CYCLE 2
Will using Edmodo for collaborative work simplify group work
for my students and clearly map out the duties of each
group member, thus resulting in a higher quality
and more collaborative end result?
for my students and clearly map out the duties of each
group member, thus resulting in a higher quality
and more collaborative end result?
ACTION:
In my cycle two, I wanted to take the integration of social media in the classroom a step further and explore its collaborative tools and capabilities. I also wanted to test how different students would approach the challenge of collaboration in different ways. To do this, I decided to assign a large-scale group project. Students would have time to work on this assignment in class, but most of the work would have to be done out of class. It remained up to the group members to decide how to go about organizing their work, communicating with each other, and working on shared files from home.
The steps I took were the following:
· Step 1: I assigned my students a collaborative project. The guidelines for the assignment were as follows:
Collaborative Assignment:
In a group of 2-3, you have to do the following:
1. Invent a product or service, the newer and out of the ordinary the better! (Monday, October 31)
2. Come up with a name for your product or service.
3. In about 80 words tell me... Who are you? What is the purpose of your company? What is it you wish to accomplish? (November 1)
4. Come up with a logo, colors, and image for your company. (November 15)
5. Effectively bring all your ideas and images together. Come up with a marketing campaign that includes (December 6)
- one page ad in a magazine (text and images)
- 15 second radio spot
- 30 second TV commercial
· Step 2: I made sub-groups within our DigME Edmodo group for each group working together. They named their groups, and only the group members and I had access to the information posted there. Other group members were not able to access anything posted in these sub-groups. This way I could monitor their progress and make suggestions if need be. Also, it made it simpler to have everything for the group in one place as opposed to having all the groups post on the main page and making it difficult to find certain things when necessary. In essence, these sub-groups became a kind of shared drop box of sorts, and their main source of communication and place of collaboration.
EVIDENCE:
Groups used Edmodo to "turn in" not only their assignments, but also the progress and thinking which led to the end product. The discussions they had in regards to what they were doing, how they were going to go about doing it, and other details were also all there for me to see and evaluate. It was an interesting insight into some of the groups thinking and progress. Figure 2.1 is a screenshot of one of the sub-groups page and illustrates how much information they stored on their page and what kind of communication they had with each other.
In my cycle two, I wanted to take the integration of social media in the classroom a step further and explore its collaborative tools and capabilities. I also wanted to test how different students would approach the challenge of collaboration in different ways. To do this, I decided to assign a large-scale group project. Students would have time to work on this assignment in class, but most of the work would have to be done out of class. It remained up to the group members to decide how to go about organizing their work, communicating with each other, and working on shared files from home.
The steps I took were the following:
· Step 1: I assigned my students a collaborative project. The guidelines for the assignment were as follows:
Collaborative Assignment:
In a group of 2-3, you have to do the following:
1. Invent a product or service, the newer and out of the ordinary the better! (Monday, October 31)
2. Come up with a name for your product or service.
3. In about 80 words tell me... Who are you? What is the purpose of your company? What is it you wish to accomplish? (November 1)
4. Come up with a logo, colors, and image for your company. (November 15)
5. Effectively bring all your ideas and images together. Come up with a marketing campaign that includes (December 6)
- one page ad in a magazine (text and images)
- 15 second radio spot
- 30 second TV commercial
· Step 2: I made sub-groups within our DigME Edmodo group for each group working together. They named their groups, and only the group members and I had access to the information posted there. Other group members were not able to access anything posted in these sub-groups. This way I could monitor their progress and make suggestions if need be. Also, it made it simpler to have everything for the group in one place as opposed to having all the groups post on the main page and making it difficult to find certain things when necessary. In essence, these sub-groups became a kind of shared drop box of sorts, and their main source of communication and place of collaboration.
