The Nitty Gritty Part 2...The Finale

OK, I've been gone a while....busy busy.  I have begun the mile a minute job of administration, and I'm loving it.  Problems arise regularly, and I get to solve them.  I certainly have a lot to learn, and there are many situations that are just waiting outside my door hoping I will come running out only to stumble and fall.  But with failure comes an opportunity to succeed, and I welcome the challenge.  I still haven't figured out when lunchtime is.  Usually I'm stuffing down the PB&J before the next meeting, event, or unseen problem awaiting a solution.  I couldn't be happier.  


My last post led you up to a cliffhanger that I just know has kept you on the edge of your seat for the last two months?  Haha.  OK maybe not, so let me refresh.  I have explained my research over the last 5 months.  My research was based on the use of Twitter in education.  The problem I noticed is the communication gap (I think I just made up a new gap to close...oops, sorry) between todays digital native students and the digital immigrant instructors teaching them.  I have received notice from one of the three people who actually read my blog to tell me they don't appreciate the term digital immigrant.  Remember, it is not a derogatory term, rather it is a classification based on the multitude of seconds you have spent spinning on this giant rock in the Milky Way Galaxy:)  In all seriousness Digital Immigrants have the potential to truly bridge the divide between rookies with all the newest gadgets and the experienced veterans, who can create meaning using such technological tools.  The important partnership between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants must be realized for the true potential of technology to be reached in education.  


So I digress.  The communication problem I and many other educators and students realized needed to be addressed.  Knowing that todays students prefer text messaging over any other means of communication, I needed to find the perfect middle man between my phone and the students text inbox. Twitter was the answer.  I set up a correlational research project to see if there was a correlation between the use of Twitter and increased student performance.  If you need more details, they are locked in my posts from May to July.  You have the key (it is the mouse or touchpad, it will lead the curser to my blog history:).


I will now cease to beat around the proverbial bush, and get right to the point.  There was a significant correlation found between the use of Twitter and increased performance on overall grades, as well as the two standardized curriculum tests that were given during the research period.  The following figure shows the breakdown of scores between both samples (Twitter users, and non Twitter users) according to overall grades earned throughout the research period.

The data utilized to create this chart was analyzed for significance using a chi-squared test.  The results of the chi-squared test are p = 0.0106. There is significant statistical evidence to reject the null hypothesis at the 0.05 significance level.  In English....this chart is legit.  The next chart will show the samples' percentage comparison on the two standardized curriculum tests given during the research period.  

The data utilized to create this chart was analyzed for significance using a sample T test.  The sample t-test results are T = 2.1665, p = .01662, df = 80.4287.  The statistical analysis suggests rejecting the null hypothesis at the 0.05 significance level.  Again, in English......this chart is also legit!  (To understand the verbiage of the test results take more math:)

So there it is.  I also collected homework and assignment data from the samples.  Neither of those differences were found to be significant.  Assignments were given in class, and therefore gave no advantage to the students utilizing Twitter.  The homework scores showed a slight difference between the two samples, although the difference was not significant.  I didn't give much homework which created a lack of sufficient evidence.  

In my next post I will talk about the possible implications of these findings.  We are currently heading in the right direction.  The district I currently work for has a board approved social network policy.  We are carefully navigating the litigious waters of education to try and reach the most important part of our profession (the students) using their preferred means of communication.  I am confident that with planning and proper implementation, social networking will become a staple in education.  Through the mistakes we make, we find the right answers.  

Thanks for reading!