Today I am reflecting on my original driving question. The process of conducting an action research project was extremely insightful and interesting! At times it felt long, arduous and seemed to be leading me in directions that I didn't understand. However, from conducting the research to analyzing the data, I slowly began to realize that those long and often confusing parts were necessary puzzle pieces in the process.
My original driving question was this: Can social media be used to support students to write in a foreign language while simultaneously keeping student engagement high and providing opportunities to develop 21st century technology skills?
I still find this topic very fascinating and want to continue to look at the roles of social media in the classroom, however I have also become extremely interested in collaborative digital tools. We have used these a lot throughout our masters program, and I noticed how great they can be! I believe they will keep students engaged and it is something that can keep students in the target language WHILE using technology. For my action research, I focused primarily on written output when using social media. With the integration of collaborative digital tools, students can now create something and incorporate their own audio in the target language.
Through my research I realized that technology wasn't always the answer, but when used correctly, it can be a great tool to support student learning. I noticed that student engagement dropped when the tool was used too often, and that they missed the physical writing of words. When it is used at the right time and for the right amount of time, it can be very beneficial! I would like to now see if my findings with social media are the same for collaborative digital tools, and how they can be used to enhance target language verbal skills!
My original driving question was this: Can social media be used to support students to write in a foreign language while simultaneously keeping student engagement high and providing opportunities to develop 21st century technology skills?
I still find this topic very fascinating and want to continue to look at the roles of social media in the classroom, however I have also become extremely interested in collaborative digital tools. We have used these a lot throughout our masters program, and I noticed how great they can be! I believe they will keep students engaged and it is something that can keep students in the target language WHILE using technology. For my action research, I focused primarily on written output when using social media. With the integration of collaborative digital tools, students can now create something and incorporate their own audio in the target language.
Through my research I realized that technology wasn't always the answer, but when used correctly, it can be a great tool to support student learning. I noticed that student engagement dropped when the tool was used too often, and that they missed the physical writing of words. When it is used at the right time and for the right amount of time, it can be very beneficial! I would like to now see if my findings with social media are the same for collaborative digital tools, and how they can be used to enhance target language verbal skills!