Research Survey Conducted by the Canadian Institute for Distance Education Research (CIDER), Athabasca University
The Alberta SuperNet is designed to bring high-speed connectivity to every school in Alberta. In addition, Alberta Education has committed to paying for a basic level of SuperNet connectivity (5 megabits per second). Schools requiring higher bandwidth connections may also select connectivity options beyond the basic funded service to meet their needs.
However, we all know that creating technology opportunity alone does not guarantee its effective use. The following survey is designed to assess your interest, awareness and planned use of high-speed networking provided by the Alberta SuperNet.
Alberta Education has initiated a number of interventions to help make this technology more useful and accessible to Alberta schools. The survey also seeks to determine your awareness and perception of these interventions.
The results of this study should be useful to educational leaders, like yourself, for a number of reasons:
1. You will be able to compare your expectations for use of the SuperNet to other schools.
2. You will have the opportunity to create partnerships with other schools and jurisdictions allowing for economies of scale and community building.
3. You will help guide policy and practice at Alberta Education.
4. You will help improve the capability of provincial administrators to provide programs and support that meet real needs.
The results of this survey will be published on the Alberta SuperNet Research Network web site (supernet.ucalgary.ca) and will be e-mailed to those requesting a copy of the results. If you wish to receive a copy, please provide your email address on the line at the end of the survey.
We know you are a busy professional with many demands on your time. However, we hope you will take the time (less than 10 minutes) to add your valued comments to this research. We sincerely appreciate your contribution. Questions or concerns can be directed to me by telephoning (780) 497-3421 or to Jo-An Christiansen by emailing [email protected].
Terry Anderson, Ph.D.
Professor and Canada Research Chair
Athabasca University
Survey Note: This research study has been approved by the Ethics Review Board of Athabasca University. All personal information will be kept confidential and individual results will not be distributed such that individual schools or persons can be identified. School names and personal identifiers will not be included in the final research report, unless disclosure of this identifying information is agreed to in advance. All information provided will be held in confidence and secured by Terry Anderson and Jo-An Christiansen. All documentation will be destroyed after three years. You are free to withdraw from the survey at any time.
Section 1: School Demographics
Name of School and School District Using the following scale, please indicate how important the following potential applications of the SuperNet are for your school.
Section 2 - Part A: Teaching and Learning
1. The capacity to download videos for classroom and individual instruction. 2. The capacity to download multimedia learning objects. 3. The capacity to video-conference with other learners or experts to enhance curriculum. 4. The capacity to use web-based applications to deliver or receive distance education programming. 5. The capacity for students to access online courses. 6. The capacity to increase the speed and capacity for students to engage in research work using the Internet. 7. The capacity for students to interact by video-conference with experts such as speech therapists, specialized counselors, etc.
Section 2 - Part B: Administration
1. The capacity to create and transmit secure electronic data such as student records, report cards, and information required by Alberta Education. 2. The capacity to securely access and manage the jurisdictions administrative applications, such as personnel files, school budget data, etc. 3. The capacity to hold division-level meetings by video-conference to avoid travel time and expense. 4. The capacity to engage in individual video-conference consultations with the boards administrative or technical staff.
Section 2 - Part C: Professional Development
1. The capacity for staff to participate in formal university-level programming to enhance their teaching or administrative credentials. 2. The capacity to engage in professional development activities, such as those sponsored by the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA), Alberta Education, or Alberta Regional Consortia. 3. The capacity to engage with other teachers or administrators in your division in individual meetings to reduce travel time and expense. What do you anticipate the greatest benefit will be to your school from the implementation and activation of the SuperNet? Please identify what you believe are the greatest barriers that need to be overcome to realize this benefit.
Section 3: Alberta Education Initiatives
Seven initiatives of the Ministry of Alberta Education related to the SuperNet are described below. For each, indicate whether you or your schools staff are aware of the service and have used it. If applicable, indicate how important this service is to your school using the same scale as above. A. LearnAlberta.ca
This website is accessible to the K-12 community in Alberta and provides multimedia learning resources that directly relate to Alberta programs of study.
a. Are you aware of this service? b. Have you used the service? c. How important is the service? B. Content Delivery Device (CDD)
To help avoid network traffic congestion in the use of high bandwidth video-streaming resources on the LearnAlberta.ca website, schools are being provided with a specially designed content delivery device that will allow the caching of those resources locally, thus facilitating trouble-free access.
a. Are you aware of this service? b. Have you used the service? c. How important is the service? C. Technical Training
Developed and delivered through the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), the SuperNet Technical Training Program is a series of courses consisting of one online and three two-day courses that provide training for information technology personnel who are involved with setting-up and supporting the SuperNet network.
a. Are you aware of this service? b. Have you used the service? c. How important is the service? D. Video-conferencing Research
Alberta Education is supporting a number of action research projects throughout the province that will explore, evaluate and document the use of video-conferencing in the schools. Key findings and effective practices from these projects will be shared across the system.
a. Are you aware of this service? b. Have you used or benefited from the service? c. How important is the service? E. Software Standards
For enhanced compatibility and interoperability across the system, Alberta Education is adopting technology standards for particular software (e.g., province-wide license for the Microsoft Office suite).
a. Are you aware of this service? b. Have you used the service? c. How important is the service? F. Technical Standards
Alberta Education is adopting technology standards across the province, such as recommending the use of the international H.323 standard for video-conferencing and metadata standards to describe learning objects, thus ensuring that access will not be impeded by incompatible equipment or systems.
a. Are you aware of this service? b. Have you used the service? c. How important is the service? G. Training
Alberta Education has offered introduction and professional development sessions for teachers related to applications of the SuperNet.
a. Are you aware of this service? b. Have you used the service? c. How important is the service? H. Video-conferencing Research and Support Portal
Alberta Education has funded a team of university researchers to evaluate the effectiveness and use of video-conferencing and to create a video-conferencing portal with guides, training and discussion opportunities (VCAlberta.ca).
a. Are you aware of this service? b. Have you (or others at your school) used the service? c. How important is the service? I. Video-conferencing Financial Support
Alberta Education announced in February 2005 that the government will be providing support $60,000 for each school district to purchase video-conferencing hardware, training or support.
a. Are you aware of this funding? b. Will you be attempting to access this funding? c. How important is this funding?
Section 4: School Technology Plan
Do you have a technology plan for your school? Do you have a technology plan for your jurisdiction? If you are able to do so, we would appreciate receiving a copy of this technology plan to supplement your survey submission. Please mail a copy of the technology plan to:
Terry Anderson
Athabasca University
#320, 10030 - 107 Street
Edmonton, AB
T5J 3E4
If you would like to receive a final report of the survey results, please provide your email on the following line: Thank you for your cooperation. Do you have any final words relating to the SuperNet project that you would like to share? Here are some web sites that you might find useful or interesting relative to this research.
Alberta SuperNet (http://www.albertasupernet.ca) The official Government of Alberta SuperNet site with frequently asked questions (FAQ) relevant to school issues.
Alberta SuperNet Research Network (http://supernet.ucalgary.ca) - A research network looking at economic, health, business, education and community effects of the SuperNet.
Canadian Institute for Distance Education Research at Athabasca University (http://cider.athabascau.ca).
LearnAlberta.ca (http://learnalberta.ca) A site for multimedia learning resources that directly relate to Alberta programs of study.
VCAlberta (http://vcalberta.ca) A site showcasing best practices and linkages for educational video-conferencing throughout Alberta.
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