Discussion

Hey everyone! I thought we could use this wiki as a way of communicating our ideas and posting our work for the group project. I hope no one minds that I just jumped in a did it instead of asking first.

According to the reading, we need to first select a general topic that interests us. I believe our general topic is "technology tools that motivate students to learn". I am not sure about the wording. Let me know if we should change it.

According to the read, "The next step is to determine what problem or concern to investigate within your topic area." I am not exactly sure how to go about starting this next step. Perhaps I will make a page for brainstorming ideas. I guess we can use what we post on that page as a jumping off point. - Jen, 5/18

So now we can truly begin talking about the design of our research. I have copied and pasted some of other discussion below. We need to start thinking about the details. What types of classroom will this take place in? What subject area(s), what grade levels? This will help us to determine what projects the students will be performing. This will also help us to design our surveys, and interview questions. Although we are not actually doing the research, I believe we still need to create our survey questions and interview questions.

**Final Research Questions:**
 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 Wikis be used as an alternative to PowerPoint?// Can Prezi be used as an alternative to PowerPoint? Clearly, teachers will have to be involved in this 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.

Students will create 2 projects, one with PowerPoint, one with either Wikis or Prezi.

-Jen, 5/25, 7:50

My first thought is a general fine art appreciation (music or art) or literature course. Undergraduate.

A biography of an important figure is a likely assignment, one which could utilize text, images, and other media. It also doesn't favor one of the tools over the others.

Assignment: Research an important artist (/writer/composer, etc) and their works. Be sure to include basic biographical information and important political and social events during the artist's life. Describe their major works and their influence. Include media beyond text. Present using PowerPoint/Wiki/Prezi.

We'll need a rubric for the assignment, and surveys. -Jeff 5/25 12:44pm

I like Jeff's idea (especially since my area is art and your's is music). Sounds good to me. I am going to make a new page. There, we all ca type in question ideas for the teacher and student survey/interviews.-Jen, 5/25, 4:45pm.

From The CANE Model of Work Motivation (Commitment and Necessary Effort) //A two-stage theory was described where goal commitment occurs first and then the pursuit of a goal leads to decisions about the quality and quantity of effort invested. In the first stage, active commitment to goals is predicted by a multiplicative relationship between three factors: Personal agency, emotion and control values. Personal agency is defined as general self efficacy, a meta-assessment of one’s ability to achieve a class or domain of work goals (“Can I do it?”), on the one hand, and our estimates of the barriers that surround the class of work goal (“Will I be permitted to do it?”), on the other hand. In addition, our emotional reaction to the goal must be neutral or positive. Finally, we must believe that achieving the goal will lead to control benefits (e.g. make us significantly more effective than competing goals). Three types of values were hypothesized to influence work goal commitment: a) utility (“I may not enjoy the pursuit of this goal, but I do desire the benefit of achieving the goal”); b) Interest (“I am curious about this goal, it has intrinsic value”); and c) Importance (“Mastering this goal will make me more effective and/or give a good impression// //to others”).//

//Personal Agency (efficacy and context) x Emotion (Mood) x Values (Utility, Interest, Importance) = Commitment to a task.//

Perhaps we should develop 2 or 3 questions in each of these 6 areas for our student survey.


 * efficacy (can I do it?)
 * context (will I be permitted to do it?)
 * mood (how do I feel about it?)
 * utility (is the outcome beneficial to me?)
 * interest (the task has intrinsic value?)
 * importance (will this task make me more effective or more impressive to others?)

-Jeff 5/25 5:15 pm

Jeff - This is good stuff. I also think that we need to include parts of this in our Review of literature.

