Ethical+guidelines+for+online+research

Research in Personal Learning Environments
The project will examine the learning that occurs as a result of interaction and participation in the distributed community. The goal of the research is to follow and document what learners do when they are learning in a Connective Open Online Learning (COOL) experience.

The following information is intended to help you understand exactly what we are asking of you so that you can decide whether or not you want to participate in the research. Please read this information carefully and ask all the questions you might have before deciding whether or not to participate in this research project. Your participation in this research project is entirely voluntary and you can opt out of the COOL experience and the research at any time.

What may you be asked to do?
The COOL experience is based on a pedagogical model with connectivist principles much like those found in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It is within such a model that the learner is expected to exercise the skills and capacities required to effectively learn using a personal learning network (PLN) in designing an OER or open courseware. The course will be held during a eight-week period, from to ___.

Researchers will track activities and entries with the various tools and resources available in the course (e.g., EduQuiki, or any public website such as other wikis, blogs, or websites in general) and conduct short interviews and focus groups with participants about their learning experience. You may be asked to participate in questionnaires on your perceptions of PLN functionality and learning experience, and complete a course evaluation at the end of the course.

Privacy and confidentiality
If you choose to participate in the EduQuiki website, you agree to the Wikispaces Privacy Policy as well as the Terms of Use. Any contributions made to other public websites are subject to respective privacy policies and terms of use.

Informed consent
If you are interested in participating in this study, please review the informed consent form.

If you have any questions about the study, you may email user:bnleez.

Thank you! References [|National Research Council of Canada's PLE research]

Attribution: CCK11: http://cck11.mooc.ca/privacy.htm