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RunningHead:IMPACTOFREMIND101ONCLASSROOMPARTICIPATION

TheImpactofRemind101onClassroomParticipation
ECI562
AllisonD.Reid
MastersofInstructionalTechnologyStudentatNorthCarolinaStateUniversityand
EnglishTeacheratHeritageHighSchoolinWakeForest,NC.
Fall2013

ActionresearchprojectincollaborationwithBonnieMwanda,alsoofHeritageHighSchool.
Anyquestionsregardingthestudyshouldbedirectedto:areid@wcpss.net

NoadditionalfundingwasreceivedfrompartiesoutsideoftheWakeCountySchoolSystem.

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RunningHead:IMPACTOFREMIND101ONCLASSROOMPARTICIPATION
Abstract
ThepurposeofthisactionresearchprojectwastoinvestigatetheimpactofRemind101on
classroomparticipation.Astudywasconductedinvolvingfreshmanmathematicsstudentscomparing
theirhomeworkcompletionratespreandpoststudytodeterminewhatimpacttheWeb2.0tool,
Remind101,wouldhaveontheirengagement,asmeasuredbyhomeworkcompletionrate.Various
educationaljournalsandeducationaltextsareusedtoprovideaframeworkforthestudy.This
actionresearchprojectutilizedtriangulateddatafrombothqualitativeandquantitativesourcesin
ordertodrawconclusionsonthequestionathand.Itwashypothesizedthatstudentshomework
completionratewouldriseastheyreceivedtextsfromtheteacherthroughRemind101,andthat
gradeswouldimproveduetoincreasedhomeworkcompletion.Initialresultscorroboratethe
hypothesisandshowthatthemajorityofstudentswhosigneduptoreceivethetextsdidshowan
increaseinhomeworkcompletion,thoughthecontrolgroup(thosewhoreceivedtexts)wassmall.

Keywords:Remind101,homeworkcompletionrate,engagement,classroomparticipation,
texts,technologyineducation

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RunningHead:IMPACTOFREMIND101ONCLASSROOMPARTICIPATION
Introduction
Teachingisntonlyaboutcontent,anditcertainlyisntaboutteacherpreferences.Students
achievementandlearningshouldbetheplumblineagainstwhichwemeasureanyandallofour
successes.IlovethewayKenRobinsondescribesthis.Hesays,Yousee,intheend,educationis
aboutlearning.Ifthere'snolearninggoingon,there'snoeducationgoingon.Andpeoplecan
spendanawfullotoftimediscussingeducationwithouteverdiscussinglearning.Thewholepointof
educationistogetpeopletolearn(Robinson,2003).Ifstudentsarentlisteningandattending,then
theycantlearneither,so,aseducators,wemustfindwaystomakesurethatourstudentsare
engagedandlearning.
Ifwewanttobeempoweredtobebetterinourclassrooms,wemustworktofindwaysto
bestreachourstudents.Thismeansstudyingandtestingandthenreflectingonourownpractices.
Sometimesitmeansexaminingourownvaluesandperceptionstoseewhetherornottheproblemis
usweshouldfocusonstudentachievementandwhatisbestforourstudents(evenwhenthat
meansmoreworkforus).Then,notonlywillstudentachievementincrease,butourempowerment,
bothwithinourschoolsandourcommunitieswillincreaseaswell.
Inmyteachingexperience,Ihavehadhunchesaboutwhatmightworkintermsofreaching
students,andoftenIhavebeenright(thoughadmittedly,Ivefallenonmyfacemanytimestoo).I
havenot,however,alwaysbeengoodatarticulatingwhymyhunchescouldworkorevenwhythey
failed.Oneofmygoalsforthisactionresearchprojectistobeabletobetterarticulatewhycertain
strategiesworkandwhyothersdontinaclassroomsetting.Idlikemoreofaframetohangmywork
in,andImhopingthatthroughactionresearchthatIwillbecomebetteratvoicingallthehunches
andgutbestpracticesinamoreprofessionalandtheorygroundedway.Ioriginallyplannedtolook
atSocialMediaanditseffectsonstudentengagementandperformance.Iconsideredfocusingon
oneormoretoolssuchasTwitter,Remind101,orEdmodo.AsIsatdowntowriteandreflect,I
realizedthatmyinitialresearchhadbeentoobroadtoproduceanyactionableresults.Ihadbegun
theresearchprocessbyselectingarticlesonvarioustypesoftechnologyinclassroomstoincrease
engagement,butoncethedecisionwasmadetospecificallyfocusonsocialmedia(asopposedto

