Running head: CLASSROOM COLLABORATION VIA WEB 2.0 TOOLS 1
Classroom Collaboration via Web 2.0 Tools in a Special Education Classroom
Robert Kyle Johnson
Kennesaw State University
January 2017
Ms. Borup
Spring 2017
CLASSROOM COLLABORATION VIA WEB 2.0 TOOLS 2
Capstone Project Experience and Results
Introduction
Long-standing research indicates that students who base learning on real-world
problems and issues have a better chance of retaining information that is learned in the
classroom. For many schools, the medium used to achieve this learning is through PBLs.
According to Edutopia, PBL-based learning “Studies comparing learning outcomes for students
taught via project-based learning versus traditional instruction show that when implemented
well, PBL increases long-term retention of content, helps students perform as well as or better
than traditional learners in high-stakes tests, improves problem-solving and collaboration skills,
and improves students' attitudes towards learning” (Vega, 2015). Furthermore, when
collaboration is used to answer a problem, as with many PBLs, students get the necessary
training to discuss and solve issues with peers that is used on a daily basis in the real world
among adults. At Central Gwinnett High School, the goal is to increase collaboration and relate
content to real world issues. This goal is even made more relevant to students through the
implementation of the Academy model, which places students into one of five different pathways
related to their career goals, including Law, Education and Public Service, Medical and
Healthcare, STEM, Fine Arts, and Business. This goal for many teachers is difficult under the
traditional model of teaching and learning. New strategies are needed to bridge the gap with
higher level learning through real world problems.
For the capstone, the goal was to leverage technology and use it in a way that would be
an impactful learning experience, but also deliver it in a way unprecedented in the school and
would challenge students to learn more collaboratively. By using technology and collaboration
together, “…[it] has great potential for improving learning skills, enriching their contents, and
CLASSROOM COLLABORATION VIA WEB 2.0 TOOLS 3
enhancing knowledge development (Lin, Hsaio, Tseng, and Chan, 2014, p. 162). The teacher
decided to come up with a way that Web 2.0 tools such as Google Slides and Google Docs could
be used to increase online collaboration among students. However, once the idea was in place
and the planning began, the teacher realized that more could be done to give the students a
unique experience that could be used to not only increase collaboration through the use of
technology, but prepare them for the type of learning that many colleges and universities are
implementing.
Initial Plans
Upon completion of the capstone project, slight changes were made to the original
proposal based on personal preference as the teacher began to build the assignments and based
upon the fluidity of the course the project was implemented in. Initially, the teacher proposed to
have a walk-through of what was expected within the learning management system that the
district provides teachers to use in their content areas. Furthermore, as students became more
comfortable with the learning management system, the teacher would implement more rigorous
assignments to include a collaborative activity using Google Slides and the discussion forum to
illicit more in-depth discussion about a reading that was assigned using the ABC model of
discussion responses. For the fourth and fifth activity that was initially planned, the teacher
would have students create Google Slides to create a presentation of the Bill of Rights and how it
impacts their lives today, followed by a survey instrument to provide feedback of their
experience in using Web 2.0 tools to learn collaboratively. However, as the building of the
activities began to be designed, the teacher wanted students to have more exposure to online
collaborative learning using Web 2.0 tools.
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In an age where technology is becoming more and more a part of everyone’s everyday
lives, the teacher felt as though it would be beneficial for high school seniors to be exposed to
the potential of what an online class would look like at the college level. The teacher planned to
create an online unit that would challenge students to think at a deeper level using videos,
readings, and discussions that would challenge their thinking with how politics and referenda
impact their lives.
Changes to the Capstone Project
In alignment with what Gwinnett County Public Schools regards as “Transformational
Teaching and Learning”, the goal for the collaborative online learning experience for students
was to “[Use] digital tools to provide students with meaningful opportunities to collaborate on
their learning and synthesize learning by creating” (Eclass – The Transformed Classroom).
Although the original capstone proposal was sufficient to get accurate data, the teacher designed
a collaborative learning unit using Web 2.0 tools that would strengthen the students
understanding of the Constitution and how it relates to the students’ lives. Instead of having five
individual projects, the teacher designed a seven-week unit that would be completely online.
