Background
The Program for Educational Transformation Through Technology (PETTT) is currently working with members of the University Honors Program and the Department of English to develop Digital Tools for Study Abroad. Researchers are in the process of testing three tools for possible use on Rome and London study abroad programs in Summer 2003 and Spring 2004.  

Contact
Cara Lane (cgiacomi@u.washington.edu)
*Research Assistant, PETTT
*Doctoral Candidate, Department of English

Activity

I am looking for volunteers from the  English Department's Spring 2003 overseas trips in London and Rome. Ideally, I would like to work with two to three volunteers from each program.  I am asking volunteers to go to an internet cafe (or the computer center at the UW Rome Center), complete writing excercises (approximately one paragraph of writing per exercise) using three different on-line writing programs, browse through a web site, and complete short surveys about their experiences. The time commitment for this activity will be approximately three hours. Each volunteer will receive a $40 UW Bookstore gift certificate for his or her time. We will use the responses to the survey to assist in the development of  Digital Tools for Study Abroad.

• March: Initial contact with volunteers. Collect contact information. Distribute project details and consent forms.
• April 14: Distribute complete instructions to volunteers, using email addresses provided in contact information.
• April 30: Deadline for completing project activity (described above).
• May: Follow-up questions and short activities sent via email to select volunteers (based on responses in the survey, see information in instructions below).
• June: Gift certificates sent to volunteers, based on addresses provided in contact information.
  

Please complete all activies from an Internet Cafe or from the Rome Center computer lab. If possible, please use the Easy Internet Cafes in London (the ones with the orange signs located near many tube stations). Use the links above the access the information and tools necessary for completing the following activities.

1.) Click on the link to "Web Site." This link will take you to the main page for the UW Honors Study Abroad Program in Rome (Summer 2003).  This page is currently under construction.  Please click on various links, exploring all aspects of the site.  When you are finished, please fill out a brief survey about your experience (click on the link to "Surveys" and select "Web Site Survey").

2.) Click on the link to "Portfolio." Follow the instructions to create your own copy of the portfolio and to add an entry. When you are finished, click on the survey link to fill out a brief survey about your experience (click on the link to "Surveys" and select "Portfolio Survey").

3.) Click on the link to "E-Post Discussion Board." Follow the instructions to add a response to the discussion board and to respond to an entry written by a fellow volunteer. When you are finished, click on the survey link to fill out a brief survey about your experience (click on the link to "Surveys" and select "Epost Survey").

4.) Click on the link to "Location Database." Follow the instructions to add an entry to the database. When you are finished, click on the survey link to fill out a brief survey about your experience (click on the link to "Surveys" and select "Location Database Survey").

5.) When you have finished all of these activities, please click on the survey link to fill out a survey about your overall experience (click on the link to "Surveys" and select "Overall Experience Survey"). The final question of that survey asks if  I can contact you with additional questions and activities throughout the quarter. These additional activities would typically require between 5 to 10 minutes to complete. They would involve testing advanced features of the tools and/or responding to changes made to their designs.

Please contact Cara Lane (cgiacomi@u.washington.edu), if you have any questions.