EDLD 5326 Presentation

EDLD 5326 Research Project Update

AR Project Summary :

 I have been implementing a paperless classroom ever since my students all received their district issued iPads. The Action Research would be performed during the 3^rd six-week and ended January 14^th at the end of the 6 weeks. I have compiled the data which consisted of a copy count from the 2^nd six-weeks to compare the third six-week once we began using the iPads. I was able to cut my usage from 6,600 copies made the 2^nd six-week to 5,150 copies the 3^rd six-weeks. This is even lower than the proposed 5,280. On the downside I have noticed that the students are getting into more trouble, even at home, since the iPads have arrived. I have also noticed that the Accelerated Reading points have decreased. I have had to go back to making sure that my students are reading a real book and not rely on them reading in their iPads because they are too easily distracted with the ease of switching from their book to some other game or app. Also, I have to do double the work to get things done on the iPad. If I want the students to do their homework I have to scan a copy of the document, save it a pdf and send it to their iPads. I can see how teachers get frustrated and find it be easier to just simply make a copy for them. And recently with the new update to the iPads the iMessage feature is not working so I cannot send any photos or pdf’s to them. Another drawback is that there are not enough resources yet for use on the iPad. The student textbooks are not capable of being used, the workbooks are not available and the apps are limited, especially since my students are low income and are not capable of purchasing apps that are the full version. I know this is a great idea in theory but I am seeing a few things that are making the transformation difficult.

EDLD 5397 - Research

Draft Action Research Project Progress Report

a.    Title – Provide a clear, brief title that describes your Action Research Project. This title should describe what you are trying to find out, not what you think you will find.  (5 points)

a.    Paperless Classroom – is it possible?

b.    Needs Assessment – Indicate how the need for an improvement was determined. Note the data collected to support the need. Present the data in a disaggregated manner in terms of ethnicity, and gender. (5 points)

a.    The need for going paperless stems from

                                  i.    The cost of paper to the campus – data being collected includes number of copies made in the 2^nd 6 weeks compared to 3^rd 6 weeks after iPad distribution in my classroom

                                 ii.    The technology being provided by the district to all students i.e. iPads 1-12 and iPods pk-k

                                iii.    Worksheet vs. technology review

                               iv.    eClassroom information vs. paper newsletters

c.    Objectives and Vision of the action research project. (ELCC 1.1) – After completing the needs assessment, develop a vision relating to the improvement needed and develop an action research project that includes measureable objectives in terms of expected results. (5 points)

a.    The vision of the research project is to see how much paper on classroom can save by using district issued technology. The objectives can be measured using copy count and cost when compared before and after the iPad distribution. I expect to see a great cut in the amount of paper/copies being used and the value added to students who learn better through technology than through worksheets.

d.    Review of the Literature and Action Research Strategy – Apply Best Practice to Student Learning (LCC 2.3) – Review recent literature related to the topic of your research project. The research should support why your action research plan would be described as a best practice or possible solution to improving achievement or culture. The review of the literature should be written in APA style with a reference page listing the sources. Explain the decision making process for implementing the action research project. Who was involved? What was considered? What decisions were made? (5 points)

a.     

e.    Articulate the Vision (ELCC 1.2) – Describe how you communicated the vision of the action research project to staff, parents, students, and community members. (5 points)

f.     The vision was discussed with my mentor at the end of last year. Once this year began I began talking to the parents in my classroom about how I was going to be moving to a more “green” classroom as the year progressed and the iPads were distributed. I began this move by stopping paper newsletters and moving to using my eClassroom as well as email and texting for any announcements that the parents needed to be aware of. I also placed my newsletter in PDF form on the eClassroom. As the school year progresses there will be continued conversations with the parents of my students as well as the rest of my grade level and administration as I begin to move from making copies to working on the iPads. I intend on holding a parent meeting to completely “kick-off” the project once a majority of many students have their iPads. My administration and mentor are kept up to date through mentor meetings, and at this point it is all about the plan and implementation as the iPads are not distributed yet. The school secretary is helping me by keeping me informed of the amount of copies I am making each 6 weeks so I have data to compare. I have also placed information on my eClassroom for any parents or community members who may be interested.