Each module would contain module objectives that would address the standards (see Appendix,
exemplar 1). Each module would contain learning activities that would encourage online
collaboration. For example, students were given a reading on the Federalists and Anti-
Federalists. After reading, students would engage in two questions that would promote deeper
understanding of the reading. Once students posted their original response, they would have to
respond to two peers (see Appendix, exemplar 2). Another activity that would encourage
collaboration among students was the Google Docs activity in which students were asked to look
through the US Constitution and answer twenty questions that would help them gain a better
CLASSROOM COLLABORATION VIA WEB 2.0 TOOLS 5
understanding of the various aspects of the Constitution, including what was contained within the
seven articles and what powers were given to each individual branch of government. Students
would be broken up and given a set number of questions to answer. Once they finished their
questions, they were required to look at a few peers’ answers and review them to ensure they
were correct. This would increase retention of the material due to the fact that students were
reviewing answers from peers and yet they were still working collaboratively.
As students continued through the online unit, the activities would begin to build on one
another. The culminating activity would be an essay in which they would have to reflect on
whether the Federal Government has too much power. Students were to use any notes from the
unit and what they learned to develop an essay. Once this was finished, a WebQuest was
developed to allow students the opportunity to explore various Supreme Court cases throughout
history and reflect on how it impacted the lives of Americans and how it might impact them
today. A worksheet would accompany the WebQuest and students would be asked to describe
the problem of the case, the outcome, and how it might impact them today. Once the worksheet
was completed, students were asked to illustrate the court case that they felt impacted them the
most. They were free to be creative when it came to how they illustrated it, as long as the
illustration included what the case was about and how it impacts them today. A rubric was
provided for them to ensure all aspects of the illustration were addressed (See Appendix,
exemplar 3 for details on the WebQuest.
Although the changes to the capstone were significant, the teacher felt as though they
were necessary to give the students a unique experience that was different than anything they had
ever experienced in the classroom before. The progress was slow at the beginning, as students
were adjusting to the new way of learning collaboratively online, but from classroom observation
CLASSROOM COLLABORATION VIA WEB 2.0 TOOLS 6
and student evaluations, it appears students enjoyed the experience and gained a better of
understanding of the Constitution and how it impacts their lives today.
Results and Obstacles
With any new teaching approach, one cannot guarantee that all aspects of the learning
experience would go without an issue or problem, however great or small. With this new
learning experience that no student had ever experienced before, there was bound to be a
learning curve.
Overall, students did a good job engaging in the material. However, the students did not
seem to engage in the discussions as desired or expected by the teacher. If time would have
allowed, the students would have been given a more thorough tutorial on what was expected
when engaging in a discussion post. Although the ABC protocol was linked and available for
students to access, the students did not fully understand the brevity of what was desired by the
teacher. If changes are to be made in the future, a rubric would be provided that gives students
explicit instructions on what is expected when responding to peer discussions (See Appendix,
exemplar 4 for discussion example). Furthermore, more time will be taken to walk students
through the process of how to engage in peer responses more effectively. Being that the online
learning experience has been done once by students, their work could be used as examples to
show what is and is not expected.
Throughout the capstone, students worked on the activities in their regular class period to
allow the teacher the time to walk around the room to answer questions for students. Although it
was in class, students were to work independently as if they were engaging in a virtual classroom
environment. As students were working, many did not put forth the effort to fully engage in the
online learning experience. Many students did not meet the deadlines per the unit calendar.
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Although this is reflective of normal classroom behavior as well, the teacher felt as though the
students would have performed at a higher level on their essay if they would have put forth more
effort. However, upon reflection, this was a new experience for students, so if students would
have been given more time to preview the material and given more directions on the expectations
of online learning, they may have been more engaged and involved.
Aside from overall involvement in the online learning unit, there were some navigational
and functional issues that took some time to overcome. Most students used Google Chromebooks
that were provided by the school for them to use. Google Chromebooks do not have a dedicated
hard drive for students to save Word Documents on their computer. The interface uses Google’s
suite of apps including Docs, Slides, and Sheets and all work is saved on a student’s Google
Drive. So the issue was two-fold: Students who did not have a Gmail would have to sign up for
one, which was not that difficult to do. However, the biggest issue involved students submitting
papers and other documents to the dropbox within the LMS. This issue took some time to resolve
and it was not very convenient for the students to do. Students had to open the document using
Google Docs and export the document as a Microsoft Word file. The document would then be
sent to their downloads folder within their Drive. It could only then be uploaded to eclass and
submitted. What would be more convenient, and the county is considering it, is if students could
just submit the URL to the dropbox of the Google Doc. Although this was one of the major
issues, students were patient and the issue was resolved quickly.
