Brainstorming+Ideas

My main reason for posting this idea was because my students absolutely hate PowerPoint presentations. They are used too heavily by teachers, whether the teacher is giving the presentation or having the students create a presentation. I want to know what other, more innovative tools are available that can be used instead of PowerPoint. Some things that I have used to try to get away from using PowerPoint are: a. MovieMaker: Making a video instead of a slideshow. b. Wikispaces: Creating a wiki page to display information and research.

That is about it. I feel like there is so many more options out there, I just don't know what they are yet. So, I guess my question would be, "What new and innovative technology tools are available that can be used in place of PowerPoint?" I am not sure if that is really a research question though. Perhaps it needs to be more, "What new and innovative technology tools are available that could be used in place of PowerPoint and how do these tool impact student motivation?" These are some of my thoughts...what about everyone else? -Jen

This is always the difficulty when beginning a project - narrowing the focus. I'll add a few more ideas and questions... other technology options: -podcasts (audio only or video) -Prezi (prezi.com ) -interactive chat / video conferencing (Adobe Connect, Skype, etc.) -social media (Facebook, Twitter) -social games (farmville, etc.)

- we've mentioned different technology as both instructional tools and as tools the students use to create their work. For the purposes of this research, should we choose one of those two aspects? - do we want to compare various tools and their effect on motivation, or pick one and compare it traditional or Powerpoint delivery? -Jeff

5:30 pm Tuesday Like Jen, I have been using Movie Maker, iMovie, discussion forums, and Wikis with my students. Skype has also been used at our school in a limited way. I've been thinking about using that next year. Prezi looks interesting as well as podcasting. Good question, Jeff. Do we pick just one or compare a few different tools? I'm leaning towards comparing a few so that we could all get more ideas. The original question asks about "tools," but I can see how that could end up being a big project. We'd just have to figure out a way to make it manageable. Also, what is the target age of our study? How would we measure "motivation?" -Cindy
 * MovieMaker and iMovie
 * wikis
 * Skype
 * Prezi
 * Podcasts
 * students' choices?
 * quality of completed projects as evaluated by a rubric?
 * other?

I am nearly brain dead, but want to add a couple thoughts. Good discussion already. If we are measuring motivation, and originally we said that PowerPoint isn't motivating, maybe we could use PowerPoint as a control group, like Jeff said. Maybe we could pick a couple (2-3) other tools that could be used in the study, such as any that were mentioned above. Then we could compare end products, like Cindy said. We could also have a student survey measuring the students reactions/attitudes/thoughts about the different tools. Clearly, the motivation would be a qualitative study, which isn't always easy to do. I will post more tomorrow. My eyes are about to fall out. ;o) Jen, 5/18

Jen,That sounds like a good plan.cindy

Okay, so we agree that PowerPoint should be what we are comparing data to. What tools should we choose to use in the study (the tools we will "test" to see if they are motivating then PP)? Personally I think that Web 2.0 tools or "free" tools should be used, but I guess it doesn't have to be that way. The tools we choose should probably be able to be used as a presentation alternative. So, we have started lists, below is a list of everything we have mentioned, plus one that I have added. Perhaps we need to add anything else that we feel needs to be on the list and **vote by tonight**. That way we can start on the next step. How many do we want to included in the study? 2? 3? I am leaning towards 3 for some reason. Let me know what you think.
 * MovieMaker and iMovie
 * wikis
 * Skype/Adobe Connect
 * Prezi
 * Podcasts
 * social media (Facebook, Twitter)
 * social games (farmville, etc.)
 * Voicethread

My vote: I really want to look more at Prezi and Voicethread. These are very new to me and I am curious about them. I don't really have a third choice that I am attached to. What are your choices, thoughts, votes?

