Educational Technology Cohort #5

Educational Technology Cohort #5

Educational Technology Masters Program

Cohort #5

Graduates:

Ed Tech MA Abstracts and images:

George Burdo

With the spread of cellular phone technology to all levels and ages of society, and to younger ages, the cell phone has for many students become an extension of themselves to such an extent that some researchers have recently defined iPhone Syndrome for feelings of incompleteness and/or inadequacy when a person cannot access their phone, and like Stockholm Syndrome, fiercely defend the shortcomings of the phone mentioned by other people. Cell phone usage in a classroom can be either a distraction or an asset for instruction. Depending upon the rules of the institution, and the particular class, how phones are dealt with can lead to individual, small group, or entire class distractions. The question is not if the distraction will occur, but how, and to what extent. In this study, six classes of high school students, in mixed 9th through 12th grade classes were observed. During the first phase, the school's general rule of “We see it, we hear it, we take it.” was followed. During the second phase, usage of the phones was relaxed at different points in time for each class as observations continued. During both the first, and second phase, student phone usage occurred, with minor changes in patterns. Overall, distractions appeared to be actually lower, stress factors decreased for both students and teacher, without any notable effect on student performance but not in a statistically significant level.

Sarah Ishida

The study researched the effect of synchronous and asynchronous communication between high school students learning Japanese in the United States and native speakers in Japan on student motivation, learning, and achievement.  Traditional foreign language education in a classroom is limited in exposing students to authentic settings to practice and improve skills, therefore creating limits to language growth.  Grammar and syntax are taught and learned in theory, but may not be reflective of language usage in Japan.  American students participated in task-based computer-mediated communication with students in Japan through a Google site developed for this research project, to allow for a more natural learning environment.  Authentic learning situations through the web site through photos, text, and video differentiated and expanded the language learning experience.  75% of students found learning with native speakers to be more effective than with their classmates, and their perception of Japanese people and their culture changed significantly.  Providing students with opportunities to interact with native speakers has become increasingly convenient with technological advances and programs available today.  Incorporating such authentic activities into the foreign language curriculum will expose learners to a variety of meaningful situations for them to gain new knowledge about the target country’s language and culture while practicing their learning.

Michelle Kirk

The focus of this project was to provide information on educational appdevelopment by going through the process of producing an application, studying survey instruments, and providing data analysis that includes information obtained from the iTunes store generated from downloads of the app. Apps can be used to fill a void in the educational process. They can also be a useful educational tool if implemented properly. As the increase of mobile device use continues, and is quickly becoming more than just a means of communication, educators will discover the importance of incorporating these devices into the learning process. The classroom can be mobile, allowing for the educator and student to be in contact as well as allowing for the educational materials to be within a hands reach at any given time. Cell phones are being used for everything from email, to web browsing, to catching up on the latest news, to archive history through the use of cameras and video, and even submitting documents to teachers for grading. To begin the process of educational app development, an application support and information website was developed, www.ColorTabApp.com, then research covering the process of app development, design of the app, development phase, copyrighting the app, deploying version one of the app in the iTunes store, create social media outlets, monitoring the progress of the app, deploying version two of the app in the iTunes store, dispersing and making available a set of survey instruments, studying the data, and providing an analysis of the data on the website, was completed. The results show over one thousand downloads in multiple countries in both education and music categories, and that users of the appwere able to learn from it. In conclusion, the Color Tab app was able to be utilized for educational purposes, thereby demonstrating the need for educational app development.

Matt Duda

The purpose of this study is to see if using Khan Academy along with traditional teaching helped students better understand Algebra 1. Students do not get the feedback and help they need to be successful in Algebra 1 due to large class sizes and short class times (Wright, Horn & Sanders, 1997). Khan Academy is an online resource that has free online videos and interactive exercises. Students watched videos and completed skills on Khan Academy while receiving immediate feedback. By monitoring students, lessons were designed based on the needs of students. This freed up some class time to help struggling students and allowed students to gain a deeper understanding of the material through performance tasks. Seventy students were surveyed from two high school Algebra 1 classes. Their completion of Khan Academy homework was compared with their written textbook homework. Through this study, an improvement in students’ motivation, disposition, confidence, and achievement in math, was seen as measured by a pre-test, post-test, and surveys.