Evaluations
Based on student evaluations, the online learning unit helped them to better understand the
material and how the Constitution relates to their lives today. One student’s responses indicated
that the videos and taking notes online was very helpful in her understanding of the subject
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material and the content contained within the online learning unit were directly aligned to the
standards (see Appendix, exemplar 5). However, based on the students’ grades, there was no
significant growth nor decline in their overall grade compared to other classroom assessments.
To test their overall understanding, a multiple-choice exam was given to the students at the end
of the online learning unit to assess their knowledge of the Constitution. The results from this
assessment are comparable to the other units in which a multiple-choice assessment was given.
As stated before, the grades students received were neither higher or lower than other
assessments (see Appendix, exemplar 6). With this indication, a more thorough analysis of the
causes of the grades should be taken into consideration. Perhaps student learning styles are
different; those who are more visual learners may have done slightly better than previous tests.
Other considerations for the lack of growth could be the layout of the course as a whole. Looking
forward, there are some changes that could be implemented to gain a better of understanding of
the effectiveness of the online learning unit. Additionally, changes can be made within the course
itself to make learning more engaging and make the layout of the course design more fluid.
Changes for the Future
Looking forward, prior to the students engaging in any content online, a more thorough
investigation into the learning styles of the students will be implemented. A survey will be given
to the students to identify their individual learning styles. The goal is for students to understand
how they learn more effectively and for the teacher to have a better indication of how students
learn. The survey results will be used to assess overall learning of the content in relation to their
learning styles. Additionally, more time will be given to allow students the opportunity to
preview the content before engaging in the online learning experience. The teacher will guide
students through the modules and explain how to effectively navigate the LMS. Exemplars will
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be shown to give students a better understanding of what is expected with the classroom
discussions and how to properly respond to peers’ posts. With these two goals in mind, the
teacher will have a better understanding of how students learn and students will have a better
understanding of how to successfully navigate the LMS and they will be able to use the survey
results to better understand the way they learn.
Technology Facilitation and Leadership
After careful reflection of the online learning experience, including the layout, design,
student evaluations, and overall implementation of the online unit, there are things that could be
considered to make improvements on the learning and the method of introducing the learning
experience to the students. When it comes to technology facilitation, it is important to always be
open to making changes to the way students learn based on their personal learning styles. For
example, one activity that a teacher may think would serve as a great way to present content on a
particular standard may not be suitable for the students. Many believe that technology alone will
solve the issues of differentiation. As a technology leader and facilitator, it is important to
remind teachers that “technology alone cannot accomplish this goal – only the proper application
of technology can truly accomplish it” (Fose, p. 1). Throughout the capstone experience, small
changes were made to the activities to make them more engaging to students. Additionally,
students provided input on how to make the online learning unit more relatable to them and more
engaging. As a technology facilitator, it is very important to tailor the learning to the students’
needs and provide any assistance or help that is needed when students are learning online.
As a technology leader, sometimes trying something new may seem daunting, but it is
critical to invoke change within a school setting or within the district as a whole. By
implementing the online learning unit, the teacher could show the results to the administration
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and give them hard evidence of the success of the online learning unit. Additionally, the success
of the online learning unit can serve as a precedent for an initiative that could be implemented
within the school system or county in the near future and the teacher could serve as the
instructional leader for this new initiative. To further influence the importance of online learning
and how it can address the needs of many types of learners, the teacher can show how the online
learning unit addresses the PSC standards of Instructional Technology, which is being pushed
heavily by the district. For example, Standard 3.3, Online and Blended Learning, is addressed
throughout the entire online learning unit. Students engaged themselves in various forms of
collaborative activities both synchronously and asynchronously. Through the use of discussions,
students were able to take a reading about a topic and post their thoughts and ideas to various
probing questions that were meant to invoke higher level learning. To expand on their
understanding, students were to respond to peers to share their insight and relate to something the
peer wrote in their original blog posting. With this model, even the shyest student is able to
express their understanding and this method of classroom discussion can ensure all students are
learning and understanding the content material.
