Tommy Collison

So, my Young Scientist project (“examining the attitudes of secondary school students toward blogging”) is chugging along nicely; I’m hoping to hand out the questionnaire to the first school tomorrow; which should really get the wheels turning. Here’s what it looks like at the moment, but knowing me I’ll probably make numerous small changes tonight and tomorrow morning. What do we think? Comments/criticisms/suggestions?

Hi, my name’s Tommy Collison, and I’m a second year in Castletroy College. I’m doing a Young Scientist project on “Examining the attitudes of secondary school students towards blogging”.

The word ‘blog’ is a contraction of the words ‘web log’. Blogs are often equated to being ‘online diaries’. They are websites (for example: www.TrustTommy.com) with a number of ‘posts’. These posts are organized much like your email inbox: organized by date, with the most recent post at the top and the others below it. Also, each post is in itself its own webpage (for exampe: www.TrustTommy.com/post1) where there is a space for comments, so people who read the post can fill out a form by entering their name and leaving their thoughts on what’s been written.

You can follow my project’s progress by visiting my own blog – http://TrustTommy.com, and view the database of secondary school bloggers we are collecting at http://IrishStudentBlogs.com

Firstly, what age are you? _____
Are you male or female? _____
What year are you in? _____

How often do you use the internet?
Not at all _____
Sometimes _____
Daily _____

Where would your main usage be?
At home _____
At school _____

What would your main usage be for?
Music _____
Keeping in touch with friends _____
Research/finding out interesting info _____

What social networking websites are you a member of currently?
Facebook _____
Myspace _____
Bebo _____
Twitter _____
Gaia Online _____

If you don’t use the internet, why don’t you?
Not available _____
No interest _____

Do you read blogs?
Yes _____
No _____

If yes, by whom?
Family member _____
Friend _____
Don’t know them personally _____

Do you write a blog?
Yes _____
No _____

Do you think blogs are useful?
Useful _____
Not useful _____
Unsure _____

What do you think are the advantages/disadvantages of blogs?
Advantages:

There are lines here but they distort the browser window

Disadvantages:

There are lines here but they distort the browser window

If you do write a blog, what’s your blog address?
Address: www.____________________

Would you consent to your blog being included in IrishStudentBlogs? This website brings all secondary school blogs together in one, easy-to-read place. The website’s address is http://IrishStudentBlogs.com
Yes, you may include it _____
No, I would not like it included _____

Unrelated: first post written in Google Chrome! Review coming soon to a Trust Tommy near you