Category Archives: Research

Study Results: Coordinator Demographics Part 1

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

Remember as you review the results of my study that every variable was examined to see its relationship with how often the school was using curriculum videoconferencing and whether that variable could be used to predict the use of videoconferencing.

In this post, we’ll look at the relationship between the school’s use of curriculum videoconferencing and some coordinator demographic variables.

Gender

  • Schools with female coordinators use videoconferencing significantly more than the average of the other levels (r=.152, p=.012). When this variable was considered by holding all the other variables constant using multiple regression, this result became non-significant.

Coordinator’s Age

  • The coordinator’s age was negatively correlated with the schools’ use of videoconferencing (r=-.142, p=.023). The coordinator’s age dropped out of significance in the final prediction model.

Coordinator’s Level of Education

  • Schools with a coordinator with 2 years of college use videoconferencing significantly more than the average of the other levels of education (r=.223, p=.000).
  • Schools with a coordinator with a Master’s degree use videoconferencing significantly less than the average of the other levels of education (r=-.154, p=.011).
  • Schools with a coordinator with a Ph.D. use videoconferencing significantly less than the average of the other levels of education (r=-.126, p=.036).
  • When these variables were considered by holding the other variables constant using a multiple regression prediction model, the 2 year degree result became stronger (b=20.544, p=.002).

Coordinator’s Ethnicity

  • The ethnicity of the coordinator is not significantly related to the school’s use of videoconferencing.

Coordinator’s Job Title

  • The job titles of librarian, media aide, principal, district VC coordinator, and regional VC coordinator were not significantly related to the school’s use of videoconferencing.
  • Where the coordinator’s job title was paraprofessional, the schools use videoconferencing significantly more than the average of the other job titles (r=.220, p=.000).
  • Where the coordinator’s job title was teacher, the schools use videoconferencing significantly more than the average of the other job titles (r=.115, p=.010).
  • Where the coordinator’s job title was technology specialist, the schools use videoconferencing significantly less than the average of the other job titles (r=-.144, p=.016).
  • When these variables were considered by holding the other variables constant using a multiple regression prediction model, the paraprofessional (b=31.413, p=.013) and teacher (b=11.752, p=.021) job titles were significant contributors to the model.

Recommendations & Discussion

  • What recommendations would you draw from these results?
  • Why do you think schools with a tech specialist as VC coordinator might use videoconferencing less?
  • Why might a school with a teacher or paraprofessional as VC coordinator use videoconferencing more?
  • Note the small r’s in all of the results. Clearly these results are not true in every situation. What exceptions do you know of to these results?
  • My methodologist said that in any study, you’ll find a significant difference between the genders. Do you think there is a difference between a male VC coordinator and a female VC coordinator? How so?

Please comment!

Study Results: School Demographics

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

Now we start looking at the results of my study. Every variable was examined to see its relationship with how often the school was using curriculum videoconferencing and whether that variable could be used to predict the use of videoconferencing. This is why my questions about the method of measuring utilization are important.

In this post, we’ll look at the relationship between the school’s use of curriculum videoconferencing and some school demographic variables.

School Level

  • The elementary schools use videoconferencing significantly more than the average of the other levels (r=.280, p=.000).
  • The high schools use videoconferencing significantly less than the average of the other levels (r=-.194, p=.001).
  • Where the coordinators support all levels, their schools are using it significantly less than the average of all the other levels (r=-.202, p=.001).

Population

  • Population is not significantly correlated to the school’s use of videoconferencing. (However, when using multiple regression in analyzing school demographics, population contributed a very small amount to the prediction model. Schools with higher population were using videoconferencing slightly less (b=-8.03, p=.021).)

Poverty

  • Poverty scores (National School Lunch Program, US only) are not significantly correlated to the school’s use of videoconferencing.

Ethnicity

  • The only ethnicity that is using videoconferencing significantly more than the others is the “other” category (r=.202, p=.001). Most of the coordinators who chose the other category wrote in Native American or Canadian First Nations (16 out of 22).

Recommendations

  • If faced with a choice, install videoconferencing in elementary schools first.
  • If you coordinate videoconferencing for multiple levels/schools, you need to train and support a VC coordinator in each school.
  • Curriculum videoconferencing meets a particular need and is often used by Native American and Canadian First Nations schools with access. This should be supported & continued.