How does this sound for our research problem? //What Web 2.0 tools are available that can be used as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint, and how do these tools impact student motivation compared to Microsoft PowerPoint?// Please change the wording as needed. It is just a jumping off point.-Jen, 5/19

Sorry guys for just getting into this thing, I promise I won't be the slacker of the group. This is my 1st time working with a wiki page, and I just got my 1st opportunity to play around with it today. That is why I sent the message, before I realized you guys have been discussing what we would be researching for 2 day. I would agree and my vote would be exactly with the rest of the group, I use PowerPoint every single day and my students, I'm sure are sick of it. I played around with Prezi a little bit last semester, but finding the time to integrate it into my instruction was difficult. The Web 2.0 tool article was also new information to me, but there are so many tools that I know would spark my students interests and keep them motivated.

Robbie 5/20

All-I think we need to agree on our research problem and what tools we are going to work with before we can move on to the next step, which is conducting a literature search. -Jen, 5/21

5/21 I appologize, too, and PROMISE to put more time into this now. Working full time and taking this class isn't easy for any of us! I’ve successfully used iMovie, Movie Maker, and wikis with my students this year. As you know, the wikis can be a bit challenging to use at times because they don’t work the way that they seem like they should but my students still enjoyed using them. They have a lot of potential for collaboration. The students have created movies with iMovie and I’ve used Movie Maker to create movies with student work. The students are THRILLED to see their work in a movie! I plan to do a summer camp using Movie Maker with students as young as rising 3rd grade. We’ll see… Prezi seems like a fun tool to use. I know that Robert said that it wasn’t easy to use but perhaps that is something that we should think about in our study. Maybe we need to compare some tools that are easy with another that can be more challenging. With that said, I was planning on using Jing with students next year, when we get some better computers. I’d prefer not to use FaceBook or other social media, or social games. With all of the privacy issues, I’m not sure that is the best tool for schools to use but will go along with the group. It seems like there are more appropriate choices for education so perhaps we can focus on those right now. I agree with Jen that perhaps we should focus on FREE tools. I vote for wikis as one choice. Here are my choices in order from first to last but please take this with a grain of salt. I’d be happy to use whatever anyone else wants to use. We just need to start someplace so here is my start! 1. Wikis 2. MovieMaker/iMoive 3. Prezi (if you think that this is too difficult to do, then move on to another choice. After all, these tools should be somewhat easy to use) 4. Podcasting, Voice Thread, or Jing 5. Skype, Adobe Connect --Cindy

Thanks for the feedback Cindy. I think that we need to remember that we aren't actually conducting the study, we are just designing the research project. I think that wikis, movivemaker are good choices because they have been around for a little bit so maybe we can find literature on them. I am not sure about the last selection. I guess one from #4 would be good. It probably doesn't matter. We just need to decide so we can move on with the steps. I think the Prezi may be too new to research. Although it looks interesting, now that i think about, there probably isn't any literature on it. What did you think about the wording of our research question?

//What Web 2.0 tools are available that can be used as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint, and how do these tools impact student motivation compared to Microsoft PowerPoint?// -Jen, 5/21

Are we going to stick with 3 alternatives to PowerPoint? I think Wikis are a definite choice. I still think Prezi should be included since it is similar to PowerPoint - presentation software. I would like to know more about it. Jen does make a good point about there probably being little research on Prezi, but that shouldn't necessarily stop us. We are bound to be on the bleeding edge no matter what we choose in this course. In the interests to keeping it one-to-many and non-realtime, I would take Skype and AdobeConnect out of the running. So... Research question is very good. Perhaps we should turn it into two separate questions? But are we getting ahead of things, according to the research steps? Do we need to state a Research problem first? I'll try to make some headway on that tonight. Jeff - 5/21
 * 1) Wiki
 * 2) Prezi
 * 3) VoiceThread or MovieMaker/iMovie
 * //What Web 2.0 tools are available that can be used as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint?//
 * //How do these tools impact student motivation compared to Microsoft PowerPoint?//

5/21 5:00pm I like your thoughts and will read more tonight about what we need to do. Now that the weekend is here, I will have more time to catch up on things.

I like the questions and think think that the choices of tools are good so far. I'll do some reading about what we need to do so that I can make better contributions. By the way, I adjusted my settings on the management page so that I can receive emails with updates of this wiki. That should make it better to respond. We'll have to figure out if we need to meet in another way once we get more underway. --Cindy

Okay, so what is the difference between research problem and what I stated? Hmm.....I need to reread the article. Be back soon. -Jen Okay, so maybe our research question could be: //Can Web 2.0 tools be used as an alternative to PowerPoint, and can these tools increase student motivation?

