Survey Monkey or ???

As I wait for new printer cartridges so I can print out the edits Bronwyn has made and look at it off screen I have been looking at other survey tools.

Survey Monkey is good until you want to look at results - the choice is paying or doing lots of screen shots.

I tried Rachel's suggestions on Kevin and Jon's wikieducator page - zoomerang and limesurvey (both weren't right - wanted too much personal information.) One site I have used before had the most amazing list - finally I found Obsurvey (Have not used it before!)

So I have created a survey. Was planning to get you fill it in but having a problem so watch this space.

Tools vs Purpose

Originally Lisa and I were planning answer 'What resources are needed for teachers to teach ICT effectively? but on reflection the word resources changed to professional development.

Why was this decided?

Which comes first? Clearly professional development needs to be evaluated first rather than resources.
'a heightened awareness that the need for professional development in the area was likely to continue after the end of the project' Taken from a Ministry of Education report. The project mentioned is the ICT cluster project that both Lisa and my school are due to finish.

Professional development takes a number of forms and what we want to do is find out what works for staff rather than assume you know. Coming to the end of this contract is an ideal time to look at what a school could do for its staff rather than get 'bogged down' with tools.

Before starting the report I spoke to a number of people and one view stood out. Should the next step for the schools be 'tool-based' or 'purpose-based'. Often what happens is a new tool gets people excited but serves no purpose. An example of this was a teacher told me how her school wanted Skype but no one uses it. A recent reading '100 ways Google can make you a better educator' listed all these lovely tools but ordered them under a purpose heading eg collaboration, news, sharing. This is the direction I would go after looking at professional development.

Questions - getting them right

I just tried to some work on quality but having problems downloading so will look at questions - the questions you ask to get an understanding of the situation.

These are a set of questions that I found in the chapter Bronwyn send us and I have tried to keep these in mind.

Reeves, Thomas, C. & John G. Hedberg (2003). ''Interactive Learning Systems Evaluation.'' Englewood Cliffs: Educational Publications.

The questions are not always easy but I was interested that one course colleague mentioned that if she used 'Survey Monkey' it only allowed 10 questions when using the free option. I quickly checked how many I had and then thought 'Why would you want to ask more?'.

I have just spend ages trying to find a quote I liked but will have to just guess - it basically said that the questions are not set in stone and must allow for the direction the interview goes. I also liked what Reeves said when you gather this information 'obtain ranking of information from each person for whom you speak'.

And I thought we were done....

Lisa had worked on the finished date of the 19th (yesterday). We had got to the point where one question for our interview kept us busy. We thought we were finished.

BUT now we have to add some bits on quality which I think I won't feel like doing until Thursday. I have added this photo of the mess outside my back door where my husband has removed our swimming pool (getting old), deck and some of the fence. We don't need a storm for this to happen. When I look at it I think of the stages of an evaluation plan - background, decisions and of course the final result.

Please note the new swimming pool forming at the bottom.
If you get a chance have a look at our plan.

We will be in on the 19th

Lisa and I decided to have a phone marathon and keep going with our report. We have had issues with method and with the help of Bronwyn we have been introduced to a data-matrix. Because we wanted to check that our sub-questions can be answered we are working on the survey questions. Not sure if this is the order of things so have asked on the discussion group.

Have kept an eye on what others have been doing and get the feeling that some are 'keeping their cards close to their chest' and will reveal all when ready.

Here we go - we are adding to the wiki

Lisa and I have managed to have a phone conversation (the advantage of living in the same city). After 'chewing the cud' about our respective work places we worked through what we had both done so far on the wiki and which questions need work on. The plan is that both of us will add bits with our initials next to it. Then on Tuesday as I have the day off will mold together the plan and we will make contact again to check it is what we want then let the rest of you add your feedback.

Preparation, preparation, preparation ...

I feel like someone in waiting as Lisa is going through ERO this week so in the nicest way I say 'not worth knowing'. I have shared with Lisa what I am looking at but have yet to hear what she is doing so will get another large sheet of paper out and scribble some more under the headings.

Below is the summary Bronwyn put on the blog for me this week so I will reply to it in red.

'Katie has formulated an excellent big evaluation question. It appears she will not only need to find out what sort of technologies/tools the teachers would like to use Some have already expressed their wishes but not sure how much thought have gone into them. Eg they want Skype but not sure why. To type or to speak which will also bring up the issue with sound cards not being in all computers.
, but also what they will need to use to keep up with educational trends this is an area of concern - sustainability will be an issue if certain key staff leave (I am at end of year - shhh!!),
and maybe later she can find out more about what is going to be relevant for students to use (getting staff to turn on computers and let the children use them is a major issue). I have suggested that a good starting point might be Derek Wenmouth's post - 100 Ways Google Can Make You a Better Educator. Some of you may know him - he critiques the latest strategies and technologies for the school sector. (Have looked at Derek's list and think that if I break it down so that teacher have to pick a limited list that they want to use) Katie has made a great start with the thinking for her part of the evaluation plan. Where will she head next?

Where will I head next? Yes large piece of paper would say a glass of wine but I behave myself during the week. Plan to look at Kevin's questions that he listed in a discussion and see how they will help my train of thought.
Kia Kaha people (Keep Strong)