Correction!  In the introduction I say that this is my presentation for EDET 670.  Yeah, that's wrong.  It's really for EDET 626.  Sorry for the confusion there.  Now feel free to start the presentation.  Remember to please silence all cell phones and small babies.  Thanks and enjoy the show.
-chris

I have gained some insight to creating a solid presentation through Twitter and many of my past grad class experiences.  I knew very little about the world of online presentations before starting the program.  I am going to put the process in gear this week as I've collected only experiences with this class.  Although research data is absent from my experience, I have been able to learn from the data of others and how their own research experience went.  I have developed compliments and critiques of the class as well for myself.  I am disappointed of course regarding my failure to launch the action research proposal I created but I have learned a great deal regarding the use of screencast for teachers.  It is simply not something that is accepted as a primary means of training for those who I talked to. The same folks I talked to did not find face to face in-services terribly useful either so this leads me to believe there needs to b I enjoyed the open minds of our instructors who have encouraged me to see through my own disappointment and see the presentation as a way to develop meaning to my experience. 

My research question failed to produce any meaningful data.  I have two survey entries and did not get any requests for screencasts.  The most important mistake was not being explicit with the process of participating.  I was going to create quick and customized screencasts for teachers who were having issues with technology.  When I contacted the Research and Accountability department at our district, I was informed that the approval process took three weeks and that pretty much ended that resource.  My efforts in finding other teacher communities failed.  I should have pulled the plug immediately but my stubborn tendencies had me hanging on for some chance of getting participants.  

So I'm starting over and going into hyperdrive at the curriculum room to research past technology training.  This means I'll have a new research question and some new literature to review.  I will be able to collect data through interviews, and surveys from employees at the district office.  This allows me to conduct research without needing approval from Research and Accountability.  Our district has introduced and supported a number of instructional and teacher development online resources during the past few years and there is quantitative data regarding the use and effectiveness of these resources.  I have access to this data which could help direct the decisions our district makes in the future in regards to teacher development.  This, along with the impressions left on the employees that were responsible for implementing the resources, should offer the chance to accomplish meaningful research.  

In conclusion, I'm starting over. (sigh)

Hello this is my podcast for week six discussing the continuation of my action research I'm using participants from anywhere I can find.  Teachers staff and work with children and who also work with technology. The concept is they would have a certain question, something that they would like to know about the technology that you're using something probably specific.  They would email it to me and fill out a short survey and then once that's completed, I would make a screencast of there problem… a customized screencast specifically focusing on the issue and then I would send it to them.  They would watch.  I hope it would help. They would fill out a short survey on my website and I could use that to ascertain whether not a screencast would be an effective method for professional development and fixing issues that teachers that might have in a quick and efficient way so they could get back to teaching. Well, what's been occurring is absolutely nothing.

It turns out I'm not getting any participants. The first thing that occurred is that I had to go through the research accountability department at our district and found out that it would take about three weeks for that to get approved. Well that would really kind of make it very difficult for me to stay on task and continue our assignment necessary for the class.  So I figure well there's a lot of different avanues out there so I will touch on other staff that work with students that are not in the Fairbanks North Star Burough School District. That being said, I'm not bitter and I'm not upset about that because I do believe that research and accountability should weigh heavily on what we do. They need to make sure that the research isn't…well let me just say in a positive manner that it is it's effective and it's not going to inhibit anything that is going on in the classroom and its ethical. So that's fair, but what's happening is I'm not really getting any participants really anywhere that I'm looking I put the word out through some through emails and groups and I heard interest offhand but when it comes down to it, I think there's a certain shyness.  They might feel a bit of pensiveness.  They simply really don't want to reach out on this and I could possibly understand. It could be they are finding information they need via the internet and YouTube which has millions of these tutorials.

So it might just be the whole concept of a quick screencast tutorial is great by design but not necessary because the wheels already have been invented. It's already been done so I'm not really afraid to use this as my research and maybe I can follow up and say “I'm hearing you”. Maybe the information that you need is already out there readily available and answers your question. Why email me and feel you're putting me out when it's already been done and I can truly understand that. I might feel the same way if I was on the other side. So this is kind of what I'm looking at.  This is where I'm at. I have not made a screen cast.  I have (made some) for a couple teachers but not within the research because there was no survey.  There is no data collected. I just did it because they asked me to. It was good practice so it always good practice and mean yes of course is humbling but I understand it as well and makes perfect sense. Okay, so where do I go from here? Well, I’m going to continue trying. I figure I still have a little bit of time and might have to cut redesign some of my timeframe on getting this done but I believe that's okay and I'll keep an open mind and to know that this is a part of the research this is not just, “oh man, I messed up I must have written this wrong” and I could definitely look at this is a means of writing this better the next time.  So when I redo the research program, how can I be more explicit in designing something like this to where I get results of people feel more comfortable. Being more open and I think having better directions I think it was a little confusing maybe when I was explaining how it would start and I think that's that happened because I didn't fully understand as well I had a concept but the delivery was always pretty hazy my head. That's probably because this is all new.  I didn't have a classroom that I was used to so for seven years I had a classroom so this my first year I don't have a classroom teaching teachers or modeling for them and seeing how that goes. it is been wonderful and I really truly enjoy it but there's much that I don't fully understand about that the nuances of being an instructional technology teacher. It's fascinating and it's humbling and it's frustrating and it's definitely a learning experience.  I’m going to continue trying.  I got the website on my teaching website make my district website that built and I need to put better links I need to get the word out and let people know this is a research project.  I would love participants I want to know how effective this is.  Maybe if I if I have it better presented I suppose I would get more participants but even if I don't these have to be results. There has to be something there that I can really take from all of us and go… “Screencast is a great idea, now how can I get the ones that are already built and already well-developed out to the teacher quickly and show them how to use screencasts so they're effective and I think that could be a wonderful outcome to all of this so that's what I'm hoping to take away from it and I hope that I could present it in a way that make sense in the whole final project and of course at this time I'm going to straight up ask if there's anyone listening to this and is willing to take the survey, go to my website at: www.thelearningcube.weebly.com  and also if you have any suggestions on how I can kind of present this and incorporate this into my final project, I would love that so really thanks for listening to this podcast.

