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- 1. Action Research ProjectFull Sail University By: Pamela Hickman
- 2. Introduction:Enhancing Communication in the Classroom Using an E-learning Platform
- 3. Literature Review Web 2.0 Tools and Technology, How to Use it Effectively E-Learning and How it is a Growing Trend Moodle and as a Useful Tool in the Classroom
- 4. Methodology Cycle 1-Survey Classroom Observations Blogs Chats Forums Cycle 2-Survey Classroom Observation
- 5. Results
- 7. Conclusion
Editor's Notes
- The purpose of my action research is teach students how to appropriately and professionally communicate using technology. I set-up a Moodle page for my students. On my Moodle page students have the option to chat, blog, and contribute to classroom forums. I am a business teacher and the business department at school has advisory committee meeting twice a year with business people in the community. The business people give us feedback on what our students are lacking in the workplace, and proper communication was the main topic.I began by asking what would happen if I created an e-learning platform for my page how would it help communication between the student and teacher? Would it help open the channels of communication? I hope to demonstrate how I am improving my practice as well as how I can contribute to the body of literature about using technology in the classroom. I hope that my study will beneficial to not only myself but to others in my profession.
- My literature review examined three main topics Web 2.0 Tools and Technology, How to Use it Effectively: Web 2.0 tools and instructional technologies can help teachers make topics in classrooms relevant to students. According to author Les Pang, Web 2.0 tools allow the students to collaborate and have real world applications of what they are learning in the classroom. E-Learning and How it is a Growing Trend: E-learning is very popular in colleges and universities. Teamwork that is conducted through E-learning helps to build classmate relationships of trust, openness, and confidence with team members, which can lead to a more productive team (Jameson, Ferrell, Kelly, Walker, & Ryan, 2006).Moodle and as a Useful Tool in the Classroom: Moodle is an acronym that stands for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Kok, 2008). Moodle allows the teacher to set-up chats, blogs, and forums that allow teachers and students to collaborate and become engaged in new technology (Kok). Moodle also allows students to communicate and learn in a socially conducive environment. “Therefore, Moodle is often seen as contributing to the schools’ mandates for the delivery of high-quality education through the provision of a complete set of tools” (Kok, 2008, p. 87). Moodle is also open-source software, so districts really enjoy the software because it is highly functional and cost effective. A teacher in El Paso, Texas tried to use MySpace as the classroom e-learning and it was quickly realized that MySpace was neither effective nor appropriate for the 8th grade class. The El Paso Texas school district adopted Moodle as an appropriate e-learning platform. The same teacher moved all course work to Moodle and the students and parents are more open to using the e-learning platform (Trotter, 2008). She offers workshops within her school district to share her knowledge with other teachers. Moodle only cost a school district one dollar per user annually (Trotter). Moodle is a cost effective way to cut the cost of supply budgets and is a way to integrate technology and web 2.0 tools into the classroom.
- Cycle One data was collected in August 2010 using a survey. The data will reflect the student’s prior knowledge of communicating within Moodle. The survey questions were derived from the combination of projects, activities, and media activities that were used in class to see how well the students could navigate through Moodle. Along with the survey data I observed my students to see how they would communicate using Moodle. Many students picked up on the in classroom chat and started collaborating immediately about classroom projects.During Cycle Two, the research changed slightly. Cycle one focused more on how many students had ever used Moodle in a prior class. Cycle one revealed that most students were familiar with Moodle and had used it in a prior class. Cycle two was a survey that was given to the students the last day of the first semester. The purpose of Cycle two was to see if Moodle helped the students to communicated appropriately and professionally in a business classroom environment. E-learning platforms are becoming a growing trend in high school education as well as the business world. As a business teacher I feel that it is my job to prepare my students for the workplace and industry standard technologies, so that they are better equipped for the work environment. Ultimately, by using a E-learning platform will teach students the appropriate way to communicate with with each other so that they will hopefully be successful employees in the workplace.
- I will not share all of my data results with you but here is one important data question that I would like to share.“Do you feel like you have improved your own communication skills by the use of Moodle?”I found it very astonishing that 34% of my students felt that their communication skills improved during the semester by using an E-learning platform.
- Not only did my students feel that their communications skills improved but 33% felt that professional communication skills are important for school and the workplace. As a business educator it is part of our job to teach professional communication skills to students so using an E-learning platform is one tool that you could use in your classroom to order to teach proper communication skills.
- My AR project is about improving communication within the classroom through the use of the E-learning platform Moodle. My literature review was simply reviewing other professional’s studies about E-learning platforms, Web 2.0 tools, and other technologies to see if their studies were relevant resources to reinforce my AR project. My methods of collecting data included surveys for Cycle 1 and 2 to see the students understanding of Moodle, as well as, observations of the student behavior within the classroom. Once data was collected and analyzed the results showed that students were communicating better with their peers and teacher. This AR project shows the study was successful and I will continue to use an E-learning platform within my classroom.