ONLINE SURVEY PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET

RESEARCH TITLE: Advancing Collaborative Learning in Creativity and Innovation through eLearningEnabled Virtual Teams: The Case Study of Iraqs Frontier Higher Education and Research Institute. PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH: I am conducting a research project for a post-graduate Information and Communications Technology research subject (ISIT999) at the University of Wollongong in Australia. I am an Iraqi citizen studying for a masters degree with a scholarship awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). This research project aims to study how the new eLearning system is used at the University of Duhok and identify enabling and inhibiting factors influencing collaborative learning in general and collaborative learning through eLearningenabled virtual teams in particular. This is an invitation for you to participate in an online survey conducted by myself and supervised by Dr. Akemi T. Chatfield at the University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. METHOD AND DEMANDS ON PARTICIPANTS If you choose to participate in this online survey, to share you experience and views with us, you will be asked to answer questions which will take you about 30 minutes to complete. The online survey will ask you about your own use of eLearning System in Duhok University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. We can foresee no risks for you. The submission of this online survey will be taken as tacit consent and your participation in this online survey has randomly selected to be approached. Also, your participation is voluntary and you may withdraw your participation at any time up until finalization of the data submission process. We are not collecting any information that will enable you to be identified, so if you withdraw at any time prior to the completion of the submission process, none of your data will be retained. The submission of this survey will be taken as tacit consent. This study has been reviewed by the Human Research Ethics Committee, University of Wollongong. If you have any concerns or complaints regarding the way this research has been conducted, you can contact the UOW Ethics Officer on +61 (02) 4221 3386 or email rso-ethics@uow.edu.au.

SAMPLE SURVEY QUESTIONS Your responses to the following questions should reflect your experience and opinion of using the eLearning system at University of Duhok. For the following questions please circle the number which best reflects your opinion in the answer column to the left of the question. (1=strongly agree, 2=agree, 3=somewhat 5=disagree, 6=strongly disagree) ! IT Resources I have easy access to a computer terminal on campus. I have easy access to the eLearning system. I have access to rich information content through the eLearning system. agree, 4=somewhat disagree,

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Non-IT Resources On average, sufficient resources committed so that: o virtual teams for student learning activities can be undertaken effectively and on time. o virtual teams for research collaboration activities can be undertaken effectively and on time. Please indicate the emphasis given to the following activities in your group work: o active information exchange o open discussion o effective project management

eLearning System Use The eLearning system is an excellent medium for social interaction. The eLearning system enables me to accomplish study tasks more quickly. I felt comfortable participating in course discussions through the eLearning system. The eLearning system improved my learning productivity. The eLearning system enhanced the effectiveness of my study activities. The eLearning system improved my grade. Overall the eLearning system met my learning expectations.

Thank you in advance for your participation in this study. Sincerely,

Dr. Akemi T. Chatfield (Supervisor) School of Information Systems and Technology Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences University of Wollongong +61 2 4221 3884 akemi@uow.edu.au

Vivian Shlemoon (Researcher) School of Information Systems and Technology Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences University of Wollongong +61469441434 vns983@uow.edu.au