UTRGV community.
“I love the fact that they can, you know, the information that we receive, we can see how we can compare to the rest of the nation, which is nice,” she said. “But we also get our own data so we can see what our particular needs in our campus and how we can make changes and invest in the right technology to get us where the rest of the nation is.”
Students can participate by entering the link sent to their UTRGV email and will have a chance to win a $50 gift card by Giftogram, a digital gifting platform. Winners can choose directly from a variety of retailers and services.
For more information about EDUCAUSE and the survey, visit their website.
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