- I have recently learned that I will be published for an article that I co-wrote, along with Dr. Van Vooren of California state university San Marcos. It will be included in the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics. Once I get the details I will certainly throw them out for you to enjoy.
- I have also just finished and submitted an article that I wrote to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) which I am hoping will be published in their Science Scope magazine.
- Finally, I will be speaking in Reno Nevada at the California Association of Activity Directors (CADA) conference on March 2nd, 2012.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
I'm back
So, I've been gone a while. The new job is wonderful, and very time consuming...thus the lack of time to blog, and do much else other than work. I want to share some news regarding my research, which is based on the use of Twitter in education.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
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.
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!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
July 7th: The Nitty Gritty Part 1
Captains log star date 07-07-11
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:
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!!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
June 22nd: Research time!
Captains log star date 06-22-11. I come in peace. Wow, I have fully exhausted my TV and Movie Clichés in the first two lines of this blog...it should be a quick one. I titled this blog post research time because truly, about three weeks into what I had hoped to be my research period, I was able to begin working. Needless to say I was excited. My first order of business was to re-establish the community that I had began building before the big bump in the road. So I quickly went to HootSuite (an excellent way to pre plan, schedule, translate, and manage your Twitter feeds. You can also access and work with many other social media sites making it a great central hub for all of your social networking), and began writing my first tweet as a free man!! I felt like Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption (sorry I couldn't help myself). My first tweet was meant to get people back into the game so I tweeted, "the first ten people to retweet the five types of energy, (which was what we were studying at the time) get a prize tomorrow in class. This simple yet effective way of creating a community on Twitter (that I can not take credit for...thanks Matthew Soeth) brought back most of the 42 followers immediately. The first ten students that retweeted were given a prize in class, and more importantly were publicly praised for their speedy response. I was back!
In the coming blogs I will provide the nitty gritty of my research including my data, which provides bonafide evidence of the positive effects of social media in my 8th grade science class. Please stay tuned, and subscribe to my blog. The one lonely subscriber needs friends:)
I want to share this press release put out by Microsoft which lists me and my project as one of 72 educators in the United States selected to participate in the IEF forum in Seattle in late July. Wish me luck! As always, thanks for reading.
Cool tech thing:
Flipboard is a great "central location" for lack of better words. It allows you place your social media, news, magazines, photography, and many other cool sites all in one app. I love it and I think you will as well.
Have you ever had to explain to your Grandma how to move about the computer? If so, you are probably going to love showmewhatswrong.com it allows you to have your grandma show what she is doing on her computer, then sends you a private URL with a video screenshot to diagnose what she is doing wrong.
Doceri is absolutely amazing!! It is free for educators and you can pay for an upgraded version. This will allow your iPad to become a remote for your desktop. It allows you to write with your finger over your iPad, which is now the desktop as well. You can manipulate everything on your desktop from across the room on your iPad. This app will render the thousand dollar promethean or smart board a waste of money!!
In the coming blogs I will provide the nitty gritty of my research including my data, which provides bonafide evidence of the positive effects of social media in my 8th grade science class. Please stay tuned, and subscribe to my blog. The one lonely subscriber needs friends:)
I want to share this press release put out by Microsoft which lists me and my project as one of 72 educators in the United States selected to participate in the IEF forum in Seattle in late July. Wish me luck! As always, thanks for reading.
Cool tech thing:
Flipboard is a great "central location" for lack of better words. It allows you place your social media, news, magazines, photography, and many other cool sites all in one app. I love it and I think you will as well.
Have you ever had to explain to your Grandma how to move about the computer? If so, you are probably going to love showmewhatswrong.com it allows you to have your grandma show what she is doing on her computer, then sends you a private URL with a video screenshot to diagnose what she is doing wrong.
Doceri is absolutely amazing!! It is free for educators and you can pay for an upgraded version. This will allow your iPad to become a remote for your desktop. It allows you to write with your finger over your iPad, which is now the desktop as well. You can manipulate everything on your desktop from across the room on your iPad. This app will render the thousand dollar promethean or smart board a waste of money!!
Monday, June 6, 2011
June 5th: The art of Lobbying
"Here is what you should do..." my principal said as I was gathering my jaw, which had just plunged in slow motion to the ground with the knowledge of my research's impending doom.
"Let me explain." He went on to explain that he went looking for guidance from the district office regarding the use of social media in his school, specifically Twitter, because of my research project. He went to the assistant superintendent, who did not have a directive, so he went to the superintendent (who I follow on Twitter BTW)who said it is a great tool and gave him no directive, then he went back to the assistant superintendent who said she would check with the lawyers....needless to say, they said NO! He suggested that I go over his head to the district office and lobby my case. So I did.
