CS 4984 Multimedia, Hypertext and Information Access - Pretest, S95

This Pre Test Survey should not be printed, or looked at by anyone not starting to take CS4984.

Please mark all answers in the appropriate spot(s) on a large opscan form.

The information you provide as answers will be used by the CS Dept. to improve this course and for an NSF funded study. All information will be kept in the strictest confidence. Individual information will not be released or reported in any document. Only group statistics will be included in publications dealing with this study. Do NOT mark your name or student id number on the opscan, to preserve your anonymity. Return your opscan to your instructor.

Note: "during this course" refers to any actions to be taken this semester.
Note: "your computer" refers to any computer in your possession, home or office.

  1. What type(s) of computer will you use to access the network in this course? (Mark all that apply.)
    1. Intel PC or compatible
    2. Macintosh
    3. Unix Workstation
    4. other

    For the next set of questions, reply either:

    1. Yes
    2. No
  2. Does your computer have a CD-ROM reader?
  3. Do you plan or will you continue to access the Internet after taking this course?
  4. Have you setup your computer to allow you or others to login to it by phone or over some network during this course?
  5. Do you (or have you) run a bulletin board or FTP site on your computer due to this course?
  6. Have you learned to run SLIP on your computer during this course?
  7. Have you accessed an account on a commercial network such as CompuServe, Genie, Prodigy or America On-line as a result of this course?

    For the next two questions, please choose from among these answers:

    1. None
    2. 0-2 hours
    3. 2-5 hours
    4. 5-10 hours
    5. 10-15 hours
    6. 15-20 hours
    7. More than 20 hours
  8. How many hours of a typical week will you spend using a computer to do classwork this semester?
  9. How many hours of a typical week will you spend using a computer for things OTHER than classwork or employment (job)? Include things like playing games, accessing networks, emailing friends, reading news, etc.

    For the next three questions, please estimate how you divide the time you spend using a computer for NON-JOB RELATED ACTIVITIES (i.e., classwork and personal computing). Each number means 10%; thus, mark 5 if you spend 50% of your computer time at that location. Divide your time as best you can such that the three add to 100%.

  10. Your computer or that of a family member or friend.
  11. A school classroom or lab computer.
  12. A computer at work.

    For the next set of questions please give one best response from among the following:

    1. I have never used this program or system.
    2. Used only once or twice.
    3. Used less than 10 times.
    4. Used 10 or more times.
    5. I have used this program or system frequently.
  13. FTP
  14. Mosaic, Netscape, Lynx, MacWeb, Cello
  15. Gopher
  16. Kermit (or other terminal emulation communication program)
  17. Email on Internet
  18. Email on a LAN
  19. Email on a commercial network
  20. Any news group reader (e.g., USENET, LISTSERV)
  21. Archie
  22. Telnet
  23. Veronica
  24. xprcedit
  25. PKZIP, Stuffit, Compact Pro, compress, gzip, or other compression programs
  26. CD-ROM software and/or applications
  27. KMS, HyperCard, ToolBook, SuperCard, or other hypertext or hypermedia systems
  28. HTML editors, SGML editors, Macromedia Director, AuthorWare, or other hypermedia authoring systems
  29. Lotus 123, Microsoft Excel, Quatro Pro, or other spreadsheet programs
  30. MacDraw, MacPaint, CorelDraw, or other drawing or paint programs
  31. MacWrite, Word, Word Perfect, or other word processing programs
  32. dBase, FoxPro, Sybase, Paradox, or other database programs
  33. MIDI or digital audio playback on computer
  34. QuickTime, Video for Windows, DVI, MPEG or other digital movie/video playback software
  35. Will you access library OPACS (On-line Public Access Catalogs) during this course (e.g., VTLS)?
    1. Yes
    2. No
  36. Will you access Electronic Journals during this course?
    1. Yes
    2. No
  37. Will you access other library information search programs during this course?
    1. Yes
    2. No
  38. How do you expect to read articles assigned for the course (check all that apply):
    1. Using xprcedit
    2. from a printed journal copy
    3. from a reserve copy of the articles
    4. from a copy you made of the articles
    5. another way
  39. Which of the following do you intend to use on a regular basis after this course (check all that apply)?
    1. KMS
    2. Mosaic or similar WWW tool (e.g., Netscape)
    3. xprcedit to access page images in the CS digital library
    4. MARIAN (after its files are brought up-to-date with VTLS)
  40. PostScript is (mark all that apply):
    1. a programming language
    2. a format for pages
    3. something used by printers
    4. a database language
  41. JPEG is (mark all that apply):?
    1. a scheme for text compression
    2. a scheme for image compression
    3. a vendor standard
    4. an international standard

