Possible Problems with Action Plan - 10/28/11

The questions my action plan addresses are: can cell phones be used to motivate and engage learners resulting in higher rates of homework completion and higher achievement? Does the use of cell phones in class increase the incidence of off task behavior, cyber-bullying, and or cheating?


Other than the obvious issue of time, I can foresee several issues with my action research plan. I believe both of them may be overcome fairly easily. The first concern is alienating my coworkers. My plan requires student use of cell phones, and most of my coworkers are against allowing the students to have cell phones in school. I'm afraid that, since they so obviously disapprove, they are going to think I am working against them. They may think that what I am doing in my classroom will encourage students to break the rules in their classrooms. I think I can overcome this problem by having a dialog with the faculty. I will share with them that only one of my classes will be using cell phones, and that they have signed agreements that they will not have their celll phones on and/or visible in the hallways, other teachers classrooms, or anywhere other than in my classroom. Additionally, they are not even allowed to use cell phones in my classroom without my permission, and only for educational purposes. I dont think the faculty will have a problem with me personally as long as they know that I am not giving students permission to have "free reign" and that I will fully support them in enforcing the rules of their own classrooms and in the hallways.   I have already, of course, secured my principals permission and support of my action plan and use of cell phones for learning.


The other problem I foresee is parent perception of what is happening in my classroom. Again, I believe this possible problem can also be overcome with communication and dialog. Additionally, some parents may worry about the safety issues involved with students having the ability to text and take pictures with smart phones. I'm not exactly sure how to overcome this fear, if it does arise. The first step is to ensure all the students are taught about their digital footprints and ethics and safety when using technology. The only difference between using a cell phone and a computer with Internet is the concern of students uploading pictures without my knowledge. If anyone has any suggestions about this issue, I'd be glad to hear them. I feel like I have a good handle on my students and I don't think they would do anything like this, but .... I am not sure that is a good plan.


Thoughts anyone?

Action Research Plan

Action Planning
Goal: To determine if student use of cell phones is effective for classroom instruction and improving communication between school and home thereby increasing student achievement.  What are the pros and cons of student use of cell phones for learning? Do the pros outweigh the cons, or do the cons outweigh the pros?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Meet with school principal (site mentor) to identify the needs or topics for action research	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton	October 2011	List of concerns, problems, or wonderings	Are the topics discussed important to the campus?   Do the topics under consideration lead to improvement of student and/or campus performance?
Analyze data	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton Debbie Boehm	October 2011	NetDay Speak Up Survey Data for students in grades 6-8 Parent survey results from the two classes that will be involved in the action research project	Has understanding of the data increased?  Have additional questions or ideas been sparked by the data review?
Develop deeper understanding via additional data collection and examining qualitative data	Suzanne Manzano	October 2011 – November 2011 and revisited throughout the action research project	Follow blogs by Dr. Liz Kolb – leader of utilizing cell phone technology as a learning tool Subscribe to tech learning  RSS feeds Search the Internet for pros and cons of using cell phones in school Perform additional interviews and possibly surveys
Engaging in Self-Reflection to summarize activity and engage in metacognition to develop a deeper  understanding of the problems, solutions, and benefits of using cell phones in education	Suzanne Manzano	October 2011 – end of project	Blog and reflection forms	Have reflections caused deeper understanding and identification of problems, solutions, and benefits derived from the use of cell phones for learning? Are choices and consequences of policy decisions addressed in reflections?
Explore Programmatic Patterns including asking questions, identifying data patterns and gaps, and addressing equity issues	Suzanne Manzano	October 2011 – end of project	Reflections, blogs, surveys, interviews, AWARE data, observation of student behavior, grade trends	Are identifiable patterns visible?  Are connections drawn between data and use of cell phones?  What are the grade trends for the group utilizing cell phones versus the group not using cell phones?  Does the data help drive policy decisions?
Determine direction: Work collaboratively to address action research questions, monitoring progress, and assessing achievement	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton Debbie Boehm	October 2011 – end of project	Action Research Plan	Are the research questions clear? Are the timelines realistic? How will the success of the plan be evaluated?
Take action for school improvement.  Monitor action plan (formative evaluation) and prepare a summary report (summative evaluation) to recommend campus policy for student use of cell phones for educational  purposes.	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton	November 2011 – end of project	Data and reflections gathered during the course of the project	Based on the data, was the original action plan question effectively (goal) answered?
Sustain improvement	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton	Ongoing during and after action research project	Findings of action research Share via blogs, team meetings, department meetings, faculty meetings, and at TCEA in February 2012 (proposal has been accepted by TCEA)	Have the findings of the action research project been appreciated and maintained over time?  Have the findings been shared with others?

