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Technology Driven Discourse

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Students are being introduced to new types of technology at an increasing speed. With each new advancement comes the ability to tap into skills we would otherwise not be able to. While new technology is important, it is also important to remember to stick to our roots and continue to practice core skills such as the skills valued by Common Core: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. The bottom line is that students are going to still be introduced to technology and often will be asked to use it in the classroom. If students are going from class to class and are tapped into the web then we might as well bring what they know of from technology and use it to our advantage to enhance the valuable skills they need to succeed in a 21st century world.
Collaboration and communication are key skills that with the use of technology can help students explore their skills outside of the classroom. There are many tech tools that students can use to their advantage but students learn best when they can apply what they know with what they are learning. This is when tools like Flipgrid come into play which allows students to use the concepts taken from social media and apply it to academic conversations.

Research:

Methodology
Round 1:
The study was a mixed method study with a quasi-experimental design. The study explored data about the effects of a technology application on language proficiency. The treatment group used digital tech tools and their entire lessons were revamped to use only technology. The control group continued being taught in the traditional manner with the textbook, handwritten journal prompts, and regular academic conversations. The treatment group used Google Applications such as Google Sites to keep as an online portfolio where they posted their assignments and completed journal prompts.
Before and after the treatment was applied, both the control and treatment group were given a collaborative self-assessment to complete. The data was analyzed using a Pearson R analysis to determine whether there was a significant correlation.
Upon conclusion, the use of Google Applications was not effective enough to increase the quality of academic discourse. So a second round of research was done.

Round 2:

The study was a mixed method study with a quasi-experimental design. The study explored data about the effects of a technology application on academic discourse. The treatment group focused on using one tech tool, Flipgrid, an active, social learning platform that engages learners through video-based discussion. The control group continued being taught in a traditional manner and they had academic conversations in a face to face setting.
Before and after the treatment was applied, both the control and treatment group were given a collaborative self-assessment to complete. The data was analyzed using a Pearson R analysis to determine whether there was a significant correlation.

Results
Round 1:
Students in the face to face setting felt more comfortable with each other from the beginning and in turn felt comfortable collaborating with one another. The students in the treatment group started with trust issues or with students being shy and the students needed more time to build effective collaborative relationships online. While students had the ability to respond to one another and edit the documents simultaneously, it did not provide them the opportunity to actually have in-depth conversations about their project and rather they separated the designated certain parts to each other without having to collaborate on those parts. While the treatment group did have a small gain, as shown in figure 1, it was not significant enough to say that Google Sites had any impact on that gain.
It would be a reasonable assumption that the use of Google Sites was not the best tool to encourage collaboration but rather a face to face interaction was.

Round 2:
Students were familiar with Flipgrid’s style of communication as it was very similar to what they are used to with their social media platforms. The students in the treatment group were able to rewatch the videos which allowed them to pause and watch it as many times so that they could develop a thoughtful response. Using the same rubric and the same collaborative self assessment tool, the treatment group in this case had a significant gain in their collaboration/academic conversation skills as shown in figure 2.
It would be a reasonable assumption that the use of Flipgrid was a better tech tool to encourage collaboration than Google Sites or even a face to face interaction was.

Lessons: provides the lesson used to help students understand three key academic conversation skills that served as a building block to their collaborative discussions.
How-To's: How to guides to help identify the do's and don't of academic conversations, how to use Flipgrid, and how to set up Google Sites as a portfolio.
References: A list of resources to use in the classroom and further reading to help apply to own teaching.
Assessment: Rubrics to help assess students academic conversation skills both by the instructor as well as self-assessments for students.

LESSONS

HOW-TOs

REFERENCES

ASSESSMENT