Principal Investigator: Dr. Don Leu
Student researchers: Heidi Everett-Cacopardo
Title of Study: Exploring Effective Literacy and Learning Practices with Online Collaborative Projects Between Classrooms in Different Nations
Protocol #H10-017
You are invited to participate in a study about international online collaborative projects between classrooms. I am a graduate student working in the New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut (http://newliteracies.uconn.edu). I am interested in learning about the literacy and learning practices with online collaborative projects between classrooms in different nations. International, online collaborative projects are defined as Internet-based learning activities where students communicate with other students in classrooms located in different nations via email, wikis, blogs, video conferencing, and other information communication technologies.
Your participation in this study will require completion of an online questionnaire. This should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes of your time. Your responses will not remain anonymous in order to allow us to contact you for a follow up interview. Your contact information will be kept confidential by assigning a number instead of your name to your responses. You will not be paid for being in this study. This questionnaire does not involve any risk to you. However, the benefits of your participation may impact education by helping increase knowledge about how to implement successful online collaborative projects between classrooms in different nations.
After completing the questionnaire we hope you will respond to a request for a short interview. I will be conducting short interviews to better understand from teachers’ perspectives, what are effective literacy and learning practices and the challenges associated with successful international, online, collaborative projects between classrooms in different nations. I welcome any educator who has participated in at least one online collaborative project between classrooms in different nations in the last twelve months or has completed at least 2 projects in the last 3 years to participate.
I will be happy to answer any questions you have about this study. Contacting me does not in anyway commit you to being in the study and you may decide you do not want to participate at any time. If you have further questions about this study or if you have a research-related problem, you may contact me Heidi Everett-Cacopardo at everettcacopardo@gmail.com or my principle investigator, Don Leu at donald.leu@uconn.edu. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant you may contact the University of Connecticut Institutional Review Board (IRB) at 860-486-8802. The IRB is a group that reviews research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research participants. This research study was approved by the UConn IRB, Protocol #H10-017.
Thank you very much for your time and assistance
If you are willing to take my survey, please click next to begin the survey.
Sincerely,
Don Leu & Heidi Everett-Cacopardo