The Checkered Flag - Going for the Win & Victory Lane
May/June 2010
Overall Research Question: How will utilizing technology in the classroom inspire students to learn and for teachers to collaborate/knowledge-share within Professional Learning Communities?
Research Question: If I provide a variety of technology tools (i.e., Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts, Social Media, and other Web 2.0 tools) for students and teachers to use in the classroom and within their Professional Learning Communities, will they be inspired to use these tools more often and integrate them into future lessons/projects?
Background Information: As we prepare for students to become the future leaders of the world and prepare teachers to be equipped for the 21st century and beyond, school districts across the nation are challenged with the concern of budget cuts which has lead to many schools not being able to provide the necessary resources for enhancing the learning experience of our students. During these challenging economic times, it requires many teachers to be creative and resourceful by doing more with less. In my work environment, one would think that a public magnet school shouldn't be affected by this behemoth of a challenge dealing with finances to keep libraries and schools open. Furthermore, the downturn of budget cuts have caused more teacher cuts to occur which will eventually increase classroom sizes and provide additional challenges for teachers to uphold the appropriate classroom management procedures and rules.
To face these challenges, the use of technology in our daily lives must be infused into our classrooms to assist towards the learning for students and to make tasks a bit more simplified for teachers to be successful in the 21st century and beyond. Today, students want to be engaged and teachers need to know how to incorporate the interest of their students and make lessons "fun" for their students. By incorporating a variety of technology tools for students and teachers to use in the classroom, it would seem that students will become inspired to learn more.
Action Taken: During this cycle, I primarily focused on a variety of Web 2.0 tools that I have been introduced to and used in my Computer Engineering Technology and Digital Video Production classes throughout this year. With these Web 2.0 tools, I witnessed my students to be engaged while learning the subject matter and they enjoyed it more because they were having a lot of "fun" completing tasks with these "tools." With this thought in mind, I narrowed down a list of technologies for my peers to try within their various Professional Learning Communities.
The first technology tool that I suggested to use was Animoto (www.animoto.com). Animoto allows users to create an online video and it will give credit to the user who created the clip and the song that was used in the video. The cool factor of this Web 2.0 tool is that it's free and it allows users to be creative within 30 seconds of their lifetime. This tool was suggested to my peers within my PLC and other PLCs to help teachers prepare their students to understand the vocabulary of terms used in various subjects (i.e., Computer Engineering, Physics, English Literature, etc.,)
The second tool that I suggested to use was Prezi (www.prezi.com). Prezi allows users to create and perform stunning presentations with related content, zooming, and the ability to cover all material before the need to skip slides. This Web 2.0 tool has an easy learning curve and it allows users to incorporate video into their presentations, too. Students or teachers can download and present with/without the internet being present.
The third tool that I suggested for usage was Quizlet (www.quizlet.com). Quizlet allows students and teachers to create online flash card sets (study tools that are powerful and fun which helps to encourage students to learn.) Quizlet allows you to hosts groups and provide the flash card updates via email or website. The teachers when given an opportunity could use this tool to see what other teachers are teaching at a specific grade level and subject area.
Lastly, the idea of using Moodle as an open-source, content management system for my classes has been great. One thing that I observed when talking with different teachers in various PLCs was that most of them were not using Moodle for their classes. For teachers that were not using it, Ms. Suggs (one of our network support engineers), Mr. Ames (AP English/Moodle Pilot Teacher), and I were suggesting to them why they should try Moodle.
Here are a few reasons why teachers should use Moodle, per Jason Cole; author of "Using Moodle, 2nd Edition":
1. It creates a venue for discussions, differentiated lessons and quizzes, the social construction of information both inside and outside of the classroom, greater ease for collaborative learning, and a plethora of other learning opportunities.
2. Moodle also more effectively utilizes the Internet by maximizing the efficacy of digital media thereby reducing costs associated with traditional teaching methods.
3. Above all, the combination of Moodle with traditional instruction increases student engagement and provides greater opportunities for the educational reach of a teacher to extend outside the walls of his/her classroom.
As mentioned in my previous report, I had huge concern about whether access to the tools would be available within our school's Intranet. The access needed was granted and it made it a lot easier than what I initially anticipated being a barrier in my force analysis report.
Evidence for Evaluation: Before introducing these technology tools to Mr. Rivas and Ms. Boyd, my thoughts about this process was that they would be thinking that they would be excited to try something new to see if incorporating these technology tools would work for them for helping them to manage their workloads as well as increasing the engagement of their students. Furthermore, I trusted their honest feedback throughout this entire process. Lastly, I would think that their thoughts about the technology tools given to them would allow them to experiment with their classes to enhance the learning experiences of their students.
Here is a list of questions alongside the responses that were supplied to 38 students in a survey conducted in late May 2010 to conclude this cycle:
Animoto:
Q1. How easy was it to learn about Animoto and create your first video clip? (Extremely Easy/Easy/ Neither/Difficult/Extremely Difficult)
When reviewing the data about students using Animoto to create their first video clip, 30 students responded that using Animoto was Extremely Easy, 2 students responded that it was Easy, 5 students responded Neither, and 1 student responded that Animoto was Difficult to use.
Q2. By using Animoto, did it help you to (learn more/learn less) about your subject matter?
When reviewing the data about students either learning more or less about their area of study, 22 students responded that they learned more, 6 students responded that they learned less, and 10 students were undecided.
Q3. Will you continue to use Animoto for other projects inside/outside school (Yes/No)?
When reviewing the data about students using Animoto for other projects, 34 students responded more favorable by saying Yes and 4 students responded No.
