Research+Draft+Proposal

=MEDT 8484 Research Proposal= =Integration of Technology in the Literacy Classroom=

Overview/Introduction
The ability to read and write is a basic skill that all individuals must possess to live in our society successfully. (Citations?) To teach literacy skills is a challenge for even the most seasoned teachers. Many learning styles are possessed by our students and each of the styles must be addressed to ensure that the learning potential of each student is tapped. When preparing lessons, each teacher must consider the academic levels of each student and plan accordingly.

It is often the case in classrooms that instructors see that traditional basal readers do not fulfill the needs of some students; other means must be used. Writing skills are lacking in many classrooms due to boredom and lack of interest. As Johnson and Christensen (2008) state, teachers need to review research in order to make informed judgments about what course of action is needed to meet the needs of students. (Isn't this supposed to be in quotes?) Donaldson and Knupfer (2002) state that appropriately chosen technology has great potential in education.

The researcher will review various technologies that can be used in the reading classroom that enhance instruction. (Why?) Technology is able to engage students when teachers strive to obtain higher cognition levels from students (Donaldson and Knupfer, 2002). Technology is a very valuable tool in remediating and accelerating students’ literacy skills. Also, the researcher will research how effective technology is on student achievement. (Unclear -- need to rephrase plus more elaboration) Therefore, the topic of the study will be Technology Integration in the Literacy Classroom.

Literature Review
Various types of technology are being used by society today which makes it imperative that schools use technologies in the classrooms. (Citations) Children are more technology savvy now than ever before. (Citations) It is necessary to meet the students’ needs for learning in ways that engage and motivate. As technology interests increase in students, teachers must include technology as a part of the teaching curriculum. It is vital that educators are willing and knowledgeable in the field of technology in order to use technology effectively in the classroom. In discussing blogging in the classroom, Wang & Hsua (2008) used experiences of a teacher-education program. (Need to elaborate previous sentence before you jump to next sentence) They explain that blogging enables the teacher to facilitate in-depth discussion, encourages open communication among students who are uncomfortable sharing opinions with others, and encourages debates. Hofer & Swan (2006) noted in research of K-12 settings that technology brings challenges but it is well worth the effort in confronting the challanges. (in what subject areas) They explain that teachers’ attitudes and personal knowledge of technology affects how technology will be used in the classroom.

Labbo, Place, & Soares (2010) explain that technology in the classroom is not always effectively used. (Why) As the authors expressed, technology enables learning in new ways and is most effective when students choose tools for themselves that benefit their own learning. The authors emphasize that teachers must be thoughtful when integrating technology into the classroom. (Why) B oling (2008) found that teachers’ misconceptions affected the use of technology in the classroom.

There are some researchers who find, as a result of their studies, that actual scores do not exhibit a vast increase in academic achievement. (Citations) The studies (Which?) do show a vast increase in engagement and motivation. Studies have been conducted to see how technology affects student learning. (Citations) At the college level, students and in-service teachers have been part of research studies where educators learn from conceptions of teachers. (Citations) Ellison & Wu (2008) explained through a study for college students that students learn from others when using the blogs. Students were able to read and critique s peers’ work which benefitted all the students. (How about other technologies?)

There is information that reveals the need of more research on the capabilities of technology in reaching struggling readers. (Citations) Adolescents have been included in studies where statistics are suggesting that there is a crisis in reading abilities (Steinberg, Kaplan, & Borck (2007). The study revealed that students in Connecticut have much technology, but the technologies are not being used to benefit learning. As Steinberg, Kaplan, & Borck (2007) suggest, more research is needed to ensure appropriate programs are added to improve adolescent reading achievement. (Should this be in quotes?)

Elementary students have been included in studies that confirm using technology, such as podcasts in the literacy classroom, resulted in student engagement, (Borgia, 2009). Hernandez, Grimes, & Warschauer (2010) reported a study of a fourth-grade classroom and the use of laptops. The findings were that laptops benefit literary response and writing enhancements. A case study has been completed and has found that academic achievement has been affected with the use of a program, Make It- Take It After-School (Italics), and has found that the technology of the afternoon program increased performance and participation in learning (Amiri, 2009).

Some students’ needs are very difficult to fulfill. (Citations) Sometimes, technology is able to be used to meet the learning behaviors of those students. With the need for improvement in the field of reading in the elementary schools, research is being conducted that informs the reader of ways to reach struggling readers. (Citations) Elementary grade students in have been represented in research on technology use. (Citations) A study described by Borgia (2009) informed the reader that use of podcasts in fifth- grade reading classrooms improved student performance on vocabulary posttests. Also, students’ engagement was extensive. In a fourth-grade classroom, Barone & Wright (2008) write about effectiveness of technologies offering higher-learning opportunities. The authors also emphasized that challenges will be met when guiding students initially, but the results of technology use increases engagement and learning. In another fourth-grade classroom, Handsfield,Dean, & Cielocha (2009) describe a situation where fourth graders used technologies of Comic creator and Blogspot. Although, some limitations were discussed, one of the teachers found that after three years, 80% of her students had their own online spaces and were using Web 2.0 tools outside of school. Anderson & Balajthy (2009) described a second-grade classroom endeavor to use electronic text because of a lack of funds for books. The authors also presented a case of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classrooms using literature discussion blogs where students blogged about books read. They also described use of Accelerated Reader use for recreational reading.

