EDLD 5326 - Action Research Update

AR Project Summary:

           

My action research plan involved the use of ipods and Math applications, and their potential ability to increase students’ Math fluency.  I created a comprehensive Math test, covering all of the Math TEKS, and used it as a pre and post assessment for my Math class.  Students were very excited to use the ipods, and loved the Math applications.  I selected three specific Math applications for them to use.  These included a Math facts fluency application, a problem solving application, and a specific 3^rd grade skills application.  They students played on the ipods at least three times per week, for approximately 20 minutes each session.  Prior to using the ipods, they all took the Math assessment, and the end of a 6 week period, they all took the same assessment as a post-test. 

As far as my progress on my plan, I have actually finished the data collection and testing portion of the project.  All student Math pre-tests have been taken and graded, the six weed period of ipod use has ended, and the Math post-test has been taken and graded.  Scores have been compared to determine any changes and/or improvement between the pre and posttest.  In addition, scores have been broken down by specific TEK, to determine where improvement occurred.

Steps that I need to take in order to be complete with my action research plan include compiling all of the data into a comprehensive chart, and completing my action research report.  I anticipate completing these items by the end of October.  At this time, I have spent over 40 hours working on the research project, and it has not been necessary to make any changes to my action research plan.

EDLD 5363 Links

Wiki (E-portfolio) 


PSA

Documentation/Collaboration Link

EDLD 5363 - Week 5 Web Conference

It's hard to believe this is our last week in this course. It has gone by very quickly!! Of course, adding in the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays helped to speed things along.

This week, Dr. Abernathy shared quite a bit of very important information regarding our assignments and what is actually due to complete this course.  First, there is no discussion board assignment for this week.  We are to spend the entire week working on our video, and will have a break from discussion board requirements.  Second, there is no final exam reflection paper due.  There was some miscommunication between EPIC and Lamar, and EPIC lost the assignment information.  Third, we do need to post reflections from 3 different web conferences to either our blog or or wiki.  Some sources said two, we will need to post three.  All three can be included in the same post if needed.

Again, we were encouraged to make use of different Web 2.0 tools.  Take time to explore and find out what works for our needs, what we like/dislike, and make sure and share all information with our principals.  Our e-portfolio should include all artifacts and information from classes.  We can use whatever Web 2.0 tool we want, blog or wiki, but we need to make the decision on which one to use.  We are making decisions as leaders!  I've enjoyed the opportunity to discover new Web 2.0 tools and to use them during this course.  www.dropbox.com is an amazing tool for saving and sharing files, and www.docs.google.com is perfect for collaboration between peers and colleagues. 

Questions were asked about the Principal Certification part of our program.  If you want principal certification, then during the last course, you will take the LCE.  You must make an 80 on the exam.  Then, you pay money and take the ILD at the Region 10 Center.  We will take the LCE as part of this program anyway.

EDLD 5363 Week 4 Web Conference

This web conference provided a lot of information about out PSA assignment, and what is due for weeks 3, 4, and 5.  Week 3 is all about planning and pre-production, week 4 is to be spent working on filming and putting together the PSA, and week 5 is post-production.  The total length of PSA should be one minute, plus about 20 seconds for credits.  The week 5 assignment is due Friday, December 16th.

Several tips were given by Dr. Abernathy in regard to filming our PSA.  When filming, shoot at least a couple of minutes on each shot so that you will have way more film than you need.  Then, when piecing together, you will have different shots to pick and choose from to create a final product.  We are encouraged to use as many different programs as we can when producing. For example, use www.audacity.com for the narration and sound, and use a different video editing tool to produce the video.  Be careful when adding music, it may be louder than your narration.  We will also need to include creative commons copyright information on final video product.

Several questions were asked about our e-portfolio and what documents should be included.  Basically, our e-portfolio is a Web 2.0 tool that we use to document all of our work for all of our classes.  It should include documentation and artifacts that lead up to the final product for each course.  Our final video needs to be uploaded to TK20 and posted to our wiki.  Group collaboration and documentation should be posted to our wiki as well.

EDLD 5363 Web Conference Week 2

I wasn't in as much of a rush this week, so was able to log in with plenty of time to spare. I'm so thankful that there are plenty of conferences scheduled so that I am able to listen, learn, and participate.  The web conferences are wonderful for answering my questions and calming my nerves.  Knowing that my other colleagues are in the exact same boat as I am is very comforting.

This weeks conference was very informative.  I appreciate the fact that Dr. Abernathy gives us the facts, but she always gives us some background information as well.  One of the comments she made tonight is one I need to remember. She reminded us that the professors are not teaching these courses and grading us on a "gotcha" scale. We are all here to collaborate together, learn together, and make sure we get the right information to our kiddos.

Dr. Abernathy also discussed our assignment for the week.  Our discussion board posts will remain the same. We will need to post one relevant quote and respond to one other quote. I find myself really enjoying the articles that are posted for us to read.  They are a wealth of information! In addition, Dawn has been awesome about emailing additional reading material.  I feel like I am learning so much and will keep these documents to use as personal resources.  Our assignment involves the review of a free video editing software program, and creating a podcast on how to use the software.  Our podcast is audio only, and a good source for recording is www.audacity.com  Since I used audacity for my personal story, I'll be pretty comfortable using it for the podcast.  She emphasized the use of file extensions several times!  Our PSA will be developed over weeks 3-5. We need to have our teams together by tomorrow so that we will be ready to begin.  We must work in teams! Collaboration and teamwork are important for your individual growth.

EDLD 5363: Assignment 1 - Reflection

To be honest, it took a little more work that previous classes to actually get started on this week's assignment. But, once I took the time to read through the assignment, attend the web conference, and decide on my topic, things started rolling rather quickly. As I narrowed down my topic, it was hard to choose between a couple of subjects.  I finally decided to work with a childhood memory and discuss our family move when I was in 1st grade.  I still have vivid memories about the move, which in the end, turned out to be great for our family.  I was also worried that two minutes would be a lot of time to fill. But, when I started to write down ideas, and answer questions from my partner, I realized that two minutes was actually going to be a very short period of time! 

I enjoyed this assignment for many reasons.  I worked with a great partner, Meredith Diebler, who came up with some wonderful questions and suggestions.  I loved looking back at pictures and creating a story about my childhood.  I will definitely be sharing this with family, friends, and most importantly, my two daughters.  I'm also looking forward to working with colleagues for the next four weeks, and collaborating on our group project.

For this project, we used google docs, texts and email to communicate. I was impressed with the ease of use of google.docs.  It worked great as a collaboration tool for us to quickly ask questions and get answers. We also both used Photo Story 3 as our video editing tool.  Again, I was pleased with the ease of navigation of Photo Story 3. I'll definitely be using Photo Story 3 for classroom projects, and have already started setting up a google doc for our campus 3rd grade team collaboration.

EDLD 5363: Assignment 1 - Personal Story Using Photo Story

http://youtu.be/7ZLZZfJ2hW8