Using Social Media to Engage Student Learning in a Chinese Classroom2

8/11/2019 Using Social Media to Engage Student Learning in a Chinese Classroom2

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Using Social Media to Engage Student Learning in a Chinese Classroom

Claudia Lee

An Action Research Project Submitted for MEDD 8998

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the

Degree of Master of Education

University of Hong Kong


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Table of Contents

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:8$.%&$7%. %.;8.< ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) =Learning the Chinese Language)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) =Possible challenges of motivation)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) =Student Engagement )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) >Formal and Informal Learning ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) >Social Networks ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) ?

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D2. 1,0$.E$ )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) FUsing Edmodo as a learning platform ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) F

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Appendix E- Post-survey questions and results)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) 4KAppendix F- Student interviews ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) 4J


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Abstract

In this action research, the effect of an educational social media platform used

as an informal yet structured learning environment on student motivation and

engagement for learning Chinese was analyzed. Pre- and post-student surveys, student

interviews and participation rate were used to document the process during a 4-week

study period. Students completed four carefully designed tasks that were aimed to

generate interest and stimulate active learning.

In this study, I looked at how the integration of Edmodo in a Grade 3 class at a

dual-language school would impact the students. Engagement is defined as when

students perceive instructions as interesting and worthy of attention, and enjoy the

learning experience or gain rewards from the instruction. My motivation for focusing

on using Edmodo was twofold: as an IT coordinator, I wanted to (i) change students

attitude towards Chinese learning, and (ii) enhance traditional teaching methods that

are associated with Chinese instructions. The purpose of this paper is to provide

insights into how a social media platform can be employed by teachers at the school

to maximize learning, and inspire teachers to take on different approaches to teaching

languages.

Problem statement

During my first year of working at the Independent Schools Foundation

Academy (ISF Academy) as a Grade 3 homeroom teacher, I often came across

students who complained that Chinese is boring, or I dont want to do Chinese


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homework. ISF Academy has a dual language program that integrates Putonghua

and English. Classes are conducted in either language in order to achieve proficiency.

ISF offers a Chinese and English immersion education with a global perspective.

Having studied at a local school in Hong Kong as well as a Chinese language

school in Canada, I understood first hand the arduous nature of learning Chinese.

This includes having to copy countless Chinese characters, recite passages for

dictation, and write pages of weekend journals. As a result, I was fed up well before I

learned to appreciate the value of Chinese. Since I was only responsible for teaching

the English subjects, I could not do much to help the students enjoy Chinese more

except to relate to their experience, and reassure them that the effort would be worth it

in the end.

This year, as an information technology (IT) instructor and coach, I had the

opportunity to work with both English and Chinese subject and language teachers. I

realized something could be done to transform students Chinese learning experience,

and enhance traditional teaching methods. Technology may be that breakthrough for

students to start embracing Chinese.

Challenges

ISF, like many other schools, offers Chinese instruction in a traditional way.

Typically, the Chinese approach to learning focuses more on memorization,

repetition, dictation and the correction of mistakes. English teachers tend to have a

more constructivist approach to learning that emphasizes on thinking and

understanding. Students during Chinese lessons learn from standard textbook series

in their Putonghua language classes. In a typical lesson, the teacher models the

reading of a passage. Students are asked to read parts of it aloud, participate in class


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discussions, and complete pages in their workbooks for homework. Although

textbooks provide structure and organization in the presentation of information,

students find the content to be dull and uninteresting. Moreover, due to the variation

in students language ability with levels that range from fluent Putonghua speakers to

those who can understand little classroom conversation, teachers are challenged to

think of new methods in their approaches to delivering content. Social media is an

enabling technology that can engage student learning in many innovative ways

beyond what textbooks and workbooks can offer.

Research Questions

Currently, IT is taught as an isolated subject and not embedded in the English or

Chinese curriculum. As the IT coordinator, I often give suggestions to classroom

teachers on how technology can be integrated into student inquiries, and assist

teachers with the skills to support students in the area of technology. This action

research aims to document the process of implementing social media in the language

classroom, and to seek ways to better work with teachers and students. The following

questions are prompted by this research:

What impactdid Edmodo have on students attitude towards Chinese

learning?

How to manage technology, namely social media platformsto engage

language learning?

What are some key considerations for students, teachers and parents for social

media to be successful?