Educators want to develop higher-order thinking skills in the classroom. (Citations) Educators have found that blogging enables students to improve communication skills, Zawilinski (2009). (APA format?) The author described four types of blogs and states that blogs, along with other new technologies, enhance higher order thinking skills. Huang & Liu (2007) describes blogging as a low cost and effective means to use in the literacy classroom. The authors’ research found that students gained confidence and learning. They found through the use of blogging, students were better able to communicate with classmates and teachers. Boling et.al (2008) described the use of blogging in a third-grade classroom where students were asked to respond to topics. In a fourth-grade classroom blogs were used to promote online literature discussions. Both teachers found that blogging was a productive way to increase participation and response.

Various technologies have been described in classroom teaching. (Seems incomplete) Some of the research shows that students are motivated and engaged; others show an improvement in achievement. (Citations) --> This is a jump -- needs a transition Blogging has been used in reading classroom studies which explain that response and participation have increase when using the technology tool. Blogging has been used in the reading classroom to enhance vocabulary knowledge, participation, and communication. Various research methods have been described, but very little quantitative studies have been reviewed. (which then cite) There is need of a direct quantitative study to find how blogging affects reading comprehension. (Why)

Research Problem
As Christiansen and Johnson (2008) state, a research problem that needs a solution must be identified. As the researcher reviewed material, the question was asked, “Does technology offer significant differences in learning, or are we adding unnecessary expense that does not add enough difference to warrant cost and attention. My direction for research is “Technology integration in the Literacy Classroom”. Also, as the research is conducted, the researcher will include ideas and reactions of teachers and students to technology. She will find some information on how teachers need to be prepared for the use of technology. The research question is, “How does blogging in the literacy classroom affect student achievement?”

Research Approach
The researcher will use an experimental quantitative approach. (Redundant?) Groups will be gathered based on several types of information (What) and then one instructor will be provided technology to present to one group and another group will be given instruction without the technology for the teaching of a unit. As the researcher looks at pretest and posttest, she will gather information to help her look at progress made by both groups. As Johnson and Christensen (2008) state on page 312, (Not necessary?) pretest-posttest control-group design is an excellent design. It involves two groups. One group is controlled and the other is experimental. The researcherI thinks research findings would be better if using this type of approach. (Is this align with your research question -- How is qualitative) If the researcher cannot collect similar data on two groups, she will have to fall back on quasi experimental, (You need to decide on an approach -- quantitative or qualitative) but at present, she thinks she will be able to justify groups to use in the pretest-posttest control-group design. The researcher is still thinking and studying which technology integration she will actually use. (Need to finalize this by making a decision) Blogging would probably be one chosen because she would like to see it used and find if the integration affects student learning.

Data
How does technology integration in the literacy classroom affect student learning? With this question in mind, the researcher will use blogging as the particular technology in the literacy classroom. (Why? What type of data will you collect?) She will use a pretest-posttest model. (This seems inconsistent with your research question) The researcher will use multigroup pretest and posttest. She will use blogging for one class (researcher’s own class) and use another teacher and classroom that does not use blogging. The researcher will ensure same academic levels, same material, and same pretests and posttests.She will conduct this same approach several times to get a good representation of score differences. (Need to rethink what do you really want to say here)

Data Collection Strategy
The research will involve fifth- grade students’ comprehension skills. (What do you mean? Not clear) A quantitative method of study will be used with pretests and posttests. As Johnson & Christensen (2008) state, tests are commonly used for performance of research participants. (Should this be in quotes) They go on to say that researchers may generate their own tests to measure specific skills. Pretests and posttests for Number the Stars. (what do you mean) Edhelper (Citations) premade tests will be used for reviewing the material and then the researcher will create pretests and posttests in multiple choice form from the tests. Edhelper creates questions on five chapters at a time which would enable to test multiple times throughout the chapter book study to ensure that findings are valid. (This section needs to really talk about your procedures)

Another teacher and the researcher will read a portion of a chapter book and all students will receive a pretest to complete. The students will then begin their discussions with the use of a premade test from Edhelper.com. There will be differences in the type of discussions in the classrooms. The researcher’s classroom will use blogging to help with answers and discussions, whereas the other class will use traditional ways to answer and discuss. Definite questions and points will be emphasized by the teachers to ensure reliability and validity of information obtained from the posttests that will be given later on. After testing throughout the chapter book in the same manner, posttests will be analyzed and charting the scores will begin to be organized to evaluate achievement of traditional and technology-based classrooms. (Is this going to give you the data to answer your questions?)