The teacher could also argue that the online learning unit would produce a Level 4B of
Technology Implementation, or LoTi Level 4B. With this level, student products emphasize
complex thinking skill strategies, and the learning is student-centered. The learning can be
applied to real-world issues and the students are asked within the online learning unit to relate
their understanding of the Constitution and Constitutional amendments to their lives today and
reflect on how it impacts them. Lastly, to address the learning needs of those in a special
education setting, the online learning unit addresses PSC Standard 3.4, Adaptive and Assistive
Technology, in many ways. Being that the capstone was implemented within a resource
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classroom, steps had to be taken to ensure students were accommodated effectively. As students
worked on the activities, they were able to ask for assistance from the teacher to help them
understand the instructions or elaborate on what they were working on. As students would ask
questions, the teacher would take note of any instructional changes that would need to be made
in the future. What would make accommodating students difficult with online learning is if
students were not in the classroom and were required to engage in this type of learning at home.
This is an ongoing issue and more research would need to be done to help bridge this gap.
However, within the blended learning model, students were as independent as they desired. The
teacher was available when necessary. Additionally, the activities accommodated those students
who had read-aloud accommodations. Reading passages could be read-aloud by the text-to-
speech widget that is downloaded on the student Chromebooks. Additionally, for more in-depth
instructional activities, the instructions were pre-recorded and students could play and pause as
they desired.
Recommendations
In retrospect, for those who would aspire to do something daring that would challenge the
status quo of teaching and learning, the online learning unit would be a very challenging, yet
rewarding, project. There cannot be promises of student growth due to the fact that online
learning is not for everyone and there is no set formula for success with technology integration in
a classroom. All students learn differently. Much like a teacher explains content in several
different ways in a face-to-face learning environment, the mediums through which content is
delivered in an online setting needs to varied. Although the creation of the online learning unit
was a little daunting and took a long time to design and implement effectively, one has to realize
that any new teaching strategy takes a while to understand, let alone master. What makes this
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opportunity unique, however, is the fact that it is not very common in school districts. Sure they
may be dedicated online schools within districts and states, but the fusion of online learning
within a brick-and-mortar classroom is very unique. With this blended setting, students get the
opportunity to engage in their own learning in a more collaborative setting and the teacher truly
serves as a facilitator to student learning and serves an assistance role to those who need special
accommodations or further explanation of instructions. Although the results from the online
learning experience were not what the teacher would have desired, the experience for students
looks very positive and as a technology leader, it is important to continue to reflect on what can
be done to improve on the experience to further invoke improvement on student learning through
an online blended learning experience.
References
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E-Class – The Transformed Classroom [handout]. Retrieved from
https://instruction.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/d2l/le/content/221504/viewContent/14661029/Vie
w?ou=221504
Fose, L. E. (n.d.). Exploring Technology to Address Student Multiple Intelligences and Learning
Styles. Retrieved January 21, 2017, from
http://www.calpoly.edu/~lfose/articles/Exploring_Technology.pdf
Lin, C., Hsaio, H., Tseng, S., & Chan, H. (2014). Learning English Vocabulary collaboratively in
a Technology-Supported Classroom. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational
Technology, 13 (1), 162-173.
Vega, V. (2015). Project-Based Learning Research Review. Retrieved April 12, 2016, from
http://www.edutopia.org/pbl-research-learning-outcomes
Appendix
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Exemplar 1:
Exemplar 2:
Exemplar 3:
http://kylejohnson112991.wixsite.com/constitution
Exemplar 4:
CLASSROOM COLLABORATION VIA WEB 2.0 TOOLS 15
Exemplar 5:
Exemplar 6:
Student Name Constitution Test
Civic Responsibility
Test
Executive Branch Test
Legislative Branch Test
Student 1 70 70 63 63
Student 2 73 73 80 73
Student 3 61 51 55 70
Student 4 50 50 67 60
Student 5 82 57 70 70
Student 6 62 60 60 83
Student 7 63 53 53 66
Student 8 78 65 65 86
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