Action Research Preliminary Results

Determine What effect, if any, does the use of Twitter have on student understanding through use of real-world, real-time application of content-area concepts?

In AP Government and Politics at Bellaire High School, we implemented the use of individual Twitter accounts to better monitor and assess student understanding in real-time. The first step was to introduce the students to Twitter. As ubiquitous as it seemed to us, the students were unfamiliar and somewhat resistant. After telling them to look for hashtags, they discovered they had just not noticed it, yet. The students were to watch the party nomination acceptance speeches of both presidential candidates, as well as the inauguration of the President and the State of the Union address. During these events, they were to tweet a minimum of three times during the speeches. They were also to monitor the tweets of prominent members of both parties. We were able to monitor the students at home on a Tweet Deck and verify participation.

The results were profound. Students who participated displayed higher level thinking skills, great engagement in the process, and greater development of discussion skills among peers.

The final steps will be to review the data, specifically, the effect of discussion in real-time. The students will fill out a survey measuring how they perceive the results of using Twitter. I am still considering measuring the correlation between test scores and participation. The issue here is the basic consideration of the more talkative student. I may interview the classroom teacher to see how she believes the students level of participation online compares to their participation in the classroom. The next step is to develop a tool to measure this comparison.

As a result of this action research project, I anticipate a strong correlation between participation in real-time discussions of political events to increase understanding of content-area concepts.

Draft Progress Report for the Action Research Plan

What effect, if any, does the use of Twitter have on student understanding through use of real-world, real-time application of content-area concepts?

The importance of the use of educational technology is becoming more of a given. Now the question turns to “How do we use educational technology to teach today’s students?” As stated by Marc Prensky in 2001, we have to teach the important “legacy” content such as reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as “future” content like ethics, sociology, and politics, to name a few. In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Prensky writes, “As educators, we need to be thinking about how to teach both legacy and future content in the language of the digital natives.” By looking into the use of Twitter, we may be able to address both of these contents. Further, we can extend the use of technology across socio-economic lines.

With the reduction of budgets, the use of established, free media is ideal. My action research project will track the students’ use of Twitter, with assigned lists and response requirements to determine the effectiveness of following real-world issues, playing out in real-time. Will the students’ ability to follow, comment and respond to other students comments further their understanding of concepts? Sub-categories will be “What type of classes are most conducive to Twitter?” and “How does the use of Twitter aid the shy or reticent student?”  This idea was presented both individually and as a professional development seminar during teacher in-service.

If we can show a correlation between an educational use of Twitter and student understanding, and the best use in different sorts of classes, i.e. math/science classes and liberal arts classes, we can create easy to use templates. These templates can then be presented during professional development to be used in the classroom.

Prensky, M. (2001). “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”. In On the Horizon, October 2001, 9 (5). Lincoln: NCB University Press. Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky - Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants - Part1.pdf

Digital Graphics - A Reflection

In Digital Graphics, I learned design skills, animation skills and website implementation skills. Because this course focused on skills, the relationship between new and old information is minimal. I am, however, able to implement these new skills in order to incorporate technology into the classroom. While implementing these new skills, I enjoyed finding a different way to present a concept. Using animation, for example, is a great way to teach composition. Having to determine a beginning, middle and end of a presentation can be correlated with lessons such as “What are the elements of a plot?” in language arts, or “How to design an experiment.” in a science class.

As a learner, I spent some time scaffolding the information. Metaphors create great learning opportunities for me. I spent time developing my own metaphors and comparisons in order to fully absorb the information.

Assessing my performance in this course is quite simple. Either I implemented the skills, or I did not. In other situations, there may be more gray areas, but in this course the assessment is very objective. I can say that I liked some things more than others. I liked creating my logo and my animation. The website was not as enjoyable. There was a lack of cohesiveness and the instructions were very vague. Because of the unclear expectations of this assignment, it made working as a group more difficult. We have worked together in two other technology courses, so we have a good working relationship. This assignment, however, was awkward and frustrating for all of us. We made decisions based on what we hoped were the expectations. As a teacher, I often solicit information from my students about what they find unclear. Brookfield states that “a critically reflective teacher activates her classroom by providing a model of passionate skepticism, (1995).” For me, this means a willingness to show the students where I was wrong and how I will change. One of the interesting aspects of attending Lamar University online, is the ongoing adjustments being made due to the development of the program.

In the future, I will be more open to collaboration with others. These opportunities will be embraced, rather than dreaded. In a group, I work best as a starter. Perhaps because I am older, I am not concerned with rejection. I know when my ideas are strong and when they are weak. Often times, I just want to get the creative ball rolling. This has been very effective in our group projects. My next few courses are about the leadership aspect of this degree. My curiosity now centers on motivation. How can I help motivate students or other teachers to want to learn?

Brookfield, S. (1995). The getting of wisdom: What critically reflective teaching is and why it's important. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher,

This is my first animation attempt using Stykz.

Animation - Stykz - First Attempt

Below is my first attempt at animation. As you can see, it won't be my last.

Medieval Flow Chart

Below is a link to a Genealogical Chronicle of English Kings. It is an early use of graphic design.

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/virtualbooks/#

The use of a roll in creating the Genealogical Chronicle of the English Kings was very engaging. A continuous timeline providing information about the royalty is presented in flow chart. This provides ease of use and understanding. The contrast of color and shape is used to represent changes and progressions. Blue is used to denote royalty and red to denote the bloodline. There is the obvious use of a tree to represent the ancestry. The circle is repeated in the use of the portraits, however, the size of the circles are different depending on the strength implied. Alignment is evident in the generations with the horizontal rows representing immediate family and the center is saved for the portrait of the family member who is/was the direct heir to the throne. Proximity is shown again in the horizontal grouping of siblings. The roll and the timeline is the proximity. At fifteen meters, the distance between the beginning and the end of the rolls represents the difference between the years 1272 and the 1400’s.

Web Conference Reflection - June 4, 2012

This web conference was about the making of a digital story. I really enjoyed creating my digital story. The greatest challenge was the time constraints. The possibilities using this particular technology is amazing. As she said, it will provide evidence of the positive aspects of educational technology. It was good to hear about the other students discussing the assignments and to learn of the assignment changes.