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Synthesis and development of inquiry
-looked at areas of possible implementation of digital technologies in the French immersion classroom
-decided I wanted to examine the subject area of Language Arts, specifically the writing process and ways to engage students by using digital apps and programs -
Inquiry proposal submission and presentation
-submitted inquiry proposal to Dr. Stephen Petrina
-presented inquiry including supporting background information, key terms and ethical issues to DLC3 cohort -
Exploration of digital writing apps and programs
-worked and experimented with a variety of writing apps and programs to see what could work in the primary French immersion classroom setting
-continued until May 2016 -
Submission of restatement of inquiry
-submitted my restatement to Dr. Stephen Petrina
-chose 2 specific apps (Popplet and Padlet) and one program (Kidspiration) that would be used during the inquiry -
Submission of Literature Review
-completion of review of literature for inquiry with a focus on two key terms: emotional engagement and interactivity -
Refinement of student project framework for inquiry
-using a Science unit on eco-systems and biomes that the students were already working within, I designed a research project that incorporated the two apps (Popplet and Padlet) and one computer program (Kidspiration) that could be used in a sequential and logical order to develop their non-fiction, informational writing skills -
Parent information letter and permission form distributed
-sent out letter to parents explaining the background of my research project
-requested parent consent for children's work and feedback to be included in the digital writing inquiry -
Proposal for research submitted to school district
-submitted a detailed proposal to the school district explaining the details of the inquiry, ethical considerations and measures that had been taken (notifying administration, requesting and receiving parent permission, protection of students' identities and privacy) -
Pre-inquiry questionnaire with students
- before initiation of the project, had students fill in a questionnaire regarding their enjoyment levels of traditional writing methods to collect both qualitative and quantitative data
- also collected data to see which students already had experience with digital writing apps and programs
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Introduction of first app: Popplet
-had students work in groups to engage in a post-field trip brainstorm activity using the Popplet app to explore the keyboard and French writing features (accents, punctuation symbols)
-realized that they needed to work with the apps individually to gain better levels of interactivity and understanding -
Students continued working with Popplet app
-students used the Popplet app as a brainstorming tool for their research questions on a specific global biome
-once research questions were completed they used books and websites to attach key words to these questions
-the key words would then be used in the next program (Kidspiration) to answer their questions in an organized manner -
Popplet post-app questionnaire
-after completing brainstorming of questions and key words for their projects, students were asked to complete a questionnaire about their experience using Popplet for non-fiction writing
-students were asked about what they liked about the app, what they found difficult and then to give their level of enjoyment of the writing process when using Popplet using a given rating scale and then say why they felt this way -
Students began working with Kidspiration program
-students used the computer program, Kidspiration to answer their synthesized research questions in paragraph format
-students used their key words to guide and assist in the organization of their writing
-once they had finished the editing process, they published their paragraphs and brainstorm web in Microsoft word
-there was a 2 week winter break during this time span (December 17, 2016-January 2, 2017) when students were not working with the program -
Kidspiration post-app questionnaire
-after using Kidspiration for their biome projects to create paragraph answers to their brainstormed questions, students were asked to complete a questionnaire about their experience using Kidspiration for non-fiction writing
-students were asked about what they liked about the program, what they found difficult and then to give their level of enjoyment of the writing process when using Kidspiration using a given rating scale and then say why they felt this way -
Students began working with Padlet App
-students worked with the Padlet app to upload their visuals and create informative captions in their biome projects
-students' Popplet webs and published Kidspiration paragraphs were also uploaded onto Padlet so they could also write descriptive captions about the steps and process of their biome projects and create a summative visual presentation of the steps of their work (Popplet, Kidspiration, and Padlet) -
Padlet post-app questionnaire
-after using Padlet to create descriptive captions for the visual elements of their biome projects, students were asked to complete a questionnaire about their experience using Padlet for non-fiction writing
-students were asked about what they liked about the app, what they found difficult and then to give their level of enjoyment of the writing process when using Padlet using a given rating scale and then say why they felt this way -
Inquiry summation questionnaire
-after completing the biome project using the two digital apps and one computer program, the students were asked if they liked non-fiction writing more, the same, or less than traditional writing methods (using pencil and paper) and were asked to explain why -
Data analysis
-translated student questionnaire answers from French to English to be included into final paper
-translated master copies of questionnaires from French to English for appendices
-looked for similar themes in qualitative data (paragraph responses from students in questionnaires) and translated
-created charts and graphs of translated French quantitative data (rating scale responses)
-continued until March 15 -
Compiled and summarized findings into final paper and presentation
-summarizied and made conclusions based off of findings, looked at limitations of research, areas of further development for this inquiry
-prepared final visual and oral presentation of inquiry
