technology and motivation

My research topic is about using technology to enhance motivation in the classroom.
I reviewed a group research paper written by three students (Pat Reiners,
Kärin Renner, Jill Schreibe). This paper is for class LT 785 at Dakota State University. The topic of this paper is technology and motivation and the sub title the Effect of Technology Integration on Student Motivation, Engagement and Interest, and it was written in Dec 08, 2005. According to Mr. Reiners integration of technology can impact student motivation, engagement, and interesting in learning. But he emphasized that “Technology in and of itself will not directly change student learning and attitudes”. He also stated that the way teacher puts technology to use in the classroom is critical factor in deterging the out come of learning. He believes strongly that if teachers are using technology to motivate students, they'll enjoy their work more and feel more successful with their students “. He also found using technology in the classroom required less teaching and I think this will create student centered classroom which will enhance students’ motivated. The writer also found that Integrating audio, video, and other media tools has been shown to increase student motivation.
My literature review questions are;
1- Does technology increase student motivation, engagement and interest?
2- How does technology increase student motivation, engagement and interest?
3- What specific technology tools or technology teaching strategies are more effective in exploring learners’ motivation, engagement, and interest?
My research review topic is technology and motivation. This research review discusses the role of technology to enhance learners’ motivation. Research discussion includes the definition of motivation, and technology tools features and factors related to the subject, the roles of the function of the technology tools in motivated-learning, the function of the student in being motivated by different technology tools to learn, using the right technology tool to pull together motivation-related information for use in teaching, using an effective technology tool to create an environment and situation that foster motivation, the study also discusses research findings about the role of using technology as a motivation tool in learning process, using technology to help teacher develop strategies to motivate themselves and learners in general and learners with disability in particular. Finally, the paper connects the previous information to the classroom and translated into implementation in the classroom to bring a culture of motivation to assist the students in their learning process to lead them to comprehensive achievements.

http://kr012.k12.sd.us/Portfolio/Group%20Research%20Paper.pdf
http://www.linguist.org.cn/doc/su200609/su20060908.pdf


Website:
http://www.slideshare.net/smileha33/combining-technology-with-the-6-cs-of-motivation-1246945

http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/185385930.html

http://www.kimandalex.com/2005/files/Action_Research.pdf

My E- Portfolio (EDUU 564)

Electronic Portfolio is a valid and reliable method of authentic assessment. It contains elaboration of my work including multimedia, internet links, and word documents. Portfolio is a powerful tool for self- evaluation and motivation because learner can select what work to be posted in her/his portfolio. I created my electronic portfolio by using Google site. After I created my Gmail account I follow the registration steps. The process is much easier than I thought. However after I navigated the site deeply I am convinced that this a helpful open-source tool and I need to spent more time working with it to be familiar with all its futures. My E- portfolio webpage address is http://sites.google.com/site/abbasabbasportfoliosite/
The artifacts that I had produced in 551, 552, and 563 are my main sources for this portfolio. These artifacts including; PowerPoint presentation about Sudan, web site, brochure about an Arabic restaurant, lesson plan incorporated with rubric about Darfur, unit plan about Arabic food and drinks, a movie about this topic, technology plan in word document, technology plan PowerPoint presentation, Blog, Wiki, and some online rubrics and quizzes. I feel confidence that I have an adequate amount of artifacts to show my competency in each of the eight technology facilitation standards. However I am still missing some artifacts such as my final research paper, my research survey, and my PowerPoint presentation about professional development digital equity. I am going to distribute these artifacts according to the technology facilitation standards. In standard one (Technology Operations and Concepts) I will post links to my Blog, Wiki. And web site. I will also post my resume and all workshop and training technology that I had in the past. In standard two (Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences) I will embed a instructional video about dinning in Arabic restaurant and may be some PowerPoint projects that I had used as lead- in my students to new lessons. In standard three which is Teaching Learning and the Curriculum I will post a unit plan module including, the essential question and the big six. I will also post many internet links related to this unit plan. In standard four (Assessment and Evaluation) I will post some rubrics and quizzes in order to assess students learning development and also I will try to create a gradebook in order to monitor my learning progress. In standard five (Productivity and Professional Practice) I will post a lesson plan proposal and instructional word document from course 552 including PowerPoint. In standard six which is social, ethical, legal, and human issues, I will post some links related to these issues, and also some material from this course. In standard seven (Procedures, Policies, Planning, and Budgeting for Technology Environments) I will post my technology plan in a word document as will as PowerPoint. Finally, in standard eight which will be about my vision and my leadership in the area of integrating technology and education. I will post my research paper which I will write in this course. I am going to follow specific steps creating this portfolio, first I will collect my artifacts in one folder, second, I will save these artifacts in right format., third, I will write reflection for each standard, fourth, I will post these artifacts in the web according to the right standard, and finally I will try to get feedback from my students, peers, and my teacher, and I will do any necessary changes. In conclusion I will try my best to be creative and articulate in creating this portfolio in order to adjust my education goals and maintain my intrinsic motivation. You can click here to enter my portfolio

