Post 3 of 7

Surveys

Using online survey software, such as Google Forms, is a great way to gather a high volume of data quickly and efficiently. Using the basic tools provided, it is possible to get an overview of responses extremely quickly.

Using such tools, it is very easy to branch questionnaires so that specific questions are only asked to specific groups of users (e.g. parents, teachers, students, etc.). If that option is not suitable, surveys can easily be duplicated, modified and administered to different audiences.

The following questions may be of use:

• How would you describe your overall level of comfort using technology? (scale from 1 to 5)
• Self-assess your level of expertise with the following tools (grid: rows = tool, columns = scale)
• What tech tool do you feel you need the most help with? (list of tools to choose from)
• What tech tool(s) could you provide training for? (list of tools to choose from)
• Briefly explain one thing that you did in a lesson, which was highly successful.

The list above is by no means exhaustive, but I have found that shorter surveys get far more answers than long surveys.

Tech team

The members of the IT team (or tech team, helpdesk, etc.) usually have a pretty good idea of who the experts may be, and also which skills users need the most. It may be a good idea to ask them to draw up a list of who they consider to be experts and a list of the most obvious needs.

Mentors (tutors)

Mentors (or tutors) tend to know their students very well, and I have had success asking mentors to name 2 or 3 students in their groups who may be good candidates to become Digital Ambassadors.

In the next post, I will discuss how to actually build the programme.

Photo credit: talk to the experts by Mai Lee under CC-BY-SA