Note: having never done real surveying before, I recognize that my proposal outline my be missing critical pieces:

1. Intro
   

   Prior to adopting a locally hosted social media platform for higher ed, the institution should weigh benefits of localized control against potential loss of authenticity and user appeal that may be inherent in institutional systems, and assess user attitudes towards competing institutional and public systems.

2. Question
   

   How do attitudes of prospective users in an educational community differ toward institutionally controlled learning and communication systems versus informal or independent learning and communication systems?

3. Description of survey instrument (type, size)
4. Survey questions
5. Data collection methods (electronic, database system used)
6. Disseminating the survey (e-mail to faculty, students, staff; hyperlinks from campus portal)
7. Timeline (December 2009 – February 2010)
8. Budget and resources (instrument development, staff time)

1. One-page summary, and description of the funnel shape and cadence of the summary
2. Outline of proposal and timeline
3. Draft of budget

I’ve already switched gears in terms of the project to align with a UVU project I’m working on. Here’s an initial 200 word intro with question:

Web-based social media applications are alluring to educators seeking to revitalize learning, maintain relevance, engage learners, and realize potential benefits of “Web 2.0″ memes. Educational institutions may seek to provide social media or Web 2.0-like systems to their campus through locally hosted solutions. While locally hosted and managed solutions offer advantages to the community (especially in satisfying perceived needs for institutional control of information and activities), they risk losing authenticity and genuine Web 2.0 corollaries such as network effects.

Such consequences may not even be realized, however, if the community rejects institutionally controlled social media in favor of existing authentic and non-institutional services. Institutions considering locally hosted social media systems may predict certain measures of success by first comparing prospective user attitudes toward public versus institutional social media. A survey aimed at measuring prospective user attitudes could also reveal general trends and attitudes toward digital culture, informal learning, and the prevalence of social media use amongst community populations. It might also suggest educational community attitudes toward institutional systems in general.

Q: How do attitudes of prospective users in an educational community differ toward institutionally controlled social media learning and communication systems versus authentic social media informal or independent learning and communication systems?

As I begin the pilot of our WordPress MU installation for Utah Valley University, questions naturally arise as to expected usage of the system. This led to the idea of running a short survey for students, faculty, and staff that asks if and how they would use such a community publishing platform. I then wondered if students or faculty who already had a blog would use the institutional system as a blog, whether in addition to or as a replacement for their own (even if only to meet a course requirement). This, of course, led me back to the idea of “creepy treehouses“ (A term I have consciously avoided over the past year), and set me to rethink the survey to ask the following primary question:

How do (students’ | faculty | staff) attitudes toward institutional learning and communication systems differ from attitudes toward informal learning and communication systems?

This isn’t nearly as relevant to the WPMU system as originally intended, but I do expect to be able to address the system through this survey without overwhelming participants. Some of the survey questions that pop into mind ask about personal use of social media, perceptions of institutional technology, relevance of both toward learning, perceived efficiency for learning, likelihood of using new institutional technology, etc.

I’m posting this here in case any readers (who I haven’t lost yet through neglect) have ideas on how to keep this useful while maintaining a sharp focus. Suggested questions are, of course, welcome.