iPad Reasearch Project (2011)

Helen Kinkin, Director of Technology on May 01, 2013

The following is the culmination of the iPad research project compiled on 11/13/2011.

Conducting Action Research: Mobile Learning Devices

Mageau states that, “mobile learning devices are going to do what schools, governments, foundations, and technology companies have not yet been able to do: close the digital divide. She adds that there are challenges to bringing mobile phones into the classroom, but these problems are trivial compared to the potential payoff: a continuous, ubiquitous learning environment in which every student can feel like the master of his or her own learning” (Mageau, 2011). Mobile learning devices (MLD) are becoming more popular and a topic for many conversations in the classroom. We have discussed their potential usage at faculty meetings, technology round tables, and read about them in educational journals.

Analysis

Wonderings

With the explosion of MLDs on the educational field, how would their usage impact Seneca High School?  If Mageau is correct and this would bridge the digital divide between students and faculty, should it not be worth looking into? Would the students embrace this type of learning? Would the faculty allow the students to teach them how to use something they are already using? Would the administration allow the use of cell phones in the classroom if it were for educational purposes? What issues could arise from the use of cell phones or tablets in the classroom? Are the potential problems worth the benefits that would be gained? These are questions one needs to ponder when thinking about the potential of changing the way the classroom has functioned for years. 

Problem Statement

For the past couple of years, I have been teaching the faculty members different ways to incorporate technology into their classroom. Some are using the new methods while others say they will or that they should. The truth, I fear, coincides with the findings of McREL where they report that “Teachers aren't using technology in the classroom, and neither are their students” (Anonymous, 2011). Seneca High School is contemplating moving towards a one-to-one initiate in the near future. This could involve issuing iPads to all students and faculty members, perhaps with textbook already loaded or available for download. Many will eagerly accept this now toy, but will they see the educational value? Quillen quotes Dede in saying “The enthusiasts in the technology community treat each new development as magic” (Quillen, 2010). I fear many will see this technology as the latest magic bullet and will be looking for the day it is replaced with something else or will not embrace technology altogether and thus not reap the potential rewards. The overall problem, as I see it, then would be will the use of MLDs provide the educational value warranting their use and expense.

Research Question

Will the implementation of MLDs have sufficient educational value to warrant major change in teaching styles, adjustments to school policy and financial expenditures? This major question sparks other questions. While everyone would like an iPad for their personal use, will it be used for educational purposes? The bottom line will be, once we get past the “WOW” factor , where will the true educational value be? Will the faculty embrace the use of the technology and encourage student usage? Since students are already more familiar with this technology, will the faculty allow their students to teach them?

Literature Background

Article Summary #1

Mageau, T. (2011, June). Masters of Learning. T.H.E. Journal, 38(6), 4. 

Mageau thinks that MLD’s are the future and that we need to embrace them. The use of MLDs in the classroom is inevitable and we need to embrace the fact rather than run from it. MLD will close the digital divide between students and faculty. The MLDs are getting cheap enough to almost compare them to everyday items like pens. There are some problems like texting and phone calls, but the potential payoff exceeds the problems.

Article Summary #2

O'Hanlon, C. (2008, March). A Do-It-Yourself 1-to-1 Plan. T.H.E. Journal, 35(3), 18,20. 

O’Hanlon describes the use of student run 1-to-1 at an all-girl school, St. Joseph’s Academy. Rarely are students involved in the procurement, repair or maintenance of typical school issued equipment. St. Joseph’s Academy has place the responsibility on the students. The students are trained and are more knowledgeable than many IT people. One goal of the 21^st Century Schools is for kids to leave school with the technical knowledge need for life after school and this school is doing that. A summer institute is held every year where the students teach the teachers. Student have taken their technical knowledge outside the classroom and traveled to a poverty-stricken area of Mexico where they helped install and set up computer labs. This article showed that technology and MLD’s have been in place for ten years and that students were key to the success of the program.

