Our Course Project Research | WordPress for Educators | EDTE 282 & 283
Standards too, and links to PDFs.
Group 5 • 282 & 283 Final Project
Our Annotated Bibliography
Download the 5 page PDF of our Bibliography
Research Introduction:
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, by the end of 2004, blogs established themselves as a key part of online culture. At that time, 8 million people indicated they had created a blog and 32 million Americans were blog readers. As we advance 5 years forward to 2009, the numbers for blog utility have increased for sure. Since web 2.0 technologies, the Internet and social networking are fairly recent, the amount of research to support how blogs can facilitate collaboration in education is limited. (Wang & Hsua, 2008). However, a fare amount of studies and research has been conducted that examines the shared, engaging, creative and positive effects of blogs in classrooms for improved learning.
The instructional unit that our group will present takes into consideration the relevance of technology to curriculum. Providing a professional development experience which helps teachers to engage in real and relevant learning for themselves is necessary if they are going to be able to provide their own students with learning opportunities, which will encourage deep learning and conceptual and procedural understanding. (Stein, Ginns, & McDonald, 2007). Our tool of choice is free and easy to use, platform neutral and completely web-based; our training is hands-on. All the essential information for instant deployment is self-contained on our website for use during the training and also once it’s completed. Content is provided in a variety of modalities (written text, videos, online exemplars and downloadable pdfs), which considers multiple learning styles. Participants that successfully complete our training can become future resources for colleagues. Many teachers find training more valuable when they can use it immediately. Our staff development training will provide this opportunity.
Below is research that supports creating our instructional staff development unit called WordPress for Educators or simply wp4edu.
Annotated Bibliography:
Block, D. (2007). Investing in Staff Development Pays Off. [Feature]. Adult Basic Education and Literacy, 1(3), 154-156.
This article summarizes the challenges and successes the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council (GPLC) faced when implementing its current staff development system. Essentially the organization did not have money, time or volunteer resources. The success of its staff development implementation was due to setting aside time for training, devoting 1% of the budget to staff development, and offering networking and training opportunities to volunteers. Over time, GPLC developed its own cadre of in-house experts to offer training. A couple global concepts from this article that can be applied to any staff development program are that staff development helps reduce staff turnover and the quality of services provided in an organization will continually improve.
Churchill, D. (2009). Educational Applications of Web 2.0: Using Blogs to Support Teaching and Learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(1), 179-83. Retrieved November 3, 2009, from Education Full Text database.
This research article was supported by a grant project at the University of Hong Kong called “Pioneering Web 2.0 in Education’. Daniel Churchill conducted a study to explore how blog usage could supplement classroom teaching and lead to an improved learning experience in a class of post-graduate students. It is suggested that students can use blogs to publish their own writing, discuss group assignments, peer review each other’s work, collaborate on projects and manage their digital portfolios. Data was collected over a one-semester period through observation and blog use analysis, teacher reflection and student interviews and questionnaires. The results from the study demonstrated that blogs can be effective educational technology and useful blog-based activities for learning are reading blogs of others, receiving comments and previewing the tasks of others and reading feedback received. Other findings revealed that students were encouraged to blog through regular learning tasks that require students to present outcomes in their blogs, by making blogs an assessment requirement, and by teachers who engage in regular blogging.
Godwin-Jones, R. (2003). Emerging Technologies, Blogs and Wikis: Environments for online collaboration. Language, Learning & Technology, 7(2), 12-16, Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://llt.msu.edu/vol7num2/emerging/.
Author Robert Godwin-Jones is Professor and Associate Director of the School of World Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. He examines blogs and wikis as tools for online collaboration for professionals and learners. His article initially addresses first generation web tools such as email and discussion forums as necessary for classroom written exchange. Peer-to-peer networking and buddy learning have been central to constructivist learning and made discussion forums prominent in web courses. Some educators have embraced using synchronous chat communication tools that mimic spoken language and afford transcripts. Per the author, blogs (second generation tools) have sparked the most intense interest in recent years. Godwin-Jones continues to tout the benefits of using blogs (and wikis) in education such as for on-line personal journals, writing for readers beyond classmates, collaboration, and encouraging ownership and responsibility. He also mentions that no knowledge of HTML is necessary to create a blog. The article offers a complete resource list including templates, classroom blogs including one for use in ESL classes
Higdon, J., & Topaz, C. (2009). Blogs and Wikis as Instructional Tools: A Social Software Adaptation of Just-in-Time Teaching. College Teaching, 57(2), 105-110.
The authors discuss Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) methodologies, techniques that use web-based tools to gather student reactions to questions on pre-class reading assignments. Due to the technological requirements of JiTT and the subject matter specific character of the questions, it is revealed that some instructors may not be able to take advantage of such a system. The authors, Higdon and Topaz, talk about their JiTT implementation, which used public and free blog and wiki web 2.0 technologies and discipline-neutral pre-class questions. Their approach helped to foster deep, conceptual understanding of course material while helping to create learning environments that aligned with constructive learning.
Mason, R. (2006). Learning Technologies for Adult Continuing Education. Studies in Continuing Education, 28(2), 121-133.