It took three weeks, in which time I had to break one of the cardinal rules of Twitter...I disappeared. I couldn't explain what was going on to my students and every day that went by was another day I was loosing from my research period. I finally got in touch with the right people and got the OK to do my research, as long as:
1. I gave the username and password to the district office
2. I presented my research to the district upon completion
3. I ceased using Twitter once my research period was over
I must remind you that I work for a great district, and a great school. I can't blame the administration for being timid about the use of social media in education. There are lots of legalities to consider. I just want them to understand that they must consider them, draft a social media policy, and get it approved by the board. It is quite a huge undertaking to adopt a social media policy. You have to consider the fact that there will be training needs, and the ability to conquer the unknown. My research proves that it is cheap (in fact it is free)and more importantly it's what the students want and require to be fully engaged.
If you want to skip my clever banter and get right to the punch line, use the link to check out my thesis and a few presentations based on my research.
Speaking of presentations, I just found out that I was selected to go present at Microsoft's Innovative Education Forum in Seattle this July!! More to come...
Cool tech things:
1. Logitech wireless keyboard for the iPad, I'm loving this!
2. Evernote. This is a great tool for keeping notes, its free, and it sinks to all of your devices. Great tool!
3. Our Choice. This is Al Gores new book, and serves as a sequel to An Inconvenient Truth. Even if you are not interested in the content of the book you have to get this app, it is the future of what books will be....get it!!
"Let me explain." He went on to explain that he went looking for guidance from the district office regarding the use of social media in his school, specifically Twitter, because of my research project. He went to the assistant superintendent, who did not have a directive, so he went to the superintendent (who I follow on Twitter BTW)who said it is a great tool and gave him no directive, then he went back to the assistant superintendent who said she would check with the lawyers....needless to say, they said NO! He suggested that I go over his head to the district office and lobby my case. So I did.
It took three weeks, in which time I had to break one of the cardinal rules of Twitter...I disappeared. I couldn't explain what was going on to my students and every day that went by was another day I was loosing from my research period. I finally got in touch with the right people and got the OK to do my research, as long as:
1. I gave the username and password to the district office
2. I presented my research to the district upon completion
3. I ceased using Twitter once my research period was over
I must remind you that I work for a great district, and a great school. I can't blame the administration for being timid about the use of social media in education. There are lots of legalities to consider. I just want them to understand that they must consider them, draft a social media policy, and get it approved by the board. It is quite a huge undertaking to adopt a social media policy. You have to consider the fact that there will be training needs, and the ability to conquer the unknown. My research proves that it is cheap (in fact it is free)and more importantly it's what the students want and require to be fully engaged.
If you want to skip my clever banter and get right to the punch line, use the link to check out my thesis and a few presentations based on my research.
Speaking of presentations, I just found out that I was selected to go present at Microsoft's Innovative Education Forum in Seattle this July!! More to come...
Cool tech things:
1. Logitech wireless keyboard for the iPad, I'm loving this!
2. Evernote. This is a great tool for keeping notes, its free, and it sinks to all of your devices. Great tool!
3. Our Choice. This is Al Gores new book, and serves as a sequel to An Inconvenient Truth. Even if you are not interested in the content of the book you have to get this app, it is the future of what books will be....get it!!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday May 31st: Twitter in education?
Captains log star-date 05-31-2011
"How are you feeling today?" asked my Principal (for whom I have much respect).
"I'm feeling pretty good. Why? Whats up?"
"You have to stop using Twitter," he said with a look on his face that was similar to that of someone who had just seen a car accident. Hours of writing, reviewing literature, thousands of dollars, and not to mention, a project that could truly create knowledge in the research world, GONE!
Lets back up. This last summer I designed a research project based on the use of Twitter in my 8th grade science class. I was so excited. My favorite part of the grueling work of preparing the first three chapters of my proposal was my literature review. I found NOTHING like my research project. I was working on something that higher education had never done. That fact pushed me to take pride in every word I wrote, and I became immersed in my research. I was so excited to put the petal to the metal and begin the new school year and my research. Late August rolled around and school was ready to begin. I couldn't have been more excited. Along with the usual beginning of the year routine, I spent a day talking about the new technology that I was planning on using. The lesson began with, "please clear your desks and get out your cell phones..."
The reaction from the students was priceless. I quickly found out who truly trusted me; those three students immediately began reaching into their backpacks. The other 35 students gave me a look that screamed, "What? Do you think I'm stupid?"
In this day and age, the tools most successful businesses and business men and women use to achieve success are considered evil. If we see them we take them and bring them to the office as if they are some sort of alien weapon designed to.....God forbid, engage students. And here I am asking them to take them out for a lesson...like I said, priceless.
