CS 4624 Multimedia, Hypertext and Information Access
Pre-test, S96

This Pre-Test Survey should not be printed, or looked at by anyone not starting to take CS4624.

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 planned or expected to be taken this semester.
Note: "your computer" refers to any computer in your possession, home or office.
  1. In addition to the computers used in the labs and field trip sites, will you make extensive use of any other computer (e.g., your own) during this course? If so, what type is it likely to be? (Please pick the best choice below.)
    1. no other computer
    2. Intel PC or compatible
    3. Macintosh
    4. Unix workstation
    5. another type
    For the next set of questions, reply either:
    1. Yes.
    2. No.
  2. Does your computer have a CD-ROM reader?
  3. Will you set up your computer to allow you or others to login to it by phone or over some network during this course?
  4. Will you run a bulletin board or FTP site on your computer due to this course?
  5. Will you access 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
  6. How many hours of a typical week will you spend using a computer to do (any type of) class-related work (for all your courses) this semester?
  7. 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 will 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%.
  8. your computer or that of a family member or friend
  9. a school classroom or lab computer
  10. 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. I have used it only once or twice.
    3. I have used it less than 10 times.
    4. I have used it 10 or more times.
    5. I have used this program or system frequently.
  11. FTP
  12. Mosaic, Netscape, Lynx, MacWeb, Cello, or other WWW browser
  13. Gopher
  14. Kermit (or other terminal emulation communication program)
  15. email on Internet
  16. email on a LAN
  17. email on a commercial network
  18. any news group reader (e.g., USENET, LISTSERV)
  19. any library OPACS (On-line Public Access Catalogs) (e.g., MARIAN, VTLS)?
  20. MOOs, MUDs or MUSHes
  21. Archie
  22. Telnet
  23. Veronica
  24. PKZIP, Stuffit, Compact Pro, compress, gzip, cjpeg, or other compression program
  25. CD-ROM software and/or application
  26. KMS, HyperCard, ToolBook, SuperCard, or other non-WWW hypertext/hypermedia system
  27. Macromedia Director, AuthorWare, or other hypermedia authoring system
  28. Lotus 123, Microsoft Excel, Quatro Pro, or other spreadsheet program
  29. MacDraw, MacPaint, CorelDraw, Illustrator, Photoshop or other draw/paint/image program
  30. editors for HTML or SGML (e.g., Author/Editor, HoTMetaL, PageMill)
  31. MacWrite, Word, Word Perfect, or other word processing program
  32. dBase, FoxPro, Sybase, Paradox, or other database program
  33. MIDI or digital audio playback on computer (including SoundEdit)
  34. Adobe Premiere, Radius Edit or other digital movie/video editing software
  35. QuickTime, Video for Windows, DVI, MPEG or other digital movie/video playback software
    For the following questions, select the single best answer:
  36. How will you read articles assigned for the course?
    1. using a page image viewing routine (e.g., Dienst, IBM digital library, 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
  37. PostScript is?
    1. a scheme for mail
    2. a multimedia system
    3. a programming language for pages
    4. a database language
  38. JPEG is?
    1. a scheme for text compression
    2. a scheme for audio compression
    3. a proprietary vendor standard
    4. an international image compression standard
    5. a programming language
  39. Boolean queries are most useful for?
    1. accessing digital audio
    2. searching text databases
    3. authoring hypermedia
    4. speech recognition
  40. Hypertext almost always includes?
    1. audio files
    2. equations
    3. links
    4. video files
  41. A knowbot is?
    1. a type of knowledge base
    2. a hardware device
    3. something that works on networks
    4. a person
    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?
    Survey of MOO/WWW Usage