Article Summary #3

Quillen, I.  (2010, October). Left to Their Owned Devices :More schools are doing an about-face as they change policies to allow the use of student-owned mobile devices in class. Education Week's Digital Directions, 4(1), 30-35.

The norm used to be for school to prohibit the use of cell phones in any school setting. Quillen shows us that more schools are wising up and approving and using the MLDs. School and student owned hardware needs to be considered one and the same tools. Two-thirds of today’s students own cell phones. The likelihood that every student will own or have a school issued MLD is very real. Regarding abuse of the technology, this should be dealt with as a behavioral issue rather than a technology problem. We need to teach responsibility. As with any new project, the community has to be prepared and informed. Students and Parents will start thinking of the MLDs as educational tools. Know why, inform the community, involve teachers, know your students, and make preparations were all noted as key factors for implementation. While there are some problems with MLDs, research and preparation will make the process smoother.

Data Collection Plan

The use of evidence based practice in conducting research to determine the best way to improve student learning has some compelling justifications. “Implementing an EBP is akin to placing a bet that is 95% likely to payoff” (Cook, Tankersley, Cook, & Landrum, 2008).

Research Question

Will the implementation of MLDs have sufficient educational value to warrant major change in teaching styles, adjustments to school policy and financial expenditures? While everyone would like an iPad for their personal use, once we get past the “WOW” factor , where will the true educational value be?

How the data will be collected

We already have a pilot project in place to help answer this question. On September 14^th, one teacher was given access to an iPad cart. The iPads were preloaded with specific software as directed by the teacher and then locked down to prevent student tampering. The iPads have now been in use for six weeks. To answer the research question, the teacher will be interviewed, the students will be given a questionnaire, and classroom grades will be reviewed and evaluated with specific focus on before and after the iPads were issued.

What data to collect

Determining what data to collect is instrumental in making sure that relevant information is used to answer the research question. Since this is a closed group, this will be considered a quasi-experimental group. There is no control group so the same group of students with the same teacher will be compared both before and after the issuance of the iPads. Questions for the teacher would include how effective the use of the iPads were in student achievement and participation. Students will be questioned on their perception of how much they learned and participated. Both will be questioned on their overall perception relating to the educational value of the use of the iPads in the classroom. In addition to the opinion data, quantitative data will also be collected to reveal actual student achievement. Even though this will have been a fairly short window to accurately judge the final outcome, this will give us a good snapshot of what we can expect the final results to be.

How will the data help answer the research question

Since the research question centers on justifying and determining the educational value of MLDs, the bulk of the data will need to focus on what educational value can be derived. The teacher and student perception of educational value will determine how much they and others will find value in a future implementation. Since qualitative data is not considered scientific, the grade evaluation will provide the scientific base research necessary to provide “knowledge about effective practices and for improving” (Ingram & Sikes, 2005) our educational program.

Is the data to be collected quantitative, qualitative, or both

“A qualitative research study might yield information regarding how specific teachers feel about implementing an instructional strategy (Cook et al., 2008). Based on this statement, I feel it would be safe to say that the teacher interview and the student questionnaires would be qualitative. The review of the student grades, both before and after the iPad issuance would be quantitative as numeric values will be compared.

Data Collection

Data Source # 1 - The Teacher Interview

How the data was collected? A personal interview was held with the teacher who is currently using iPads in the iPad pilot project. He is teaching current events and geography. We discussed what his opinion was in relation to the use of the iPads and how the students were using them. We also discussed other ways to use them and evaluated a few different apps that we may want to look at for the future.

What type of data was collected? During the interview, we discussed what apps the students were using, how the use of iPads was being received, potential obstacles for other teachers, educational value after the newness wore off, and student performance. Of primary note were the apps, Edmodo, CNN, and Google earth. Edmodo was described as a private facebook-like social interaction tool that also allowed for polling and quizzes. What he liked best about this app was the group discussion area. There were students that never raised their hands to participate in the regular discussions that were offering some excellent input with the Edmodo forum. This was his most exciting discovery. There are other apps that he would like to use, but we would need approval before purchasing them.