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Literature review

Learning the Chinese Language

Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn because of the tonal

speaking system and ideograms for its orthographic writing systems. The complex

nature and structure of Chinese, coupled with the traditional language pedagogies

associated with Chinese language teaching could be a factor in determining students

motivation.

Hu (2010) refers this Chinese culture of learning to a set of expectations,

attitudes, beliefs, values, perceptions, preferences, expectations, behavior that are

characteristic of Chinese society with regard to teaching and learning (p.96). The

precept that education requires a deep commitment and effort is underpinned with the

importance of reading books (with an emphasis on textbook learning), teachings that

are instructions-dominated and learning strategies that focus on memorizing,

repeating and understanding. Learning is seen as a process of accumulating

knowledge, without putting thoughts into using knowledge for practical purposes and

application. This pedagogy is obviously different from the constructivist approach to

learning, where studentsare actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge

construction as opposed to passively receiving information.

Possible challenges of motivation

Students who are not accustomed to this method of Chinese learning often

face challenges in the classroom. They might hold an off standish attitude towards

learning, which affect their classroom experience and achievement. Gardner and

Lamberts (1959) study found attitude as a second crucial factor of why some students

learn more quickly than others. Students with positive language attitudes generally

exhibit efficient learning and high achievements (as cited in Chen, Wang, Cai, 2010,


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p.103). It should also be noted that learners attitudes also influence their motivations

and orientations. Positive attitudes will likely produce greater enjoyment, desire, and

effort expended in learning the language. As a result, teachers should make a

concerted effort in shaping their students motivation to learn Chinese and make any

necessary adjustments to capture their engagement.

Student Engagement

To understand student engagement, it is important to first define what

behaviors contribute to the lack of engagement. For primary school students, this

includes lack of participation, incompletion of homework, distracting others, asking

inappropriate questions and complaining about work. Gareau & Guo (2009) believe

for students to be engaged, it is essential that they perceive instructions as interesting

and worthy of attention, and enjoy the learning experience or gain rewards from the

instruction (as cited in Godzicki, Godzicki, Krofel and Michaels, p.3, 2013).

Technology, specially the use of social media, is a tool that could positively influence

students engagement and motivations in learning Chinese.

Formal and Informal Learning

Language learning can occur outside the classroom, unconsciously and

incidentally, through exposure to authentic language input through technology

(Bahrani & Sim, 2012). For this kind of informal learning setting, students are not

involved in repetitions and drills that characterize traditional Chinese classroom

activities as mentioned previously. Such activities are part of formal language

learning which is structured, purposeful, and school-based.

Whether language acquisition takes place in formal or informal settings,

students benefit from the exposure and access to any kind of language input. While


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schools provide the ideal formal language environment, little emphasis is placed on

the informal cues to language learning. The source of language input for acquiring

languages, particularly in an informal setting, should not be neglected. Also, if

different technological tools are to be used in an informal setting for language

learning, it should be unstructured, unconscious or unpurposeful (Rogers, 2004).

Technology, therefore, can be integrated into the language lessons or be used by

learners outside the classroom for further practice and to complement the taught

element of the course (Barrett & Sharma p.13).

Social Networks

Social networks provide rich opportunities to use language in a targeted,

purposeful way. Social networking sites such as Facebook,My Spaceand Twitter

allow people to form virtual communities and collaborate with one another. Since

social media are designed to facilitate connectivity and dialogue, it encourages

students to interact with one another and may increase engagement and interest in the

course content (Abe & Jordan, 2013). Schroeder, Minocha & Schneider (2010) state

that social media has the potential to trigger significant educational innovations as

they enable new forms of interactive and collaborative learning (as cited in Abe &

Jordan). In terms of motivational benefits, social media can result in increased effort

since students try harder when they know their work is being published. Receiving

feedback from an audience can also be encouraging for students, and sharing of

information makes students want to share their work and do well at it (Moore, 2013).

Kesslers (2010) study of students at Lock Haven University shows that the use of

Twitter increased students classroom engagement in its control group by two-folds

(as cited in Blazor, 2012, p.1).


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Moor illustrates some other benefits of using social media that are relevant to this

paper, which include:

! Ease of feedback

! Tracking student learning

! Accessibility off-campus

! Easy submission of student work

! Communication with parents

! Organization

That being said, there are concerns regarding the integration of social networking

into classroom instruction. Those that are more relevant for this paper include:

! cyberbullying

! reduced face-to-face communication

! distraction from school work

Non-commercial education based social networking site emerged in response to

concerns over safety and security issues. Edmodo, a free social media platform,

allows teachers to communicate with students on a platform that is accountable. The

functions and features of Edmodo will be discussed later in this paper.