Alternative Assessment and Technology

(1993). Alternative Assessment and Technology. ERIC Digest, : ED365312 , Retrieved 05/21/09, from http://www.ericdigests.org/1994/technology.htm

This article is about Alternative assessment and technology. The writer drew our attention to “the reform of testing in this country” (1993.Eric Digest) in order to develop methods for assessing complex knowledge and performance. Assessment is connected to the learners’ goals, and since goals are always subject to changes, many educators believe that there is great need to find new approaches to keep up with these changes. The writer suggested two approaches that are promising in term of changing the “measurement of cognitive abilities”. These two approaches are “performance-based assessment and portfolio assessment” (1993.Eric Digest). The writer sees technology as powerful tool to deliver these two approaches, because it has “unique capabilities that can make crucial contributions to the creation of workable and meaningful forms of alternative assessment” (1993.Eric Digest) and many educators believe so. Technology can be used in performance assessment, for example in my school we use iPod and oral presentation to assess students’ speaking skill. The writer also mentioned others way of using technology in assessment such as using videotape to conduct a progress interviews and teachers can come up with rubric in order to evaluate students’ performance. I think technology can be used effectively to move educators from using assessment as means to serve purposes like gaining control of others and selecting and sorting students to new purposes such as recognizes growth in students’ performance.

Blackboard's Role on 21th century

Blackboard, Blackboard (2006). Blackboard’s roleon 21st cencyury campus. The Blackboard Academic Suite, Retrieved 05/16/09, from http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4SUNA_enUS260US260&q=Blackboard%e2%80%99s+Role+on+the+21st+Century+Campus

This article is about the role of blackboard on the 21st century campus. The emphasis of this article is on products and services of blackboard. This article is mainly focus on advertising blackboard as tool for shaping the vision for the future campus. The article summarized the finding of a research conducted by blackboard product on 2006 through personal interviews and online surveys. In the introduction of the article the writer explains that his/her ideas have driven from interviews and surveys covered more 500 education leaders in Canada and United states. The finding of this research is “a view from the top” (Blackboard, 2006, Academic Suite). According to this article “Blackboard installation is stable, secure and scalable). It is a powerful tool to deal with our education system challenges such as the development of students’ achievement. This article high light many ways of achieving this development; for example blackboard can improve (student engagement and student life, to enhance institutional accountability, to respond to demands of a global economy, and to strengthen the management of institutional cost and funding strategies” (Blackboard, 2006, Academic Suite). I agree with all points that the writer made in this article. In my school we just started to use blackboard and I found it very effective in term of “Exploiting social networks in academics entails taking the existing power of human relationships” (Blackboard, 2006, Academic Suite), managing students’ outcome, and meeting students’ learning needs. However in my school the issue of Faculty Adoption to use blackboard is only obstacle that prevent some teachers from using it. I think this a powerful article but the only weakness of it; it did not maintain any thing about the down side of using blackboard in education in order to overcome these problems.