    For the next set of questions, please choose from among these answers:

    1. 1 kilobyte
    2. 10 kilobytes
    3. 100 kilobytes
    4. 1 megabyte
    5. 10 megabytes
    6. 100 megabytes
    7. 1 gigabyte
    8. 10 gigabytes
    9. 100 gigabytes
  42. Good quality digital audio data typically requires about how much space per minute in compressed form?
  43. Good quality digital video data typically requires about how much space per minute in uncompressed form?
  44. Good quality digital video data typically requires about how much space per minute in compressed form?
  45. A single CD-ROM can store about how much information?
  46. A typical local area network (e.g., ethernet, token ring) can transport how much information per second?
  47. Boolean queries are useful for (mark all that apply):
    1. accessing digital audio
    2. searching text databases
    3. authoring hypermedia
    4. speech recognition
  48. Hypertext almost always includes (mark all those that best apply):
    1. audio files
    2. equations
    3. nodes
    4. databases
    5. links
    6. video files
    7. anchors
  49. A knowbot is (mark all that apply):
    1. a software routine
    2. a hardware device
    3. something that works on networks
    4. something that exhibits "intelligent" behavior
    5. a person

    Survey of WWW Usage

  50. How often do you plan to check into the CS 4984 class WWW pages?
    1. daily
    2. biweekly
    3. once a week
    4. less frequently
  51. What facility will you primarily use?
    1. Home system
    2. CS laboratory (McB 102 or 116)
    3. one of the University Macintosh laboratories
    4. a computer in your office
    5. other
  52. What platform will you primarily use?
    1. DECstation (any variety) or DEC Alpha
    2. Amiga
    3. Macintosh
    4. IBM or clone
    5. other
  53. Do you print off pages from the WWW?
    1. Always
    2. frequently
    3. assignments only
    4. never
  54. Do you read long WWW articles from a screen or do you print them for reading?
    1. Always from screen
    2. usually from screen
    3. sometimes from screen and sometimes from printed page
    4. usually from printed page
    5. always from printed page
  55. What page will you use as your primary CS4984 entry point?
    1. Calendar
    2. Outline
    3. Announcements page
    4. Table of Contents page
  56. I use a hotlist to navigate through the WWW:
    1. Yes
    2. No
  57. How many items do your have on your hotlist (estimate)?
    1. less than 5
    2. 6-10
    3. 10-20
    4. more than 20
  58. Compared to having notes on file at the reserve desk of the library, is the use of WWW:
    1. Very much better
    2. somewhat better
    3. about the same
    4. somewhat worse
    5. very much worse
  59. Having course notes and class materials available on WWW is:
    1. overwhelming
    2. useful
    3. better than nothing
    4. useless
  60. Having on-line course information that can be updated regularly so that I can always find out the latest information about the course is:
    1. Overdoing things
    2. OK
    3. distracting
    4. a waste of time
  61. There are better ways of providing student access to course materials than using WWW, such as (check all that you believe are better):
    1. Class hand-outs
    2. on reserve at the library
    3. available at a copy center
    4. other

    For the following questions, please reply using the following choices:

    1. True
    2. somewhat true
    3. neutral
    4. somewhat false
    5. false
  62. There are pages and links on the WWW related to this course that I have never visited.
  63. I would like to see MORE reading material anywhere on the WWW rather than having to visit the library or buy the book.
  64. When I get on WWW to visit the class notes I also visit many other sites on the web.
  65. I like the idea that the material presented in class is also available on the WWW.
  66. I would pay a fee for WWW access to copyrighted material rather than buying the book (assuming that the overall cost was less than the cost of the book).
  67. I would like to see the WWW class notes expanded to include additional material that is not generally included in overheads and on chalk boards.
  68. Often I may want to do work on this course but getting to the WWW is too difficult and so I will do something else.
  69. The idea of a paperless course is ridiculous.
  70. The concept of a paperless course should be extended to make all assignments, examinations, and student interaction through WWW or e- mail.
  71. I would welcome other courses using this technology to present class materials.
  72. WWW will only work in a course when it is dealing with a non- technical topic.
  73. I believe that I could successfully complete a course from the WWW without ever going to class.
  74. Entries on the WWW should consist only of the outlines of articles and books for emphasis, and the originals should be made available on reserve at the library.
  75. I would prefer paper to the WWW material because I can highlight and write on paper notes.
  76. The use of images to break up the look of pages makes the pages look more attractive and eye catching.
  77. The use of "pretty" images in the text of a WWW page takes a long time to down load and display, and should be discouraged.
  78. When I use Mosaic, I generally work with the "auto-load images" option turned off.
  79. I miss out on information about the course because I do not have ready access to the WWW pages.

    In the next 2 questions, how would you describe yourself?

  80. I am:
    1. A night owl
    2. well organized
    3. disorganized
    4. 9-5 type
  81. I am:
    1. Extrovert
    2. somewhat outgoing
    3. neither extrovert nor introvert
    4. somewhat quiet
    5. introverted

    For the following questions, please reply using the following choices:

    1. Very much better
    2. somewhat better
    3. about the same
    4. somewhat worse
    5. very much worse
  82. Is the fact that you could take quizes whenever and wherever you find most convenient better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  83. Is the time it took to get works graded better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  84. Is the use of email for quizes and other communication with the instructor better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  85. Is the availability of the instructor to tutor better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  86. Is the way WWW was used in class for lectures better than the way lectures are given in other courses at Virginia Tech?
  87. Are Unit Assignments, with various parts, including exercies and readings, better than other types of assignments found in other courses at Virginia Tech?
  88. Is the fact that lectures are optional better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  89. Is the fact that many of the classes were held in the lab better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  90. Is the way you are allowed to work at your own pace in this course better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  91. Is the fact that you get full credit for a unit no matter how much time and how many quizes it takes to master it, better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  92. Is the way the final was run, in a lab with the same type of information access as was available during the semester, better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  93. In general, is the Personalized System of Instruction format of this course better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  94. Is the KMS system better than Mosaic and WWW for accessing course notes?
  95. Is the KMS system better than Mosaic and WWW for reading articles (e.g., reading the Hypertext Compendium vs. reading the CS2984 notes on multimedia)?

    Consider the following changes that could be made to the WWW materials for this course. For each of the following, indicate if the change would make the WWW materials:

    1. Very much better
    2. somewhat better
    3. about the same
    4. somewhat worse
    5. very much worse
  96. Adding in maps to show the structure, and cues on pages to show where you are in the structure.
  97. Having graphics, buttons, and other additions to liven up the display.
  98. More prose, to fill in the gaps in the outlines.
  99. More links, to allow easier navigation, say between the course notes and the assignments.
  100. Automatic launching of exercises, to eliminate your having to work with UNIX and X.

Please send the instructor any other comments you care to make about the course. Many thanks for your time and assistance!

Author: Edward A. Fox
Curator: Computer Science Dept : VA TECH. (c) Copyright 1995.
Last Updated: 5/6/95