Significance/Relevance

Beyond a strong academic focus on dual-language competencies, ISF must

realize that in the 21st century knowledge society, educators should not only ensure

that students master their reading, writing and grammar, but also prepare students to

communicate, think and continue to learn [to] work productively and effectively

with others through negotiations and compromises (Gardner & Sarason as cited in

Law, Law & Chow, 2002). Innovative practices using information technology at a


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teacher, but private conversations between students are not possible

! teachers can monitor messages before they are posted online by receiving

email notifications, and can delete inappropriate content anytime

In addition, Edmodo allows teachers to create groups, assign homework, schedule

quizzes, conduct polls and award badges and students can have access to materials

even after class.

Methodology

Before implementing Edmodo, parents were given an information letter

(Appendix A- Letter Home) the Informed Consent Form (Appendix B- consent

form) in order to obtain permission for their child to participate in Edmodo and take

part in the action research project. Parents were also provided the opportunity to ask

questions relating to Edmodo during the parents/teacher conference shortly after the

consent forms were distributed.

After all forms were signed and returned, I spent 40-minutes going over the

rules and expectations when using Edmodo. Students were repeatedly reminded to

stay on topic, proofread their posts, and not to ridicule others online. They were also

told to make an effort to complete all activities although they were not mandatory.

Since the students have participated in English discussion forums before, they

understood the importance of following these guidelines.

Pre-Survey

A Pre-survey wasconducted prior to launching Edmodo to find out students

linguistic background, attitude towards the Chinese language and usage of Chinese at

home. The results from this survey were later compared with the post survey in order

to identify students whose attitude might have been influenced by the use of Edmodo.


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As their IT teacher, I administered the Pre-survey to 19 students during the pre-

documentation period with full participation. The survey was created on a Google

form and was conducted in the computer lab during their regular IT class. The results

were saved automatically on a Google spreadsheet.

The pre-survey questions were:

1. My parents speak Chinese at home.

2. When I speak to friends outside of school, Ispeak Chinese.

3. I speak Chinese outside of school.

4.

My friends outside of school are mainly Chinese speaking.

5. When I use Chinese outside of school, it is related to school topics.

6. I like reading Chinese books or other materials outside of school.

7. I like writing Chinese during my free time.

8. I think learning Chinese is cool.

9. Chinese class is one of my favorite subjects.

10.I feel using Chinese is going to be useful in my life.

11.It is easier to express myself in Chinese than English.

The responses for the first three and the forth question included Sometimes,All the

Time, Never, and the rest of the questions included the responses Yes, NoandMaybe.

For the full version of the questionnaire and results, refer to Appendix D: Pre-survey

questions and results.

Assigning Edmodo Tasks

During the one month research period, Edmodo tasks consisted of four main activities

that were designed by the IT and Chinese teacher to generate interest and stimulate

active learning. The Chinese teacher introduced the task in their regular Chinese class

on Monday and expected students to complete them by the following Monday.


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During the week, the IT teacher also reminded students to ask questions if they

encountered any technical difficulties. The four Edmodo tasks are described below:

Chinese riddles activity. Students were asked to use words or pictures to design a

riddle for their classmates and have them guess the Chinese character. This task was

an attempt for students to create original posts on Edmodo, as well as respond to

others and therefore, all posts and responses were made visible to members.

Collaborative story activity. In this activity, the Chinese teacher began a story

entitled An Incredible Day to which students must continue to elaborate on. Some

guidelines included using complete sentences, correct punctuation, be interesting and

creative, and possess the students original work. Just like the first task, all posts

were made visible to everyone in order to foster collaboration.


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Sentence Writing. This assignment was formatted as a Quiz on Edmodo that

allows teachers to create onlinequizzes and receive and provide instant feedback or

results. For this particular quiz, students were asked to write original sentences using

the structure sometimes Because of and or The question was scored

out of one. This quiz was an attempt to prepare students for the upcoming assessment

in a more interesting way using technology.


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Tell me about your favorite person speaking activity. For this task, students

were first asked to click onto a link to an audio recording on www.vocaroo.com,

where the Chinese teacher spoke about her favorite person. Students were then asked

to do a trial recording in their IT class to make sure they were able to use Vocaroo.

