I started my Research Journal today as suggested in the course outline for ETEC 500. I’ll start with my original post on the topic of Research Questions. I am also going to try developing a chain of images or links to document the course of my project. I would like to show the changes that occur in my planning, goal setting, and reflection by posting each “finished” draft of my project proposal.

Posted Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 8:34:02 PM PST
Subject: mPortfolios Research Questions

I am interested in conducting research on the topic of: Mobile Electronic Portfolios (mPortfolios) for Primary Students. Thanks Emma, for opening a thread on the topic of electronic portfolios and for providing a good description of them.

Specifically, I am interested in knowing more about how the process and product of mPortfolios impacts the ability of young children to set learning goals and to reflect on their performance. I am also interested in the relationship between mPortfolio use and student performance. And finally, I would like to investigate factors that may positively and negatively impact the use of mPortfolios as an alternate to traditional written report cards.

Lots of interests…so I’ll attempt to focus…

1.  What attitudes and beliefs do educational stakeholders have about replacing traditional written report cards with mPortfolios?

I am poised to begin using mPortfolios with my students. I have sent samples home to parents for their feedback and will make a presentation to the school board sometime this term. I thought a survey of attitudes and beliefs of students, parents, teachers, and administrators might identify issues I need to address.

2.  What is the relationship between the attitude and beliefs teachers hold about mPortfolios and their willingness to use them with students?

When I started my research on mPortfolios I thought mostly about the product. The more I learned about the powerful processes involved in developing them, the more willing I became to use them with my students. How are this understanding and willingness correlated?

3.  What impact does viewing a movie of themselves reading have on students’ ability to reflect on their performance and to set goals for improvement. What relationship exists between this process and students’ performance in reading.

I think is the most interesting topic. It was my work with students that encouraged me to push the boundaries of assessment. I am continually impressed by the ability of young children to think and to take control of their learning. I’d like to know, however, if I am just seeing what I want to see. I thought that narrowing the academic focus to reading and the mPortfolio focus to watching a movie of themselves reading would facilitate my research. I also thought that using a recognized reading assessment that incorporates reflection, like Fountas and Pinnell’s reading assessment, would collect more objective, reliable, and valid data on reflection and reading performance.

Pretty wordy, but I really benefited from reading through the previous postings and the responses they generated. Thanks to everyone who jumped in early and got the discussions going.