Phase Two: Research – What do the students have to say?

After surveying the students, it was easy to see that most enjoyed using blogs, but only some thought it would be helpful for their learning, where as others “didn’t know”. They described the uses for blogging and advantages and disadvantages.

‘Feedback from others’ was an interesting topic addressed due to some students seeing feedback as only being from the teachers and people just commenting, however most students said that feedback was ‘mostly helpful’ or ‘moderately helpful’. Effective feedback and feed forward has been highlighted in my  literature review as significant to supporting students learning, so perhaps responses to these questions demonstrate the need to implement structure and support around the feedback/feed forward process when blogging to achieve a greater understanding and outworking of the benefits.

Reflecting on learning was another interesting area, as most students said they were not doing a lot of it, and yet the majority agreed that reflection would support their learning.

Phase One: Research Feedback – What do the teachers have to say?

The feedback from teachers who have used blogs before was positive with mostly high engagement from students. The use of blogs for sharing learning across curriculum areas with a greater audience (whether it be students, parents or community) was seen as a benefit, and other envisaged benefits included development of 21st century skills, personalised and individualised learning, and a place to showcase artifacts digitally. Disadvantages included monitoring of the blogs, teacher response and timely feedback that supports next steps.

No eportfolios have been used before by this teacher group. Envisaged benefits include movement away from paper to digital, having a place to collect and display learning that is progressive, easily accessed, and personalised, allowing for individual flare. Envisaged disadvantages include added workload for teachers, sculpted products as opposed to snapshots of learning, and effective family access.

Questions around need for both blogs and eportfolios was also raised.

This information has provided a snapshot of where our teachers currently sit, and I would also like to see what our students think about blogs.

Community Research Plan

Statement of Research:

We are currently in our second year of implementing personal learning devices (PLD) at W.  School. As part of our blended learning environment, students create, collaborate and communicate ideas through digital tools, and questions have arisen around how we can use digital tools to then share this learning (artifacts or processes) with others in order to support students progress and achievement.

Students are creating and communicating ideas, and currently these can be viewed on classroom wikis if teachers post them, or parents can view if they log on to Google accounts with their children.

But what platform is most beneficial for students to be able to make choices around showcasing, reflecting, collaborating and determining next learning steps, in order for them to take a greater responsibility for their own learning, as well as to develop 21st century skills of reflection and critical thinking? How can we make thinking and learning visible to allow teachers and parents to support students learning?

After conducting a literature review around “Utilising technology effectively to document students learning to support progression and achievement”, it was identified that there are gaps in the research of use of blogs and eportfolios in Primary Schools.

Hence I would like to look into the following overarching research questions:

  1. How do blogs support Primary students progress and achievement?
  2. How do eportfolios support Primary students progress and achievement?
  3. Is one platform more effective than the other, or both beneficial to Primary students progress and achievement?

Potential impacts of research:  Depending on the outcomes/findings:

  • W. School will have a clearer picture of where we should go in terms of utilising technology effectively to document learning in order to support students progress and achievement.
  • It will provide clarification around “purpose” and “criteria” for using a certain digital platform, as well as highlight benefits and disadvantages.
  • We will be able to ascertain student, teacher and parent ‘voice’ about the use of blogs and eportfolios to support student progress and achievement.

Community to be engaged:

  • As PLD use is currently implemented in the Intermediate area of W. School, research will be aimed at  Year 7 & 8 students, however, findings may also relate to other year groups. As device use becomes more prominent in primary school settings, implementation of PLD’s in other year groups may eventuate. Student voice about their own learning is important for ‘buy in’ and ‘effectiveness’ of any digital tool to document learning.
  • Teachers of the senior area of the school (Years 4-8) will have opinion around the use of blogs or eportfolios and it is important to engage them in the process of inquiry, as findings may benefit teacher practice and support blended learning environments within the school now and in the future.
  • Parent voice about visibility of their child’s learning may highlight benefits or concerns they may have around using digital tools to share learning in an online environment, and what learning they deem as “important” to see.
  • Other schools are currently using blogging and eportfolio tools and have been for a number of years, and obtaining student and teacher voice from these schools will be most beneficial, as they will already have experience with what does/doesn’t work, and will have feedback to share about their journey of implementing blogs and/or eportfolios.