They were then required to speak about their own favorite person, giving some

reasons and background information on their choice.

For this task, students were first asked to click on a link to an audio recording

on www.vocaroo.comwhere the Chinese teacher spoke about her favorite person.

Students were then asked to do a trial recording in their IT class to make sure they

were able to use Vocaroo. They were then required to speak about their own favorite

person, giving some reasons and background information on their choice.


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Data collection

Student participation

A tally chart illustrates the student participation for each task and their

response levels. For Task 1, the columns are divided into students who had original

posts and those who responded to others because the students had the option of

creating riddles or answering them.

Post-surveyA post survey was administered after Task 4 was completed in order to find out

students thoughts on using Edmodo in their Chinese classroom. All students in the

class completed the survey during their regular IT class using a link directed to the

Google form. There were a total of 3 opened ended questions (Questions 3,4 and 6),

and 5 close-ended questions as listed below (See Appendix E- Post-survey questions

and results):

1. How often did you check your Edmodo account?

2. How much did you enjoy the Edmodo tasks?

3. How did you feel when someone responded to you on Edmodo?

4. How did you feel when reading your classmates posts?

5. Did Edmodo help you practice Chinese?

6. How did Edmodo help you practice Chinese?

7. How useful did you find other students and your teachers feedback?


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8. Do you think your class should continue to use Edmodo to learn Chinese?

Student Interview

When the Edmodo intervention was over, Max, Katrina and Eric were chosen

for the interview based on their participation and attitude. A range of values were

obtained from these three uniquely distinct sample groups: (a) Max where his

participation remained low throughout (b) Katrina a converter where her

participation went from low to high and (c) Eric where his participation went

remained consistently high throughout he task and to understand the underlying

reasons of their participation. The overall aim of the interview was to find out the

impact of Edmodo on engagement and motivation.

,-./01-2 3040 51-0465030/ 207848-09: -;[email protected]/ 74


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are a few individuals who appear to find Chinese difficult based on their responses

(See Appendix F- Student interviews)

Student Online Participation

Table 1 on the next page shows the number of times students contributed to

each of the activities that went on for seven days before the next activity was posted.

In the first task , the Chinese riddles activity, students were not restricted to

the number of posts, and there were a total number 151 posts on Edmodo. Eric was

the most active participant as he contributed a total of 45 times, the majority of the

original posts and responses. There were a few who contributed a fair amount while

there were four (Nathaniel, Sophie, Kathie, Max) who did not participate at all.

The second task was a collaborative story that began as a topic thread posted

by the teacher. Students could post as many times as they wanted, and as a result,

Eric, for example, contributed 15 times to the story. A total of 11 out of 19 students

took part in the task. Eight students did not submit their work.

As mentioned earlier, the third task was done in a Quiz format and

therefore, each student was only allowed to submit one response. 15 students

completed on time with 4 students submitting late.

In the final task, which was also set up as a Quiz as well, 12 out of 19

students finished their assignment.

Post-survey

The results form the post student survey indicated that all except one student

enjoyed Edmodo. 52% of the class liked it a lot, 43% somewhat liked it, and 9%


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Table 1


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liked it a little. All the students who received responses on Edmodo felt

positive about the experience and used the words good, happy, excited,

surprised to describe their feelings. They felt equally happy, excited curious

and good when reading their classmates posts. 11 out of the 19 students described

enjoying using Edmodo to practice Chinese a lot, 10 students somewhat and 2

students a little. When asked how Edmodo helped them learn Chinese, they gave

responses such as the different activities helped them with vocabulary and they got to

practice their speaking, listening and writing. All 19 students thought the class should

continue using Edmodo in the future.

!"#$%&" (&"%)*+%,

Max Tsai was selected for an interview based on his low participation and

negative attitude towards learning Chinese. The main reason for his inactive

participation on Edmodo was that he sometimes couldnt think of what to write, and

he was also afraid his classmates would disagree or tease him after he posted a

comment. Max also stated that his father sometimes didnt allow him to use the

computer. Although he felt that he was more brave in class, he still preferred using

Edmodo at home rather than at school where he would not need permissions from his

parents to use the computer.