Technology and Teaching Culture

Moore, Morales, Sheila , Zena, Betsy, Carel (01/03/1998). Technology and Teaching Culture: Results of a State Survey of Foreign Language Teachers. CALICO PUBLICATIONS, 15, Retrieved 05/10/09
https://www.calico.org/a-442-Technology%20and%20Teaching%20Culture%20Results%20of%20a%20State%20Survey%20of%20Foreign%20Language%20Teachers.html
This article is about technology and teaching culture. The writers were three researchers from university of Texas at Austin. The writers’ inferences were arrive from a state survey on this topic, which tried to answer questions such as how teachers can “use resources like videodiscs, interactive video, CD-ROMs, and computer networks for teaching culture, and how they incorporate the use of these resources into classroom activities” (Moore, 1998, calico publication). The survey stated that “teachers in general made little use of computer facilities such as the World Wide Web and e-mail” (Moore, 1998, calico publication). Also the survey results stated that “teachers level of education and teaching experiences accounted for some of the differences in the frequency with which teachers used technology” (Moore, 1998, calico publication) the survey also found a strong relationship between Languages Taught and the use of technology. The survey also found that School Setting and Type of school play strong role in the way teachers use technology in teaching culture. According to Brown, Lewis, and Harceload (1983) the advantages of the use interactive media in teaching foreign languages that students can be less dependent on the printed word and rely on combination of sight, sound, and movement. I like this article because it was build on a scientific survey and also because it provided a sample lesson.

Standardized Testing and Its Victims

Kohn, Alfie (September 27, 2000). Standardized Testing and Its Victims. EDUCATION WEEK, Retrieved 05/03/09, from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/staiv.htm

This article was written nine years ago by Alfie Kohn. Mr. Kohn has strong opinion about standardized testing and he clamed that many students are victims of it. Mr. Kohn started his article by illustrate eight facts and he build his argument based on these facts. I was strike by some of these facts such as “Our children are tested to an extent that is unprecedented in our history an unparalleled anywhere else in the world” (Kohn, 2000, Education week) and the question her is why and what is relationship between this fact and the diversity of American society. Also Mr. Kohn stated in fact eight that “Many educators are leaving the field because of what is being done to schools in the name of "accountability" and "tougher standards”, (Kohn, 2000, Education week) because teachers are in first line in this battle I think their frustration about standardized testing should be taken seriously. Also I think Mr. Kohn connected all these facts very will to his point of view which is “The tests are just the means by which this game is played. It is a game that a lot of kids—predominantly kids of color—simply cannot win” (Kohn, 2000, Education week) I do agree with Mr. Kohn’s believe and I do think that “no child left behind” policy needs to be reviewed very carefully in order to accommodate the diversity of American society.

Teaching Social Studies with Technology: New Research on Collaborative Approaches

This research is about using technology in teaching social studies and collaborative approaches. The researchers based their findings on results of “The MITTEN Program” (Taylor and Duran, 2006, University of Michigan-Dearborn) .This program explored the effectiveness of integration of technology in teaching social studies in the schools. MITTEN program finding was based on many surveys for educators about how effective the use of technology is in their teaching. The researcher came up with many conclusions such as the positive role of technology in students’ achievement, “The qualitative data collected during the MITTEN project helps to explain why student achievement in history increases when technology is used” (Taylor and Duran, 2006, University of Michigan-Dearborn). The MITTEN program also connects student’s engagement and pedagogy to the use of technology in teaching in order to meet students’ needs. The research also stated that technology is very powerful when it comes to designing activities and projects. I agree with MITTEN program about the problems of integrating technology in teaching- learning environment such as plagiarism and absences of computers in houses for many students.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Computer

VI, Vu Tuong (2005, FEB). Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Computer. T¹p chÝ Khoa häc ®hqghn, ngo¹i ng÷, T.xxI, 61, Retrieved 04/18/09, from http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/saad/Documents/advant%20and%20disadvant%20of%20CALL.pdf