Stats Principles to Remember

  • Correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation. You cannot say with confidence that because the school was an elementary school; that caused the school to use videoconferencing more.
  • r is the measure of the correlation. In medicine, we want a very high r (close to 1 as possible); in education and other social sciences, we’re doing good to have it close to .5.
  • p tells you how much of that result is due to chance (for example .001 is .1% due to chance)

Your Turn

  • Do you agree with the results? Would you recommend installing videoconferencing systems (with the purpose of curriculum videoconferencing) in elementary schools first? Is that where VC is available in your area? Why or why not?
  • Do you think that it is important to have a VC champion/coordinator in each school?
  • This is my first results post. Is it clear? Does it raise questions? Do you recommend another way?

Thinking About Differentiated Instruction Within Jazz

Recently I’ve been reading about Differentiated Instruction. It’s one of those things that I hear alot about, but needed to really learn so I can connect my instructional technology practice to the current pedagogical practices teachers are learning.

So, I just finished Carol Ann Tomlinson’s book, The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners.

As I’ve been reflecting, I suddenly realized that the “local time” during the Jazz workshop is when we differentiate instruction.

Jazz Schedule
For those of you who haven’t participated in Jazz, the daily schedule looks something like this:

  • 30-90 minutes “local time”
  • 120 minutes “simulation time” (Read Around the Planet, MysteryQuest, ASK,  etc.)
  • 30 minutes “local time” & 30 minutes lunch
  • 60 minutes guest speaker time (GNG and other content providers or guest speakers)
  • 30 minutes “local time”
  • 60 minutes small group time (groups meet across sites)
  • 30 minutes “local time”

Solving Math Problems
Solving Math Problems

What is Local Time?
Local time gives the participants a break and includes the following:

  • Housekeeping time (reminders, signing up for jobs, etc.)
  • Instruction on Skype and GoogleDocs
  • Instruction on finding VC programs
  • Video clips
  • Optional activities such as learning Twitter or Glogster
  • Debrief and reflection time

Why Differentiated Instruction?
We continue to struggle to assist new facilitators with local time. Those of us who have taught Jazz for a long time have a sense of where the participants are, what their needs are, and we adapt and are flexible throughout the week.

New facilitators are overwhelmed by the choices and find it hard to know where to start.

Differentiated instruction includes

  • differentiating content (materials and mechanisms)
  • differentiating process (activities)
  • differentiating product (ways students demonstrate learning)

As I read about differentiated instruction, I realized that in Jazz, we differentiate instruction in two major ways:

  1. We scale the activities and responsibilities for new facilitators.
  2. We adapt the local time activities based on the needs of the participants.

So what’s new?

I realized that some new facilitators (and veteran facilitators) may not be familiar with the instructional tool of adapting instruction to participants needs or being flexible in training. So, I made a little overview of differentiated instruction for our facilitators that we can use each year during our planning meetings. It includes:

  • A quick overview of Differentiated Instruction
  • Picture examples of differentiated instruction in action
  • Prompts to think about assessing participants
  • Items to decide and plan for local time

Your Turn

  • Jazz facilitators, what do you think? Will this help us? What did I miss? Is it too complex? Understandable?
  • Past Jazz participants: did you ever realize that what happens during Jazz looks like differentiated instruction? What connections do you see?

Educational Service Agency Support

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

This set of questions tried to determine what type of support the coordinators in my study received from educational service agencies.

What is an ESA?

An educational service agency provides support and services to local districts. Read more about them in the U.S. at the Association of Educational Service Agencies. In Michigan they are called ISDs or RESAs or ESDs. In New York they are BOCES; in Texas ESCs; in Wisconsin CESAs, in Pennsylvania IUs. ESAs represented in the study are listed below. You’ll notice that some of them are organizations other than an ESA including consortiums, statewide networks, and large school districts that offer services similar to ESAs.  The organizations in Canada that stand out are Ontario’s ABEL, KCDC, and Alberta’s Regional Leads Network. How many of these do you know?!

  • ABEL
  • ACELINK
  • BCISD (now Berrien RESA)
  • CESA 11
  • Carbon Lehigh IU
  • Chester County IU
  • CIESC
  • Clare Gladwin RESD
  • CREC
  • CSD
  • Dallas ISD
  • Edmonton Public School Board
  • EEZ NYIT
  • ERVING
  • ESC 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 20 (TX)
  • ETECH
  • Garden State Distance Learning Consortium
  • Genesee Valley BOCES
  • Graham County Consortium
  • GST BOCES
  • Hawaii DOE
  • Pinal ITV Consortium
  • IU 1, 13 (PA)
  • Jefferson-Lewis BOCES
  • KCDC
  • Macomb ISD
  • MAGPI
  • MCOE
  • Montgomery IU
  • NCOCC
  • NYCDOE
  • OAISD
  • Oakland ISD
  • OU BOCES
  • REMC 5
  • REMC 7
  • Saginaw ISD
  • SEOVEC
  • Shasta County Office of Education
  • SOITA
  • South Central Kansas ESC
  • TIES
  • VCRLN
  • ESD 112
  • Wilson Education Center

Do You Receive Support from an ESA?

