Wikipedia produces a valuable product by pooling contributions from many volunteers. Can we do the same for educational materials? The purpose of the Study is to evaluate factors in the design of a community tool for collaborative development and open use of educational materials.
You will be asked to make math problems to teach the Pythagorean theorem. For each problem you will write the problem description, draw a diagram, and describe the steps to solve the problem. You will make up to 3 such worked problems, which will take 15-60 minutes total, depending on your prior experience. When done with the authoring you will answer a short questionnaire. At the end, you will be given the choice of whether you would like to share on the web the materials you made so others can use them.
There will be no cost or risk to you from participating in this Study.
Your participation is voluntary. Refusal to participate or withdrawal of your consent or discontinued participation in the study will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits or rights to which you might otherwise be entitled. The Principal Investigator may at his/her discretion remove you from the study for any of a number of reasons. In such an event, you will not suffer any penalty or loss of benefits or rights which you might otherwise be entitled.
Your anonymity will be maintained during data analysis and publication/presentation of results by any or all of the following means: (1) You will be assigned a number as names will not be recorded. (2) The researchers will save the data file and/or any video or audio recordings by your number, not by name. (3) Only members of the research group will view collected data in detail. (4) Any recordings or files will be stored in a secured location accessed only by authorized researchers.
At the conclusion of the experiment, you will be given the opportunity to release your contributions onto the web. If you choose to, you can do so anonymously or with attribution.
You will also be given the choice of whether to permit me to contact you in the future at the e-mail address you provide.
If you have any questions about this Study, you should feel free to ask them now or anytime throughout the Study by contacting:
Turadg Aleahmad Human Computer Interaction Institute 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (412) 223-6662 education.hciresearch@gmail.com
If you have questions pertaining to your rights as a research participant; or to report objections to this Study, you should contact:
IRB Chair c/o Regulatory Compliance Administration Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue Warner Hall, 4th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Email: irb-review@andrew.cmu.edu (412) 268-1901 or (412) 268 4727
The Carnegie Mellon University Institutional Review Board (IRB) has approved the use of human participants for this Study.
This Study is funded by the Institute for Educational Science, which is supporting the costs of this research. Neither Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), nor Turadg Aleahmad will receive any financial benefit based on the results of the Study.
I understand the nature of this Study and agree to participate. I know that I can print or save this form for my records. I give the Principal Investigator, and his/her associates, permission to present this work in written and/or oral form for teaching or presentations to advance the knowledge of science and/or academia, without further permission from me provided that my image or identity is not disclosed. I am 18 years or older and qualified to consent to participating.