Eric was chosen for an interview based on his high participation and positive

attitude towards learning Chinese. Edmodo kept him engaged throughout the four

weeks. He enjoyed Edmodo because he could share his Chinese riddles online and

test his knowledge when completing his assignments. He felt Edmodo helped him

improve his Chinese because he had to make decisions on the Chinese characters

when typing, and during the first Chinese riddles activity, he had to think deeply


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about the Chinese characters structure when creating when solving others riddles.

Eric described the riddles and speaking as his two favorite activities on Edmodo.

Last, Katrina was interviewed because although she didnt think Chinese to be

cool, she moderately participated on Edmodo. She enjoyed using Edmodo because

she got to use the computer, and she liked using it to communicate with different

friends, students and classmates. Her favorite activity was the Chinese riddles, and

she thought Edmodo helped her because of the cool assignments her teacher posted,

which allowed her to find out much more Chinese than before

Discussions

Before I implemented Edmodo, I began with the following questions:

! What effect didEdmodo have on students attitude towards Chinese learning?

! How to manage technology, namely social media platform to engage

language learning?

What effect did Edmodo have on students attitude towards Chinese learning?

For students who did not enjoy Chinese to begin with, Edmodo did not play a

significant role in changing their attitude. However, it did help students who like

Chinese as it offered a platform to share their learning and reinforce their learning as

part of their afterschool activity.

A longer observation period would substantiate the results as we would see the

full effects of Edmodo on the students motivation. A variety of tasks could then be

tested to gauge which tasks are more effective in engaging students. A homeroom

teacher could also conduct a survey to see what students are interested in, and design

tasks that incorporate some of those topics. In terms of learning abilities, students can


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be differentiated by language abilities and motivation levels. Tasks can then be

targeted towards tailoring the various groups.

How to manage technology, namely social media platform, to engage language

learning?

Edmodo was launched in April which was the last quarter of the school

year. Next time, it is probably more appropriate to start using Edmodo earlier so that

(a) students will have more time familiarizing with features on Edmodo, just when

they are familiarizing themselves with their classroom environment and homework

routines. It might be overwhelming to add a technology component early on (b)

teachers and parents can get sufficient training as they need to be an integral

stakeholder in working with their children and sharing in the learning process. For

example, an afterschool workshop could be held for parents on the use of Edmodo as

well as its implications on learning. Educating parents on the positive effect of using

social media in the classroom could possibly encourage students to log in at

home. The parents workshop would also be an ideal time to set up parents account,

so they can stay up-to-date with their childs assignment, participation and feedback

on Edmodo.

Task design

Although Roger (2004) suggested to keep technological tools unstructured,

unconscious or unpurposeful. if it was used for language learning, I could not have

allowed an unstructured learning environment on Edmodo because of issues that

parents would raise on the educational benefits of social media. Rather, the tasks that

were introduced were all carefully planned/adjusted by the teachers week-by-week.

We decided to refrain from planning all the activities from the start so that better


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considerations could be taken on students workload and what they were learning at

school. Also, every task began with instructions, examples and expectations to ensure

students were clear on what to do. We thought this structure worked well since

some tasks required multiple steps.

Since both the Chinese teacher and I believed the parents would be reluctant to let

students log in when there were upcoming tests, we targeted the third (sentence

writing) and fourth task (speaking practice) as preparations for their written and oral

assessments. Students found the sentence-writing task to be more engaging than a

review worksheet since they could type and submit their sentences online. Many

students also enjoyed the speaking practice which could not be accomplished without

the use of technology.

The surveys and interviews both indicated that students generally enjoyed all the

activities, but the most popular one was the Chinese riddles. It was a simple task

which allowed students to express creativity while leveraging their knowledge of

Chinese characters. It was the only task that was not directly related to what the

students were studying in Chinese class, yet it was one with the most participation. It

was an effective activity to get students interested in Edmodo, and similar tasks could

be used periodically used in the future to give students a break from their Chinese

workbook practice.

Participation

To encourage participation, the homeroom teacher could better explain the types of

rewards and how to earn them. Perhaps a checklist could be distributed so that students

can keep track of their own participation. Teachers could also create personalized badges

(a feature on Edmodo) to reward students for specific behavior.


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Challenges

One challenge encountered on Edmodo was that as students kept posting one after

another, the original task assigned by the teacher became hidden and hard to locate. For

instance, the activity for the first riddles became so popular that they soon occupied most

of the recent posts. It soon became difficult for students to search for the teacher

instructions, and this may have contributed to some students not submitting their

work. Therefore, discussions would be better organized if each of the topics were given

its own thread, separate from other conversations to avoid confusion.