Prezi:
Q1. How long did it take (in minutes/hours) to learn about Prezi and to create your first presentation? (0-15 minutes/15-30 minutes/30-60 minutes/over 60 minutes)
When reviewing the data about students using Prezi to create a first presentation, 17 students responded that it took them 0-15 minutes, 19 students responded it took them 15-30 minutes, and 2 students responded that it took them 30-60 minutes.
Q2. Ease of use of Prezi compared to your other presentation software programs you have used? (Extremely Easy/Easy/Neither/Difficult/Extremely Difficult).
When reviewing the data about students using Prezi compared to other presentation software, 28 students responded that is was Extremely Easy and 10 students responded that using Prezi was Easy.
Q3. Can you see yourself using Prezi for a Senior Paper Presentation? (Yes/No/Undecided)
When reviewing the data about students using Prezi for the upcoming Senior Paper Presentation, 36 students responded Yes, 1 student responded No, and 1 student was Undecided.
Quizlet:
Q1. While using Quizlet, did you have any difficulty in using this tool? (Yes/No)
When reviewing the data from students using Quizlet, all the students responded No to this question.
Q2. Was Quizlet a helpful tool to use for studying/review? (Yes/No)
When reviewing the data from students using Quizlet as a tool for studying/review, 35 students responded Yes and 3 students responded No.
Moodle (for teachers only):
Q1. Ease of use to manage work in Moodle? (Extremely Easy/Easy/Neither/Difficult,/Extremely Difficult)
When reviewing the data from the teachers using Moodle as a course management system, all of the teachers responded to Moodle as being Easy.
Q2. Did Moodle make it easier or more difficult to conduct assessments and grade them for students?
When reviewing the data from the teachers using Moodle for assessments, all of the teachers responded saying that using Moodle made it easier to conduct assessments and grade them.
Q3. What other features have you used within your Moodle site (i.e., Wiki, Blogs, Reviews Games, etc.,)?
When reviewing the data from teachers about using features in Moodle, all teachers responded saying that they use Blogs, Wikis, and the Millonaire Game to help their students review for tests.
Q4. Do you feel Moodle enhances the learning and collaboration of students and teachers?
When reviewing the data from teachers on whether Moodle enhances learning and collaboration, all teachers responded saying Yes.
Again, I expected the students to favor using Prezi and Animoto to use for Presentatons and Vocabuary since these programs allow music and visuals to be used and teachers truly enjoy using Moodle to help increase student engagement and provide opportunities to extent "outside the walls" of the classroom.
Testimonials about using Moodle
Moodle has been awesome! I am not completely savvy with Moodle, but is has been a nice place for my students to share their ideas, and for them to store information. Likewise, I am able to upload readings and documents and just have my students go to Moodle for the information. Moodle helps keep the kids accountable because it provides a date stamp of when an assignment is submitted and most importantly, it helps us go paperless! Imagine that! Thanks - Ms. Boyd, English
I noticed the other day, when I was having the students work on a peer edit project on Moodle, that they were also checking out some of their other classes to review deadlines and if anything new had been added. It's good to see that Moodle has already become the "one stop shop" for all their classes and assignments.
One of my students also thanked me in front of the whole class for using Moodle. She said that at first she really didn't like the idea but now realizes that it has made learning easier and assignments a more manageable task. It made my day because we've put so much work into making this forum a reality, and it's encouraging to see our students approve of it. - Mr. Ames, AP English
I takes a little effort at the beginning but your class will run itself. I wish I could get everything on Moodle. It makes everything so much easier. If I could get all the features into my class then it would really add another dimension. - Mr. Naeger, Science
Reflection
During this third cycle, I reflected on the 1st time when I learned about Animoto, Moodle, and Prezi back in September 2009. After being exposed to these tools, I would use these programs on numerous occasions, get excited about using them, share the good news to my colleagues inside/outside school, and I would feel like an unofficial spokesperson for these technologies. To me, these tools are just that cool that I had to share with others. When talks about financial challenges came about this school year, I was a bit shocked to a degree as a 1st year teacher because I would just expect to get any resource that I would request for since these would be used to teach students and help them learn about my Computer Engineering and Digital Video Production and other subjects. What this meant was that I had to find alternatives to teach my students about technology without the burden of worrying about cost. The key benefit of Web 2.0 tools is that they are usually free and easily can be used on multiple operating system platforms. In most cases, the installation of each of these tools are small (not larger than 6 MB) for sure.
Throughout this cycle as well as previous cycles, I have been introduced to several websites that focus on the integration of technology in the classroom. The website that I have used the most was Free Technology for Teachers (www.freetech4teachers.com) which is a RSS Blog owned by Richard Byrne (Google Certified Teacher) and it is great to see that there are others throughout the world who have a passion for learning and they continue to seek opportunities to integrate technology in the classroom. The other website that referred to for Web 2.0 tools to use was Go2Web20 (www.go2web20.net) which is a portal website developed by Orli Yakuel. This web 2.0 directory has well over 3000 tools to choose from. Again, the exposure of the variety of Web 2.0 tools has helped me to realize that there are some great ideas available for little to no cost. In this day and age, it's great to find Web 2.0 tools that are affordable, efficient, and fun to use.
The key thing that I learned about from this cycle was that technology can assist students to learn but, it is not the "silver bullet" or the definitive fix for resolving all of their problems about how they learn. Technology can help to cut down the time for completing tasks but, it cannot replace educators who have to serve as key advocates to help enhance the learning of students and to help prepare them for the 21st century and beyond. I am thankful for the continued efforts to integrate technology into the classroom as it allows students to create and explore new ideas for enhancing their learning.
Next steps:
I will share my thoughts about the entire process in my final reflection which will provide an overview of my work involving action research.