-Jen, 5/21//

Jen, I //LOVE// that question! It consolidates the entire project in the way that I imagine. Back to reading. I'm starting to zone out so I'm not sure if you'll want me to write anything else tonight! I'm so glad to be working with this group. -Cindy 5/21

I did a search on literature. I have posted what I found and have posted the full-text links. I have not read these articles yet. They are just a jumping off point. -Jen, 5/21

5/21 9:00 You guys are finishing up and I'm just now able to sit in front of it. Great job Jen, the research question is wonderful. I'm with Jeff 1) wiki 2) Prezi - I think it could be a great alternative - I just didn't have the time this semester to change anything over to it. 3) MovieMaker - kids could make their own movies or act out your notes in place of traditional PowerPoint - sounds like a great motivator to me, something different.

Jen et al, I've had a chance to re-read the //Getting Started// article as it pertains to research problem and research questions. I think the wording we have works well as our research **problem**: //Can Web 2.0 tools be used as an alternative to PowerPoint, and can these tools increase student motivation?// After our research, we'll be able to phrase more specific research **questions,** such as:


 * 1) Which Web 2.0 tools can substitute for standard presentation tools?
 * 2) Will Web 2.0 tools increase motivation relative to PowerPoint?
 * 3) Does motivation affect performance?

But of course, I'm getting ahead of things. Time to hit the research articles.

Jeff - Sat 5/22 8am

At what point do we try to manage some of the work? Are there some tasks that I can do to help right now, other than looking at the research?

Should we be considering how to design the study? Would it be an action research?

You are all doing a wonderful job and I am still wandering around trying to figure out how to contribute. I'll look at the research and look to see if I have any more literature at home. Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools by Solomon and Schrum is an excellent book with an abundance of information.

I'll do some more reading and check by later.

-Cindy Sat 5/22 11am

Cindy and All- I think we need to read some articles to see if they are valid and relate to our study. Maybe we can pick and choose which articles to read, distributing the reading amoung all of us to see if they relate. I will post on the literature search page what I plan on tackling. I will also do some read and check back later....-Jen, 5/22, 11:45am.

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I've posted the articles I will tackle - Robbie

I grabbed a couple articles as well. Another possible category of Web 2.0 tool we didn't consider (at least I don't remember considering) is graphic organizers/mind mapping tools. - Jeff 5/22 1:30pm

.Jeff, I've tried some of these activities and I felt like they decreased student motivation. I know teachers have success with graphic organizers and I would love to know how they make them successful. - Robbie 5/22 1:45 pm

Maybe it depends on the subject or something for graphic organizers. Our entire school took the initiative to use graphic organizers, learning maps, throughout the school. It worked quite well for me and my students. We all spoke the same language because we were all using the same basic style learning maps (graphic organizers) through out the entire elementary school. We found graphic organizers a valuable tool for instruction.

I like the way that users can create graphic organizers in Word, making it easy and inexpensive to use for creating graphic organizers. -Cindy 5/22 3:00pm

I do think graphic organizers are great, however, can they be used in place of PowerPoint? PowerPoint is more of a presentation type of software...just a thought-Jen, 5/22 4:00pm

Graphic organizers are more of an "organizational tool," or a tool to show relationships. I agree that it isn't something that would take the place of PowerPoint. Instead, it is something that can be used to visually display information on a slide. -Cindy, 5/22 4:30pm

Much of the information I'm finding/reading about discusses student enjoyment not motivation, does enjoyment lead to motivation? Does student preference in how they want to tackle an assignment lead to a more motivated student? Do these ideas produce better work or do student prefer collaborative assignments because it makes their individual work easier? Do these produce more motivated students or students that want an easy way out? Just some thoughts I had after reading several of the articles. Let me know what you guys think. - Robbie 5/23 10:00 am

Robbie, That is a great question! Does student enjoyment lead to motivation? It seems like if students enjoy working on a project that they will do a better job and learn more. Are happy learners productive, successful learners? Good questions.

