6
Inquiry Project Plan
Marlene Anderson, Trish Glass, Janet Tomy,
Jennine Scott, Alison Wells
Summer Institute 2009
University of Manitoba
Dr. R. Freeze
Group Membership:
Full Name: Marlene Anderson
Student Number: 543452
Telephone Number: W (204) 359-4100; H (204) 359-6417; C (204) 359-5189
E-Mail Address:
Full Name: Theresa Glass
Student Number: 6739357
Telephone Number: H (204) 467-9799; C (204) 485-3516
Email Address:
Full Name: Jennine Scott
Student Number: 5831848
Telephone Number: H (204) 775-7653; W (204) 582-3383
E-Mail Address:
Full Name: Janet Tomy
Student Number: 5933625
Telephone Number: H (204) 255-9514; W (204) 474-1767 ext 1208
E-Mail Address:
Full Name: Alison Wells
Student Number: 0957092
Telephone Number: H (204) 253-0772; C (204) 781-2731; W (204) 338-9384
E-Mail Address:
Inquiry Project Description: Engaging all Learners through Technology
Our project, ‘Engaging all Learners through Technology’, will focus on meeting the learning needs of the ‘millennial generation’. Our presentation will be in a ‘Wiki’ format with the potential target consisting of parents and educators. Howe & Strauss, (2006) report that the crisis in schools today is due in part to students’ perception that school is boring and is irrelevant for preparation beyond school. Through our own inquiry, learning, and use of various technologies with students (such as virtual poetry, avatar worlds, digital technology, wiki’s) our hope is to discover and present methodologies that engage all learners at all levels.
Definitions:
We will use a glossary to define words in our project. Possible sources mean the U.S. Include the dictionaries, journal articles, web sites, and online sources.
Theories, concepts and models:
There are several theories and or frameworks we feel could fit our project such as SRV (social role valorization), multiple intelligences, constructivism, humanism, DI (differentiated instruction), IBL (inquiry-based learning), the zone of proximal development, success for all learners, and the foundational shifts in Literacy acquisition as presented by Dr. Karen Smith. It is our goal to explore each of them as we proceed with our project.
We will also keep in mind and explore further the following concepts as we investigate literacy and technology: the term multi-literacy, social networking, multi-model learning, multi-dimensional learning and universal design.
Pedagogical issues:
We will provide and in depth critical analysis of how technology can be used to enhance inclusion, the impacts it could have on DI in the classroom and our ethical and professional response to the ever changing world we find ourselves in especially in the area of technology. We will also attempt to answer the questions, a) using the principles of UD how do we best introduce and use technology to enhance literacy? b) is technology a true equalizer in the classroom? c) at what grade should technology be used? d) does technology really help students become engaged learners? e) how does teacher buy-in and comfort level impact the amount of technology used in the classroom?
Teaching methods and services:
We will explore the following teaching methods as we implement some of the technology in our various settings: collaboration, direct contact, team teaching, buddy teaching (older students tutoring younger students) and we will refer to the new IT curriculum document that has recently been released.
Since none of us have a classroom of our own we will rely on the cooperation of an early years teacher and we will need to get permission from parents of the students if we are going to use any photo’s, work samples etc of the students. We plan to inform the administrative teams in our schools about the work we are doing as well. We may work with a whole class, small groups, or even individual students. We will need to collaborate with the IT teams in our schools and divisions, access to hardware; software, the internet and we may need to ask for different software in the spaces we are using. We will be reviewing students IEP’s that we are going to work with to ensure we incorporate any applicable goals during the implementation phase.
Relationships are vital to a socially constructed learning environment so we will each need to spend time getting to know the students during September and October as we continue with our own inquiry.
At this point our goal is to investigate movie maker, digital social stories, wiki’s, avatar’s, web quests, and possibly MP3 players and e-readers. Since we don’t know anything about these things we are going to need to spend time learning about these tools ourselves first. We plan to do this by researching the internet, reading journal articles, seeking expert advice and assistance, and by direct hands on experience. We have set up a working wiki that each of us our now on and using. This working wiki will be a place for us to experiment and communicate with each other and help s develop our presentation wiki we will share in November with our classmates. We will also practice and play with the technology we hope to introduce in the classrooms so we can model and encourage the teachers to do the same.
Tools:
As already mentioned we will require computers, software, assistive technology, digital video cameras.
As part of our presentation we plan to provide information about the ease or difficulty of using the technologies we have mentioned. In order to do this we will need to develop a tool, probably a short survey, that we will use both pre and post introduction of the new technology. This survey will have a section for students and teachers. This will require the establishment of a set of criteria such as grade level and curricular focus. At this point we are planning on implementing our ideas with grade 1-3 students with a curricular focus on reading that is authentic to each student. This will require that we provide a voice to the students so they have a say in what they are learning.