I have posted what I have written so far for the Topic and Research Problem sections. Please someone help me with my writing. I am so not a writer. I think I am one of those people that tries to sound intelligent, but comes up terribly short in the end. ;o( -Jen, 5/25, 5:30pm

Don't be so hard on yourself, Jen. :) I'll look over it when I get a chance. - Jeff

Jen and Jeff, what can I be doing to help out? I am now available for the rest of the evening with very little individual work to do? - Robbie 5:45

I think you're already doing it, Robbie. Fill in some questions. I wish I could say the same about my evening, but work is keeping me late tonight. - Jeff

I've been adding some, great work, If you and Jen need me to do something, Just tell me to do it, and you can be bossy. I think I prefer working face to face. Does that go against the ED Tech thing? - Robbie 6:00

Are you guys "going" to the class meeting at 7:30? Just curious....I know we have a lot of work to do still. Robbie (and others), you could be looking over your literature and writing some paragraphs on it. I added a couple paragraphs to the research paper on mine (under literature review). I have been typing in word and pasting. We will figure out how that section will go together once everyone has added their paragraphs. Robbie, you could also start generating some ideas for the other sections, such as how will be analyze the data that we gather from the surveys, interviews, test scores, etc.

-Jen, 5/25, 7:10pm

Again, I appologize. I had a major day with not only the end of the school year but a personal issue. My daughter's boyfriend called to ask permission to marry her! I've been distracted...and very happy. Here he is now. Cindy 8pm

I need to finish up my dissertation stuff and then will focus on this project. I'm nearly done with school and believe that I will be able to work more in the afternoon and evening.

cindy .

Congrats Cindy! That is very exciting.

I want to give everyone the heads up. Tomorrow is a monster for me. I have a huge amount of graduation stuff that must be accomplished tomorrow. I wanted to get it done earlier, but adminstration has not given me a failure list yet. That means, everything must be prepared tomorrow for graduation practice on Thursday. I will not home until late. I will try to check in during the day when i can, but I am still grading exams and calculating grades as well. I am sorry. I know this is inconvenient at best. I will do what I can. Please continue tackling the steps. -Jen, 5/25, 8:35 .

Congrats Cindy and no worries Jen we'll get it done. - Robbie

Jen, I am going to do some MONSTER work for this group tomorrow so don't worry. You've all done a lot, especially you, Jen, in getting everything organized. I'm hoping that I can do some work during the day as well as the night.

One thing that I am noticing is how relevant the dissertation research is to this study. I'm going to write up some of that so that we can use it here. Don't worry, Jen. We'll move forward with this project and you'll be happy. :) --Cindy 5/25 9:10pm.

Congratulations, Cindy! I actually saw your post during our Connect meeting, but stopped myself from shouting it out there. I'm having my monster day today, so I should have more time tomorrow. -Jeff 5/25 9:30pm

All, As I look through this research, it makes me wonder why students are not motivated by PowerPoint. Maybe this is irrelevant to what we are doing but it makes me think about the Web 2.0 tools and wonder when those will be modified to be more engaging or effective.

Why are people so turned off, tuned out to PowerPoint? Here is a list that I started. Please add on or comment:
 * 1) PowerPoint has been overused. Because it doesn't offer novelty, it can be boring.
 * 2) Many people don't create good quality PowerPoints. Maybe they don't take the time or maybe they don't know enough about visual literacy. Because there are so many bad ones, the thought of PowerPoint is not a positive one to begin with.
 * 3) PowerPoint is like a lecture. It doesn't engage the audience.
 * 4) Students aren't challenged by PowerPoint because they've had to create so many. Creating them is like creating a sequel. How many seasons of "24" can you make before the novelty wears off?

--Cindy 5/25 11:15

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Cindy and All- I am here now. I survived today so far. I going to try to find more literature and type up a couple more paragraphs for our literature review. -Jen, 5/26, 6:25pm

Cindy, which dissertations are you looking at. Have you looked at the following, because I was going to if you haven't yet: Paino, T.. Effects of technology on student achievement and motivation in mathematics. M.A.S.E. dissertation, Caldwell College, United States -- New Jersey. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text.(Publication No. AAT 1463856).