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RunningHead:IMPACTOFREMIND101ONCLASSROOMPARTICIPATION
instructionalmedia),manyofmysourcesdidnotfitwithmynewquestion.Notmuchhasbeenwritten
abouttheimpactofsocialmediaonstudentparticipationasofyet,butIknowthatleveraging
studentsengagementiskeytoempoweringbothstudentsandteachers.

LiteratureReview
Inconductingareviewoftherelevantliterature,thereismuchwrittenabouttheuseof
technologytopromotesuccessinschool,particularlymathclasses.Whatthereislessresearchabout
ishowtomeasureengagementandwhatthatlookslike.Manyarticles,liketheonesfromboth
Schwartz(2012)andLong(2013)discussspecificmathtechnologystrategiesthehelptoscaffold
mathinstructionandpracticewhileallowingforselfpacingthoughmathematicalunitsofstudy.The
authorsofboththesestudiesconcludethatscaffoldingforvaryingmathematicalabilitiesand
emotionallevelscanhelptoincreasestudentsengagementintheirstudies.Longsarticle(2013)
comparestheworkoftwodifferentteacherswhotaughtthesamemathematicalconceptstothe
sameagestudentsusingdifferentteachingmethods.Oneemployedtraditionalinstructionalmethods
oflectureandworksheetdrivenpractice,whiletheotherteacherencouragedselfpacedlearning,
collaborationandinteractionwiththeconceptswithrealworldexamples(notjustwordproblems)
throughtheuseofengineeringactivities.Fromhisstudy,Long(2013)concludedthattheuseof
technologytofacilitatescaffoldingandcollaborationdoesindeedincreasestudentengagement.
Thereismuchthatcanbegleanedfromthisstudy,butforthepurposesofthisproject,toobroada
netwascastintermsofthetypesoftechnologyusedinthesestudies.
Thisstudyismoreinterestedinhowtoincreaseparticipationbyleveragingthesocial,not
instructionalaspectsoftechnology.Tothatend,theworkdonebySplitter(2009)inhisarticle
AuthenticityandConstructivisminEducationsupportsthehypothesisthatauthenticsocial
interactionthoughtechnologycanincreaseclassparticipation.However,socialinteractionswith
studentsmustbeauthentic,becauseSplitter(2009)arguesthat,whatlieattheheartofeducation
arenotlearning,truthandknowledge,butthinking,meaningandunderstandingand,moreover,that
thisheartisnottobefoundburiedinsideeachoneofus,norlockedupwithinthosebodiesof

