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=**Participant Instructions**=

==**Welcome to the second round of our online nominal group work, and thank you for your participation. The survey has grown in depth, and the input of experts in the field has ensured that the instrument has content validity. Below, find a reference copy of Draft 2.**==

From Wikipedia: The nominal group technique (NGT) is a decision making method for use among groups of many sizes, who want to make their decision quickly, as by a vote, but want everyone's opinions taken into account (as opposed to traditional voting, where only the largest group is considered) .The nominal group technique uses a structured format to obtain multiple inputs from several people on a particular problem or issue. In this project, we will be using a modified technique I call the Online Nominal Group (ONG).
 * Nominal Group Technique (NGT)**


 * This Online Nominal Group has been formed to gather expert opinion and input as part of the process of developing a high-quality survey research instrument**. **This survey will be used as part of a research project aimed at gathering data on the use of social network sites in formal educational settings.**


 * General Information/Instructions**
 * Each participant will have their own page on this wiki, labeled with their participant identifier i.e. P1, P2, etc.
 * Look on the left side to see the page/participant list. Click your identifier to go to your page. Click the Edit tab on the top right corner to open the page for editing. Remember to click Save on the toolbar often.
 * Each participant's page will contain a copy of the initial draft survey.
 * Each participant should mark up their copy of the survey as they see fit by commenting, adding questions, suggesting modifications, and so forth. You may add links to resources or paste in text or graphics if you want.
 * Work freely and quickly. I will take care of formatting, organizing answer scales correctly, and so forth.
 * Of primary interest is your expert opinion regarding what needs to be asked about this topic, and how it should be asked.
 * The first input round will continue for one week. After that, I will create a second draft of the survey that incorporates the received input. I will then launch one more 1-week input round.
 * Note that the survey is intended to be qualitative in nature. Each question will be considered individually, correlations between questions will be considered, and general overall themes will be developed during analysis of the results. This means that a variety of question and answer types may be used. There is no need for each question to have the same (e.g. Likert, Binary, etc.) response scale.
 * I am trying to keep the survey short (20-30 questions?) in order to increase response rate. Please keep this in mind.
 * Below, find a reference copy of the original survey draft.


 * ONG Survey Development Draft 2**

Note 1: For the purpose of this study, I will draw on the work of Anderson (2006), boyd (2007), boyd and Ellison (2007), Dalsgaard & Paulsen (2009), and Garrison & Anderson (2003), to define educational social software (ESS) as: technology that affords the establishment of individual virtual personal spaces, or profile pages, by users, while at the same time providing access to personal and shared suites of typical social media tools. Note 2: This survey is designed to gather your perceptions regarding (a) the use of educational social software as part of education delivery at the program, course, and classroom levels and (b) the potential of this technology to engender paradigmatic change in educational domains. Please read the questions carefully and answer them as appropriate. Thank you for your participation. 1. Gender M (Male) F (Female) 2. Which age group do you belong to? <20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 >60 3. Country of Birth [Country List] 4. Country of Current Residence [Country List] 5. Occupational Category >Education (PreK-12 or Higher Education) >Occupational Training (Business, Government, Industry/Manufacturing, Medical, Military, Other [Fill-in])
 * Section 1: Demographic Questions**

6. If you work in education, identify the level(s). Choose all that apply. Otherwise, choose NA. Pre-K, Kindergarten, Grades 1-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Baccalaureate, Graduate, Doctoral, NA

7. If you work in education, identify the subject area/discipline in which you work. Otherwise, choose NA. Arts/Humanities, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Physical or Life Science, Computer Science, Career/Technical Education, Other [Fill-in], NA

8. If you work in Occupational Training, identify the category. Otherwise, choose NA. >Business, >Consulting, >Government, >Industry/Manufacturing, >Medical, >Military, >Service, >Other [Fill-in], NA

9. Do you work as: An instructor, An administrator, Both

10. I use technology in the delivery of course through the following formats [Choose all that apply]. Fully Online Education, Hybrid or Blended Learning, Face-to-Face Instruction, Other [Fill-in] 11. Keeping in mind the definition of educational social software presented in note 1 above, identify the foundational educational ESS tool(s) you use as part of your professional practice. (i.e. Ning, Facebook, ELGG, Social Media Classroom etc.) [Fill-In Answer]
 * Section 2: Educational Social Software (ESS ** **) Use**

