A Crazy and Slightly Traumatic Two Weeks

My son Gavin on the Flow Rider at Sahara Sam's

I realized this a.m. that I am a 2 weeks behind in my blog posting which is really unlike me. We've had some snafus in the Kowalski house so that's my excuse. Now that we're on the mend and all the paperwork has been filed for trip insurance and state disability, I can hopefully get back to my normal schedule/self/researcher!

Needs Assessment Analysis: I spent A LOT of time on this. I was able to devote 1.5 days of uninterrupted time because I was home with my husband post-surgery so I guess there are some positives...  I had a crash course on Excel by a math teacher friend--thank you Rebecca! The results were not so surprising. I think there were only one or two skills that they all could either do or not do. But that raises the question about what to include in the tutorials. If three out of 15 students could not complete a particular skill, should that skill be addressed in my tutorials? Should I base inclusion on a percentage of students who had trouble completing the task?

Goal Statement: I always have trouble with these. I never say enough the first time. But the feedback I received really helped. I did my revisions while my kids were running around Sahara Sam's. I'm surprised it wasn't incoherent because I was suffering from chlorine intoxication! That place needs better ventilation!

Instructional Objectives: Woohoo! I was much more successful with these, plus they didn't take very long:-).

Evaluation Tools and Procedures: I got through this on Saturday. It took me about four hours. I tried to follow Kathy's example but found her format to be a little "all over the place". I liked Dan's paper though. He seemed to follow the outline in our syllabus. So, thanks Dan! The examples provided have been soooooo helpful throughout this process! Thank you Amy! I'm not submitting yet because I generally like to look again, a little later on, with a fresh eye. I usually find something to change!

Daily Panic: I worry about the tutorials. I want them to be great, however, I still don't know what they will look like!

Metaphor

I made sure to submit my literature review by last Friday because my parents booked the kids and I on a Camelback Mountain Adventure over the weekend.  My daughter and I completed a five hour tree top course (tight ropes, zip lines, and various other obstacles) that was 50 feet off the ground!  My son was too young for the big course but he went on a 1000' zip line and a mountain coaster--so cool! I recommend the course for anyone who wants to feel like they accomplished something. It was great for my daughter (and me!).
There were 6 courses to get through and I kept thinking it was a lot like our course--you have to tackle one problem at a time--you can't get too far ahead of yourself or you'll feel overwhelmed.

The lit review was a challenge--it was my major during the last 10 days.  I spent about 30 hours on it between research and writing. It was very difficult keeping my sources straight. I wish I had less. And even after I submitted, I kept thinking (and still do) of things I should add to it!

I also got the results of my survey. The teachers I targeted perceive PowerPoint and email to be their students' weakest skills. Tomorrow I test out my rating scale! I was supposed to do it last week but we had a fire drill that period so we had to reschedule.

Reflections:  I realized that at teacher conferences I have no idea what's going on in my kids' lives, probably because I'm usually at school until 7:30. It annoys me but I also recognize that this course is like a millimeter on the ruler of my life (ha! simile!).

Oh the research...!

 I am literally driving myself nuts.

Task 1: Crunch the massive amounts of data that I received from my teacher survey and create my revised/final rating scale to test tech skills (haha-only 2 teachers took it--that's all who were supposed to take it=o). It took about 3 hours. It's been eating at me that similar studies to mine always incorporated an assessment of students' perceived tech skills prior to testing their real skills. But it really serves no purpose for me. Based on the majority of findings (their perceptions far exceed their actual skills), I think it would be rude of me to give a survey to check their self-efficacy and then test them on their actual skills. It would be like saying, "This is what you think you know, and HA!, this is what you really know--not so great, are you?" I don't want to lower their self-esteem. I'm trying to help them!

Task 2: Research....again. I've spent about 10 hours this week so far. I keep coming up with different angles. Here they are:

1. Find studies that test tech skills of high school or college freshmen, focusing on the "myth of the   digital native" angle.

2. Tutorial vs. demonstrative instruction

3. The effects of not having a tech literacy program--I can't find anything--weird, right?

4. Importance of basic computer skills

5. The necessity of acquiring basic computer skills to have success in college and the job market.

6. ? Time will tell...

I cannot yet sit down and start writing. Every time I try, I find myself researching again. I am starting to wonder if a backwards approach isn't more my M.O.--start writing and then incorporate the articles I've found. I NEVER have trouble running at the mouth (keyboard). But now I do.

Daily Panic: See previous entries. Plus I feel like I'm in an endless Gravitron of research-I'm stuck and I'm spinning and I can't see clearly!

(I would rather spend Monday night writing at my computer, hint-hint).