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Jen, I'm working on the data and analysis right now. Anything else you want me to be doing? Robbie 5/26 7:00

Looks like we're all here. Question about our plan. With 3 technologies (control=PP, experimental=Prezi or wiki), do we split our participants in half (control/exp) or in thirds (PP/Prezi/Wiki)? Seems to me like we have to split in half for each of the two projects so that each student does one PP and one Web 2.0. Or the participants would need to do three projects. Thoughts? - Jeff 7:04pm .

Jen, I haven't looked at that dissertation. Go for it if you think that we need more literature.

Jeff, Good question. We could do three projects. Most classes probably have 3 projects in a year, don't you think? I'll go along with whatever others say. I'm leaning towards doing 3 projects.

Cindy 5/26 7:17

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Jeff - Either one works for me, but the more logical choice would be three. If we are using a Fine Art Appr. course, it would seem logical that they would have at least 3 projects in a year. Three different types of artists, such as visual artist, composer, writer, dancer, musician, etc. So, i guess I vote for 3.

I am using mostly the abstracts of dissertations to add to the literature section. Not enough time to read entire dissertations. I have added two new paragraphs and resources. Note: My paragraphs for the literature section do not flow in logical order. I am just writing paragraphs summarizing studies to boost up our literature section. I. figured we can organized them after we have all the stuff together. - Jen, 5/26 7:30pm.

The work so far is incredible! I need to get my act together and get things done! You people are all impressive.

I vote for 3 as well. That might be easier to do. It really is what we want to compare and measure.

I haven't read entire dissertations, either. I'm going to check back but will start on writing. Cindy 5/26 7:41

I Also vote for 3. Do we need to discuss in the Data and Analysis how our population was selected? Or recognize bias from survey polls within our population. I was thinking the qualitative data should be presented using a pie graph to show percentages of the answers given within the surveys, and a 3 bar histogram to compare the quantitative data from the scores of the projects we are evaluating. Can you think of any other data we need to present, pre-survey, post-survey, 3 project scores. Are we splitting the population into 2 groups. - Robbie 5/26 8:10

Okay, 3 groups it is. Our participants can come from Music Appreciation or Art Appreciation, which typically have enrollments in the 150 range at USC (AFAIK). There is also Dance Appr. I don't think there is a Fine Art appreciation that covers all the basis. (the different departments keep it separate because they are big income sources). Should we write our paper as if we are using one group (say Art), but state that the study could also be done using the other (music)? - Jeff 8:20pm

So Population: Art Appreciation course, split into 3 equal groups of 50, Project 1 - group 1: PP, group 2: prezi, group 3: wiki, then it changes groups on project 2 and project 3, we collect survey data before and after each project from each group and evaluate the scores using the rubric from each project and evaluate the scores within the group. Is that the quick and dirty for our data, analysis, and procedures? - Robbie 8:35

sounds about right, Robbie. take a look at the research steps page - I began filling in the table Jen started with our research questions. It mimics the one on the Getting Start in IT Res page. - Jeff 8:55pm

Thanks Jeff, I've been trying to follow that article. Data and Analysis would be easier to write if you actually had the data, I went and got a statistics book today, I'm trying to make sure I get my statistical terminology correct. I don't really remember my statistics. - Robbie 9:00

Sorry, Robbie - I starting filling in the table on the **research paper** page. - Jeff 9:22pm

Robbie, I NEVER learned statistics past 1st grade statistics. This sounds good what is decided. I added a little more to the literature, leaving it in a blue font. I hope that it can make it fit. I hope that I didn't just delete someone's work. I was trying to cancel my save so that it wouldn't mess you guys up.

Cindy 5/26 9:22

Should I start writing up the research design? Maybe I should do a rough draft to get feedback and make sure that I am doing it as the group has decided. You have all done a wonderful job. I hope to figure this out!

Jen, I'm glad that you survived today. One more day of survival and we'll be done.