Also, as I went back and re-read some of the comments, it sounds like at least two people were interested in looking at Voice Thread. That works for me, too. It sounds like the tools that we have all talked about are good ones so I hope that this project includes something for everyone in this group.

-Cindy 5/23 12:00

.All- So, I don't know about you, but all this research is starting to get jumbled. I am having a hard time keeping the dissertation stuff separated from our group research. I need labeled compartments in my brain to keep in all organized. Anyways....it looks like we all have been doing some reading. After reading the articles I chose, these are some issues or questions that popped in my head: (adding to what Robbie has posted)

1. Web 2.0 tools are participatory tools that change the way we think about learning in general. It used to be that the teacher taught the material to the students that he/she determined important. Students participate in communities and collaborate with others, and therefore, the line between teacher and student is blurred. Students teach other students, and students determine what is learned. How does this impact student motivation?

2. Web 2.0 tools are already a major part in most of the student’s lives. Facebook, Twitter, and other similar communities are staples in millennials lives. Therefore, incorporating these tools that they are already interested in and actively participating in seems like a logical solution to motivation. However, students that use Web 2.0 outside of school choose what they use and how they use it. Will they still have the same interest if it is incorporated into the classroom? If teachers choose the Web 2.0 tool for the student, will this lessen their interest and motivation? Also, will they use the tools to learn the content that the teacher wants them to learn? Or will they resort to socializing, as they do outside of school? How can using Web 2.0 tools be regulated so learning does occur, but does not lessen student motivation?

So, our next step is to develop our research questions. How do we want to tackle this step? Should be make a list of questions that we have developed through our literature search and then vote on the questions we think are the most valid? -Jen, 5/23 12:15pm

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I have taken the questions from this page and pasted them on the Research steps page, under #4. Please feel free to add to the questions that we already have posted. Also, I typed up a start for our "topic" section of the paper. It is posted on the Research paper page. Please read it, let me know what you think, make any changes that are necessary. Again, it is just a jumping off point. -Jen, 5/23, 1:00pm .

Jen, That looks good what you did and I'm glad that I'm not the only one feeling rather //Blurred...// As I look at the Web 2.0 book, I wonder if it really matters what tools are being used. Here is my blurb that I wrote under the book. I'm not sure if it is a brainstorm entry or a literature entry.

This book, //Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools//, has a wealth of information that we may be able to use in our research. Looking at the [|table of contents] shows you some of the topics that it covers. As I read this book, I think about our question about motivating students by using other Web 2.0 tools. It makes me wonder if we should also be asking the question,

Why are students less motivated to view and create PowerPoint presentations? Is it because PowerPoint presentations are not an effective tool? Is it because students have been overexposed to PowerPoint presentations and need something new? Is it because of poor visual literacy designs, effecting PowerPoint presentations, making them boring and ineffective? What do we need to know about learners so that we can create more meaningful learning experiences with Web 2.0 Tools? Should we include more literature research about today’s learners? If so, maybe we can see understand why PP are an issue. As I read this book, I look at the technology trends for students and teachers and see that students’ technology usage far exceed usage of average teachers. What does this mean? Does this mean that teachers need to get with the program, learn and use more technology in their personal and professional lives? Do teachers need to learn more about visual literacy so that they can make more effective learning tools? --Cindy 5/23 2:00pm

Those are good questions Cindy. So, we now have a list of good questions. Jeff- Do you have any questions that you would like to add? All - how should we determine what questions should be selected as our research questions? I like all of them however, I think we need to eliminate a few. Does everyone agree?

I just want to give everyone heads up about this week. I am entering "graduation hell week". Meaning, I have a lot of work to do in a little bit of time (just like this course). I will do my best to do whatever I can with the paper, however, it is best for me if we try to knock most of it out earlier in the week rather than later. I have completed all of the other assignments for the course so I can focus solely on the our group research project. I just wanted everyone to know the situation. That is all.

I will highlight the questions that I "like" as a jumping off point. - Jen, 5/23 7:00pm .