The author discusses three technologies used in an adult continuing education Masters program: blogging, learning objects and e-portfolios. She reflects on their use and on the literature groundwork for their use, which forms the basis of her discussion. All three of these technologies were used to promote self-directed learning, reflection and learner choice in the activities undertaken. Although these technologies were very successful for the students in the author’s program discussed, the paper concludes that adult learners who take an online Masters program are not typical of all adult learners, much less all adults. These students are typically used to collaboration with peers and participating in discussions and seminars. The author also concludes that online continuing education can be an exciting and engaging experience for students and teachers.
Plair, S. K. (2008). Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and Fluency. Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 82, 70-74.
Author Sandra Kay Plair, MA, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Educational Policy, and Teacher Education at Michigan State University, East Lansing. She writes about the lack of continuity in staff development that teachers experience to develop the confidence and efficacy leading to technology fluency. Many veteran teachers struggling with technology will remain in the classroom for years and should be prepared to meet their students’ needs especially given federal legislation for K-12 and national technology plans. Veteran teachers are often resistant. After all, the author notes, we are asking them to infuse their content with what was once the exclusive purview of the mystifying computer teacher. This task is as distressing as asking that the pliers, hammers, and screwdrivers from woodshop be included in the English classroom. Many known barriers continue to prevail, not for lack of teachers' trying but because of the overwhelming nature of technology. Plair suggests staff development programs should restructure how teachers acquire educational technology knowledge so they complement and augment curriculum standards. She introduces the notion of the knowledge broker, who becomes an intermediary between the veteran teacher (often the least knowledgeable about technology) and constantly changing technological innovations. By matching teachers with local organizations or online social networking groups, the knowledge broker can provide valuable opportunities for teachers to continue learning about technology and increasing their fluency. The author contends that current staff development practices need a new phase after the workshops have ended and the basics become familiar or mastered.
Ramaswami, R. (2008). The Prose of Blogging (and a Few Cons, Too). T.H.E. Journal, 35(11), 21-25.
Rama Ramaswami is a business and technology writer based in Wilton, CT. He asks the question about what value is added to blogging and discusses what several educators are beginning to demonstrate. One educator, Barry Bachenheimer, in New Jersey showed in his study that blogging can improve students' writing skills by making them write more frequently and comment on one another's work. His findings were expanded upon by a study involving University of Florida pre-service teachers and published last year in the "Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education." "Collaborative Blogging as a Means to Develop Elementary Expository Writing Skills" examined the effects of collaboration via blogs between the pre-service teachers and third-grade students at a west central Florida school. This study provided evidence that blogging has positive effects on student writing.
Stein, S. J., Ginns, I. S., & McDonald, C. V. (2007). Teachers Learning about Technology and Technology Education: Insights from a Professional Development Experience. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 17(2), 179-195.
This article discusses a professional development experience aimed at assisting primary school teachers enhance their understanding of technology and technology education. Interviews, video recordings of the activities, teacher made models and extracts from reflective journals were used as data sources for the study. This study helped reveal how future training could be organized and implemented to best support educators’ development and understandings about technology and technology. It also highlighted pressures on teachers to ensure that education is preparing students for future participation in an advanced technological society. The authors suggest that providing a professional development experience which helps teachers to engage in real and relevant learning for themselves, and opportunities to engage in discussions about complex issues that enable them to reflect on what counts as knowledge within a learning area such as technology, gives them a chance to develop the more sophisticated views of teaching. This is necessary if they are going to be able to provide their own students with learning opportunities, which will encourage deep learning, conceptual and procedural understanding and generative thinking.
Wang, S., & Hsua, H. (2008). Reflections on Using Blogs to Expand In-class Discussion. [Feature]. TechTrends, 52(3), 81-85.
The authors of the article state that blogs can be interactive, facilitate collaboration on the web, and stimulate social interaction online in written form. They also mention that research that addresses how blogs can facilitate collaboration is scarce. Because blogs enable users to exchange ideas and share experiences, they are ideal forums for social constructivist learning. It is pointed out that most blogging systems are free and readily available to K-12 or higher education teachers. There is a discussion of pros and cons of blog features versus listservs, discussion boards and forums. The article continues with examining the use of blogs to develop in-class discussion in a teacher education program. The writers consider instructional needs, selection of blogging tool, pre-service teachers' perceptions and experiences, the instructor's perspective, issues and challenges, and lessons learned from the experience. Finally, they outline a number of strategies to facilitate blogging.
Williams, J., & Chinn, S. J. (2009). Using Web 2.0 to Support the Active Learning Experience. [Feature]. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20(2), 165-174.
Williams and Chinn state that focus on student engagement and active learning strategies are mainstream in classroom environments today. These topics are of great importance when teaching "net generation" students who have different learning styles and expectations. Their study highlights the challenges through the development of an interdisciplinary, active learning experience that increases information technology literacy of business students through the use of Web 2.0 tools. The authors ultimately ask whether information technology literacy skills can be effectively developed in an interdisciplinary setting and how does the development of an experiential learning activity enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. They discuss active learning literature and appropriate strategies to use with net generation learners.
The study revealed that increased student engagement was prevalent based on both instructor and student evaluations from the assignment. Additionally, assignment design features such as opportunities for exploration, analysis and feedback contributed to the level of connectivity.
Online Research Resources:
Pew Internet & American Life Project - http://www.pewinternet.org/
Education Leadership Toolkit - http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/
The Staff Development and Adult Learning Site - http://staffdevelop.org/index.html
National Staff Development Council (NSDC) - http://www.nsdc.org/index.cfm
