My action research project has hit several delays and
roadblocks this year. My project was to
determine if a 1:1 iPad implementation would increase student performance on
standardized tests. Our school had a
delay in getting the proper amount of Internet bandwidth, which made most of
the teachers hesitant to use the devices.
When teachers did use them for instruction, it was often an exercise in
frustration. We received approval on
March 28, 2014 to purchase the switches needed to improve the Internet
access. We have been asking for these
since January of 2013. We also had to
wait over nine months to purchase an app that we are using for student
workflow. Our district is not ready for
students to have email addresses. This is why we chose to have a paid app over
using Google docs and Gmail for free. We
received the approval to purchase the app in December of 2013. We started training teachers in January and
have had some success. Several teachers
are using the app and the iPad during the spring semester, but it is too little
too late in my opinion. I do not feel
that I will be able to accurately tell if the use of iPads increased student
performance. More than likely any
increase will be the result of good, old-fashion teaching. When the results come back from the 2014
round of STAAR testing, I will finish my analysis and draw any reasonable
conclusions. Documenting these results
in my paper will conclude my action research project.
