jopuryear

This has been a enlightening week for me. It has been a week of reading and learning.I believe I am finally beginning to clarify my thoughts about my action research. I understand that this action research needs to be very specific and directed. It is very easy to chase rabbit trails all over the Internet about subjects that are realted to other subjects. I have finally narrowed my action research down to a very specific problem, and that is the lack of the use of WimBa in on-line classes. Chapter 2 of Dana’s, Leading with Passion and Knowledge helped me organize my thoughts about the different areas that educational leaders need to consider as they reflect on their actions. I have gained a new respect for research in the form of action research. Believe I have done action research all my life, but never formally and never methodically. I am happy to understand this process better, and plan to incorporate it into my routine. Another thing that was emphasized to me this week is t...

Purpose The purpose of my action research project is to familiarize some of the Brazosport College BAT faculty with new and creative ways to use WimBa in hybrid and on-line classes, and to measure the effectiveness and quality of these courses that incorporate WimBa compared to the ones that do not. Significance The key stakeholders in this action research include the students and their families, teachers, administration and staff, and the Brazosport community at large. College students today are not the same as traditional students of the past. These 21st century learners are “digital natives” and are more comfortable “with texting messages and Facebook profiles than they are with textbooks and face-to-face communication.” (WimBa, 2009). There are also distance learners that do not have the time to come to class, but want to continue their education. These students may start school later in life, and already have jobs and families. On-line classes are becoming extremely popular an...

Although blogs can be used as personal journals, the power of a blog is its ability to connect people by allowing them to interact with ideas. A principal can create a blog for the faculty to keep them updated on all the current happenings, news or special event on campus. If there is an issue that needs to be discussed: blogs allow discussion. Blogs can be set up with other principals anywhere on the globe to share common situations and possible solutions. The community that can be established among professionals can be very helpful to avoid isolationism. Blogs can become a running journal when reflecting on a problem or issue. Over a period of time, the body of work that has been blogged can be reviewed, allowing a fresh look and perhaps a new perspective. Blogs allow you to see other colleague’s ideas which can stimulate your ideas and thought. Blogs are easy to set up and easy to access. It is also possible to keep a blog private and seen only by members. A classroom can set up a ...

When I first heard about action research, my mind immediately went back to what I believed traditional research meant. I thought I would be reading long articles on subjects that are of no interest to me, and reporting on what I read. Happily, that is not the meaning of action research. In her book, Nancy Dana Fichman likened the concept of action research to “wonderings” (Dana, 2009. p.2). I like the idea of it being a “wondering” or inquiry. The most creative minds I know, my children, have always had wonderings. They see things without preconceived opinions or theories. They take the information for face value and process it in a fresh, new way. That is how I envision action research. Action research is a process. It is a continual appraisal, implementation and evaluation cycle that repeats and refines. It allows and requires input from people that are directly involved with the topic of the inquiry, and that active engagement in the process increases the input of knowledg...

What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned? When approaching the course, Concepts of Educational Technology, I was not clear what I would be required to do. My belief that technology was going to become a much more powerful tool in the future of education was what led me to this course, and that belief was more than confirmed in these last five weeks. I envisioned a class that would teach the current technologies that are applicable to classes that are online. I did not consider how much technology can and should be incorporated into the classroom. I also did not think I would meet anyone in this class that I could interact with and get to know. I was wrong about that, also. The class wiki and our individual wikis have been a powerful tool for communication with other classmates. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet them and hear their comments through their videos, blogs ...

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