EVIDENCE:
Groups used Edmodo to "turn in" not only their assignments, but also the progress and thinking which led to the end product. The discussions they had in regards to what they were doing, how they were going to go about doing it, and other details were also all there for me to see and evaluate. It was an interesting insight into some of the groups thinking and progress. Figure 2.1 is a screenshot of one of the sub-groups page and illustrates how much information they stored on their page and what kind of communication they had with each other.
Figure 2.1 Screenshot of a sub-group and its correspondence/collaboration with each other and with me.
The group “Double Trouble” started off with a pretty clear idea of what their product was going to be, but a not so clear idea of how to present or advertise it. Through a short dialogue with each other, they were able to come up with an idea that they were both happy with and that I was able to comment on as well.
In addition to group members being able to communicate with each other and with me, this kind of correspondence was also a great way for me to track the amount of work each group and group member was contributing throughout the process. This allowed me the opportunity to intervene and encourage certain individuals to work harder, to change direction if necessary, and any other kinds of observations as they came about.
EVALUATION:
Edmodo served as a great tool to collect, analyze, and grade the group work that was due. When students were presenting the work in class, some of them had difficulty finding their saved work on their laptops and directly went to Edmodo because they knew they had a direct link to it from there. Edmodo made their work accessible from any place with an Internet connection.
The addition of the sub-groups within our main group was beneficial as well. When each group presented, their work was all in one place and easy for them to access. It was also easy for me to review and grade their work as a group. But most of all, students were able to communicate with each other feely and privately without fear of judgment by their peers early on in the process.
Unfortunately, ease of use is not always an indicator of success. To evaluate the effectiveness of Edmodo on collaborative work in my class, I looked at the following four criteria:
1. The frequency of each group members post within the sub-group.
Creating or providing a collaborative space is a good start, but is not enough. Just because I provided my students with a place to communicate and collaborate, it does not mean that all students will take advantage of the opportunity and do so. In fact some did not. At the end of the project, I went back and looked at each group’s posts and quantified the number of posts/responses each group made. Table 2.1 illustrates each of the 8 groups and the number of posts and responses they had. Some groups utilized Edmodo far more than others. Note that the groups 1,3, and 6 who had only 4-5 posts were the groups who handed in their assignment links only. There was no evidence of dialogue or collaboration seen on their group page.
In addition to group members being able to communicate with each other and with me, this kind of correspondence was also a great way for me to track the amount of work each group and group member was contributing throughout the process. This allowed me the opportunity to intervene and encourage certain individuals to work harder, to change direction if necessary, and any other kinds of observations as they came about.
EVALUATION:
Edmodo served as a great tool to collect, analyze, and grade the group work that was due. When students were presenting the work in class, some of them had difficulty finding their saved work on their laptops and directly went to Edmodo because they knew they had a direct link to it from there. Edmodo made their work accessible from any place with an Internet connection.
The addition of the sub-groups within our main group was beneficial as well. When each group presented, their work was all in one place and easy for them to access. It was also easy for me to review and grade their work as a group. But most of all, students were able to communicate with each other feely and privately without fear of judgment by their peers early on in the process.
Unfortunately, ease of use is not always an indicator of success. To evaluate the effectiveness of Edmodo on collaborative work in my class, I looked at the following four criteria:
1. The frequency of each group members post within the sub-group.
Creating or providing a collaborative space is a good start, but is not enough. Just because I provided my students with a place to communicate and collaborate, it does not mean that all students will take advantage of the opportunity and do so. In fact some did not. At the end of the project, I went back and looked at each group’s posts and quantified the number of posts/responses each group made. Table 2.1 illustrates each of the 8 groups and the number of posts and responses they had. Some groups utilized Edmodo far more than others. Note that the groups 1,3, and 6 who had only 4-5 posts were the groups who handed in their assignment links only. There was no evidence of dialogue or collaboration seen on their group page.
Table 2.1 Frequency of group posts and interaction.
2. The quality of posts and responses of each group member.
Looking at Table 2.1, one might think group 5 utilized Edmodo best and probably was most successful as a result. But that was not necessarily the case. I went back and qualified each post as ‘significant to the assignment’ or more of a ‘social kind of interaction’. Table 2.2 illustrates that it was in fact a tie between Groups 4 and 5 that had the most significant quality of posts.
