California Department of Education, Special Education Division’s special project, California Services for Technical Assistance and Training (CalSTAT) is funded through a contract with the Napa County Office of Education. CalSTAT is partially funded from federal funds, State Grants #H027A080116A. Additional federal funds are provided from a federal competitively awarded State Personnel Development Grant to California (#H323A070011) provided from the U.S. Department of Education Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education act (IDEA). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U. S. Department of Education.
The TEACH California website, www.teachcalifornia.org, was established in March of 2004 to help in addressing the continuing teacher shortage in California. The Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Leadership Project, funded by the California Department of Education (CDE), is focused on delivering information resources to potential teachers via the convenient interface of teachcalifornia.org.
After five years of operation, the website has seen almost two million visits, from over one million visitors, generating over six million page views, and continues to be a resource attracting an average of over 1,000 visits per day.
Web-tracking software has recorded that nearly 20% of visitors made two or more visits in the same month, including 28,000 who accessed the site six times or more. Additional web statistics are summarized starting on page 2.
| 2004* | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website Visits | 330,000 | 425,000 | 384,000 | 453,000 | 336,000 | 1,928,000 |
| Unique Visitors** | 207,000 | 241,000 | 201,000 | 220,000 | 196,000 | 1,065,000 |
| Visitors who made one visit | 134,000 | 152,000 | 126,000 | 140,000 | 165,000 | 717,000 |
| Visitors who made two visits | 16,000 | 18,000 | 15,000 | 17,000 | 18,000 | 84,000 |
| Visitors who made 3+ visits | 16,000 | 17,000 | 15,000 | 17,000 | 14,000 | 79,000 |
| Pages Viewed | 973,000 | 1,282,000 | 1,303,000 | 1,481,000 | 1,291,000 | 6,330,000 |
To learn more about visitors to the website, a user survey was developed and added to the website. Over 40,000 responses have been collected since January 2005. Among other questions, the survey asked respondents whether they are considering a career in teaching and if they are taking steps to become at teacher.
| Yes | 31,219 | 78% |
|---|---|---|
| No | 670 | 2% |
| N/A | 8,266 | 20% |
| Yes | 20,078 | 64% |
|---|---|---|
| No | 8,407 | 27% |
| N/A | 2,734 | 9% |
Additional survey responses are summarized starting on page 4.
A visit is a series of actions that begins when a visitor views the first page of the website, and ends when the visitors leaves the site. A single visit can be brief and cursory or extended and meaningful. Visits lulled through 2006 and again in 2008, despite increased traffic in spring and summer of 2007.
A visitor is someone who may visit the website one or many times. The number of unique visitors has fluctuated since the website was launched in 2004, reaching an all-time low in December 2008. There were fewer unique visitors in 2008 than in any earlier year of teachcalifornia.org operation.
About visitor totals: Visitor totals accurately reflect the trend of visitors to the website, but are imprecise. Because visitors are tracked by the computers they use, one visitor using multiple computers will be counted several times, while several visitors using the same school or library computer will be counted as a single visitor.
The following graph reflects the number of visits and visitors to the TEACH California website each month. Traffic is typically greatest in spring and summer, while subsiding somewhat in fall and winter. This pattern could be consistent with college students planning their next move into graduate school or a career at the end of each school year.
