Jan 26 2007
Quantitative Statistics and Conclusions
Please check this page to see my initial statistical review of the questionnaires filled in by students.
As I suggested in my last post, the technique of trying to find out through questionnaire design if a technological innovation within the classroom is working, and effective in improving learning is very difficult. With younger students this became even more obvious as it is difficult for the students to understand what their learning is. What is a weblog for?
An obvious answer from Year 7 students when they were asked is the weblog fun, was simply of course not they are no games. What more did I expect. This carried through into Year 9 comments around how there should be more Flash animation. Although Year 9’s in particular those that are either less able or shall we say less successful within a school environment have shown the weblog to their parents as a way to say ‘look here this is what I have done isn’t it good’. Several comments relate to this which definitely suggests that some links and communication between what is going on in their ICT classroom and home has improved which is pleasing.
On the area of ‘digital fluency’ what the students are understanding that they are learning and getting out of using a weblog comes another surprise. It is almost only the Year 9 sample students that relate different skills including editing, posting, writing, podcasting, typing and so have an idea that maybe within the act of producing a learning object like a weblog the process itself involves a great deal of skills and learning.
The Year 9 group also came up with some more surprises and consensus when it came to online safety. Out of all the other students only 1 mentioned or even said they understood and were worried about online safety. The Year 9 students were not only worries and had thought the problems of the weblog through, but suggested ways to improve online safety. However they often suggested password protection and other intrusive protection techniques. Although one perceptive student suggested not using names at all, and one I will take on board from now on giving class students nicknames that can become there online names. This will not only be fun, but much safer in the long term.
On the issue of control KS3 students were very much behind having more control over their weblog and what it contained. And an issue that will need to be taken seriously if thinking in terms of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for weblog use and writing within schools. After the complete failure of using weblogs for logging progress and discussion with AS Applied ICT students, due to the fact that the students had little control over content even though they had complete control over construction.
Well enough for now, time to actually write some of this up within my assignment.
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