Mary Wrobleski

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of flipping a math classroom on student comprehension and test scores in a sixth grade math class, specifically applying to student  understanding of Common Core standard 6.NS1, which addresses division of fractions and its  relationship to multiplication of the same. Flipping a math classroom offers students and teachers  more class time to interact by relegating direct instruction to prepared online videos that are  viewed, in advance of class, by students as homework. This frees up class time for guided  practice, during which time students work out problems of increasing complexity, with the  teacher available for help as needed. Continuous formative assessment is on going as the teacher  circulates through the room, checking for student understanding. Students receive immediate  feedback from the teacher and he or she can quickly determine who needs remediation and who  is ready for additional challenges in the current math concept. This model makes small group  collaborative problem solving and one-on-one assistance from the teacher possible, which is a  significant advantage for struggling students. Research on flipped classroom instruction is  available at the high school and college level, but almost nothing exists for middle school. Two  math classes were utilized; a control experiencing traditional direct instruction during class, and  an experimental class using the flipped model. The results of this mixed methods study were  measured quantitatively by a comparison between scores from a written pre-test and post-test in  addition to periodic assessments of student understanding. Teacher observations and student  interviews provided qualitative data. While student learning occurred, the results were  inconclusive as to the effectiveness of the flipped model, due to a variety of variables that are  described herein.

Mallory Gallagher

This study evaluated how students perceive peer feedback in ASL through video recording and exchange on American Sign Language (ASL) level 3 students in the 11th and 12th grades. Written and verbal feedback provided by peers and instructors are limited to English and not fully able to capture specific nuances of ASL. Due to its modality, using English as a means of feedback could prevent students from identifying areas they might need to improve on. Twenty-one students participated over a three month period. Students were provided an online environment via the program GoReact (Speakworks, Inc.) to give and receive feedback from each other in real-time through ASL. Data was collected through surveys, teacher observations, and students interviews. Ultimately data supported a positive movement towards students perception of peer feedback through ASL over written and spoken English. Positive implications were also concluded in the development of students metacognitive skills through analysis of peers and self. 

Kyle Tacsik

Students often face gaps in knowledge when asked to complete revisions on second drafts within the secondary language arts classroom, but can rubrics be more effective instructional tools when merged with videos and technology? This study examines and evaluates the effectiveness of an online instructional rubric comprised of video tutorials as a feedback system in prompting students to create meaningful and significant revisionary changes from first to second draft in writing a process paper. The online rubric provides short, tailored video lessons that connect directly to the needs of each student and aims to provide concrete, meaningful instruction on embedding evidence and expanding the depth of analysis when rewriting an essay. By providing direct examples about how to improve, students are able to apply meaningful changes to their writing when moving from the first to second draft. This study analyzes and interprets quantitative data on the consistency of meaningful draft revisions from first to second draft and the qualitative responses and opinions of students as they utilize and engage online video tutorials. Ultimately, the online instructional rubric proved to be valuable for a fraction of an experimental group but did not produce significantly stronger writing revisions when compared to a control group that utilized in class peer editing and revisions.

Joy Burton

This study examines the impacts and ramifications of using technology, specifically teacher websites, for parent involvement as it pertains to student academic achievement. The problems are the absence of parent involvement in students’ education and low student achievement. It is proposed that students’ achievement increases with parent involvement. By examining the use of technology, such as teacher websites, it is purported that with an increase in parents accessing teacher websites, student achievement increases. The difference by which technology can transform the educational structures and especially the constraints teachers, parents and students experience without technology is clarified. Emphasis is on two major sources of data: (1) a quantitative analysis of data from student scores and performance and (2) number of times parents accessed the website. This study substantiates the argument that teacher websites are great tools for schools, parents and students, in the areas of communication, keeping stakeholders connected and are effective means to increase student achievement.