Data Analysis
The research strategy will be to give a pretest and posttest in a non-blogging class and a pretest and posttest in a blogging class. The pretest will be given after class reads chapters 1-5 of the chapter book. A set of questions will be given for the class to answer and then they will be given a posttest. The same will be done for chapters 6-10 and 11-15. In the blogging classroom, the students will read chapters 1-5 of the same chapter book and be given a pretest. A set of questions will be put on the blog for students to discuss with one another. A posttest will given just like the non-blogging class received. The same will be done for chapters 6-10 and 11-15. The tool will be the 20 multiple choice questions on each pretest and posttest. (All of these are still your procedures) The data from all pretests and posttests will be analyzed to determine if there is a statisically significant improvement of blogging over the non-blogging reading classroom. (But your question is "how" which lends to a qualitative approach) The researcher will determine if the data is normal. (What do you mean?) As Johnson and Christensen (2008) discussed, if the data is normal, the researcher will conduct a t-test with a significance level of .05 to test the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is that the blogging and non-blogging classrooms on reading comprehension have no apparent difference. If the null hypothesis is rejected, then the researcher will have found that blogging does have an impact on reading comprehension. A statistics analysis software program will be used to analyze the data. (need to rethink this given your research question)

Timeline
Research in the use of blogging in the reading classroom will consist of a nine-week period. There will be a time of reading each day until the chapter book Number the Stars is completed. There will be a pretest after segments of the book have been read and then discussion questions will be answered and blogging will take place in one of the classrooms. After the questions have been answered the students will be given time to complete a posttest to assess comprehension. This will take place periodically throughout the reading of the chapter book. Time will be taken to analyze the data collected to reveal the effect of technology integration in the reading classroom. (Need to include a table to properly outline your timeline)

References Volume numbers should be italicized. Also do check your APA formatting.

Amiri, S. (2009). The effects of information and communication technology on at risk children of low economic status: Make it take it after-school case study. International Journal of Education and Development Using Information and Communication Technology, 5(3).

Anderson R. & Balajthy, E. (2009). Stories about struggling readers and technology. The Reading Teacher, 62(6), 540-542.

Barone, D. & Wright, T. E. (2008). Literacy instruction with digital and media technologies. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 292-302. doi: 10.1598/RT.62.4.2.

Boling, E., Castek, J. Zawilinski, L. Barton, K., Nierlich, T. (2008). Collaborative literacy: blogs and internet projects. The Reading Teacher, 61(6). 504-506.

Boling, E. C. (2008). Learning from teachers’ conceptions of technology integration: what do blogs, instant messages, and 3d chat rooms have to do with it? Research in the Teaching of English, 43, 74-99.

Borgia, L. (2009). “Enhanced vocabulary podcasts implementation in ffth graded classrooms.” Reading Improvement, 46(4), 263-272. Retrieved August 24. 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1954671701)

Ellison, N. & Wu, Y. (2009). Blogging in the classroom: a preliminary exploration of student attitudes and impact on comprehension. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, (2008), 17(1), 99-122.

Handsfield, L., Dean, T., & Cielocha, K. (2009). Becoming critical consumers and producers of text: Teaching literacy with web 1.0 and web 2.0. Reading Teacher, 63(1), 40-50. Doi:10.1598/RT.63.1.4 Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Hofer, M., & Swan, K.. (2008). Technological pedagogical content knowledge in action: A case study of a middle school digital documentary project. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41(2), 179-200. Retrieved September 21, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1609084861).

Huang, D. & Liu. E. H. (2007). Applying the blog in an information literacy program in school library setting: a case study at nan-yang elementary school in taichung. Paper presented at the International Association of School Librarianship Conference. Retrieved from www.iasl-online.org/events/conf/2007/program-sessions.htm

Johnson, B. & Christensen, L. (2008). Educational research: quantiative, qualitative, and mixed approaches. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Labbo, L. D., Place, K., Soares, L. (2010). Fresh perspectives on new literacies and technology integration. Voices From the Middle, 17(3), 9-10. Retrieved from []

Steinberg, B. J., Kaplan, K. A., Borck, J. E. (2007). Enhancing adolescent literacy achievement through integration of technology in the classroom. Reading Research Quarterly, 416-420. doi:10.1598/PRQ.42.3.6

Suhr, K., Hernandez, D., Grimes, D., & Warschauer, M. (2010). Laptops and fourth-grade literacy: Assisting the jump over the fourth-grade slump. Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 9(5). Retrieved from ERIC database

Wang, S. & Hsua, H. (2008). Reflections on using blogs to expand in-class discussion. TechTrends, 52(3). Retrieved from ProQuest databases on October 12, 2010.

Zawilinski, L. (2009). Hot blogging: a framework for blogging to promote higher order thinking. The Reading Teacher, 62(8), 650-61.