And so it began, 42 students got the ok from their parents to create a Twitter account for my class. I had my Twitter sample. I scrambled to created a matched sample of 42 students who were not using Twitter that were as identical as possible in race, socioeconomic status, gender, parents level of education, incoming GPA, student sub groups such as english language learners, special ed, GATE, and many more identifiers. After gallons of coffee and data diving I knew that if the evidence I gathered showed a significant increase in students performance on standardized curriculum tests, and overall grades the only difference between these two samples was the use of Twitter. I did a great job, and was quite proud of myself. I set up spreadsheets to track the data of these two samples, who were now only numbers according to my reserach, and began sending Tweets to my twitter sample. Two weeks into my research period my Principal found me at lunch and asked the devastating question you see above.
Stay tuned...
"How are you feeling today?" asked my Principal (for whom I have much respect).
"I'm feeling pretty good. Why? Whats up?"
"You have to stop using Twitter," he said with a look on his face that was similar to that of someone who had just seen a car accident. Hours of writing, reviewing literature, thousands of dollars, and not to mention, a project that could truly create knowledge in the research world, GONE!
Lets back up. This last summer I designed a research project based on the use of Twitter in my 8th grade science class. I was so excited. My favorite part of the grueling work of preparing the first three chapters of my proposal was my literature review. I found NOTHING like my research project. I was working on something that higher education had never done. That fact pushed me to take pride in every word I wrote, and I became immersed in my research. I was so excited to put the petal to the metal and begin the new school year and my research. Late August rolled around and school was ready to begin. I couldn't have been more excited. Along with the usual beginning of the year routine, I spent a day talking about the new technology that I was planning on using. The lesson began with, "please clear your desks and get out your cell phones..."
The reaction from the students was priceless. I quickly found out who truly trusted me; those three students immediately began reaching into their backpacks. The other 35 students gave me a look that screamed, "What? Do you think I'm stupid?"
In this day and age, the tools most successful businesses and business men and women use to achieve success are considered evil. If we see them we take them and bring them to the office as if they are some sort of alien weapon designed to.....God forbid, engage students. And here I am asking them to take them out for a lesson...like I said, priceless.
And so it began, 42 students got the ok from their parents to create a Twitter account for my class. I had my Twitter sample. I scrambled to created a matched sample of 42 students who were not using Twitter that were as identical as possible in race, socioeconomic status, gender, parents level of education, incoming GPA, student sub groups such as english language learners, special ed, GATE, and many more identifiers. After gallons of coffee and data diving I knew that if the evidence I gathered showed a significant increase in students performance on standardized curriculum tests, and overall grades the only difference between these two samples was the use of Twitter. I did a great job, and was quite proud of myself. I set up spreadsheets to track the data of these two samples, who were now only numbers according to my reserach, and began sending Tweets to my twitter sample. Two weeks into my research period my Principal found me at lunch and asked the devastating question you see above.
Stay tuned...
Monday, May 30, 2011
May 30th: As my luck would have it...
Captains log star-date 05-30-2011
I became quite giddy on Wednesday May 11th (because of the date, some of you might already know the end to this tragic comedy). I created my 1st blog! I spent some time designing my blog, and figuring out the exact layout for all of my this' and thats. I wrote what I thought was a perfect first blog post; mediocre at best, setting the bar just low enough that improvement was immanent. The only problem...I chose to write my first blog on the very day that Blogger decided to turn everything into read only due to the crafty work of some highly intelligent hackers with nothing better to do. So, it was all for nothing. Boo. But I'm back.
In the coming posts I will talk about my research, which was based on the use of Twitter in education, and the implications of social media in education. I am very excited to announce that I have received an assistant principalship at a wonderful school in a wonderful district. My hope is that this opportunity will allow me to further realize and assist the possibilities our youth bring to our future! Thanks for reading.
I became quite giddy on Wednesday May 11th (because of the date, some of you might already know the end to this tragic comedy). I created my 1st blog! I spent some time designing my blog, and figuring out the exact layout for all of my this' and thats. I wrote what I thought was a perfect first blog post; mediocre at best, setting the bar just low enough that improvement was immanent. The only problem...I chose to write my first blog on the very day that Blogger decided to turn everything into read only due to the crafty work of some highly intelligent hackers with nothing better to do. So, it was all for nothing. Boo. But I'm back.
In the coming posts I will talk about my research, which was based on the use of Twitter in education, and the implications of social media in education. I am very excited to announce that I have received an assistant principalship at a wonderful school in a wonderful district. My hope is that this opportunity will allow me to further realize and assist the possibilities our youth bring to our future! Thanks for reading.
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