Kaupapa Maori and Te Noho Kotahitanga

When conducting research it is important to ensure inclusion of aspects of Kaupapa Maori and Te Noho Kotahitanga to ensure both Maori and non-Maori students learning needs are catered to.

  • One of Smith’s (1990) “kaupapa Maori” principles of ‘Ako Maori’ (Mindlab, retrieved on 9/5/15, from https://app.themindlab.com/course/release/116-week-17-r-c-what-is-research-and-why-are-we-doing-research) is upheld when seeking student voice, as students views will help inform teachers decisions and reflections around blog/eportfolio use. Ako Maori is the fundamental belief that teachers, students and communities can learn from each other. Students experiences and views are important when considering use and effectiveness of digital tools to support their learning, and also other students learning. This principle also relates to the seeking of teacher and parent voice, as well as feedback from other school communities, as we can learn from each others experiences and gain a greater understanding of our own community and learning needs.
  • Ngākau Māhaki : Respect and the valuing of each others heritages and customs, as well as current needs and future aspirations, (Keelan, retrieved on 9/5/15, from http://new2unitec.wikispaces.com/3.+Teaching+and+Te+Noho+Kotahitanga), need to be considered when collecting and analyzing data around blog and eportfolio use, to ensure all students needs are met at W. School. These needs may be different to those identified at other schools.

Methodology of collecting feedback from community – How and when?

Phase One: Teachers at Whenuapai School (Years 4-8) – Week 4, Term 2, Team meeting

  1. Talk to teachers in the senior school at W. School (Years 4-8) about  their previous experiences using blogs and eportfolios, and record discussion/feedback. Google Form.
  • Have you used blogs or eportfolios before?
  • What did you use them for? documenting, reflecting, diary, responses….etc.
  • Did students seem engaged in the process? Why?
  • What benefits can you envisage from the implementation of blogs? eportfolios?
  • What disadvantages or problems can you envisage from the implementation of blogs? eportfolios?
  1.  Show teachers the Community Research Plan. Gather feedback from the plan via the blog site:     https://blogseportfolioresearch.wordpress.com/

Phase Two: Students in Year 7 & 8 at W. School who briefly used blogs in 2014 to gather feedback on their experiences – Week 4, Term 2, Tuesday Rotation

  1. Gather students from Room 4 (in 2014) and explain the purpose for the research: to look into blogs and eportfolio use with Primary School students to guage benefits to students progress and achievement.
  2. Conduct an anonymous online questionnaire through Google forms, for students  to answer questions around blog use (as eportfolios have not previously been used at W. School).     Google form – Blogging use in 2014

Phase Three: Identify and approach schools currently using blogs and eportfolios to seek student and teacher feedback

  1. Contact e-learning co-ordinators at Auckland schools to see if they would like to participate in research around blog/eportfolio use in Primary Schools.
  2. Formulate and email a letter to outline the Statement of Research, overarching questions, and potential outcomes, and to seek permission to approach their learning community. Find out what is required.
  3. Send the link to a google questionnaire (to be created after response from Phase Two students and after feedback from Phase One teachers), for student and teacher feedback.
  4. Follow-up with appreciation and response to the feedback sought.

Phase Four: Set up and implement blogging for Years 7 & 8, and set up and implement eportfolios for Room 4

  • Research and set up blogs for Intermediate age students (asap – using blogger under the Google Apps for Education domain) – seek feedback at the end of the year from students and teachers.
  • Research and set up eportfolios for students in Room 4 – (based on feedback from Phase 3 to see what other platforms schools have used, research more about different platforms).

Phase Five: Seek feedback from students and teachers at the beginning of Term 4? end of the year?

  • After using blogs for two terms, seek feedback from students and teachers around use and how they see the use of blogs/eportfolios as supporting students progress and achievement etc.