I'm in the process of looking at and adding questions. I think they should probably be fairly specific. Also, I think we should choose **either** tools the instructor uses in presentation **or** tools the students use in their work. Trying to study both is just too much. Jeff 7:10pm

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Jeff and all- I vote for tools the students use in their work. I have posted a few more questions. - Jen, 5/23 7:20pm. .

Jen et al, I agree. It is easier for different students to tackle the same assignment with different tools than to present the same material with different tools. - Jeff

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Should we be specific in stating **intrinsic** motivation to distinguish it from grades and other extrinsic factors, or just leave it as motivation? - Jeff 5/23 9:15pm .

I think intrinsic motivation would better define the research. Grades will motivate almost any student. - Robbie 5/23 10:00

How would we measure the motivation? With a rubric? I really like the question Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student motivation? This should be something that we can measure and study. We have come a long way! -Cindy 5/23 10:05

One of the papers I read in the literature search measured motivation by surveying the value students placed on the UTILITY, INTEREST, and IMPORTANCE or a task. A Likert scale was used in the survey. -Jeff Sun, 10:22pm

Cindy, I agree - For critique #2 I did an article that was an exploratory study, they didn't measure anything in the study. It made it very difficult to understand their research. - Robbie 5/23 10:25 (Sorry, Robbie, I was posting at the same time and this got wiped out by my post. I think I've fixed it. - jeff)

Should we add a sub-question: Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student academic performance? I imagine a study in which a group of students are given the same assignment (e.g. biography and survey of major works of an artist, writer, or composer). The students are split into groups. Each group uses a different tool - either PowerPoint, wiki, Prezi, etc. Students are surveyed to determine motivation. Assignments are graded to determine academic performance. Is this along the lines of what ya'll are looking for, or am I on the moon? :) Jeff, 5/23 10:35pm

That sounds good to me, survey students before and after the assignment, then grade to see if enjoyment/motivation leads to good grades. From a science teacher any time you can collect data to prove your theory it has to be a good thing. - Robbie 5/23 10:50

Totally off subject - Has anyone tackled the Proposal assignment yet? I just copied a presentation proposal form NSTA.org and will fill it out with my information in the form of a Word Document. Is that all he wants? It seems to easy. I'm trying hard to get everything complete, before tomorrow so I can give you guys all of my attention, I'm with Jen earlier in the week works great for me too. - Robbie 5/23 10:55

Robbie, I did a proposal for the SC EdTech Conference. It was really easy to do. All that I needed to add to it was an elaboration on the topic. I posted it last night just to feel better about getting one more project out of the way. I just finished my Critique #2. I still have the dissertation stuff and the list serv report to do. Like you, I want to devote my attention to the group project. I feel like I'm running a marathon.

Question--are students allowed to select the tool that they want to use? I wonder if it matters what the tool is as long as it is a different tool that allows for a presentation of information. If they are self selecting, then it would be interesting to see how many select PowerPoint, if that is an option. --Cindy 11:45pm Good night.

I think for our purposes the students would **not** select the tool. I agree that it would be very telling to see how many select each tool, but doesn't that study student choice more than the Web 2.0 tool influence on motivation? Plus, what if no one picks one of the tools? - Jeff 5/24 10am

Sorry I haven't posted yet today. It has been really busy day at school. Good discussion though. I was thinking that maybe the students have to complete a project using PowerPoint, then choose another web 2.0 tool and complete a similar project. That way we can measure their motivation for both and compare the results.

I am off to a faculty meeting. I will be back around 5:00pm. - Jen 3:25

Ps. We probably should divide up the task at this point as far as the paper goes. Let me know how you want to do this. Also, we need an "official" name for our project to give to Dr. Smyth.

All- So, it is my understanding that we need to have a few research questions for our paper. Is this correct? Please correct me if I am wrong. I thought we could have our main question, but they a few sub questions that go along with it. These questions should be what we want to discover through the research.

So, are these our three questions? Do we have more?

Can Web 2.0 tools be used as an alternative to PowerPoint? Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student academic performance? Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student motivation?

What about:

Does the student use of PowerPoint presentations motivate students to learn and perform?

Next: I think we need to divide the paper up into sections.