Vu Tuong VI (*)
This article was written by Vu Tuong Vi. It is about the advantages and disadvantages of using computer network technology in languages teaching. The writer said that technology has been used in language teaching for almost three decades. The internet transforms the computer to a tool for information processing and communication. The main idea of this paper is to examine the usefulness of using technology in languages teaching and learning environment. According to the writer “The computer network has offered language teachers and learners a source of authentic material” (VI T¹p chÝ Khoa häc ®hqghn, ngo¹i ng÷, T.xxI, Sè 2, 2005)
. He also thinks multimedia programs can be used as powerful tools to enhance teaching. He added that technology provide to the students (wide range of sources such as online dictionaries). The writer mentioned others advantages such as student can obtain a free lecture notes magazines and newspapers in order to enhance their reading skill. The writer also think that “computer network has been seen as a useful tool for communication” (VI T¹p chÝ Khoa häc ®hqghn, ngo¹i ng÷, T.xxI, Sè 2, 2005)
. Today teachers and students communicate through E-mail, blackboard and others communication tools.
The writer maintained many concern about using technology in teaching languages such as the issues of accessibility, financial barriers, time consuming, and some times lack of knowledge among teachers. The writer concluded his paper by emphasizing on idea of necessity of using computer network technology in teaching languages. I think the writer was successful to offer many examples for the advantages of using technology in teaching languages but his examples for the disadvantages are very general.

Taking Technology to the Classroom

This article was written by David P. Diaz who is a professional in training faculty in technology. Mr. Diaz tried in this article to address the issue of using and implementing technology in the classroom. Mr. Diaz said some of his students told him that what faculty need from any technology training is hands-on training. After Mr. Diaz offered to them several hands-on workshops they said to him “We didn't realize it was going to be so hard. Although we are interested in using technology in the classroom, we aren't skilled enough to put together a quality educational product." (Diaz, 2001, University of North Carolina) After that Mr. Diaz main concern was how to offer effective or efficient technology training. Mr. Diaz in order to meet these challenges puts four principles of technology training "pedagogy-based” " (Diaz, 2001, University of North Carolina). These four principles are ‘First: Emphasize good teaching, not good technology, Second: Focus training on application not construction, Third: Make product development a team effort, fourth: Bring more training to the teacher, not the teacher to the training”." (Diaz, 2001, University of North Carolina ). I think Mr. Diaz technology training principles are very powerful and I agree with him in his concerns and his approach to tackle these challenges. At DLI many trainers focus in technology rather than how to use technology to get better teaching and learning qualities. Also we do need to bring training and trainers to the classroom instate of taking teachers to the training centers. However DLI technology training is hand-on training. It is focusing on application. It is also a team effort product.
Diaz, David ( 2001). Taking Technology to the Classroom. University of North Carolina , Retrieved 04/11/09, from http://technologysource.org/article/taking_technology_to_the_classroom/

Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes

Campbell, Aaron (2003). Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes. Ryukoku University (Seta, Japan), Retrieved 04/04/2009, from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html


This article is about the use of weblogs in ESL classes. The writer of this paper is Aaron Patric Campbell. Mr. Campbell is a blogger too. His intention of writing this paper is to introduce ways of using Weblogs in teaching ESL, to define Weblogs, and to show different kinds of weblogs in teaching ESL. He also mentions available information about software used in weblogs.
According to Mr. Campbell weblogs “ can be thought of as an online journal that an individual can continuously update with his or her own words, ideas, and thoughts through software that enables one to easily do so” ( Campbell, 2003, Ryukoku University Seta, Japan) , he think that anyone with basic computer skill can mange to use weblogs. He think weblogs are very effective in term of creates both a record of learning and a resource for others. Mr. Campbell explains three types of weblogs that can be used in ESL classes:
the first one is the tutor blog, this one can help the teacher to provides reading assignment to his students, to discover English weblogs, to use online conversation, to provide many links to encourage the students to be self- directed learners, and finally, to make course materials available to the students such as syllabus
The second one is the Learner Blog; this one can be run by group or individual learner. The third one is the Class Blog which is helpful for many teachers and students because it has been used as toll for classroom discussion, facilitating languages project, international classroom to share ideas and experiences, and finally as good toll for writing and reading in order to obtain feedback from peers.
Mr. Campbell said there are much software in the market, there for our preference should match our needs. Mr. Campbell concluded his paper by encouraging linguistics to use weblogs because it is easy and effective in teaching and learning languages.
I visited Mr. Campbell’s weblog. I think his weblog is powerful, well organized, and has a visitors from all over the world. You can see the strength of his paper when you see his weblog. However, I think the only weakness of this paper; he did say any thing about the role of weblog in teaching culture, which is a crucial in teaching foreign languages.

