Wicked Problem Project- Increasing Parent Involvement Using Moodle to Improve Student Performance

Here is the link to the my presentation

Problem- How can I increase parent involvement?
I have notice that parents are feeling disconnected with their students' education. Yet, there is a desire to be involved. I first noticed the desire to be involved when our grade management program came out with a smart phone app. Parents had always had computer access to their students' grades, but when the app became available I notice a sharp increase in involvement. This showed me that parents want to involved, they just sometimes do not have the time. Others have admitted to me during conferences that they are simply not able to help their students at the high school level because the curriculum has become so much more rigorous since they were in school.

Solution- Making curriculum available to students and parents at home via Moodle.
The class had been using Moodle throughout the year for various assignments and projects. For the end of the year review I decided to make summary videos and practice exercises for each of the major topics that students would see on the exam. I also provided them with a guided review sheet they could follow along with. To involve the parents in my test group, I produced an introduction video for parents on Moodle and the review process. I alerted them through e-mail and student/parent contact. I measured the success of this implementation by analyzing parent contacts and student exam scores.

TP- This use of technology would allow students to review the material at home and thus allow me to utilize class time to help struggling students, show demos related to the topic and help students with their reviews.

TC- The technology allowed the students and their parents to have 24/7 access to the content. This meant that now students to go at their own pace through the review material spending as much or as little time as needed on each topic.

PC- By changing how the class time was spent, I could now provide more individual and small group instruction for students that needed it. In addition, parent could now work with their students at home and monitor their review process.

Group Leadership Project- Schedule Once

What tool did your group use to deliver the PD tutorial?  Why? 
We used Google Docs, Power Point, Camtasia Relay, Camtasia Studio and Abobe Premier to produce the video. The reason for this was to complete each step of the video development process. Google Docs was used to collaborate on the script for the video. Powerpoint was used to show the text and photos of our project. Camtasia Realy was used to make the demo of the product in use. Camtasia Studio was used to include the power point and the Camtasia Relay video into one product. Finally. Adobe premier was used to record audio and develop the timing of the final product.

What did you learn during the development process of the final product?
 I learned that communication is critical to the success of a project of this nature. Just getting started on the is project took some time in itself. With three busy people trying to collaborate, it was difficult to make time. This is how we came up with the idea for the project in the first place. Using Google docs was helpful in this process as it allowed us to work on the same document at the same time. We also had an Adobe connect meeting during this process to work on some details and refine ideas. It is also essential that there be a timeline with very defined roles within the group. This way, everyone knows what they are responsible for and when. Without these, the project would just be adrift at see and group members would become frustrated.

What would you do differently if you had to develop a similar product again?
I would schedule meeting dates and times at the very beginning of the project. I would also try to schedule a "done" date two days before the deadline and map out the completion goals accordingly to allow time for a review and edit by all members before submitting the project. It would also be nice if there were on online video editing software that would allow members to review, edit and add to the project instead of the old way of e-mailing files back and forth.

Professional Learning Plan

This is the link to a Flash video in which I describe my professional learning plan in a Popplet format using Camtasia Relay.

1)What were some of the online resources that you found that were really helpful? If so what were they and how were they helpful?

     I found MACUL Space and the multitude of ideas present there to be very helpful. I picked up on a number of helpful tips such as Popplet which I used for this presentation and recommend to teachers as well as students for presentations.

2) Did you find any other online communities that could provide resourceful information? If so what were they and how were they helpful?

     I have also been involved with Twitter, Blogger, and Facebook. They each have their own unique uses. Twitter allows be to follow leaders in educational and technology fields so I can stay current as well as get advice. Blogger has allowed me to share my ideas as well as receive helpful comments and see what others are doing in their classrooms. I have used Facebook to maintain professional relationship, make new contacts and get help when I need it.

3) What strategies were helpful for trying to learn a new technology?

     I have leaned a great deal by collaborating with my peers. Working with a team has allowed me to see my strengths and work on my weaknesses. For example, the group project has shown me that I have leadership and organizational skill and that I need to work on my video editing as well as production skills. Specifically, I need to get on the habit of writing scripts and story boards instead of just making them on the fly to increase the quality and effectiveness of my presentations.

4) How does working with others (verses working alone) support you in your own learning?

     I have been fortunate to work with team mates that have professional video production experience and have been able to witness the effectiveness of a well planned and enthusiastic video.

5) How will you use this experience to support your own lifelong learning of technology?

     Now I know what I need to work on and this gives me purpose and direction as I move forward. I plan to make a  checklist for an effective video production. I need to work on making my voice overs more engaging and energetic to better capture my audience. I also need to learn how to take advantage of my video editing software options to include more interesting visual effects. I have signed up for a screen cast camp through TechSmith Aug 3-5. It is a free camp, maybe I will see you there!

Group Leadership Project Part B- Script and Story Board
As part of this project, I helped to choose the technology we would demonstrate, research the technology, and create a demonstration of this technology in use as well as help develop the script for this demonstration. The final work will be provided in a video format for the class to watch. This video will include the advantages of the technology, a demo of its use and practical applications for this technology.

Wicked Problem Project: Part D - Findings and Implications

Formative - there was a dissapointing rate of participation among the test group. 22% of the test group provided parent feedback. This could be imporved by making a confirmed contact with the parents.

Summative -  The data is inconclusive at this point. Such a low sample size limits the accuracy of this study. However, the data collected is promising.

Future projects- with such a small window of time, I would try to limit the time of the study to just one or two days. This woud allow time to follow up on any missing data. I would also limit the data collection method to one that is more controlable than waiting to e-mail repsonses.

Lessons- parents appreciate teacher contact, e-mail is a poor data collection method for a study and educators should continue to find ways to engage parents in their students education.

Adjustments - Next fall I plan to send home a parent letter explaing the classes online component. On that letter I will also have a place for the parent to write down their prefered method of class updates and prefered method of direct teacher contact. I think it is important to make this distinction because each parent has their unique preferences and available technologies. In order for the class updates to be susstainable, I will have to limit this option to e-mails. Direct contact could be through e-mail, text or phone.

Wicked Problem Project Part C - Implementation

Here is my Vodcast documenting my project and results.

Mobile Learning
I have seen some success with allowing students to use smartphones like iPhones in class. They are able to check their grades on the the schools grade program and they are able to access class materials through Moodle. This has allowed be to start flipping my classroom. Students also have access to the internet at all times which allows them to search topics we are discussing.

However, these devices can be very distracting for high school teenagers. From their phones they can go to you tube, text, listen to music, surf the net, update their Facebook and check their e-mail. Why would they do a chemistry assignment? I have issued detentions and taken away phones, but the problem persists. Some students are addicted to the instant gratification and social interacts that their phones offer them. Asking them to stick with something they would rather not be doing seems a bit naive. It is not my intent here to be pessimistic. Rather, to be realistic and proactive. If my performance is going to be tied to student achievement then I will need to be sure they spend every I have them productively without constantly policing them. So for now I would have to say I do not support the use of cell phones in class.

I would like to see some examples of classroom policies that have been successful. I looked for them on classroom 2.0 but only found acceptable use policies that did not mention discipline. I Google Cell Phone Policy and had 42,000,000 hits. I saw a lot of articles supporting their use in class, but no mention of how their use was monitored or controlled.