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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Action Research Progress


I had several wanderings that I wanted to research closer.  Being the people person I am I was very interested in staff morale, campus culture and parental involvement.  As I began to discuss my ideas my principal suggested I take on the iPad 1:1 implementation. I have to admit I was a little hesitant being that I am just a regular classroom teacher not a technology specialist.  Not having any real experience with completing an action research project and doing one concerning technology has proven to be a challenge within itself. 

As I began my action research project I realized I had stated to broad of a question with to many variables to measure.  Since EDLD 5301 I have restated by question and narrowed in on only one variable to measure.  My Action Research data collection has been progressing very well.   I have collected the State assessment data from the 2011-2012 school year and will be receiving the 2012-2013 data at the end of the school year.  I have collected and analyzed benchmark data from the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school year. It has been hard to say if the improvement we saw on the benchmark scores where a direct result of the iPads or the change in our scheduling.

 The majority of my data has been in casual conversation and journaling with other teachers and students. Teachers have gone from overwhelmed to excited, frustrated to overwhelmed again all within a 3 month time period.  We did not roll out our iPads until the middle of December, which did provide teachers time to prepare, but nothing compares to the real thing.  Students have also gone though a variety of feelings concerning the iPads, which has lead to a few issues.  As a campus we have discussed our concerns with the program and changes that we would like to put into action next year.

The hardest part I have encountered is the article review. There are so many articles concerning technology integration I have had a difficult time narrowing my search, and I am not exactly sure as to what I am looking for. I started my article review early as recommended, and ended up rewriting my research question.

I have compiled an outline of where my research is taking me and what I want to further research.  I am interesting in seeing if other schools faced similar attitudes and problems when first implementing their programs. 

·       State Assessment data comparison
o   2011-2012 state scores:  8th grade Math:  ELA: SS: Science:
o   2012-2013 state scores:  to be determined
o   2011-2012 Benchmark scores
o   2012-2013 Benchmark scores

·       Teachers Comments and attitudes toward the implementation:
o   Through our teacher focus group
·       Problems encountered by teachers:
o   Students appear unfocused
o   Games, music and social media during class time.
o   Updating iPads, time it takes and loss of materials
o   Online workstation
o   Implementing technology with our district purchased curriculum.

·       Benefits to implementation:
o   Paper and copier use decreasing
o   Decrease loss of notes and materials
o   Organization of work for students
o   Less time spent copying work and papers
o   App list being organized
·       Different uses for Ipads:
o   Math: flipped classroom videos, access to the internet for research, Socrative quizzes, Study Island
o   ELA: notecards, video projects, access to the internet for research
o   Science: notes, flashcards, access to the internet for research, Socrative quizzes, Study Island
o   Social Studies: access to the internet for research, flashcards, keynotes

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