g.    Manage the organization (ELCC 3.1) – Describe the strategy used for organizing the implementation of the project noting responsibilities given to self and others and how you managed any monies, time, materials, and people. Give examples of how you put a priority on student learning and safety. (5 points)

a.    The organization of the plan really revolves around my copy count and the iPad distribution. This is a structured strategy because the district decides when my 4^th graders will be getting the iPads and the copies I make are being counted automatically. I do not require any money, but I am asking the campus secretary to assist me by keeping my copy count. Once I begin switching to the iPads I can calculate the cost of the paper used against the six weeks that I will be comparing. I have not had to manage any other aspects; I am for the most part, waiting for the district to issue the iPads.

h.    Manage Operations (ELCC 3.2) – Describe the strategy used to lead the operations of the project and set priorities. Include a brief description of how you used the needs assessment, data, group process skills, built consensus, communicated, and resolved conflict. (5 points)

a.    In order to lead the operations, I simply held a meeting with my mentor, my principal and the campus secretary in order to begin gathering information needed to keep a copy count. The priorities I set revolved around the iPad distribution for the school/grade level. I discussed my idea and the needs of cutting the paper cost down for the campus. Most of the money allocated for supplies goes to paper. A consensus was met when we realized how much the iPads could help cut the need for worksheets and meet the needs of the digital natives in our school, namely my classroom.

i.      Respond to Community Interest and Needs (ELCC 4.2) – Describe how the action research project will serve the needs of students with special and exceptional needs and students with diverse backgrounds (cultural, ethnic, economic, or special interest groups) Elaborate on methods used to address any specific needs of the school or community. (5 points)

a.    This project is very important and extremely helpful to students with exceptional needs and diverse backgrounds. We have already seen how the iPads help our special populations as they were given the iPads last year on a trial basis. It turns out that they are blossoming with the help of the iPads and are gaining more knowledge by using the iPads for their work. The district took care of this for me by deciding to pass out iPads to special populations last year. Once I found out these students were beginning to use the iPads I asked out Resource teacher to keep me informed of how the iPads have helped these students. We have seen growth and understanding gained faster with the help of the iPads compared to not using them. 

EDLD 5362 - Week 5

5364 - Week 4 Part 1

The quote that got may attention in this week’s reading was:  “To be prepared for the fast-paced, virtual workplace that they will inherit, today’s students need to be able to learn and produce cooperatively” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Working cooperatively is something that I am constantly trying to improve in my 4^th grade class. The students are learning to be good group members and tot trust each other as a group, believing that the work will get done and done well. As the students continue in their education, as well as entering the work force, they have no choice but to be a team player and work with people. It is a little bit of a challenge for some students and others seem to do well with it as some like working together while others prefer to work alone. It is a skill that must be practiced and rehearsed in order to learn to do it well. Personally I do not like group work because my past experiences have left me feeling like I am carrying my group and that I do most of the work while others skate by on my grade however, I have found that the groups at Lamar University have all had professionals in them who do their part, a welcome change.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. (p. 139). Alexandria, VA: ASCD

5364 - Week 3 Part 3

Week 3 Part 3

Creating a book using the Book Builder was not difficult. I felt like I could have added a lot more content and made a much more interesting book that would allow students to feel like they are learning The Writing Process, if only I had more time. I am encouraged to see how easy it was to make and that there are so many more features that I could have used and built a great book with. In the future I could see using this to make learning easier for some students, and even allowing students to build books for each other. I think a place like this has a lot of potential and I would like to have more time to use it, maybe after I graduate....

My Book

5364 - Week 3 Part 1

Week 3 Part 1

In the weeks past we have had some terrific readings and videos to watch, this week is not different. The reading consisted of: 

• “Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning”
• “Center for Applied Special Technology: UDL Book Builder”
• “Center for Applied Special Technology: Model UDL Lessons”
• “Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools”
• “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works”

In the reading "Using Technology With Classroom Instruction That Works", the quote that stuck out to me was "we cannot overemphasize the wisdom of using rubrics to provide feedback on student attainment of the objectives set.  Because rubrics provide detailed descriptions, they help teachers meet the classroom recommendation of giving feedback that’s specific to a criterion as opposed to giving a simple grade or score.” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Makes so much sense. Without the detailed descriptions that are provided by rubrics, a lot of students will be asking a lot more questions that the rubrics could simply answer. Also, students will know exactly what is expected of them and exactly what the grading will look like. Students, especially in the 4th grade, are learning to become more independent and require guidelines to follow. If they have a rubric to which they can refer, they will be able to know where to look, what to do and this enables them to begin to build their independence. I have learned that using rubrics could be a great thing to implement and in the future I think more teachers just may use them, even in lower grades.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 41-58, 217-225.