Looking at Table 2.1, one might think group 5 utilized Edmodo best and probably was most successful as a result. But that was not necessarily the case. I went back and qualified each post as ‘significant to the assignment’ or more of a ‘social kind of interaction’. Table 2.2 illustrates that it was in fact a tie between Groups 4 and 5 that had the most significant quality of posts.
Table 2.2 Significant Posts by groups
I tried to understand why some groups posted and responded far more than others, and I also tried to understand why some group’s quality of posts/responses seemed far more significant than others. After a brief informal survey, I realized there were a few key factors involved. First off it had to do with the group members. One of the groups consisted of two students who have really been doing the bare minimum in order to just pass. Another group consisted of two friends who apparently got into a big argument at the start of the project and could not seem to get over their differences; therefore, communication was at a minimum. It was because of such like things that made the groups differ significantly in their involvement and use of Edmodo for this assignment.
1. My own evaluation of the end product based on the correspondence on the group’s page.
The next step was to evaluate the quality of the work and see if there was any real correlation between the end product and the number and quality of posts and responses. I first evaluated the end product and graded each group on their quality of work and how well they followed the directions of the assignment. Then I went back and looked at their posts and correspondence with each other to see what kind of things they were communicating about. Were their posts just links to things? Were they just deciding on what direction to go with the assignment? Or were they actually editing and actively working on their project via Edmodo?
With the exception of group 1 and 3, most of the groups did very well. But it was no surprise that it was group 2, 4, 5, and 8 who received an A on their assignment. Not only did they communicate more often than the other groups, the kind communication was relevant and “showed the work.”
2. Feedback from a student survey.
At the end of the assignment and at the end of the semester, I had the students take a short survey about their experience with Edmodo in relation to this assignment. I asked them only two questions:
1. Did you find Edmodo a helpful tool in the assignment?
2. Do you think it would have been easier to complete the assignment without the use of Edmodo?
Table 2.3 documents the results of the survey. Most students found Edmodo a useful tool and thought it made completing the assignment easier. Only 4 students were generally ambivalent about the use of Edmodo. However the same 4 students have had an ambivalent attitude toward the class in general.
1. My own evaluation of the end product based on the correspondence on the group’s page.
The next step was to evaluate the quality of the work and see if there was any real correlation between the end product and the number and quality of posts and responses. I first evaluated the end product and graded each group on their quality of work and how well they followed the directions of the assignment. Then I went back and looked at their posts and correspondence with each other to see what kind of things they were communicating about. Were their posts just links to things? Were they just deciding on what direction to go with the assignment? Or were they actually editing and actively working on their project via Edmodo?
With the exception of group 1 and 3, most of the groups did very well. But it was no surprise that it was group 2, 4, 5, and 8 who received an A on their assignment. Not only did they communicate more often than the other groups, the kind communication was relevant and “showed the work.”
2. Feedback from a student survey.
At the end of the assignment and at the end of the semester, I had the students take a short survey about their experience with Edmodo in relation to this assignment. I asked them only two questions:
1. Did you find Edmodo a helpful tool in the assignment?
2. Do you think it would have been easier to complete the assignment without the use of Edmodo?
Table 2.3 documents the results of the survey. Most students found Edmodo a useful tool and thought it made completing the assignment easier. Only 4 students were generally ambivalent about the use of Edmodo. However the same 4 students have had an ambivalent attitude toward the class in general.
Table 2.3 Student Responses to End of Semester Survey
REFLECTION:
After Cycle One, I was determined to find more uses for Edmodo than just as a social forum with the edition of a gradebook feature. I know I purposely started off slow to get both myself and the students accustomed to the use of Edmodo as a part of the class, but I felt like there was more to it that I needed to explore. I thought long and hard about what the true purpose of Edmodo might have been when creating it. My thoughts immediately went to the idea of collaboration. So I began to think of ways to use Edmodo to encourage collaboration and see exactly how successful it would be in that effort.