Educational Blogging

Downes, Stephen (2004). Educational Blogging. EDUCAUSE Review,, 39, Retrieved 04/04/2009, from http://connect.educause.edu/library/EDUCAUSE+Review/EducationalBlogging/40493


This article was written in 2004 by Stephen Downes. In the article Mr. Downes explained the role of blogs in our education system today by showing many students’ blogs. For instance one of his examples was a fifth grade student who had strong feeling about his blog, he said “The blogs give us a chance to communicate between us and motivate us to write more” (Downes, 2004, Educause Review). I think these are very powerful future because when bloggers publish on their blogs, people from the entire world can respond by using the comments link. The fifth grade student added “This way, they can ask questions or simply tell us what they like. We can then know if people like what we write and this indicate[s to] us what to do better. By reading these comments, we can know our weaknesses and our talents” ” (Downes, 2004, Educause Review) It is very effective toll for feed back, which is crucial in learning process. It can bring people from different background, religion, and race together in order to exchange their point of view with each other and to be open minded and sensitive to the rest of the world not just people in our immediate environment. Mr. Downes showed in his article many definitions of the blog. It seems like these definitions were developed over time reacting to important events in our life and development in technology. According to Downes “Blogging is something defined by format and process, not by content” (Downes, 2004, Educause Review). The strength of this article is the connections that the writer made between the big events and the way us response to those events through technology. Blogs should always meet our new needs in order to help educators and students to solve problems. On the other hand the weakness of the article is the way the article explained the five major uses for blogs in education. I think these uses could be identifying better, and be supported with clear examples.

Teaching With Technology

Martineau, Pamela (2008). Teaching With Technology. California Schools magazine,, 7, Retrieved 04/04/2004, from http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.libproxy.chapman.edu:2048/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.30

This paper is written by Pamela Martineau from California school. The writer main idea is to encourage School boards, administrations, and teachers to revisit their technology police in order to make necessary changes to accommodate the daily changes in technology; because technology is a useful tool to meet students’ needs and goals. These needs and goals are differ from generation to generation “we’ve got a different generations --- like it or not” (Martineau, 2008, California magazine) says Ann Flynn, who is an expert in education technology. The writer gives in this paper many examples from different districts in California about the advantages of using technology to enhance reading, through iPod or iREAD. Also teachers can use technology as toll for keeping digital assessment record for their students. The writer also explains many strategies to use technology to help students at risk. The writer also mentions that technology helps to overcome the problem of attendance in school today. According to the writer “Some digital devices that were once off-limits in the classroom are now used to advance learning there. Social networking sites are a prime example” (Martineau, 2008, California magazine) , the writer gives examples for some popular internet global community classrooms such as Epals , which is “ linking more than 11 million students and teachers from 191 countries”( . Martineau, 2008, California magazine) The writer concluded his paper by emphasizing on the idea of seen technology as solution to classrooms’ problems rather than focusing in technology itself.
At DLI we do not have restriction for using technology. The DLI polices encourage teachers to use technology. Many teachers and students find technology very useful to communicate effectively, however there are a few teachers expressed concern about the limitation of using it. I think teachers, parents, and students should be involved in forming any polices regarding technology.