12. Identify your **general purpose** for using ESS in the delivery of education and training. 1. Primarily for communication and community-building, 2. Primarily for content delivery and assignment completion, 3. Both are equally important

13. In your own words, identify your **specific purpose(s)** for using ESS in the delivery of education and training. [Fill-in]

14. **Rate** the importance of the following ESS features to your education and/or training delivery activities. 1 = not important to 5 = very important. Personal learning environments/spaces 1 2 3 4 5 Public profile spaces 1 2 3 4 5 Privacy controls 1 2 3 4 5 Connection to networks of peers 1 2 3 4 5 Connection to networks of experts 1 2 3 4 5 Discussion boards 1 2 3 4 5 Commenting 1 2 3 4 5 Blogs 1 2 3 4 5 Microblogs/updates 1 3 3 4 5 Link sharing 1 2 3 4 5 Synchronous chat 1 2 3 4 5 Audio/video play capability 1 2 3 4 5 Audio/video upload capability 1 2 3 4 5 Synchronous audio/video conferencing 1 2 3 4 5 Photo storage and display 1 2 3 4 5 Customizable graphics/colors 1 2 3 4 5 External feeds/RSS capability 1 2 3 4 5 Shared calendars/scheduling 1 2 3 4 5 Trackbacks 1 2 3 4 5 Mashability 1 2 3 4 5 Other [Fill-in] 1 2 3 4 5

15**. Rank** the following ESS features in the order of their importance to your education and/or training delivery activities. 1 = the most important to 21 = the least important. Personal learning environments/spaces Public profile spaces Privacy controls Connection to networks of peers Connection to networks of experts Discussion boards Commenting Blogs Microblogs/updates Link sharing Synchronous chat Audio/video play capability Audio/video upload capability Synchronous audio/video conferencing Photo storage and display Customizable graphics/colors External feeds/RSS capability Shared calendars/scheduling Trackbacks Mashability Other [Fill-in]

16. **Rate** the importance of ESS capabilities to enable the development and support of learning communities. 1 = not important to 5 = very important. 1 2 3 4 5

17. In your experience, which ESS feature(s) best enable the development and support of learning communities? [Fill-in]

18. **Rate** the importance of ESS capabilities to enable the development and support of social presence in online environments. (Social presence = the ability of participants to project themselves socially and emotionally through the medium of communication being used. As per Garrison & Anderson, 2003.) 1 = not important to 5 = very important. 1 2 3 4 5

19. In your experience, which ESS feature(s) best enable the development and support of social presence in online environments? [Fill-in]

20. **Rate** the importance of ESS capabilities to enable the development and support of transparent learning environments in which students have awareness of and access to the products generated by other students in the process of engaging with course materials and activities. 1 = not important to 5 = very important. 1 2 3 4 5

21. In your experience, which ESS feature(s) best enable the development and support of transparent learning environments? [Fill-in]

22. Rate the importance of ESS capabilities to support content creation by all users/course participants. 1 = not important to 5 = very important. 1 2 3 4 5

23. In your experience, which ESS feature(s) best support content creation by all users/course participants? [Fill-in]

24. Indicate your agreement with the following statement: “Educational social software is a viable and useful tool for teaching and learning.” 1. Strongly Disagree, 2. Disagree, 3. Neutral, 4. Agree, 5. Strongly Agree

25. Indicate your agreement with the following statement: “Educational social software is a tool that can lead to the development of new models of education and training that are centered on students as the creators of individual life-long learning processes rather than on institutions and teachers as controllers of educational processes and dispensers of knowledge.” 1. Strongly Disagree, 2. Disagree, 3. Neutral, 4. Agree, 5. Strongly Agree

Reflection: Identify challenges associated with implementing ESS capacities within your occupational setting. [Fill-in]

Reflection: Identify institutional barriers to the implementation of ESS capacities within your occupational setting. [Fill-in]