I thought that both collaborating on a project and contributing to the class in some way, would encourage usage of Edmodo, and in turn, engage the students further into the class. The entire idea of my Action Research was to see how I could draw students into their lessons more and genuinely have them want to work harder and do better.
Using Edmodo for group projects and creating sub-groups within our class definitely made things easier and quicker to work on and access. However, more than that, what Edmodo truly provided was an opportunity for students to become more invested in their work and to take charge in getting to the next step. I simply gave them the assignment and told them they could use Edmodo as a means to communicate with each other. Some groups did not fully utilize Edmodo to its fullest potential. However, some did. They used it as a place to communicate their ideas, receive feedback on their progress from me, and work on files from home and school, and any other place they needed to. A majority of the class used Edmodo voluntarily and at their discretion to get the assignment done. But of course there are always some students who do not utilize tools at their disposal or do they care to deviate from what they are used to.
All in all, I think Cycle two was in line with my expectations. I knew which students would not really take advantage of Edmodo based on their work ethic and past behavior and attitude. The rest did take advantage of Edmodo, some in its basic form (collecting assignments for grading purposes) and some on a higher level (communicating, editing, collaborating). I look forward to continuing the use of Edmodo for collaborative and other assignments.
At this point, thinking about Cycle Three, I want to see how I can take all of this to the next step. I can definitely give the students a new assignment to work on, but I am thinking of exploring another aspect of Edmodo in the classroom. I will have a co-teacher in this class who will be teaching the students specifically about photography. I want to incorporate the presence of this new teacher into the class and see how we can use Edmodo as a means of communication with each other and the class and perhaps even utilize Edmodo as a class management tool.
After Cycle One, I was determined to find more uses for Edmodo than just as a social forum with the edition of a gradebook feature. I know I purposely started off slow to get both myself and the students accustomed to the use of Edmodo as a part of the class, but I felt like there was more to it that I needed to explore. I thought long and hard about what the true purpose of Edmodo might have been when creating it. My thoughts immediately went to the idea of collaboration. So I began to think of ways to use Edmodo to encourage collaboration and see exactly how successful it would be in that effort.
I thought that both collaborating on a project and contributing to the class in some way, would encourage usage of Edmodo, and in turn, engage the students further into the class. The entire idea of my Action Research was to see how I could draw students into their lessons more and genuinely have them want to work harder and do better.
Using Edmodo for group projects and creating sub-groups within our class definitely made things easier and quicker to work on and access. However, more than that, what Edmodo truly provided was an opportunity for students to become more invested in their work and to take charge in getting to the next step. I simply gave them the assignment and told them they could use Edmodo as a means to communicate with each other. Some groups did not fully utilize Edmodo to its fullest potential. However, some did. They used it as a place to communicate their ideas, receive feedback on their progress from me, and work on files from home and school, and any other place they needed to. A majority of the class used Edmodo voluntarily and at their discretion to get the assignment done. But of course there are always some students who do not utilize tools at their disposal or do they care to deviate from what they are used to.
All in all, I think Cycle two was in line with my expectations. I knew which students would not really take advantage of Edmodo based on their work ethic and past behavior and attitude. The rest did take advantage of Edmodo, some in its basic form (collecting assignments for grading purposes) and some on a higher level (communicating, editing, collaborating). I look forward to continuing the use of Edmodo for collaborative and other assignments.
At this point, thinking about Cycle Three, I want to see how I can take all of this to the next step. I can definitely give the students a new assignment to work on, but I am thinking of exploring another aspect of Edmodo in the classroom. I will have a co-teacher in this class who will be teaching the students specifically about photography. I want to incorporate the presence of this new teacher into the class and see how we can use Edmodo as a means of communication with each other and the class and perhaps even utilize Edmodo as a class management tool.