THE EFFECTS OF PERSONAL

TECHNOLOGY USE IN THE COLLEGE

CLASSROOMASSIGNMENT 5: PRESENTATION OF ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

BY:

DR. DANIEL OFSTEIN

CUR 526 – SUMMER 2014

DISCREPANCY STATEMENT

Since the advent of the PC, educators and school systems have strived to incorporate technology into every day learning. Unfortunately the education system has not been able to keep up with the societal advancements in this area due to funding and lack of overall training. Students have already adapted to new technologies before they enter a classroom and therefore become bored as opposed to excited about the potential information to be covered by the teacher. Students now are less likely to pay attention than they were before the technology became so widely accessible and user friendly. This study will determine if the restriction of the use of personal technology in a college classroom will improve student learning (Personal technology will be defined as cell phones, tablets and lap tops) as measured by unit test scores and self-reporting.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Setting:

The study will take place at a small private University in an urban setting, North Miami, Florida.

The college is one of four campuses around the country which host approximately 17,000 students from over 100 countries (“About JWU,” 2014).

The leadership course which will serve as the test site meets 2 times a week for 2 hours each period for a total of 11 weeks in a term.

Participants:

There will be approximately 30 participants in the study and the will be enrolled in a leadership course required for all upper-class students.

The average age of the students will be 19 to 23 years old.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A review of the literature showed the following:• Students feel that personal technology use in the classroom can both enhance learning as well as

be a distraction (Burns & Lohenry, p. 809).• Teachers feel that personal technology can be useful in the classroom if it is applied

appropriately to the lesson (Cui et. al, p. 26). • Some of the literature called for more training of teachers in the most recent technology

advancements to help them better incorporate it into activities (Leidman et. al., p. 115). • One study showed that mobile learning can help create opportunities for students to link theory

to practical application (Strong et. al., p. 63).• All of the research recommended further study to help enhance technology usage in the

classroom.

RESEARCH METHOD

This action research plan will be focused on the use of personal technology by students in a college classroom. Previous research has demonstrated that students see potential in the use of personal technology, however, they also recognize it potential as a distraction (Lam & Tong, p. 393). For this study, a survey of the students and a comparison of their test scores will be used as measurements.

Goal 1: To demonstrate the effect the use of personal technology by students within a college classroom has on their ability to learn.

Objective 1.1: At the completion of two units in the leadership 2001 course, college students who did not use personal technology in the class during the second unit will demonstrate at least a 10% improvement over their unit test scores from the first unit in which they did use the technology.

Objective 1.2: At the completion of two units in the leadership 2001 course, college students who were allowed to use personal technology freely in the classroom and then not will be able to self-report their understanding of the effect the technology has on learning through the completion of a survey with 100% accuracy.

IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

Activity 1: For weeks 1 thru 3, the students will be allowed to use their personal technology (cell phones, tablets and laptops), freely within the classroom. This includes being able to take notes, use during assignments and for personal pleasure (ex. Texting and using social network sites). During this time the teacher will cover the first Unit of the classroom, chapters 1, 2, and 3. At the end of week three, the students will be required to take a test based on the chapters covered during the unit. Students will not be able to use their personal technology while taking the test.

Activity 2: For weeks 4 thru 6, the students will be told they cannot use personal technology in the classroom for any reason (except in case of emergency). During this time the teacher will cover the second Unit of the classroom, chapters 4, 6, and 14. At the end of week 6, the students will be required to take a test based on the chapters covered during the unit. As with the previous test, students will not be able to use their personal technology. Students will also take a survey to self-report on their experience in both units at this time.

REFERENCES

About JWU (2014). Retrieved on May 25, 2014 from http://www.jwu.edu/departments.aspx?id=862

Burns, S. & Lohenry, K. (2010). Cellular phone use in class: Implications for teaching and learning a pilot study. College Student Journal, 44(3), 805-810.

Cui, G., Chen, X., Li, W., & Wang, S. (2012). College students’ perceptions of cell phone integration in language learning. International Journal or Information and Communication Technology Education, 8(4), 11-28.

Leadsman, M., McKeague, M., Forrest, J., & Keppel, D. (2011). ET phone home? Cyber communication changes among college freshman. Journal of Communications Media Studies, 3(1), 109-120.

Strong, R., Ho, S., Odom, S., & Irby, T. (2013). A course focused on the critical issues in agriculture: Students’ acceptance and use of mobile learning. NACTA Journal, 57(4), 57-64.