Phase Six: Share findings with teachers, students and Senior Management to discuss and feedback, as well as to formulate questions for Parent voice survey (at the end of Year after opportunities to see their child’s blogs)

  • After discussions and sharing of results, brainstorm questions for the parent community around the use of blogs, eportfolios , what they see as important to support student’s learning and achievement.

*After feedback following each phase, questions and methodology may change. At this stage, before Assignment 3 is due, I will be able to complete and feedback from Phases One and Two.

 

Assignment 3 – Research and Community Informed Practice

This is our second year using Personalised Learning Devices (PLD) at our school in Years 7 & 8, and students are loving using them to create and collaborate.

At the moment we are using Google Apps for Education and view students learning through the Hapara Teacher Dashboard. This is a fantastic tool to monitor students learning, provide feedback and share with others in the classroom.

However, processes and artifacts of learning are not as often shared beyond the classroom, except for on our class wiki, which is usually chosen by the teacher as opposed to the student and initiated through, “Would you mind if we shared this on the class wiki?” Student’s are not reflecting on work as much as they could be.

How can we effectively use our technology to support students in collaboration and the sharing of their ideas and artifacts with others, to reflect on their learning processes and determine next steps with greater responsibility and authenticity? How can they document their learning journey to support their own progress and achievement, as well as develop the range of 21st Century skills that are required of them as they tackle an ever-changing future?

Hence my literature review tackled the overarching theme of “Utilising technology effectively to document students learning to support progression and achievement.” 

In particular, I compared research around blogs and ep0rtfolios and the following points were noted:

  • Most research relates to teacher education and higher school education, despite paper portfolios starting at K-12 level.
  • Blogs are a useful tool for reflection, documenting processes of learning, and sharing with others,however not a lot of research has been undertaken around the specific features and functions of blogs relating to different contexts (Yueh et. al., 2013).
  • We need to develop strategies that better support reflection in the learning process, … to improve learning.” (Barrett, 2010, p.8)
  • Eportfolios can provide for formative and summative assessments however purpose and criteria need to be considered before implementation.
  • Sharing work with others and building online communities not only benefits the learner themselves, but also those around them to support learning, identify next steps and increase effectiveness of teaching and learning. (Krechevsky et al, 2010; Neal & Collier, 2006)
  • “…ideally, assessment is primarily for the student and the student should own big parts of the assessment process.” (Darling-Hammond, 2015, retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/comprehensive-assessment-introduction).

As quoted directly from my literature review,

“Questions arise such as, is the students learning really at the centre of the process? And how can we utilise the technology so all students engage with the process without imposing parameters that turn them off it altogether? Do younger students even see e-portfolios and blogs as useful for progressing their learning and achievement? Further empirical research around use of blogs and e-portfolios in classroom practice, is needed in the Primary sector of education…”

Hence I wish to research the use of blogs and eportfolios in the Primary Sector, to see what students and teachers think about the use of these digital tools to support students learning and achievement, in order to make informed choices around determining whether we choose to implement such tools in our school learning environment, and how to do so most effectively.

References noted:

Barrett, H. C. (2010) Balancing the Two Faces of ePortfolios. Educacao, Formacao & Tecnolgias.3(1), 6-14.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2015). edutopia: How should we measure student learning? Five keys tocomprehensive assessment. Retrieved fromhttp://www.edutopia.org/comprehensive-assessment-introduction.

Krechevsky, M., Rivard, M., & Burton, F.R. (2010). Accountability in Three Realms: Making LearningVisible Inside and Outside the Classroom. Theory Into Practice, 49: 64-71.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00405840903436087.

Neal, T. & Collier, H. (2006). Weaving kaupapa Maori and e-Learning. Journal of Maori and Pacific7:2, 68-77.

Yueh, H.S., Lin, W., & Lu, T. (2014). Users’ Perceptions of blog functions: educational vs. personaluse. Electronic Library and Information Systems. Vol. 48, No. 1, 41-52.http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PROG-10-2012-0058.