We have the following sections:

Topic (Jen) Research problem (Jen) Review of the Literature (All) Research Questions (Jen/All) Research Design (Cindy) Research Methods (Jeff) Data Analysis Procedures (Robbie)

I feel like the Topic, Research Problem, and Research questions are all going to be small compared to the remaining 4. I have sort of started the Topic portion. I think we all need to contribute to writing the Review of Literature part, since we all read different articles. Also, the Research Questions part should be fairly easy once we all agree on the research questions. How do you want to divide the rest of the sections? I know we haven't discussed all the steps yet. We are just getting to how we plan on conducting the research. But, we probably need to clarify what each of us is responsible for. I can do the Research Problem, if that is okay with everyone, and put it all together. Who is good at Math? Data Analysis Procedure should probably go to a math person. I have my name by sections, but I am not stuck on it. I guess just sign up for what you are willing to do.

Next, we need to discuss how we are going to do the research design, but I think we need to solidify what are research questions will be. Then we can discuss the design.

We could have a qualitative portion and a quantitative portion. Qualitative: Does the student use of PowerPoint presentations motivate students to learn and perform? Research through student interviews and surveys, having the student respond to questions using a rating scale. Can Web 2.0 tools be used as an alternative to PowerPoint? Clearly, teachers will have to be involved in their research. The teachers will have to use the Web 2.0 tools to see if the tools will me the standards and requirements they are looking for. This may also be interview and survey. Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student motivation? This is also a qualitative study. We would have to hold student and teacher interviews, and again have surveys for both groups.

Quantitative Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student academic performance? This will probably be Quantitative. We would have to measure students scores before using Web 2.0 tools and after.

Lastly, for now, we need an official name for our project. How about: //PowerPoint vs. Web 2.0: Which yields higher student motivation?// -Jen, 5/24, 6:00pm .

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All, the name that Jen is suggesting sounds good to me--concise and meaningful--perfect for our research.

I was thinking that the research would be similar to what Jen described. The students would do one project with PowerPoint. A second project with a chosen Web 2.0 tool. I agree that the two projects could be compared, the two learning experiences could be compared, etc. I actually thought that they could do a third project and decide between PowerPoint and the Web 2.0 tool that they just used. Which would they use for the third project?

Maybe instead of a third project, there could be a survey, asking what tool the student would use IF there was a third project.

Math isn't my strength but I'm willing to do whatever. I'll put my name down for a section but it is only penciled in. I will change it if someone else wants to do that section. --Cindy 5/24 6:05pm PS I can edit the final paper if you'd like. .

I can do the math, but what math do we need to include? We aren't actually conducting the research, do we just make up data, and display it in an organized fashion? I like the names and questions. You lady's are doing a great job. My messages keep getting deleted, so I hope this one sticks. Robbie 5/24 6:15

I don't know, Robbie. I wonder if the math part would come in if the research was actually done, not just proposed. cindy

In some ways it would be easier if we were actually conducting the research, For our project: Data and Analysis would just show how we would calculate and display the data, even though we won't actually have any values? Robbie

Robbie, I think that you are being deleted because we are both writing at the same time. I'm going to finish dinner so the wiki is all yours.

All, I am DELIGHTED to be part of this group. You are ALL doing a wonderful job. Cindy 5/24 6:30

' Cindy, I've got to finish dinner too. So we will probably be back typing at the same time again in a minute Robbie 5/24 6:40 .

Finally home and catching up on all your posts. I am good with the title - I've posted it on the BB page that Dr. Smyth linked to. Though I'm no expert, I'll sign up for the research methods portion.

I don't think the students need to do two projects on the same subject - that is quite burdensome to implement (thankfully we aren't implementing, but it is good to think about.) I think we should split our participants into 4 groups: control - PowerPoint, Exp1 - Wiki, Exp2 - Prezi, Exp3 - (did we confirm a third Web 2.0 tool?). Each group does the same assignment with a particular tool. Survey should show motivation - we'll be looking for general trends. Some students are of course more motivated, and some will be more motivated by certain tools, but is there a trend? A group of teachers could grade the projects according to a rubric and average the scores to determine performance.