Microblog-style Open-ended Question: In 150 characters or less, summarize your thinking in regards to Educational Social Software. [Fill-in]

For the purpose of this study, I will draw on the work of Anderson (2006), boyd (2007), boyd and Ellison (2007), Dalsgaard & Paulsen (2009), and Garrison & Anderson (2003), to define educational social software as: technology that affords the establishment of individual virtual personal spaces, or profile pages, by users, while at the same time providing access to personal and shared suites of typical social media tools.
 * ONG Survey Development Draft 1**

This survey is designed to gather your perceptions regarding (a) the use of educational social software as part of education delivery at the program, course, and classroom levels and (b) the potential of this technology to engender paradigmatic change in educational domains. Please read the questions carefully and answer them as appropriate. Thank you for your participation. **Section 1: Demographic Questions** M F <20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 >Education (PreK-12 or Higher Education) >Occupational Training (Business, Industry/Manufacturing, Medical, Military)
 * 1.** Gender
 * 2.** Which age group do you belong to?
 * 3.** Country of Birth [Country List]
 * 4.** Country of Current Residence [Country List]
 * 5.** Occupational Category

Pre-K, Kindergarten, Grades 1-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Baccalaureate, Graduate, Doctoral,
 * 6.** If you work in education, identify the level. Otherwise, choose NA.

>Business, >Industry/Manufacturing, >Medical, >Military
 * 7.** If you work in Occupational Training, identify the category. Otherwise, choose NA.

1 2 3 4 5
 * 8.** Rate your skills as a //computer// user from 1 = beginner to 5 = very advanced/professional.

 1 2 3 4 5
 * 9.** Rate your skills as an //internet// user from 1 = beginner to 5 = very advanced/professional.

Fully Online Education, Hybrid or Blended Learning, Face-to-Face Instruction,
 * 10.** I use technology in the delivery of [Choose all that apply].

**12.**  Identify your purpose for using ESS Primarily for communication, Primarily for content delivery and assignment completion, Both are equally important
 * Section 2: Educational Social Software (ESS ** **) Use**
 * 11.** Identify the educational social software (ESS) tools you use as part of your professional practice. [Fill-In Answer]

**13.** **Rate** the importance of the following ESS features to your education and/or training delivery activities. 1 = important to 5 = very important. Personal spaces/pages 1 2 3 4 5 Discussion boards 1 2 3 4 5 Blogs 1 2 3 4 5 Synchronous chat 1 2 3 4 5 Audio/video play capability 1 2 3 4 5 Audio/video upload capability 1 2 3 4 5 Synchronous audio/video conferencing 1 2 3 4 5 Photo storage and display 1 2 3 4 5 Customizable graphics/colors 1 2 3 4 5

**14****. Rank** the following ESS features in the order of their importance to your education and/or training delivery activities. 1 = the most important to 9 = the least important. Personal spaces/pages Discussion boards Blogs Synchronous chat Audio/video play capability Audio/video upload capability Synchronous audio/video conferencing Photo storage and display Customizable graphics/colors

**15.** Rate the importance of ESS capabilities to enable the development and support of learning communities. 1 = important to 5 = very important. 1 2 3 4 5

**16.** Rate the importance of ESS capabilities to enable the development and support of social presence in online environments. 1 = important to 5 = very important. 1 2 3 4 5

**17.** Rate the importance of ESS capabilities to enable the development and support of transparent learning environments in which students have awareness of and access to the productions generated by other students in the process of engaging with course materials and activities. 1 = important to 5 = very important. 1 2 3 4 5

**18.** Rate the importance of ESS capabilities to support content creation by all users/course participants. 1 = important to 5 = very important. 1 2 3 4 5

Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
 * 19.** Indicate your agreement with the following statement: “Educational social software is a serious tool for teaching and learning.”

Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree **Micro-blog Open-ended Question: In 150 characters or less, summarize your thinking in regards to Educational Social Software.** [Fill-In Answer]
 * 20.** Indicate your agreement with the following statement: “Educational social software is a tool that has the potential to engender paradigmatic change in educational domains.”