Action+Plan+Research+Report

**Draft Action Research Project Progress Report ** Increasing Technology Use Technology is used by students outside of school almost constantly however, while in school most of these devices are not allowed. Although students have access to computers with Internet connections, they are not allowed to use all of the features such as blogging, chatting, emailing, and creating websites. Therefore, second semester eighth graders enrolled in computer technology were given the opportunity to use these additional resources while being closely monitored by their computer technology teacher. Students who were enrolled in computer technology for the first semester did not have access to the Google Docs and were allowed to use Microsoft Office programs to complete their curriculum based projects. The results of the first semester student projects were average. The second semester students were given the same curriculum based projects but allowed to use not only Microsoft Office programs but additional Web 2.0 technologies available in Google Docs and various other online sites. These students showed a deeper understanding of the projects and were more motivated to complete the assignments well. They seemed not only to get more out of each and every assignment but also connected these assignments to other classes. The topic of my action research plan came to me as a result of several readings and observations. First of all, my daughter was entering her first year of college and I saw firsthand how much she was using technology that our students are not actually allowed to use in school. Secondly, one of the textbooks we used during this program was titled Teaching with Tools Kids Really Use. The entire book focused on how teachers should be using teachnology instead of banning their use during school hours. “When asked their opinion, these students assert that the use of these tools in the classroom would make learning more relevant and interesting” (Brooks-Young, 2010, p. 45 ). I also viewed a television show featuring a low achieving high school student that dropped out of school but was able to use a video games to teach himself how fly a helicopter. This made me realize that by using technology we might be able to reach more students and help them achieve greater success in learning. Prior to the start of the second semester, all grade level teachers met together to plan for the semester. During this meeting, I shared with my coworkers the process in which I was going to use to implement the Web 2.0 technologies. Students enrolled in the Spring semester were given parental consent documents prepared by our district technology that we required signed and returned prior to allowing them to be given gmail accounts. This document was posted online as well for community members to view. Since this project required a change in student internet accounts, district IT staff members were contacted at the start of the project in order to approve the plan. My campus principal was contacted to in order to give his approval to the project. Once administrative permissions were granted, I was able to revise projects to enclude free online resources. Students were allowed to bring their own headphones into the classroom so no additional costs were incurred. The district IT staff lifted some of their restrictions in order to allow students access to Web 2.0 resources but were still subject to web filtering. The curriculum was not altered from the first semester to the second. The strategy used during the second semester was simply to open up the network to allow other resources to be used to fulfill the projects. Students were assigned group projects as well as independent projects. Those students who tested higher on the benchmark math tests were distributed among the groups prior to completing projects in which higher order math skills were needed. Google documents were used by the members of the group to coordinate and come to agreement on projects. By the end of the semester, students had created ePortfolios showcasing their work that they will be able to continue to use as long as they have access to their accounts. Special needs students were well served during this project. Since some of the projects were in group format all members of the group worked together using each others skills to perform the tasks. For example, I had one ESL student who didn’t speak English but she was able to take the written directions and use an online translator to understand the question in Spanish. Students who did not have Internet access at home were able to come into the lab before and after school to make use of the online resources. Students were also able to prepare documents for several school and city wide projects. Learning how to use these free online resources better prepare students for their future. Brooks-Young, S. (2010). //Teaching with the tools kids really use. //Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
 * Week 3 Assignment, Part 3 **