TECHNOLOGY AND ACTION RESEARCH IDEAS

As I ponder the upcoming school year, my class, and school climate, I'm interested in a few topics for action research.  First, I would like to see if Promethean Boards with interactive lessons truly increase learning.  Technology like this can be a huge expense for schools.  I plan on doing research on my classes.  For example, I would teach one class a concept using the Promethean Board and interactive flip charts.  Then, teach a different class the same concept but use only traditional methods.  I would use assessments and quizzes for data.  This research would benefit future decisions regarding technology investments and also, benefit teachers as they plan lessons.

Developing a classroom website can be an exciting but time consuming project for teachers. Is it worth it?  I would like to research the effectiveness of a classroom website on parent involvement.  Right now, our school is struggling with parent involvement.  I’m interested to see if parents would use a class website to stay connected with their child’s school life.  Currently, teachers in my school do not utilize class websites.  I would create the website for my class and use my students’ parents as a source of data in the form of views, comments, and surveys.  I teach three classes of seventy students.  My findings would benefit other teachers who are considering website communication.  At the conclusion, I could also do a professional development around creating a class website.  This information might open a door to a new way of communicating with parents.

Some teachers are resistant to using technology in the classroom. Many teachers view technology as "just playing" or "entertainment."  I confess, I've had these thoughts myself.  But technology is here to stay, and when embraced, it's exciting to think about the possibilities.   I would like to see if professional development increases technology usage among teachers.  I am constantly discovering new ways to implement technology into my lessons.   I would enjoy sharing these ideas with other teachers in a series of professional developments.  For example, I would lead professional development on using blogs, Tagxedo, Animoto, Newseum and Promethean tools.    Data in the form of pre and post surveys as well as teacher interviews will show if the professional development was effective.  This knowledge would impact future decisions regarding professional development. It's exciting to realize that educational technology opens the door to a wealth of action research ideas.