The rest is unedited to so you can see how effective (or how ineffective) using the microphone function on the iPad’s keyboard can be.

I put it in iTunes I do have to converted into MP3 for really read it which is not too terrible parts so when I fully enjoyed this because somehow I I think differently right talk this is not scripted this is just me talking it when I right I get the difference does it seemsa different voice so I don't do this all the time but sometimes for this and I seem to get little bit more reflective that's why I'm not talking rather than typing so so he's coming at eight minutes nine minutes you're pretty close I don't want to lose you or talk too much so tastelessly and I'll see you next week

I want to thank those individuals who took part in the Twitter feed on Tuesday.  Very scrumptious.  Apart from the tiny bones and feathers... It was there I received my muse and discovered my question.  “Are screencasts an effective tool to deliver instruction and professional development to teachers?”  Shortly afterwards, I surfed Google Scholar for any journal articles that relate and found a few.  I would love to purchase some of the books and articles but alas...I’m broke.  The results from the action research regarding screencasts are very positive.  I’m especially encouraged by the excitement that the instructional delivery of screencasts created.  Many of the recipients of screencasts felt more empowered by owning and being able to control the pace of instruction.  

My concern with my forthcoming research is my ability to create effective surveys that reject any bias on my part and offer fair and balanced responses from the participants.  I vividly remember my statistics professor discussing the many obstacles inherent to polling.  One misplaced word and the participants are thrown off.  I hope to find some guidelines regarding this tricky step or maybe it will be covered in this class due to the qualitative nature of the research.  Bringing this issue up in the Twitter meeting might be all it takes.  I find Twitter Hour every Tuesday and/or Thursday immensely useful for issues such as these.

This week’s blogs were very informative and some were downright comforting.   There were some that proclaimed frustration and indecision and others that discovered correlation and causation.  Regardless, reading each one was enjoyable.  I found a few that I could relate to including a very well written blog regarding Writer’s Workshops.   I’ve used Google Apps to design a Writer’s Workshop for my fourth grade class and right away I observed students’ new found “eagerness” to write.  Having students add peer editors and instructing them on creating meaningful and positive feedback created a free flowing press room where ideas flowed in real-time.  Stories were produced faster and they immersed their ideas both on their stories and the stories of two other writers.  Anyways, I shared this concept and hope it helps.  I also shared my experience with the online ClassDojo for classroom management.   I figured it could lend itself to research due to it’s downloadable progress reports.  Unfortunately, my troublesome time-management issues kept me from commenting sooner than I...or they might have liked.  This leads me to what I would like to correct next week.  When I’m done with this blog entry.  I will open week four and begin.  I won’t wait until Wednesday.  There will be no more celebratory moments come Sunday at 12:01.  I must pace my research and steps throughout the week.  I’m writing this down on my walls with chalk tonight?

Again, thanks to those of you who pointed out that I don’t need a group of students under my wing at all times to commit to action research.  Special thanks to Dr. Lee Graham for moving me forward on Tuesday.  I’m looking forward to putting this together.

This is a short list but I have just now set on an action research topic and did not attempt too many research articles.  Here are three that will help guide my understanding and establish background information.

Brown-Sica, M., Sobel, K., & Pan, D. (2009). Learning For All: Teaching Students, Faculty, And Staff               With Screencasting. Public Services Quarterly,5(2), 81-97.


This quarterly references the use of short, quickly produced online tutorials.  The article discusses ways and methods to create screencasts that are customized to each troubleshooting issue.  The screencasts are created with an emphasis on getting the information to the customer as quickly as possible.  The methods sacrifice perfection in order to deliver customized support. The rationale for creating, evaluating, and publicizing tutorials is discussed but not compared to professional development that is based in person.


Dana, H., Havens, B., Hochanadel, C., & Phillips, J. (2010). An innovative approach to faculty coaching.              Contemporary Issues in Education Research (CIER), 3(11), 29-34.

The primary question beeing researched is “Will faculty relationships be enhanced and will teaching measures increase by the use of multimedia technology in coaching?” This study looks at the use of screencasts to inform department chairs of technology integratration into assessments and analytics.  The purpose is to ascertain the effectiveness of professional development through the use of screen casts.  The study assisted department chairs and administrators’ decisions concerning the tech integration.  

Peterson, E. (2007). Incorporating Screencasts In Online Teaching. The International Review Of                   Research In Open And Distance Learning, 8(3). Retrieved                                                                           fromhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/495/943

The research presented attempts to remedy a deficiency in instructing students in the Dewey Decimal Classification System.  To assist the instruction, basic screencasts were developed to assist distance education students.  Using benchmarks, researchers were able to preclude the possible outcome of using these tech. tools. The expectation or hypothesis is “students will have increased success because of the addition of screencasts. (2007).