-Jeff 5/24 7:05pm . . ...

(Jen's post that was deleted by mine - I beginning to dislike Wikis for collaboration.)

Okay, so to answer Robbie's question, I think we need to know how the data that would be gathered would be compared, such as the Likert scale, and whatever else. We are jumping ahead and that is why this is becoming blurry. First, we must decide if our research questions are solid. Once we have all agreed on the research questions, then we can move to the next step which is deciding how we "would" conduct the research. We are starting to generate ideas about this step, which makes me nervous since we haven't completely decided on the questions. Scroll up to where I put 4 questions (in green and blue). I have penciled in some ideas on how we could conduct our research for those questions. But, are those the questions? Once we have determine the questions, then we can decide how we are going to conduct the research, then we will determine how we are going to analyze the research (and remember, this is all hypothetical). This is my interpretation of the project. Please correct me if I am going crazy. It is absolutely possible at this point.-Jen, 7:00pm. .

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I like three of the four. I think "Can Web 2.0 tools be used as an alternative to PowerPoint?" is a little vague and broader than our topic. I think we've chosen tools that can present information (text, images, etc), but in different ways. Perhaps: How does student and teacher attitude toward PowerPoint compare to Web 2.0 tools? Implemented via interviews and surveys, before and after.

. ..

Or, can we ask, // Which Web 2.0 tools can be used as an alternative to PowerPoint? // to go with the other two questions, Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student academic performance? Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student motivation?

What are your thoughts about this? Have the students participate in two projects to provide an opportunity to compare the same participants. They wouldn’t have to do the SAME project. They would just be doing a comparable project for the same teacher, same subject. That would keep most of the variables the same. We could even have two groups doing the study. 1. Group A starts with PowerPoint and then a project using the Web 2.0 alternative. 2. Group B starts with the Web 2.0 alternative and then does a PowerPoint project. Your thoughts… Cindy 7:30pm . ..

Okay, so I like Cindy's rewording: // Which Web 2.0 tools can be used as an alternative to PowerPoint? //

We definitely all seem to like: <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Calibri,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student academic performance? Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student motivation?

what about: Does the student use of PowerPoint presentations motivate students to learn and perform?

As far as what we will have the students do...I am not sure if comparing different students will show any solid results. It is hard to compare one student to another, especially with motivation. I was thinking they would do one project pertaining to one subject using PowerPoint. Then do another, using a similar format but different subject, using a Web 2.0 tool. -Jen, 5/24 8pm ..

Okay, I'll go with two projects for each student, one PowerPoint/one Web 2.0.

I'm not sure how we could possibly answer <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">//Which Web 2.0 tools can be used as an alternative to PowerPoint?// We are only testing 3. Perhaps, <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">//Can Wikis be used as an alternative to PowerPoint?// Can Prezi be used as an alternative to PowerPoint?

Jeff 8:10pm ..

So we are using Cindy's idea with Group A - PowerPoint then Wiki and Group B - PowerPoint then Prezi? Robbie .

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, our questions are:

Does the student use of PowerPoint presentations motivate students to learn and perform? <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">//Can Wikis be used as an alternative to PowerPoint?// Can Prezi be used as an alternative to PowerPoint? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Calibri,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student academic performance? Will substituting a Web 2.0 tool for a PowerPoint presentation yield higher student motivation?

How do those sound? I think they work and are measureable.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think we should just stick with two web 2.0 tools. We don't have time to incorporate another one and I think two tools will work well with the study. -Jen, 5/24 8:45pm

I agree with using two tools. We need to limit the research.

What if we combine the first question, Can wikis and Prezi be used as alternatives to PowerPoint? Then the other two questions. Cindy 5/24 8:46

I agree, nice work, everything sounds great to me. I think you could perform this research very easily and great data could be collected from it. I know it is extremely difficult to measure motivation, but I think these questions and our research design could get really close - Robbie 5/24 8:50

Agreed. I think we have something concise and surmountable now. - Jeff 9:08

I am getting tired of scrolling. I am moving our discussion to the discussion page....see you there. -Jen, 5/25,7:43am.