Cindy 5/26 9:30pm

All, Do we need to make a rubric? Should I do that? Cindy 5/26 9:45

Let's go back and review some of the examples Dr. Smyth provided. I'm going to put together a draft of the design and then get your feedback. I'll use the information that we have here in the way that I understand. Cindy 5/26 9:48

Cindy, probably you and I should communicate a little since you have the research design and I have research methods part. I can work with you on the rubric, too. -Jeff 9:53

Jeff, I was thinking of creating a project-based rubric to see if it could work for all three of the tools. I'm not 100% sure that it can but I bet that it can come fairly close.

I'll try to put something together as I look at your notes. We want to study 150 students? Or can we study fewer, like 90. Doesn't matter to me.

Then we divide them into 3 groups. Let me make a chart and get back to you. Cindy


 * Group || First Project || Second Project || Third Project ||
 * || Create a … ||  ||   ||
 * 1 || PowerPoint || Prezi Presentation || Wiki ||
 * 2 || Wiki || PowerPoint || Prezi presentation ||
 * 3 || Prezi Presentation || wiki || PowerPoint ||

Jeff, Do you want to design the 3 projects? If we are using an Art or Music Appreciation project, then I'm probably not the best person in our group to do this. I could do something about history...but wouldn't want to touch music or art with the two experts that we have in our group. Cindy 10:27 pm

Jeff and Cindy, my last message got covered up, but I've posted the analysis in the table and our research population, what else do you need me to do? Any help on the rubric? I'll keep chugging away on the analysis and data stuff. Robbie 10:30

Cindy, Yes, if you can start the rubric, that would be great. I'm putting together the description of the projects and the procedure for the study. (I'm working off line and will post so I don't hog the wiki!) I'm sticking with straight art appreciation and the 3 projects will be the same (the students will tackle a different person each time with a different tool. - Jeff 10:37pm

Jeff, That sounds good. I'll work on a basic rubric and then we can adjust it. Robbie's table looks great. This is getting tricky to do. I'll start the rubric off line and then maybe publish it on a new page. -Cindy 10:41pm

Cindy the rubric looks great! You work fast. ('course I'd do better if Top Chef wasn't on - ha!) Couple comments - we may need to remove presentation, since they probably won't actual 'present' the project (not enough time in a survey class). Also, either we should weight the content more, or expand it to include several parts (biography, major works, influence) - Jeff 11:11pm

Jeff,

Here is the second one. Why don't we just weigh the content more. Also, what do you think about the numbers? Are there any items that you want to combine for the final rubric? I can't see any more so I'm turning in for the night. I'll check this out and work tomorrow.

PS RubiStar is great for creating rubrics--if you can only remember your password... --Cindy 11:16pm and out

All, Hope I've helped, I added what I had to the Data and Analysis section. Email me tomorrow if you need me to do something or work on something. I should have some time in school tomorrow. Our athletic awards banquet is tomorrow at 6:00 so I won't be back home until 8:00, and as you know I can't get on this site at school. So please email me with any concerns, questions, or needs. It's been great working with you guys. Good Night! - Robbie 5/26 11:30

All, I am going to take out the paper and start revising, seeing what I need to do to make it flow together, what I need to do to add to my part. Jeff did a lot of my part last night. Let me see what I can do to edit and add the missing parts. -Cindy 5/27 2:50pm

Hey guys. I am just checking in. It looks like you got a lot of work done yesterday. Jeff, you sent an email asking about who was putting it together? Are we squared away on that? Do you need me to help put it together? Cindy, do you need help with this? Let me know what you need me to do. I am available today. I am still at school, but will be home around 4:30pm to work on whatever we need to work on. These last 36 hours have been a tornado. I can't wait until 12:00noon tomorrow when it will all be over. Thanks for being an awesome group. I needed a good group experience like this. It would have been nice to have more time however....Jen, 5/27, 3:00pm.