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RunningHead:IMPACTOFREMIND101ONCLASSROOMPARTICIPATION
knowledgethatpassforschooldisciplinesandsubjects,butratherwithintherichnessofthe
relationshipsthatweenterintowhenweare,orbecome,students(2009,p.136).Heastutelynotes
thateducationismorethantheacquiringofknowledgeortheproverbialfillingofabucket.Sohow
doesaneducatorlightthefireinastudentwhohasnointerestinlearning?Optimizingrelationships
toincreasestudentachievementiskey.
Intheirresearch,SnapeandFoxTurnbull(2013)statethattechnologyeducationisoneof
themosteffectivelearningareasforengagingstudentinterest(p.53).Theyarguethatteachers
cannolongerremainensconcedintheirdisciplineandadoptacontentdrivenindustrialmodel
delivery(p.58),andthat,inordertoreallyreachandteachunmotivatedstudents,youmustfirst
reachthemwheretheyare.Intrinsicmotivationinstudentsisdevelopedthroughinvolvement,
challenge,interest,andrelevance,andtechnologycanhelpeducatorsencouragestudentsto
choosetolearn.
UmaschiBers(2006)discussestheroleofusingnewtechnologiestoincreasestudent
achievementbyemphasizingthestrengthsofyoungpeopleinsteadoffocusingondiminishingor
preventingrisktakingbehaviors.Thismorepositiveapproachusesthefactthattechnologyisso
entrenchedinthelivesofyoungpeopleanditprovidessomefamiliarityforthembyconstructing
identityconstructionenvironments(ICE),aninterdisciplinarymodelthatproposesguidelinesto
designandstudynewtechnologiespurposefullycreatedtopromotepositiveyouthdevelopment
(2006,p.200).Highschoolstudentshavereadyandsteadyaccesstotheinternetandwebbased
technologies,andignoringthefactthatthewebistheprimarywaythattheycommunicatewitheach
otherisamistake.Educatorsmustreachouttostudentsandcommunicatewiththeminanarea
wheretheyfeeladegreeofcomfort.Communicatingviatextoremailissecondnaturetostudents,
andthistypeofcommunicationismorelikelytobewellreceivedbystudentsthanwritten,mailed,or
facetofacecorrespondence.

Purpose
Thestudentsinthissectionofthecoursestrugglewithstayingmotivated,whichaffectstheir

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effortsintheclass.Manyofthemarerepeatersofthecourseorhavepreviouslyfailedothercourses
and,assuch,manyhavenotexperiencedmuchsuccessinschool.Theirconfidencelevels
academicallydifferfromthoseinmoreadvancedcoursesanditismyhopethatbyreachingoutto
themthroughthemeansofsocialmediatheywillbemoredrawninandengagedintheirclass.Using
socialmediacanbuildacultureofcommunicationandcamaraderieintheclassroom,andIhopethat
reachingthestudentspositivelyafterschoolhourswillimpactthemandcausethemtoincreasetheir
effortsinclass.IexpectthatIwillseeajumpintheirhomeworkcompletionrate(notnecessarily
correctness,butattempts)andaselfreportedchangeintheirattitudesabouttheirclass.
ResearchQuestion:Thepurposeofthisresearchistoexaminethequestion:Towhatextentwill
Remind101willimpactstudentparticipationintheirMathematicsclass?

Setting/Participants/Collaboration
ThisresearchwillbeconductedatHeritageHighSchoolinWakeCountyPublicSchool
districtinWakeForest,outsideRaleigh,NC.WakeCountyisthestatecapital,isthelargestschool
districtinNCandthe16thlargestinthenation.Inthe20122013schoolyear,thedistrict
experienced1.92percentgrowth.HeritageHighSchoolisoneof25highschoolsinWakeCounty,
andemploysastaffof106teachers.Theschoolhousesastudentpopulationof1841,which
accountsfor4%ofthedistrictshighschoolpopulation.Thespecificstudentsinthisstudyareina
CommonCoreMathclassledbyBonnieMwandaduringherfourthperiodblockintheFallsemester
of2013.Thesestudentsaremostlyninthgraders(somearerepeatingthecourse)andtheyrangein
agefrom1416yearsold.Therearesevengirlsand17boysinthisninthgradeclassof24,andMrs.
Mwandahasallowedmetoobservetheclasstogetanideaoftheiracademicandinterestlevels
andmanyofthesestudentsarelowachievingstudentshistorically.Mrs.Mwandaiseagerto
collaborate,andisexcitedtotestsocialmediatoseeifitincreasesclassparticipation.Mrs.Mwandas
personalityiswellsuitedtothisproject,becauseshemakesahabitofencouragingdifficult
students,andsheiswellreceivedbymostofherstudents,whorecognizethatsheisgenuinely
interestedintheirsuccess.WehavemetonseveraloccasionsandIthinkthatherstudentswould

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RunningHead:IMPACTOFREMIND101ONCLASSROOMPARTICIPATION
reallybewellservedbyRemind101andtheopportunitytohaveapositiveinteractionwithanadult
concernedwiththeirsuccessafterschoolhours.