When asked about the students and their perception on the iPad usage, he noted that the first week was very interactive. The students helped teach him and others in the classroom about how to use them. As much as he enjoyed this experience, this is also where he felt other teachers might have problems. There are some teachers who consider the students as the learners and themselves as the teacher. They might not feel comfortable with the role reversal. We discussed how this is where education will be going and the need for in-service training relating to 21^st century classroom tactics. He felt student performance definitely increased and emphatically proclaimed that these had tremendous educational value. His closing thought was that he could not imagine not teaching with these in the future.

How does the data help answer the research question? This teacher saw real educational value in the use of the iPads. He offered to speak to the Board of Education and convey how he was using them, how well they were received and how much educational value they had. The research question was asked of him and he thought the expenditure was definitely worth it. He greatly valued having these units right there for use when the need arose. The only factor that he thought might be a barrier was with getting all the teachers on board. He noted there were a few teachers that do not like the students to be the teacher. With implementation, the student handbook would have to be revised to allow the usage of cell phone and other MLDs in the classroom under the teacher’s guidance and knowledge. I look forward to the results of the other two data collections to compare notes.

Data Source # 2 – Student Survey

How the data was collected. On November   3^rd and 4^th, 2011, three classes of Current Events students were given the opportunity to respond to a survey created on surveymonkey.com In total, 34 students responded from the 4A and 3B classes. The survey consisted of 10 simple questions, eight of which used a five point Likert scale with answers varied from low to high. The survey was short enough that it only took the students a couple of minutes to complete. The Current Events teacher asked the student to complete the surveys during his class time. Table 1 shows the results of the survey. Although surveys are considered non-empirical in nature, they help with the triangulation of backing up what the teacher and the grade book results show.

What type of data was collected? As depicted in Table 1, a range of questions were asked on the survey. Questions varied from their perceptions on using iPads in academic learning, ease of use, and perceived potential implementations. Along with rating the student perceptions on the iPad, students were given the opportunity twice to voice their opinion. The first question asked students what the most constructive uses of the iPads were. The second question was open-ended and offered the student a chance to comment on how the use of iPads improved their learning experience. It also allowed the students to mention anything else they felt we should know.

How the data helps answer the research question. Table 1 shows that many of the answers given by the students backed up what the teacher stated in his interview. The internet was faster. Looking things up was faster. It made class more fun or easier. Of particular note was the response that the use of iPads allowed the person to discuss in a format that was more comfortable. Edmodo was also mentioned several times as being a constructive use of the iPads. Edmodo is a free online discussion tool that also allows the teacher to give quizzes and polls. It can also be used from a computer or laptop. The highest rating of 3.97, on a scale of 1 to 5, was in response to the degree of perception that the iPad served as an effective learning tool. The lowest score was 2.39, which asked if the students thought the iPad was a distraction. Since this is a pilot project and not everyone is familiar with how to use an iPad, some of these results were expected. This has been a learning experience for both the teachers and the students as they discover together what and how to best use this tool.

Data Source # 3 – Grade Book Analysis

How the data was collected. The teacher piloting the iPads this semester has three separate classes of Current Events. The iPads were not introduced to the students until September 14^th. Seneca High School classes started August 19^th. Since it would be unfair to compare this class to classes of previous years, it was decided to compare the grades of the currently enrolled students from before the iPads were used to those of after they were introduced. All three classes have identical assignments so the grade books were comparative. All grades from the three classes were collected from the beginning of school through November 1^st.  Taking into consideration any zeroes and exempt assignments, a percentage was calculated for each student for prior to September 14^th, after September 14^th, and a combined grade. From this, the before score was compared to the after score. All scores were then averaged per class. The results are shown in Table 2 and Table 3. Chart 1 is a scatter chart depicting the individual occurrences or each student’s grade change between the pre and post implementation. Chart 4 is an individual student comparison of pre and post implementation.