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Visits | 330,245 | 425,409 | 384,292 | 452,678 | 335,538 |
| Month with Most Visits | May 50,147 | March 46,993 | March 35,726 | July 48,187 | April 37,260 |
| Month with Fewest Visits | September 31,566 | October 25,356 | February 29,617 | December 28,363 | December 19,674 |
| Total Visitors | 206,965 | 241,002 | 200,776 | 220,092 | 196,496 |
| Month with Most Visitors | May 30,962 | March 26,161 | March 18,814 | May 21,883 | March 20,208 |
| Month with Fewest Visitors | December 19,226 | December 14,583 | December 13,431 | December 14,354 | December 11,899 |
| Visits | Visitors | ||
| 2004 | January | 0 | 0 |
| February | 0 | 0 | |
| March | 535 | 500 | |
| April | 36,568 | 25,677 | |
| May | 50,147 | 30,962 | |
| June | 38,543 | 24,416 | |
| July | 37,487 | 22,882 | |
| August | 36,994 | 22,916 | |
| September | 31,566 | 20,248 | |
| October | 31,862 | 20,151 | |
| November | 33,184 | 19,987 | |
| December | 33,359 | 19,226 | |
| 2005 | January | 41,888 | 24,607 |
| February | 39,409 | 22,339 | |
| March | 46,993 | 26,161 | |
| April | 43,486 | 24,293 | |
| May | 40,254 | 21,660 | |
| June | 38,397 | 21,385 | |
| July | 36,505 | 19,605 | |
| August | 33,865 | 20,104 | |
| September | 27,065 | 15,594 | |
| October | 25,356 | 14,747 | |
| November | 26,672 | 15,924 | |
| December | 25,519 | 14,583 | |
| 2006 | January | 31,731 | 18,141 |
| February | 29,617 | 16,900 | |
| March | 35,726 | 18,814 | |
| April | 33,670 | 18,419 | |
| May | 32,166 | 17,722 | |
| June | 30,578 | 15,788 | |
| July | 32,684 | 16,626 | |
| August | 32,538 | 17,446 | |
| September | 32,062 | 16,135 | |
| October | 32,147 | 15,770 | |
| November | 30,322 | 15,584 | |
| December | 31,051 | 13,431 | |
| 2007 | January | 38,376 | 19,361 |
| February | 31,709 | 16,580 | |
| March | 39,499 | 19,422 | |
| April | 39,784 | 19,615 | |
| May | 44,691 | 21,883 | |
| June | 47,378 | 19,949 | |
| July | 48,187 | 19,838 | |
| August | 40,042 | 18,894 | |
| September | 32,532 | 16,541 | |
| October | 31,712 | 16,770 | |
| November | 30,405 | 16,885 | |
| December | 28,363 | 14,354 | |
| 2008 | January | 33,292 | 18,731 |
| February | 31,871 | 18,356 | |
| March | 34,546 | 20,208 | |
| April | 37,260 | 19,838 | |
| May | 34,095 | 17,330 | |
| June | 27,716 | 16,975 | |
| July | 26,524 | 16,155 | |
| August | 23,612 | 14,850 | |
| September | 21,155 | 14,379 | |
| October | 24,029 | 14,735 | |
| November | 21,764 | 13,040 | |
| December | 19,674 | 11,899 |
The TEACH California website includes a number of pages offering different content. The following chart summarizes the most-accessed pages at teachcalifornia.org. The entry page of the website was the highest-traffic page with almost 143,000 visits in 2008 (down from over 163,000 in 2007), and is excluded from the chart.
Changes to website content and function were initiated on October 17, 2008, and revisions are ongoing. These changes will be completed in late spring, 2009. These changes do not appear to have increased usage of the website so far.
| 2007 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|
| Understand the Requirements http://www.teachcalifornia.org/require/ |
32,301 | 34,915 |
| Find a Teaching Job http://teachcalifornia.org/job/ |
32,645 | 31,607 |
| For Secondary (Single Subject) http://teachcalifornia.org/require/bc01.html |
19,723 | 20,639 |
| Decide if Teaching is For You http://teachcalifornia.org/decide/ |
21,495 | 17,568 |
| Salaries and Benefits http://teachcalifornia.org/decide/ae01.html |
19,094 | 17,049 |
| For Elementary (Multiple Subject) http://teachcalifornia.org/require/bb01.html |
16,548 | 16,831 |
| Find the Right Preparation Program http://teachcalifornia.org/prep/ |
16,490 | 15,290 |
| Make and Follow Your Plan http://teachcalifornia.org/plan/ |
14,111 | 14,272 |
| How to Find the Right Preparation Program http://teachcalifornia.org/prep/da01.html |
13,763 | 12,568 |
| Types of Teaching http://teachcalifornia.org/decide/aa01.html |
14,994 | 12,238 |
General information about teaching, such as requirements and benefits, appears to have received slightly more attention than pages helping to find a job or a preparation program. Many visitors may be using this information to make a decision about whether or not to pursue a career in teaching.