ESA Support

Does Your ESA Create and Facilitate Free Programming?

ESA Facilitates Programming

Does Your ESA Subsidize Programming from Content Providers?

ESA Subsidizes Programming

What percent of your VCs from 2007-2008 were provided or facilitated by your ESA?

Isn’t it interesting that this graph seems to show basically all or nothing with very little in between?
ESA: Percent Programming Provided by ESA

Your Turn

What do you think?

  • Schools: What videoconferencing services do you receive from your ESA? What services do you wish you could receive?
  • Schools: What services do you think are most essential from your ESA?
  • ESAs: What services do you think are essential to provide to your school districts?
  • What types of programs should ESAs facilitate and provide?

Coordinator Training

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

We continue an examination of the coordinator demographics of those who took my survey. What type of training do coordinators receive?

Hours of Training

Isn’t it interesting how many received no training at all? I really wonder about those who had the high numbers of training, don’t you? What type of training do you think they had? (FYI they wrote the number in.)

Coordinator Demographics: Hours of Training

Type of VC Training

The question was: What type of videoconferencing training did you receive? Respondents selected from the choices below.

Coordinator Demographics: Type of Training

Your Turn

  • What training did you receive to be a videoconference coordinator?
  • What training do you wish you received?
  • What were (and are) your sources of continued learning?
  • What do you see as the key components in learning to be a videoconference coordinator?

Coordinator Job Titles & Time to Support VC

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

We continue an examination of the coordinator demographics of those who took my survey. Who gets the responsibility of the videoconference coordinator and how much time do they have to support VC?

Job Title

Coordinator Demographics: Job Titles

Time to Support VC

Coordinator Demographics: Time to Support VC

Your Turn

  • Which job title best matches yours?
  • Do you think there is a job title that is a better match for the videoconference coordinator responsibilities?
  • When you talk to principals, which person/position do you recommend as the videoconference coordinator?
  • How much time does it take for you to support videoconferencing?
  • Do you think it should be a full time job – at the school level? District level? Regional level? Or is it ok to have VC mixed in with other responsibilities such as instructional technology?

Coordinator Demographics From My Study Part 2

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

We continue an examination of the coordinator demographics of those who took my survey. Do these demographics include someone like you?

Country (Number of responses)

  • Australia (1)
  • Canada (25)
  • Greece (1)
  • Honduras (1)
  • United Kingdom (1)
  • United States (248)

U.S. States

  • Alabama (2)
  • Alaska (2)
  • Arizona (5)
  • California (5)
  • Connecticut (1)
  • Florida (1)
  • Georgia (1)
  • Hawaii (1)
  • Illinois (1)
  • Indiana (12)
  • Kansas (2)
  • Kentucky (1)
  • Maine (1)
  • Maryland (2)
  • Massachusetts (1)
  • Michigan (50)
  • Minnesota (4)
  • Missouri (2)
  • Nevada (1)
  • New Jersey (7)
  • New York (21)
  • North Carolina (1)
  • Ohio (12)
  • Oklahoma (1)
  • Pennsylvania (9)
  • South Carolina (1)
  • Tennessee (2)
  • Texas (87)
  • Virginia (4)
  • Washington (1)
  • Wisconsin (7)

Canadian Provinces

  • Alberta (17)
  • Ontario (1)
  • Saskatchewan (7)

Thinking & Your Turn

Is this close to representative of the states who are using videoconferencing to connect to content providers and peers for collaborative projects? (in 2007-2008). When I think of the states and provinces that participate in Read Around the Planet, it seems to be close. What do you think? Is a state missing that is using videoconferencing often for content providers and collaborative projects?

Do you think these numbers help explain why it’s hard to find international partner classes for projects and collaborations? Do you think there is more VC in K12 education in other countries; we just haven’t found the way to find them?

Coordinator Demographics From My Study Part 1

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

In this set of posts on my research, we are examining who actually took the survey. Some of the coordinator demographics are shared in this post. Do these demographics include someone like you?

