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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Looking for answers...

So, research never goes as planned, especially in the beginning stages. My experience with my topic has not been any different. As a matter of fact, I thought I had created a really specific topic, but it turns out that it's not quite as specific as I originally thought, and it's slightly outdated. So once again, I had to narrow my topic, and my research actually led me to a much better, useful topic for myself. I'm very excited about what I've found so far!

My new problem statement:

I plan to determine if blogging in the classroom affects student success with the writing process.

I will be using the quantitative research method, focusing on the comparative design, and here are the questions that will guide me in my research.

  • Does blogging affect the length and quality of a writing assignment?
  • Given the use of blogs, is there a difference in student motivation to complete assignments?
  • Do students prefer blogging on the internet over using the pencil/paper method?

And here are questions added from the discussion board that will also be useful in guiding my research.

  • Does using the computer lead to more collaboration and peer feedback in the writing process?
  • Does using the computer lead to more and/or quicker feedback from the teacher?

I'm excited that I have already found research to answer some of my questions which will help me in my fight to use this in my classroom!

Bethanne

3 comments:

  1. Bethanne,

    I am excited to see what your research concludes. I too am curious about the quality of the writing assignments when students are given the option to blog. I personally would rather type a paper than write one with a paper and pencil. Also I feel that my typed papers are more thought out and written more clearly than those papers where I have to write them out with paper and pencil. Cant wait to see what comes of this!

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  2. Bethanne,

    I agree with you that research never goes as it is planned. We just need to be flexible and continue on with our research. That is great that you are so excited about your new research topic. Your topic seems very interesting and well worth researching. I agree that the quantitative method applies to your research due to the fact that you will be looking at students’ length and quality of writing. Which research design within the quantitative method best fits with your research? Good luck on continuing your research!

    Elizabeth

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  3. Bethanne,

    Good choice on narrowing it to blogging. I'm very curious to see how this turns out, particularly on the quality of work from students. One thing I have found in my own classroom is that students see it as an informal technology device. Therefore, they type as if they are texting. This was demonstrated more so with middle school students than high school students, although I still saw it with some high school blogs.

    I would also suspect that students will indeed prefer blogging over pencil/paper, just my hypothesis.

    Brett

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