Pages linked from the omnipresent website “banner” at the top of each page continue to receive the most traffic. Of the seven links on the right side of this banner, all except “Find Financial Aid” received more than 10,000 visits in 2008. Five of these were also given prominent links on the entry page (marked, to the right, with asterisks).
A survey greets visitors to the TEACH California website in a “pop-up” window on the “Welcome” page. The survey asks visitors eight short questions to collect demographic information and about their interest in teaching. Because many web browsers are configured to disable pop-up windows, many visitors will not have an opportunity to respond to the survey; however, collected responses are likely to be representative.
Potential teachers (indicated in blue) were the largest share of survey respondents visiting the site.
Currently credentialled teachers may have visited the website seeking information about teaching requirements and employment.
Starting in 2009, the survey will also allow two new responses to this question: “paraeducator” and “counselor/advisor.”
| Response | Number | Percentage | Potential/Current Teachers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career Changer with a College Degree | 12,021 | 31% | Potential Teachers 27,616 respondents 72% |
| College Student | 6,104 | 16% | |
| Community College Student | 2,428 | 6% | |
| Career Changer without a College Degree | 2,046 | 5% | |
| High School Student | 1,227 | 3% | |
| Out-of-Country | 369 | 1% | |
| Middle School Student | 172 | 1% | |
| Other | 3,249 | 9% | |
| Out-of-State Teacher | 4,257 | 11% | Current Teachers 10,827 28% |
| Credentialed Teacher | 3,881 | 10% | |
| Out-of-Country Teacher | 1,825 | 5% | |
| Intern Teacher | 864 | 2% |
Visitors to teachcalifornia.org were mostly female, were balanced among all four age categories, and nearly half were ethnic minorities (45%).
| Response | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Female | 27,517 | 72% |
| Male | 10,963 | 28% |
| Response | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | 10,058 | 26% |
| 25-35 | 14,791 | 38% |
| 36-48 | 7,795 | 20% |
| Over 45 | 6,399 | 16% |
| Response | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Caucasian | 21,057 | 55% |
| Latino/Hispanic | 6,222 | 16% |
| African American | 3,426 | 9% |
| Asian | 2,748 | 7% |
| Filipino/Pacific Islander | 1,670 | 5% |
| Other | 3,169 | 8% |
The survey also asked respondents what kind of teaching they were interested in. Most respondents indicated one of the generic options: either elementary, middle or high school teaching. Additional options in the survey targeted specific areas of teaching: math, science, and special education.
| Response | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary Teacher | 11,779 | 32% |
| High School Teacher | 8,722 | 24% |
| Special Education | 4,123 | 11% |
| Math Teacher | 3,422 | 9% |
| Middle School Teacher | 2,781 | 8% |
| Science Teacher | 2,398 | 7% |
| Undecided | 3,415 | 9% |
Nearly 7,000 respondents either marked “undecided” or left this question blank, suggesting that many visitors may be seeking help in deciding what kind of teacher to become.
Starting in 2009, the survey will also allow one new responses to this question: “speech language pathologist.”
In order to better serve potential teachers, referral data has been collected to determine how people are finding out about teachcalifornia.org. The visitor survey asked, “where did you hear about the TEACH California website.” Because of a change in response options in late 2006, only responses from 2007 are available. Additionally, web-tracking software on the website catalogued almost 140,000 visits that started from links on other websites during 2008 (42% of all visits); these referrers are summarized on page 7.
| Response | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Internet Search | 6,076 | 43% |
| CalTeach Website | 1,622 | 12% |
| CSU Website | 1,278 | 9% |
| College or University | 1,074 | 8% |
| Teacher | 935 | 7% |
| CDE Website | 724 | 5% |
| Commission on Teacher Credentialling | 685 | 5% |
| Brochure | 451 | 3% |
| Counselor | 334 | 2% |
| California Teacher Preparation Program | 246 | 2% |
Web-tracking software also collected statistics on how visitors to the TEACH California website arrived, either directly or referred by another website. When a visitor was directed to teachcalifornia.org by another website, that websites’ addressed was recorded. These online referrals are summarized below.
