StudentConnectedness

 Web 2.0 Student Connectedness Database [|Good Article on How to Use NING in the classroom]

1. **The problem or question.** What is the problem (or opportunity) you wish to address with your project? Describe what you wish to change, for example, aspects of content (e.g. test scores), process (e.g. ability to collaborate), climate (e.g. morale), or tech use (e.g. embedded use of technology in instruction). Be as specific as possible in describing what you want to change. 

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 KZ: The Avoca District 37 strategic plan outlines the need for a student connectedness database. Up to this point, we have nothing in place that tracks what activities students are involved with in and out of school. Beyond simply creating a checkbox in PowerSchool that allows us to log and export student activities, analyze the data and find ways to get a student more involved (we are in the midst of setting this up already), I'm interested in finding ways that through Web 2.0, we can further unite our students, teach them social networking/Internet responsibility while also allowing us, their teachers to learn more about their interests and ways we can motivate them. I am specifically talking about setting up a NING site for Avoca students. I have to give credit where credit is due and thank Kevin Jauch for having this great conversation with me. ======

 DP: I was part of our school's strategic plan committee and this was a big concept. But how to do it was not quite finalized.
NS: WOW! This is out there but I like it! Hard for me to imagine how it would work with younger students, but I'm open to the idea.

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 Develop objectives and authentic assessments for determining what you want learners (adults or students) to be able to know and do after the project and how you will determine they have indeed mastered the objectives your project laid out.  ======

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 KZ: Students will learn how to use social networking sites responsibly and how to use social networking sites to "network" with peers appropriately, for the greater good and in a way that reflects good character. Ideally, they will carry these skills away with them when using other social networking and Web 2.0 technologies now and in the future. We will be able to gauge if students have mastered this by monitoring their use of the site, allowing them to create special interest groups and take ownership of the site. They will be responsible for making this site a welcome and comfortable environment for all students. ======


  NS: SNB makes the argument that FB and myspace are a wilderness b/c kids got out there and did it themselves. While I'm not certain I agree with that, I do think children need to be taught how to behave in cyberspace.

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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> 3. **Networked Design** Then think about how you will design your project so participants can share, connect, collaborate, or move to some type of collective action. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">KZ: The NING site will be shared among students and will allow students to connect with classmates who they may or may not know that share similar interests, academically or socially. While this will be primarily used for students to communicate, teachers will have access to the NING as well <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">and can use the site to learn more about their students and other students at Avoca West. We want to avoid the "big brother" model and see what these kids will do when they are allowed to use Web 2.0 before, during and after school.

4. **Set the Context** What have others done (at your institution or elsewhere) to address this problem? Do some research as a team to see what others have done. Get ideas. Divi up different research roles to individual team members. <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">KZ: We have not done this within the district to my knowledge. Here are some ways it is being used elsewhere.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">5. **Proposal** How will you plan to solve the problem or answer the question? Describe what you will do to address the problem/opportunity described earlier. Are you doing anything differently than others have attempted? Why or why not? Why do you propose that your approach will succeed better than prior attempts or will work better with your students or faculty? <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> KZ: Creating an Avoca NING for students would build relationships (similar to how we rekindle and build relationships on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter), allow students to find things that they have in common with someone who they might not hang out with, while also tracking student interests for the benefit of teachers and the district as a whole. This idea came to me not only because I was asked to work on a student connectedness database for the district but because I want to know more than just what extracurricular activity my students are participating in. With Web 2.0 technology, we can create a database where students can participate, create interest groups and build a community with their classmates and possibly even teachers. This could eventually curb use of more dangerous websites like Facebook and MySpace and the lessons we teach the students prior to using this site will ideally influence their future use of social networking in a positive way. I can see this working best for grades 4-8. This project would be monitored by the PLP group.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"> 6. **Evaluation** How will you determine the success and effectiveness of your solution and the impact of your project? Do you plan to determine pre and post results? How will you know that the behavior of your students/faculty has changed/improved? Note: You may not be able to obtain your results by the end of your year. However, you should have a plan in place to evaluate your project and report on the results. The idea is to develop a solid plan to share with others. If you implement this year or next is entirely up to you. When possible make this an action research project. <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">KZ: Statistics are built into NING! This will be a great study in behavioral change if we see that students are making new friends, teachers are learning more about their students.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">NS: Nice aspect - less work for us (at a time when I am feeling overwhelmed). <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"> 7. **Timeline** How will your project progress? Indicate the dates of project initiation and completion for each step of your design, implementation, and evaluation. <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> KZ: I recommend piloting this slowly with one grade level or school and adding grade levels as we learn more about how to manage the site and how to make it the best possible experience for our students. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">

8. **Documentation** How will you document your progress along the way? Will you share in your team group room in NING? Will you create a collaborative blog? A wiki? A Google Doc? Choose one and then everyone will use the document to make the process transparent. <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> We can continue using our Avocology NING site to collaborate on this project as well as this wiki.