What type of data was collected?  Extant data, data already in existence, such as a grade book, is a form of quantitative data. Since this data has already been collected, all that was need was to compile it in a manner that could show if there were any differences in the scores relating to before and after implementation. The grade book would be considered a reliable source, especially since the teacher did not know it would be used as an analysis tool until the results were shared with him.

How the data helps answer the research question.

Evidence-based practices (EBD) are practices that have been tried and have proven their worth. “Implementing an EBP is akin to placing a bet that is 95% likely to pay off” (Cook, Tankersley, Cook & Landrum, 2008). Data sources 1 and 2 were based on opinion, the opinions of the teacher and then the opinions of the students. This data source was based on fact and therefore validates the other two data sources. This data source is evidence that the iPads are an effective learning device. However, there is still some room for error since not all the grades taken after the September 14^th date were done using the iPads. Even so, with six weeks of implementation, this is a good indicator of future performance.

As depicted in Tables 2 and 3, all three classes had an average improvement in the grades. One notable fact was the minimum score shown in Table 3. The lowest grade rose from 48% to 69%. Most notable was the 3B class, with an average grade increase of 3.7%. When the grades were shared with the teacher, this was the score that really meant something to him as this class is his quiet class. When most of these students are asked to join in open discussion, many were reluctant to speak up. Given the opportunity to reply using the iPads, this class has had no problem participating in open debate. The use of iPads freed these students to express themselves more that they were able to do in the conventional open classroom.

Charts 1 and 2 speak to the reliability of the research. They show that more students benefitted but that there were some that did not. Chart 1 shows that most students were within the -10% to 10% but there were more in the higher, showing improvement bands then in the lower bands. As a whole, one can deduct that there was overall improvement, but the reality show that not every student benefited from using the iPads. 

Conclusion

            To restate the question, will the implementation of MLDs like the iPad have sufficient educational value to warrant major change in teaching styles, adjustments to school policy and financial expenditures? Given that this is an experimental project and everyone is learning how to use and teach with this technology, I would definitely say that yes there was significant educational value. We have seen evidence of improvement in the grade book, especially in the quieter class. The student surveys and the teacher interview confirmed this finding. Having used the iPads this semester, the teacher has already stated that he thinks it will be difficult to be without them next semester when the pilot project moves to the math classes. Schools across the country are starting to embrace this technology as a necessary requirement in preparing students for the 21^st century. To answer the question, even in the limited scope of this pilot project so far, yes there has been significant educational value and we definitely need to look for ways to bring more of this into our school.  

References

Anonymous . Technology in the classroom-is it or is it not being used? (2011, June). T.H.E. Journal, 38(6), 40.  Retrieved October 23, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Cook, B., Tankersley, M., Cook, L., & Landrum, T. (2008). Evidence-based practices in special education: Some practical considerations. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44(2), 69-75.  Retrieved October 25, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Ingram, D., & Sikes, M. (2005). An introduction to scientifically based research. National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA). Retrieved October 25, 2011, from http://www.americansforthearts.org/NAPD/files/11772/NASAA-Intro%20to%20Scientifically%20Based%20Research.pdf.

Mageau, T. (2011, June). Masters of learning. T.H.E. Journal, 38(6), 4.  Retrieved October 23, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals.

O'Hanlon, C. (2008, March). A do-it-yourself 1-to-1 plan. T.H.E. Journal, 35(3), 18,20.  Retrieved October 23, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Quillen, I.  (2010, October). Left to their owned devices :More schools are doing an about-face as they change policies to allow the use of student-owned mobile devices in class. Education Week's Digital Directions, 4(1), 30-35.  Retrieved October 23, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Tables

Table 1

Student Survey Results

Table 2

Grade Book Survey

Note: Before indicate grades from August 15^th through September 13^th. After indicates grades from September 14^th through November 1^st. Combined includes all grades.

Table 3

Trends and Patterns

Note: This table depicts all three classes combined.

Charts

Chart 1

Individual Student Grade Changes

Chart 2

Individual Student Comparison of Pre and Post Usage