Week 3 - Action Research

The question to be answered by my action research is: What are the pros and cons of using cell phones as teaching tools? Specifically, does using cell phone technology increase student motivation, engagement, or achievement? Does using cell phone technology increase the instances of off-task behavior, cyber-bullying, or cheating?

The target population is a group of twenty-seven sixth grade students. Data will be collected from two classes of similar make up before, during, and after the action plan. Neither group has special education students, but both groups have similar numbers of Section 504 students, boys and girls, diverse ethnicities, varied learning styles, and levels of achievement. I plan to begin with collecting baseline data by administering a survey (anonymously) about instances of (or firsthand knowledge of) cheating and cyber-bullying. I would also collect baseline data on the percentage of homework completion by both classes prior to the implementation of utilizing cell phones in lessons for only one of the classes.

During the implementation of cell phone activities, I would collect data on the percentage of students actively engaged in the lessons/activities for both classes. Some of this data collection would be by teacher observation, and some by percentage of homework completed in both classes. The level of student achievement will also be measured by administering assessments of the content and TEKS that are taught and comparing the two classes. Another measurement used as a possible indicator will be trends in grades of the class before and after the implementation of cell phone technology.

Parent permission must be obtained prior to any students being allowed to participate in any activities utilizing a cell phone. Additionally, and Cell Phone Acceptable Use Policy must be developed and signed by both parents and students.

In order to make an informed and wise decision about the use of cell phones, one must also consider the negative effects of students’ use of cell phones in class. Off task behavior related to having cell phones available to students, such as surfing the Internet, texting friends, and any other inappropriate or off task behavior, will be monitored very closely and data will be collected. All forms of off-task behavior will be monitored and recorded for both classes.

Obviously, during the course of the action plan, unforeseen benefits or problems may arise, which would also become part of the data.

Finally, at the conclusion of the study, another survey will be conducted to ascertain students’ knowledge of, or participation in, cyber-bullying and cheating. This surrvey will be compared with the survey conducted prior to the use of cell phones in class.

The results of this study are significant to our campus and our district as leaders are grappling with decisions about putting technology into the hands of students. The risks must be weighed against the benefits to students. In these difficult financial times, cell phones are a cost-efficient method for integrating technology and 21st century tools in education.

EDLD Research Week Two Reflection

The additional readings, the discussion board, and the web conference made a huge difference in my understanding of action research this week.  I am beginning to have a much deeper understanding of what it actually is and I am feeling much more comfortable about this course.  Reading about the various action research in Chapter Two of the Dana book helped a lot, and also sharing ideas in the discussion board was very helpful.  I am still a bit confused about the various logs and reflections that we are to be keeping for our Internship Plan and Principal Competencies, however.  I hope to get these questions resolved in the next web chat.

What I've Learned About Action Research

Administrative inquiry or action research is an evaluation of current practice by the leader, rather than from an outside source.  Two of the key components of action research are reflection and evaluation from within.  It is the leader constantly questioning himself/herself and looking for ways to evolve and improve current systems.   Action research is not viewed as linear, but rather as cyclical.  Action research should be continuous in so much that we are constantly reviewing and reflecting upon current practice in an effort to make improvements.  One challenge to action research is having the discipline to set aside the time necessary to implement the research strategies.  I've also learned that action research should not be performed in a bubble, but shared with colleagues or professional learning communities.

In contrast, traditional educational research views the role of the teacher or leader as a technician, and the research and call for change comes from an outside source rather than from thoughtful inquiry and reflection by the teacher or leader.  The danger of this kind of research is that there may not be buy-in by the teacher or leader, since they do not have input into the process and the solutions.

One way that I may benefit from action research is with classroom management.  While I pride myself on classroom management and have wonderful classes, I have one class that I am having trouble keeping them on task and acting appropriately.  There are so many students that are acting out at the same time that is has been difficult to handle. 

