The Usage Patterns report provides insights into how Xorro-Q is being used, for example: whether real-time or self-paced sessions are used; what types of questions are preferred; how participants access activities.  The patterns are displayed in charts for each filtered combination of date range and user(s).

Usage Pattern charts are as follows:

• Question Types: This piechart displays the count of all questions of all different Question Types which have been asked (by the selected user during the selected time period) and have received at least one answer.  This combines questions from both Real Time and Self-Paced activities.  The report is on questions which have been "asked" rather than questions created (or "authored").
• Activity Login Types:  The activity Login Type is specified during activity creation, and confirmed (or changed) when the activity is launched.  This pie chart displays the proportion of activities created (by selected facilitators and during the selected time period) which are set to be accessed using each of the Login Types (Alias only; ID only, Group only, or Any).
• Activity Types: This pie chart displays the count of real-time versus self-paced activities created during the selected time period.
• Participant Login Types: This piechart presents the count of respondents to running activities during the selected period based on participant type (ID or Alias).   This presewnts similar data to the Activity Login Type chart (above) but is participant-centric rather than activity-centric.  It considers the effect of how the activity access has been set:  ie how many participants ultimately login with an alias as opposed to an ID.
• Instant versus Pre-prepared Questions (Real-Time only):  This pie chart compares the count of all "instant" questions asked, with the count of all questions which were created in advance.  The graph is filtered to include only real-time activities (as there cannot be any instant questions in a self-paced activity).
• Batch Length:  Two stacked column charts represent the length of batches for real-time activities and for self-paced activities launched during the selected time period.  These compare the counts of batches containg just 1 question, 2-5 questions, 6-10 questions, or more than 10 questions.  Note that self-paced activities contain nonly one batch each (of various questions), however real-time activities can contain multiuple batches.  By definition, an Instant Question is an a batch of its own, hence is a single-question batch.

Comments regarding the relevance and value of these reports follow.

Question Types:  Multiple choice questions are the most popular question type, largely because responses are so easily codified.  They are also often popular with respondents as the prtovision of options inherently hints at solutions.  Multiple choice questions can also be modified relatively easily, by changing options or changing text, and because they are bso easily assessed multiple choice questions are readily exchanged between platforms.  However, research indicates that other question types such as numeric, hotspot and label questions may have greater learning efficacy, and in some cases achieve greater participant engagement as well.

Activity Login Types:  This indicates the extent to which data is being collected in a consistent and codifiable way and hence can be relied upon for use in gradebook and in engagement data.  The use of "selected group only" is recommended best practice except where participant anonymity is required.

Activity Types:  This chart distinguishes between using Xorro-Q with live audiences and using it for self-paced activities.  The use of interactive questionning during a live presentation or lecture offers opportunities to improve engagement and learning experience.  However the ability to smoothly interact with a large audience can be challenging for many facilitators.  Self-paced activities are less intimidating, and more akin to conventional assignments.

Participant Login Types:  As for the Activity Login Type chart, the purpose of this chart is to indicate what proportion of participants are experiencing the benefits of an identified participant relationship in Xorro, as opposed to operating anominously.  This has consequnces for the quality of data coding and also on the quality and consistency of participant experience using Xorro-Q.

Instant versus pre-prepared questions (in real-time sessions only):  The use of Instant Questions offers the confident presenter facilitator a low-effort, instant pathway for interacting with live audinces easily and usefully.  This chart adds detail to the above comparison of real-time versus self-paced activities, by describing how facilitators choose to make use of Xorro-Q in live settings.  In-class quizzes will almost always make use of pre-prepared questions, however the practice of engaging an audience in a Socratic dialogue is not easily supported other than through Instant Questions.  To the extent that spontaneity adds to audience engagement, the choice to use Instant Questions might be an indicator of effort towards improving in-session engagement.   As with the Ativity Types indicator, the extent to which Instant Questions are used by Facilitators might in some cases be indicative of their confidence in interacting spontaneously with a live audience.  

Batch Length:  The number of questions in a batch determines how long a group of participants interacts continuously with Xorro-Q in between Facilitator prompts.  In real-time sessions this is an important figure, and it contributes to the picture of how the facilitator is using Xorro-Q.  If the use of questions during the activity is focussed on delivering quizzes (for example towards the start or end of a lecture) then these activities will consist of questions with longer batches (more questions per batch).  On tyhe other hand, if the facilitator is applying a pattern of asking questions during the lecture as a means of lifting engagement, then the activity will trend toward smaller batch sizes.  For comparison purposes, a second stacked bar chart displays similar data extracted from self-paced activirties, which necessarily consist of one batch each.  Self-paced activities do not have to be finished in a single session, and there can be feedback provided following each individual question.  However, activity completion is an important milestone for participants, with a summary report at the end of each activity providing reflective opportunities.  Since an activity (and any of its questions cannot be repeated until it has been completed, the length of self-paced activities has consequences for the participant experience.  Activities with more than 15 questions tend to receive less enthusiastic feedback from participants than those having less than 15 questions, with participants indicating clearly that they prefer to complete more, smaller activities as opposed to completing fewer, larger ones (involving the same number of questions in total).

Categories: Xorro-Q, Admin / IT, Facilitators.
Tags: reports.