Plugging Along....

This week has been a blur.  Here's what I've accomplished:

Task 1: Create my tools.  I created a teacher survey and a performance checklist. The survey took about two hours using Google Forms. The checklist was my own creation because I had to set it up a certain way that I could not manage using a table in Word (or Excel). The checklist took about three hours.

Task 2: Fix my intro and needs assessment plan. No more fixes!!! As I've stated in my previous entry, the introduction drives me nuts and I think as I progress through all the steps, I'm going to have to go back and change it again and again and again!

Task 3: Research. I think I spent six hours looking in vain for a previous study like mine. I now believe that it doesn't exist. There are several that were conducted with college students as the sample though. When the researchers are college professors, who else would be their sample? So I don't know what that means for me. How do I approach original research? Guess I'll find out...

Task 4: Article Critique. It took about 3 hours. The reason it took so long is that each time I read it, I got more confused about the intent of the authors. I had to walk away for a couple hours because I seem to think better. I actually recorded some memos when new thoughts occurred to me. I'm still a little confused. I'm worried that I wanted to find something wrong so badly that I was overly-critical. But I really don't think so. I still think I can cite the article though because it had some good points!

Daily Panic: I feel like I'm going to suddenly realize that I forgot to do something. I actually had a dream last night that I went on the portal and was able to access other people's article critiques. I opened Danyl's and she had created hers against a dynamic background. Hers was only one page but each sentence was so profound and succinct that I felt I could never compete with that! I need to build confidence in myself.

Reflections: Stress, uncertainty, satisfaction, my grad-school, stressed-out eye twitch is back.

Oy Vey.

.

Task 1: I changed my topic and re-wrote the first 2 parts.  It took about 6 hours.  Results?  It appears I have to cite every blessed thing I say.  

Task 2: I completed my needs analysis plan.  It took 3 hours and it's two pages long (felt like more than 2 points but maybe I did more than was necessary?).  Feedback was light--thank goodness!

Task 3: Research, research, research!  I probably spent about 4 hours this week looking for articles.  Keywords are funny.  You have to find out the buzzwords of your area of study to get the best results!  

Task 4: Find my sample and control.  I thought  I was going to use 2 basic English classes, but now I feel the numbers are too large to handle a performance-based assessment.  So I'm going to try to find 2 special ed classes that function on the same level. The teacher I'd like to work with only has 4-6 students in each class--not sure if that's too small...

Task 5 (to do): Settle on an article for my research evaluation report.

Reflections: The wording of a research narrative is so very important. I spend so much time changing things around, adding, taking away, citing.  I write something one day and read it the next and wonder, "what was I thinking?"  I've also found that when I go for a walk or a run, I come up with good ideas.  I don't know if it's the endorphins that enhance thinking or maybe it's just stepping away (as in, when you're too close to something, it's hard to see it clearly).

My Daily Panics: What if I can't find students willing to help me create the tutorials?  What if I find them, but what they create isn't what I had in mind (or it stinks)?  This is the unknown of my project and it all kind of hinges on it.  I would prefer to have more control.

I also have not yet found a scholarly article yet to back up what I believe to be true.  I find lots of blogs by respected people in the field of IT who agree with me and some have even suggested that someone do a study to prove it--haha--funny/not funny for me.

Using Technology to Enhance the "Non-Technical"

I've been over-thinking my topic.  I originally tried to address something that really didn't inspire me.  Computer skills are important--of course!  But I already address those in my lessons--all year long! 

Despite my job being mainly about technology and information retrieval these days, I can't forget about my first love--why I chose my career (and I know it's cliche)--reading!  I spend so much time worrying about students understanding PowerPoint and in-text citations, that I don't spend enough time inspiring students to read. 

Then an idea literally fell to the ground at my feet.  I was putting away some magazines and several editions of School Library Monthly fell off the shelf.  The February issue was on top and in the content list on the front, I saw "Edmodo: A Great Tool for School Librarians."  Not only can I use Edmodo to address tech skills, but I can use it to promote reading! 

What I love is that I can reach out to students--I don't have to wait for them to come to me.  My hope is that using Edmodo to promote the library (and also forming an Edmodo book club!) will increase my circulation and library attendance.

It was suggested to me that I also address enhancing tech skills (in addition to reading and circulation)--which I will obviously do, but I'm not sure how to combine both objectives without it seeming like two projects.  If you read the article you'll see that there are so many possibilities for Edmodo as a vehicle for the school library, and increasing readership is just a part.  So I'm going to create a product that addresses many aspects of literacy--how do I measure it all and seamlessly combine it into one project?

So that's the part that stumps me...Any suggestions???