Gender (in percent)

Coordinator Demographics: Gender

Age

By the way, how do you like to see this type of data? I like the frequency graph because it gives you a feel for the spread as opposed to the traditional range & mean as reported in my dissertation.

Coordinator Demographics: Age

Years in Education

Coordinator Demographics: Years in Education

Years Experience with Videoconferencing

Coordinator Demographics: Years Experience with Videoconferencing

Ethnicity

Are VC Coordinators really not very diverse? Why is that?

Coordinator Demographics: Ethnicity

Highest Level of Education

Coordinator Demographics: Level of Education

Your Turn: What do you think?

  • Do you see yourself represented in this study? If not, what is missing? Please comment!
  • Do any questions arise as you see these demographics? What do you wonder about?
  • Why do you think there are way more female VC coordinators than male?
  • What type of position or job title do you think is represented by the different levels of education?
  • Do you think the coordinators in the study, as described here, are representative of who is using videoconferencing in the curriculum? If not, why not? Remember, the demographic information helps us know if the results are representataive/generalizable/applicable in other situations.

School Demographics from My Study

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

In the next set of posts on my research, we’ll look at who actually took the survey. Today, let’s review the demographics of the schools where the videoconference coordinators work. Is a school like yours represented in the study? That is one way to assess the results and determine if the results are applicable to your school.

277 Survey Responses

310 participants in eight countries and 33 U.S. states originally responded to the survey. However, 33 of these did not give enough information to create a complete utilization score; therefore the final number of participants in this study was 277 in six countries and 31 U.S. states.

School Level

Question: Select your school level.

School Demographics: School Level

Ethnic Makeup

Question: Indicate the ethnic makeup of the school. The percents are shown.

School Demographics: Ethnic Makeup

# of Teachers (Size of School)

School Demographics: Number of Teachers

City Population

School Demographics: Population of the City

National School Lunch Plan (NSLP) Score

Question: Do you know the National School Lunch Program score for your school? yes / no. If yes, please enter the NSLP score or your best guess.

One hundred nine participants (39.4%) knew the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) score for their school and a few more were willing to enter their best guess. So 124 participants gave the NSLP score for their school.

The NSLP score is often used as a measure of poverty and is the percent of students receiving free and reduced-cost lunches.

School Demographics: NSLP

Your Turn

Do you see your school(s) represented in this study? If not, what is missing? Please comment!

Do any questions arise as you see these results? What do you wonder about?

Do you think the schools in the study, as described here, are representative of who is using videoconferencing in the curriculum? If not, why not?

I really do want to know what you think! One of the weaknesses of my study is that I don’t know exactly who is on the listservs for videoconferencing. How do I know that those who answered my survey are representative of the population (the people on the listservs)? This matters because the results of a study can only be generalized (applied) to a population similar to those who participated in the study. So what do you think? Is this sample (the people who responded) representative of the population of videoconference coordinators?

Measuring Utilization of Curriculum Videoconferencing

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

How would you measure the use of curriculum videoconferencing? In my research, I examined specifically the videoconference coordinator and their role in the implementation of videoconferencing. I compared factors such as school and coordinator demographics with the school’s use of videoconferencing. But to do any comparisons, first I had to define utilization. How would you define it?

Three Components of Utilization

I added together three numbers to calculate utilization:

  • Total videoconference events (professional development, meetings, and student events, excluding daily courses) divided by the number of students times 100 to get a whole number.
    (Total events / #students * 100)
  • Total student events (projects, collaborations, content providers, etc; excluding daily courses) divided by the number of students times 100 to get a whole number.
    (Student events / #students * 100)
  • Percent of teachers using videoconferencing.
    (#Teachers who used VC / total#teachers)

I didn’t want to count daily shared classes, because I was specifically researching using videoconferencing in the curriculum as opposed to a method of delivering curriculum.

I divided by the number of students to more fairly compare number of events across various sized schools.

Results of Total Events

  • Total events ranged from0 to 60 with a mean of 4.
  • Student events ranged from 0 to 67 with a mean of 4.
  • Percentage of teachers using videoconferencing ranged from 0 to 100% with a mean of 26%.
  • The three added together ranged from 0 to 180 with a mean of 35.

Your Turn
Using this formula, calculate your school’s use of videoconferencing last year. How are you doing in comparison with the average? In comparison with the highest use schools? Do you have any guesses (hypotheses) about schools that use it more?

Please comment. How would (or do) you define and measure the use of videoconferencing?