Implications present and future:
Our hope is that by using some technology all students will be more engaged in their learning, we will see social interaction, teachers and students acquiring new skills, teachers and students learning along side each other, students will learn new purposes for reading, and teacher’s will gain confidence in and see the benefits of using some technology in their classrooms. We hope that students will feel success as they try something new. By considering the components of Universal Design we will try to create an environment where success for all is possible.
Future implications we will think about and discuss are the four things mentioned by Dr. Smith: ethics, embodiment, fidelity and sustainability. Our desire is to continue offering support in our schools throughout the year in the area of technology and literacy, we are not seeing this as a short term “fix”. We will also provide our wiki address to our colleagues so they can investigate further themselves.
Timeline:
Date / Marlene / Trish / Jan / Jennine / AlisonAugust 17-21 / Explore Wiki
Search Articles
Participate in discussions/Bring ideas
August 24-27 / Format references
Add to Wiki
Determine areas of interest
Complete project draft
TOPICS / Movie maker / Philosophy / Digital Social Stories / Avator / Webquests
Mp3
Wiki
September / Pre-survey with teachers
Learn about out topic and how to use it
Introduce concept to teachers
Collaborate on how to teach in classroom (para)
October / Begin implementing technology in classroom
Pre-survey students
November / Begin collecting post-survey information
Finalize information we want on our presentation using Wiki.
Meet to go over our final Wiki and presentation outline
November 21 0r 28 / Presentation
Consider possible video creations (how to) for each area we investigate.
References
Baron, N. S. (2005). Dick and Jane meet HTML. Language Sciences, 27(1), 137-141. doi 10.1016/j.langsci.2004.01.002
Dreyer, C., & Nel, C. (2003). Teaching reading strategies and reading comprehension within a technology-enhanced learning environment. System, 31(3), 349-366. doi:10.1016/s0346-251x(03)00047-2
Gillette, Y. (2006). Assistive technology and literacy partnerships. Topics in Language Disorders, 26(1), 70-84. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy1.lib.umanitoba.ca/ehost/delivery
Joffe, V., Cain. K., & Maric, N. (2007). Comprehension problems in children with specific language impairment: Does mental imagery training help? International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 42(6), 648-664. http://csaweb107v.csa.com.proxy1lib.umanitoba.ca/ids70/view_record
Knezek, G., & Christensen, R. (2007). Effect of technology based programs on first- and second-grade reading achievement. Computers in the Schools, 24 (3/4), 23-41. doi:10.1300/j025v24n03_03
Lever-Chain, J. (2008). Turning boys off? Listening to what five-year-olds say about reading. Literacy, 42(2), 83-91. http://csaweb107v.csa.com.proxy1lib.umanitoba.ca/ids70/view_record
Levy, R. (2009). ‘You have to understand words...but not read them’:Young children becoming readers in a digital age. Journal of Research in Reading, 32(1), 75-91. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9817.2008.01382.x
Liu, Z. (2005). Reading behaviour in the digital environment: Changes in reading behaviour over the past ten years. Journal of Documentation, 61(6), 700-712. doi:10.1108/00220410510632040
Macleod, F. J., Macmillian, P., & Norwich, B. (2007). ‘Listening to myself’: Improving oracy and literacy among children who fall behind. Early Child Development and Care, 177(6-7), 633-644. Retrieved from http://csaweb107v.csa.com.proxy1lib.umanitoba.ca/ids70/view_record
McTavish, M. (2009). ‘I get my facts from the internet’: A case study of the teaching and learning of information literacy in in-school and out-of-school contexts. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 9(1), 3-28. doi 10.1177/1468798408101104
Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., Tufis, P. A., & Sperling, R. A. (2008). Are reading and behaviour problems risk factors for each other? Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41(5), 417-436. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy1lib.umanitoba.ca/ehost/delivery
Teclehaimanot, B. (2004). Reading, technology, and inquiry-based learning through literature-rich WebQuests. Reading Online, 10-21. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy1.lib.umanitoba.ca/ehost/delivery
Skylar, Ashley A.; Higgins, Kyle; Boone, Randall. Intervention in School & Clinic, Sep2007,
Vol. 43 Issue 1, p20-28.
Vidoni, Kimberly L. & Maddux, Cleborne D. (2002). WebQuests: Can They Be Used to
Improve Critical Thinking Skills in Students?. Computers in the Schools, 19 (1),
101-117.
Warrican, S. J. (2006). Promoting reading amidst repeated failure: meeting the challenges. The High School Journal, 90 (1), 33-43. Retrieved from http://csaweb107v.csa.com.proxy1lib.umanitoba.ca/ids70/view_record