Another challenge was the over-participation of certain students that might

discourage others from posting. In the future, students could be reminded that they are

only required to contribute one to five posts per discussion in order to earn a

reward. Some students who are over-achievers wont have to worry that they are not

contributing enough during online discussions.

Implications and Conclusion

For Students

For students who did not enjoy Chinese to begin with, Edmodo did not play a

significant role in making them participate more. However, it helped students who

like Chinese as it offered a platform to share their learning and reinforce their learning

as part of their after school activity. From the interviews, we learned that for some

students, Edmodo can still be intimidating because they are concerned with getting

teased or ridiculed. More time would be needed to transition to an online

environment where they make full use of its potential for collaboration.

For parents:

Parents will need to understand that Edmodo is a new way of learning which

supplements work done in the classroom. Parents would benefit by being able to share


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in their childs learning and participate in the development process. Moreover, they

would see the power of an online platform where learning can be mobile and

interactive in a non-traditional way.

For teachers

Teachers, who are the key gate-keeepers in the process, can guide the students in

the way they utilize Edmodo. Students clearly enjoy Edmodo because of its

interactive nature of learning, but in order to prevent it from becoming a chat room,

teachers need to set clear limitations on what types of conversations are

appropriate. Also, the type of tasks teachers assign seemed to have an influence on

how students view Edmodo as a whole. Therefore, it is important to keep a balance

between an educational task that relates to their studies, and one that is fun and

engaging. Though setting up and fine tuning Edmodo will take time in the short run,

teachers will find it a useful too as it (a) reduces the administration burden of

traditional teaching (b) allows for teachers to focus on priority areas in the classroom

and (c ) allows teachers to customize learning that cater to the students individual

needs and skills sets.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Edmodo offers an excellent way in which teachers can

effectively engage with students in the classroom environment. However, teachers

should not assume that when students post a task on a forum, they are necessarily

engaged. Teachers need to be proactive, see through the inherent qualities of the

students work and provide relevant feedback. Similarly, parents and students should

be given training prior to launching Edmodo to overcome any technological

challenges.


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References

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Schools: Benefits and Risks; Review of the Research; Policy Considerations;

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Learning, 18(4), 415-426. doi:10.1046/j.0266-4909.2002.00253.doc.x

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Angeles, Calif: SAGE.

Sharma, P., & Barrett, B. (2007). Blended learning: Using technology in and beyond

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Wang, J., Lin, C. C., Yu, W. W., & Wu, E. (2013). Meaningful Engagement in

Facebook Learning Environments: Merging Social andAcademic Lives. Turkish Online Journal Of Distance Education, 14(1), 302-

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Educational Technology - TOJET, 10(3), 141-151.

Appendices


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Appendix A- Letter Home

Dear Parents,

For the remainder of the year, we will be using Edmodo in 3 Zhi as a pilot project.

The goal of the project two fold: (1) to see if it would further encourage students touse Chinese to express their views on an online platform and (2) to allow students to

share ideas and respect others work through constructive peer response. If the

feedback is positive from parents/students, we plan to introduce this to other

classrooms.

For those who may not be aware, Edmodo is a free and secure learning network for

teachers, students, and schools. It provides a safe way for teachers and students to

connect, share content, participate in discussions and receive class information.

Edmodo can also be downloaded on your android or IOS device for easier access.

Unlike other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, Edmodo is a tool strictly

for educational purposes and we will be enforcing the following guidelines:

1. Students will be required to use appropriate grammar instead of texting

language

2.

Edmodo does not allow private student-to-student messaging - the site will be

used to discuss school-related content only, and the teacher will monitor all

Edmodo activity

3. No put-downs or sarcasm toward anothers ideas.

Students who violate the guidelines above may face disciplinary action and/or facelosing the privilege of using Edmodo.

As the main purpose is to increase language usage, teachers will purposely be

avoiding making error correction. However, this does not mean that students shouldneglect the importance of grammar. We advise students to reflect carefully before

posting their work.

As we would like for the students to take full ownership, we request that parents

purposely refrain from posting questions on their behalf.

