Wow, I just realized while writing the date that there should be some kind of deal at 7-11...I'll have to go shovel a suicide slurpee down the old gullet....mmmm slurpee! Anyway, that is neither here nor there. My job today, aside from blogging, is to begin working on the presentation of my research that I will use up at Microsofts innovative education forum (IEF) conference at the end of July. I thought it would be a good idea to start the Nitty Gritty part 1 blog to remind myself of the ins and outs of my research.
If this is your first time reading my blog I have been telling the story of my research from the beginning, which in my opinion was an interesting story but I also can't stop watching Deadliest Catch so what do I know?
So after all of the drama, it was time....
Problem:
The numbers shown in the chart above suggest the preferred mode of communication by teens to be SMS text messaging. Because teens are changing the ways in which they communicate, educators trying to reach them must adapt and change their communication style as well. Once the receiver of the message is reached utilizing their preferred mode of communication, the process of communication and learning becomes stronger and easier.
Long story short; digital immigrant instructors are failing to reach the digital native students sitting in their classrooms (I will expand on the terms digital immigrants and digital natives, coined by researcher Marc Prensky, in a future blog).
Purpose:
The purpose of my study was to determine whether the use of Twitter in an 8th grade science class would improve student performance on standardized curriculum assessments.
Research Method:
I used a quantitative research method called correlation research, which sought to find a correlation between the use of Twitter and student performance on standardized curriculum tests, homework, classroom assignments, and overall grades.
Research Question:
To what degree will the use of Twitter in an 8th grade science class improve student performance on standardized curriculum tests?
My Samples:
After receiving my blessing by the powerful and mighty IRB board, I learned that I could conduct my research with my students without them really knowing it (so as not to skew the data). I sent home a letter that discussed the use of two new technology sources, Poll Everywhere (which is explained in the "cool tech things" section below), and Twitter.
I received 43 signed letters by parents allowing their students to create a Twitter account and follow me on Twitter (this would become my Sample A: Twitter users). I then collected as much data on that group of students, who turned out to be a very eclectic group of students. I then created a matched sample (N = 43) that mirrored the Twitter sample as perfectly as possible (This became my Sample B: non Twitter users).
Comparison of Samples A and B (Race)
Comparison of Samples (Demographics)
*Not listed is the incoming average GPA of each sample. Sample A: 2.93 Sample B: 3.01
As you can see I had two very similar samples. These samples also represented the population of my school quite well, which is a good thing because I did not use random sampling and therefore general inferences had to be made with cation, but not too much cation:).
In my next blog I will show the data collected, as well as some examples of the Tweets that I sent out during the research period. I will also share my conclusion and the implications of Twitter in education.
Cool Tech Things:
This is a great polling site that is FREE, and allows users to text in short answers or multiple choice answers, or input their answer via internet. It is a great tool for teachers who might want their students to answer an exit question before leaving the classroom. Students can get their phones out and the answers will stream in live for all of the class to see. You can also collect data as a formative assessment tool.
As always, thanks for reading...tell your friends!!
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