Intervention/Innovation
Remind101allowsteacherstocommunicatewithstudents/parentsviatextand/oremailina
waythatiscompletelysecure.Itisaonewaytextmessagingandemailsystem,whereallpersonal
informationremainscompletelyconfidential.Teachersdonothavetocollectorseestudentphone
numbers,andstudentsdonotseetheteachersphonenumbereither.Anexampleofthesignup
lettercanbeseeninFigure1below:

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RunningHead:IMPACTOFREMIND101ONCLASSROOMPARTICIPATION

Figure1.ExampleoflettertoparentsandstudentswithdirectionsforsigningupforRemind101.
WewillhavestudentssignuptoreceivetextalertsfromMrs.Mwandaviacellphoneoremail.
Mrs.Mwandawilltextstudentsremindersaboutassignments,aswellasnotesofencouragement
andcurrenteventstotheclass.Someofthesereminderswillbescheduledaheadoftime,butothers
willbespontaneoussoasnottobeperceivedasunauthentic.

MethodsofDataCollection

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DataSources
Wewilllookathomeworkcompletionratesamongherstudentsbeforewebegin
implementingourRemind101intervention.Thiswillgiveusabaselinefordatacollection,andwewill
lookspecificallyatwhatpercentageofherstudentsattempttheirhomeworknightlyontheirown.This
way,wewillbeabletocollectthesamequantitativedataaswewrapuptheresearchandcompare
inordertobeabletoassesswhetherornotRemind101hasbeeneffectiveatengagingthe
studentsoutsideofclass.Thecollectivehomeworkcompletionrateforhomeworkgradesbeforewe
beganthestudywas68%.
Forqualitativedata,wewillsurveythestudentsbothatthebeginningandendoftheprojectto
determinetheirattitudesaboutschoolandinteractionsoutsideoftheclassroom.Oursummative
surveyattheendoftheprojectwillaskquestionstohelpusdeterminewhetherornotthestudents
thoughtthatRemind101wasbeneficial.
DataAnalysis
Inlookingatthedatathatwascollectedatthestartofthisproject(homeworkcompletionrate
collectedasabaseline),itappearedthatshowinggrowthwouldbedifficult,asMrs.Mwandas
studentsdidfairlywellatattemptingtheirhomeworkassignments.Iexaminedthehomework
completionrateofthisclassduringthefirstquarterofschool.Inlookingatthegrades,thestudent
either,a)completedthehomeworkandreceived100%creditorb)theydidnotcompleteit,whichI
calculatedas0%.Icalculatedthepercentageofstudentswhocompletedeachofherassignments,
andthenaveragedthecompletionpercentageratesforeachofthose27assignmentstocomeup
withthe68%completionrateoverallpriortousingRemind101.
Table1
Section4(AB)FoundationsofAlgebra)

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(Noteontable:StudentswhoelectedtoreceivetextsfromRemind101arehighlightedinyellow.)
Atthestartofthestudy,studentsweregivenasurveythroughGoogledocs.Therewereonly
17studentspresentonthedayIadministeredthesurvey(prettytypicalforthisclass),andtheywere
askedthefollowingquestions:
Doyoulikeclassesthatuselotsoftechnology?
Thinkaboutyourselfinschool.Whattypeofstudentareyou?
HowoftendoyoucompleteyourhomeworkforMrs.Mwanda'sMathclass?
Whichofthefollowingtypesoftechnologydoyouusetocommunicatewithothers?
Howmuchtimewouldyousayyouspendathomeontheinternet,yourmobilephone
oripod/ipad?
Mostdays,Ilookforwardtoattendingschool.(Scaledresponse)
Ifeellikeanimportantpartofthisclass.(Scaledresponse)
Itisofparticularinteresttonotethatall17ofthestudentssurveyedstatedthattheyutilized