I look forward to incorporating the use of technology into our Chinese curriculum. Ifyou have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you,T.Chui, Ms Williams, Ms Lee

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Appendix B- Informed consent form

Informed Consent Form

Authorization for a Minor to Serve as a Research Participant

Dear Parents,

I will be conducting a study in our Information Technology class to determine

whether the use of social media tools and platforms such as Edmodo will help

increase students engagement in language learning. I am writing to ask permission

to use the data that I collect from your child during this process. Participation in this

study involves student questionnaires and interviews. You may contact me at any

time regarding your childs participation. My school email is [email protected]. Dr.

Malcolm Pritchard has approved this study.

The purpose of the study is to research the challenges and benefits in using

Edmodo. The study will last until middle of June. During the study, I will collectvarious forms of data to determine whether the use of Edmodo is successful. Possible

types of data I will include questionnaires, interviews and observations.

Benefits of participating in this study mainly include the potential use of

Edmodo in the curriculum. I will have sole access to the data collected in this study.

Your childs participation in this project is strictly confidential.

Use of data from your child is voluntary. You may contact me at any time if

you do not wish to have your childs data included in the study. I will be happy to

share the data or report findings with the Grade 3 parents community once completed.

Please check the appropriate box below and sign the form:

" I give permission for my childs data to be used in this study. I understand that Iwill receive a signed copy of this consent form. I have read this form and understand

it.

" I do not give permission for my childs data to be included in this project.

Students name Signature of parent/guardian

_______________ _______________

___________________

Date


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Appendix D: Pre-Student Survey questions and results


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Appendix E- Post-survey questions and results


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Appendix F- Student interviews

Erics Interview

T: Teacher

S: Eric

T: Hi Eric so I noticed that you are a very active participant on Edmodo, and you also

had a very positive attitude towards learning Chinese. So, I want to ask you, what did

you like about Edmodo?

S: I like that we can share our riddles online, and test our knowledge online, and

improve our Chinese.

T: Good! So, I want to ask you, do you think Edmodo helped you with your

Chinese?

S: It helped me to recognize some specialand, and it helped me inwriting.

T: I see. So you had more practice in writing?

S: Yea

T: Do you usually practice writing Chinese at home?

S: Not really but sometimes in my diary, I write Chinese once.

T: I see. So which of the four tasks was your favorite task? Was it the riddle,speaking activity, collaborative story, or

S: I think I have two.

T: Which two.

S: The riddle activity and the speaking.

T: You enjoyed the speaking one?

S: Yeah on

T: OK Thank you. Eric.


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Katrinas Interview

T: TeacherS: Katrina

T: Ok Katrina, so at first in the survey, you said you didnt think Chinese is cool,right? Yes, but then I noticed that you were participating on Edmodo. Okay, so, I

want to ask you, did you like using Edmodo?

S: Yup

T: Why did you like using Edmodo?

S: Because it was using the computer and also, Edmodo is just like the weebly.

T: Ohso you like using the Weebly

S: can communicate with different friends...or students and your classmates.

T: So which of the activities did you like the best. Was it the riddle, the story where

you had to keep writing, or is it the sentence one, remember, or the speaking one?

S: I like the riddle the best

T: Ok so the riddle the best. So how did Edmodo help you learn Chinese?

S: Edmodo helped me learn Chinese because the teacher will always put on different

cool. assignments for us to do and I find out that I find out much more Chinese than

before.

T: Thank you Katrina, thats all!


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Max's Interview

T: Teacher

S: Max Tsai

T: Okay so Max, so I noticed that you didnt really participate on Edmodo and at the

beginning when we did the survey, you said that you didnt think learning Chinese is

too cool. So, I want to ask you, and you are not in trouble, I just want to find out thereasons, why didnt you do the first three tasks on Edmodo?

S: Cuz I cant think of ..what I should write...and I think that maybe the other ..my

classmates will disagree with me.

T: So you are a little afraid that your classmates will disagree? And..what would

make you go on Edmodo more next time? What would help? Give the teachers some

suggestions.

S: More brave?

T: So you think you need to be more brave? In class, are you more brave than on

Edmodo? Or are you more brave on Edmodo?

S: In class.

T: You are more brave in class? Okay, so would it be more helpful...

S: Because my dad doesnt want me to watch the computer for a long time.

T: I see. So would it be more helpful f you did your Edmodo assignments in IT class

or at home or you dont think there is a difference?

S: I dont want to do it in class because at school I cant like...do the Zooburst.

T: So you prefer doing it at home? Okay, thank you Max!

Documents

Using Social Media to Engage Student Learning in a Chinese Classroom2