January 19, 2005 - Second Action Reflection
My original research question is/was
Will the use of both face-to-face collaboration and virtual tools (Tapped In, eSchool Builder, AIM, Portals, etc) at my workplace result in the cultivation of a community of practice that promotes a sense of community, and a sharing of both practices and knowledge through providing flexible opportunites for staff members to meet and collaborate across time and distance?
I have tweaked my original research question once more to a broader question. I removed the contemporary literacy portion as I don't believe that I should be deciding the outcome of the collaboration to that specificity. I think that by allowing the main research question to stay broad I will open the possibilies that may result. Otherwise, I could find myself pressing "an agenda" on the group that may not be in keeping with their needs, desires, or goals. At this time, I'm comfortable with the ending phrase - proving flexible opportuntiies for staff members to meet and collaborate across time and distance. That ties back to my original problem.
What will happen to contemporary literacy? That will not necessarily be a part of the AR, although it is still a part of the strategic vision that i'm working toward for technology's role in our division. I think that literacy will be a part of the discussion at some point. I'm thinking of asking the group - via the discussion group-- "What is Literacy?" This is a question that they have strong feelings about. They are quite vested in this. I have been questioned about this term "contemporary literacy" and why I want to investigate that. One comment I received stated that literacy doesn't involve the counselors or speech therapists. I disagree with that. I think that sometimes we look at literacy in too narrow a frame. Besides reading, writing, and math, students need to be "literate" in the way of interacting with others and moving through the world. Students are being bullied on AIM or they be be the bully themselves, they sometimes don't get along well face-to-face but find friends in the virtual world. To me, these are contemporary literacy skills. I think speech can be tied in as well--just not as easily for me. One of the things that I hope to accomplish by working with this group is their help in threading all these areas together in one "Big Picture" and how technology is related to that picture. I'm calling that contemporary literacy. We don't just teach reading, or math, or counsel....we work with the "whole child." My personal feeling is that contemporary literacy will work for us as a theme---with the help of the staff to continue to refine the view!
I think that my data collection techniques have worked to date. Given that I am separated for these participants via geography, I think that e-mail and surveys are my best form of collection at this time. I continue to look for opportunties to discuss face-to-face when possible.
I am happy with the group number -- it's managable. I will use the survey results to help me in both pro-active planning and re-active planning. This will be my roadmap related to how quickly I can move. At this time I will keep things simple and move at a slower pace. I will survey after each meeting and get a general reaction. This will be used to adjust my pacing, content, intensity.