I am also very curious about the use of cell phones for learning. I'd like to know the pros and cons of allowing phones in the classroom.  It would be interesting to determine if there is any measurable difference in student achievement by utilizing activities that require the use of student cell phones,

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Blogs are a useful tool for collaboration among leaders.  The use of a blog for collaboration can save travel expenditures, and allow leaders to learn and contribute with each other at their convenience. Blogs also provide a vehicle for leaders to put their thoughts into writing and think reflectively about them.  A leadership blog can provide a model for teachers and and other faculty members.  Only through systematic information gathering and reflection can improvements be made upon existing systems.  Yet another use for a blog would simply be information sharing among faculty members, parents, and students.  Lastly, blogs are useful for sharing action research projects.

Week 5 Assignment, Part 2: Course Reflections

1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

Going into the course, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Since I knew that this was the first class for all students in the program, I hoped it would be an introduction to what educational technology leadership would entail.  I did indeed learn the qualities an educational technology leader should possess.  In that vein, the course did align with what I had envisioned, although the depth of research in the subject area and scope of information was much broader than I ever had anticipated.  Locating and evaluating district level technology plans and governmental programs was a challenging endeavor.  The amount of time delving into areas of which I am not familiar proved to be a very time consuming task.  I found myself wondering in the first two weeks whether or not this program was right for me.  I was finding out that knowledge and utilization of educational technology does not translate into knowledge of technology leadership.  After thinking it over, I decided that this program is exactly right for me.  The true question is, with all the other obligations I have, is this the right time for me?


2. To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?

I do believe that the outcomes are relevant to the work that I do.  Although I have taken it upon myself to embed computer skills into my content, I was not aware of the TEKS that all students are supposed to master by the 8^th grade.  I remember when we had a dedicated class called Technology Applications.  All 8^th graders were required to take it for one semester.  It was eliminated approximately seven years ago, but I do not recall anyone making it known that the skills that were taught in that course were to be embedded into the content areas.  I learned this by researching the district’s technology plan and the technology TEKS as required in this course.  Another area that I learned a lot was in the area of ethics, safety and legal issues.  I now realize how important it is to educate the staff so that we can educate our students and parents.3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

I believe that I did achieve the expected outcomes; however, I wish that I had more time to spend on the assignments.   I was not able to linger in thought on the readings as I would have liked.  I was not able to spend as much time rereading, evaluating, and reflecting as I would have liked.  This course is very fast paced, and the work is somewhat cumbersome and time consuming.  I felt that all the activities were valuable, but there was not enough time to absorb as much of the information as I would have liked.  Since Week 2, I have learned some time management skills that have made the assignments much more manageable.  I’ve also had to learn that I cannot control how many hours there are in a day and that I have to just do my best in the amount of time available, and then let it go. 

4. Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I was successful in carrying out the class assignments.  As mentioned before, I almost was not able to complete the first two weeks’ assignments due to problems with time management and other obligations.  Luckily, I have been able to adjust my schedule to accommodate the required work.  I was not expecting the assignments to be so time consuming.  I was very concerned about not being able to perform my job adequately and also fulfill the requirements for this program.  I find it very stressful because I am not comfortable doing sloppy work, whether it be as a teacher, a leader, or a student.  I do feel this is the perfect program for me, but it is a big sacrifice.  Knowing that I will have a week off every five weeks is something that keeps me going.  I will have that week to hone my classroom lessons and my online class that I teach for the virtual high school.  I also need this time to spend with loved ones, take care of household chores, and rejuvenate before the next class.5. What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I’ve learned how much I do not know, especially about the leadership side of technology.  I feel like I know a lot about using technology and integrating it into my curriculum, but I don’t know much about district level and state level plans and initiatives.  During the first two weeks of this course, I felt as if I was drinking water from a fire house.  I thought that because I have been a district trainer, a department chair, lead mentor, and team leader that I have a lot of leadership experience.  I had no idea how much more there is to being a school leader than just managing people.  I also found that I am a bit of a control freak and tend to take on too many responsibilities. I need to work on trusting others and delegating more.  Most importantly, I learned that time management is essential to be successful in this class.