This internet referrers data collected by web-tracking software may be less reliable than the survey in determining how a visitor learned about the website. For instance, an individual may use a search engine, like Google, to find the address of TEACH California for every visit, no matter how he or she learned about it, instead of typing out the address or bookmarking the page directly.
| Referrer | Percent | Education-related or Commercial Domain? |
|---|---|---|
| ca.gov | 8% | Education-related Domains 27% |
| calstateteach.net | 4% | |
| UC, CSU and Community College Websites | 2% | |
| k.12.ca.us | 2% | |
| jobstar.org | 1% | |
| csumentor.edu | 1% | |
| Other Education-related Websites | 7% | |
| Other California Public Education Sites | 2% | |
| google.com | 42% | Commercial Domains 66% |
| yahoo.com | 9% | |
| Microsoft's msn.com and live.com | 6% | |
| singingfish.com | 6% | |
| Other Commercial Sites | 3% | |
| Sites Referring Fewer than 100 visitors in 2008 | 7% | Unsorted. |
Education-related websites accounted for 39,000 (27%) referred visits to teachcalifornia.org.
Google was the largest single referrer to teachcalifornia.org, with 42% of all internet referred visits (which accounted for 17% of total visits in 2008).
TEACH California provides a number of materials to schools and organizations, helping to bring new teachers into California classrooms. These pamphlets, videos and other materials can be ordered for free through teachcalifornia.org. Materials can also be downloaded from the website. A “toolkit” of nine items can be ordered as well, while the constituent pieces can be ordered or downloaded separately.
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | Grand Total | ||||||||
| Shipped | Online | Shipped | Online | Shipped | Online | Shipped | Online | Shipped | Online | ||||
| Pathways to Teaching | 1,337 | 88 | 7,181 | 388 | 6,539 | 568 | 2,349 | 2,458 | - | 928 | 21,836 | ||
| Toolkit Items | Becoming a SE Teacher in CA | * | 3,859 | 130 | 13,508 | 9,395 | 897 | 4,431 | 4,549 | 10,554 | 1,747 | 49,070 | |
| One Child at a Time (CD) |
4 | n/a | 3,422 | n/a | 742 | n/a | 570 | n/a | 777 | n/a | 5,515 | ||
| One Child at a Time (VHS) |
3 | n/a | 306 | n/a | 712 | n/a | 385 | n/a | 809 | n/a | 2,215 | ||
| Video Guide | 114 | 164 | 3,393 | 201 | 699 | 543 | 547 | 575 | 766 | 17 | 7,019 | ||
| Paraeducator | * | * | 130 | * | 2,020 | 754 | 2,069 | 3,428 | 7,503 | 986 | 16,890 | ||
| Poster | 122 | 95 | 3,395 | 203 | 947 | 433 | 571 | 518 | 947 | 17 | 7,248 | ||
| Service Learning | 1,127 | * | 5,184 | * | 4,772 | 1,001 | 1,711 | 1,212 | 7,544 | 311 | 22,862 | ||
| Teach Math | * | 316 | 130 | 4 | 4,345 | 550 | 11,175 | 1,004 | 11,567 | 62 | 29,153 | ||
| Teach Science | * | 91 | 130 | 2 | 4,843 | 786 | 11,946 | 2,654 | 11,296 | 21 | 32,040 | ||
| Total Shipped and Downloaded |
7,320 | 37,707 | 40,546 | 52,152 | 55,852 | 193,577 | |||||||
This report was developed for CalSTAT by the SIG Evaluation Team of Cheryl “Li” Walter, PhD, and Alan Wood.
CalSTAT (California Services for Technical Assistance and Training), at Napa County Office of Education, is a special project of the California Department of Education, Special Education Division. Visit CalSTAT at http://www.calstat.org.
“CalSTAT is partially funded from federal funds awarded in Part B of Public Law 108-446, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 2004. Additional federal funds are provided from a federal competitively awarded State Program Improvement Grant to California (CFDA 84.323A) allowed in Part D of Public Law 108-447, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 2004. These dollars are considered local assistance funds. Both funds are to assist individuals serving children birth to 22 years of age and their families.”