  47. How often will you check into the CS 4984 class MOO/WWW info?
    1. daily
    2. biweekly
    3. once a week
    4. less frequently
  48. What facility will you primarily use?
    1. home system
    2. CS laboratory (e.g., McB 116)
    3. one of the University Macintosh laboratories
    4. a computer in your office
    5. other
  49. Will you print off pages from the MOO/WWW?
    1. always
    2. frequently
    3. assignments only
    4. never
  50. Will you read long MOO/WWW articles from a screen or will 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
  51. What WWW page will you use as your primary CS4984 entry point?
    1. Calendar
    2. Outline
    3. Announcements
    4. Navigation Map
    5. Home page
    6. Assignments page
    7. Index page
  52. How many items will you have on your hotlist/bookmarks (estimate)?
    1. less than 5
    2. 6-10
    3. 10-20
    4. more than 20
  53. 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
  54. Compared to having notes on file at the reserve desk of the library and/or a copy center, is it likely that the use of MOO/WWW is:
    1. very much better
    2. somewhat better
    3. about the same
    4. somewhat worse
    5. very much worse
  55. Having interactive modules, collaboration support tools, course notes and class materials available on MOO/WWW is, compared to the usual course arrangement:
    1. very much better
    2. somewhat better
    3. about the same
    4. somewhat worse
    5. very much worse
    For the following questions, please reply using the following choices:
    1. true
    2. somewhat true
    3. neutral
    4. somewhat false
    5. false
  56. There are pages and links on the WWW related to this course that I will never visit.
  57. I would like to see MORE reading material anywhere on the WWW rather than having to visit the library or buy the book.
  58. When I get on WWW to visit the class notes I also will visit many other sites on the Web.
  59. I like the idea that the material presented in class is also available on the MOO/WWW.
  60. I would pay a fee for WWW access to copyrighted material rather than buying the textbook (assuming that the overall cost was less than the cost of the book).
  61. I would like to have access to a more comprehensive digital library in computer science than is now available, instead of having to access materials in paper/journal/book format.
  62. Often I may want to do work on this course but getting to the MOO/WWW may be too difficult and so I will do something else.
  63. The idea of a paperless course is ridiculous.
  64. The concept of a paperless course - that makes all assignments, examinations, and student interaction possible through MOO/WWW or email - should be extended to a number of other courses at the University.
  65. I would welcome having most courses at the University be paperless courses, functioning similarly to this course.
  66. I believe that I can successfully complete this course without ever going to the lectures.
  67. Entries on the MOO/WWW should be much more limited - consisting only of the outlines of articles and books (to provide emphasis) - with all course materials on paper instead, and available both at copy centers and on reserve at the library.
  68. I would prefer paper to the MOO/WWW material because I can highlight and write on paper notes.
  69. In general, the use of images to break up the look of WWW pages makes the pages look more attractive and eye catching.
  70. 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.
  71. When I use Mosaic or Netscape, I generally work with the "auto-load images" option turned off.
  72. I will miss out on information about the course because I do not have ready access to the MOO/WWW pages.
  73. MOOs are terrible to work with and should not be used with courses.
  74. I will learn a lot about myself and people from working in groups for exercises and the term project.
  75. Having a term project will help me understand the course topics better, and see how they are integrated, than if we only had Units and a Final.
    In the next questions, how would you best describe yourself?
  76. I am a:
    1. morning person
    2. 9-5 type
    3. night owl
    4. alert all times of day
  77. I am:
    1. very well organized
    2. moderately well organized
    3. disorganized
  78. I am:
    1. an 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
  79. 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?
  80. Is the use of email for quizes and other communication with the instructor better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  81. Is the availability of the instructor to tutor in person better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  82. Is the availability of the instructor to tutor using the MOO better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  83. Is the way MOO/WWW will be used in class for lectures better than the way lectures are given in other courses at Virginia Tech?
  84. Are Unit Assignments, with various parts, including exercises and readings, better than other types of assignments found in other courses at Virginia Tech?
  85. Is the fact that lectures are optional better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  86. Is the fact that many of the classes will be held in the lab better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  87. 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?
  88. 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?
  89. Is the way the final will be 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?
  90. In general, is the Personalized System of Instruction format of this course better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
  91. Is having a term project, done in groups, better than the way other courses are run at Virginia Tech?
Please send the instructor any other comments you care to make about the course. Many thanks for your time and assistance!

Copyright 1995, 1996 Edward A. Fox