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textingtocommunicatewithothers.Thislendssupporttomyhypothesisthatthiswillbeaneffective
waytoreachandengagestudents.ThenextstepwastosetMrs.MwandaupwithaRemind101
accountandshowherhowtosendandscheduletextstoherclass.Mrs.MwandaandIlookedat
thedatacollectedfromthissurveytogether,anditisclearthatthestudentsenjoyusingtechnology
(particularlytext)asameansforcommunicating.Themajorityofherstudents(68%)consider
themselvesstrongoratleastaveragestudents,and88%ofthemsaytheyareonlineinsomeway
morethanfourhoursperweek.Tome,thetwomostdauntingpiecesofthisdataarethelasttwo
questionsregardingtheirselfperceptions.Afull24%ofthemdonotlookforwardtoattending
school,and18%ofthemdidnotfeelasthoughtheywereanimportantpartofthisclass.Theseare
clearindicatorsthatthereisalackofengagement,andIamunsureifatoolsuchasRemind101will
beenoughtobridgethatgap,thoughitmaybeonesignificanttoolforeducatorstouseinthis
pursuit.
(SeeFigures2and3SummaryofResponses)

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Figure2.SummaryofresponsesfromStudentsurvey

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Figure3.SummaryofresponsesfromStudentsurvey
PlanforIncreasingValidity
Inordertoestablishcredibility,theplanistocollectmultipleformsofdata,includingthe
aforementionedcomparativedataofhomeworkcompletionratesfrombeginningandendofthe
study,abriefattitudesurveyofthestudentsattheoutsetofthestudy,andunstructuredinterviews
ofafocusgroupofstudents.Theattitudescalesaresurveysthatfocusonthewayparticipantsfeel
aboutcertaintopics(Hendricksp.117),andthesurveyusedinthisstudywillbecenteredaroundthe
studentsattitudesregardingtheirinvestmentinthecourse,theirsenseofcommunityand
connectednessandtheirfeelingsregardingtheuseoftechnologyasacommunicationandteaching
tool.Theunstructuredexitinterviewswillbeopenendedquestionsaimedtowarddiscerninghow
studentsfeeltheuseofRemind101impactedthemintermsofhowoftentheyattempted/completed
theirhomeworkandwhetherornottheyfeelthattheapplicationplayedapartintheirparticipation.
Inordertoassurethatmyresultsbeusefulbeyondmyparticularclassroomandwithotherstudents,I
hopetobeabletotriangulatethedatacollectedfromthesesourcesinordertodrawconclusions
thatarevalid,transferrableandunbiased.
Beforebeginningthisstudy,Ibelievedtherewouldbegainsinstudentengagement
becauseoftheuseofRemind101.Ihaveusedthiswithgreatsuccessinmyownclassesandhave
seenfirsthandhowstudentsrespondtothistypeofcommunication,soIreallythinkthatIwillfind
thatRemind101willhaveanimpactbecauseIhavehadsuccesswithitmyself,bothasateacher,
student,andparent.BecauseofmypastsuccesswithRemind101,Iamconfidentinrecommending
thistoMrs.Mwandaandherstudents.Iamcurioustoseewhattheoutcometothestudyisandto
determinewhetherornotwhatIhaveobservedanecdotallywillbecorroboratedbythedataIcollect.

ResultsoftheStudy
Mrs.MwandaandIsetupherclasstogetheronRemind101andscheduledseveraltextsin
advancefordaysbeforequizzesandtests.Oncestudentsgotsigneduptoreceivethetexts,Mrs.
Mwandabegantosendouttextreminderstothestudents.Only5outofthe24studentsintheclass

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signedupforthetexts.Itisunclearwhetherornottheywereunwillingorunabletosignuptoreceive
themhowever,forthepurposesofthisstudy,itcreatedanunplannedcontrolgroup,allowingmeto
comparethehomeworkcompletionratesofthosewhogottheremindertextstothosewhodidnot.I
willbeabletogobackandseparateoutthebaselinedataforthosefivestudentsandseeofthey
experiencedanygainsinhomeworkcompletionrates.Iwillthencomparetheircompletionratesto
thestudentswhodidnotreceivethetexts.
Mrs.Mwandanotonlysentouttextstoremindstudentsofassessments,shealsopraised
themforworkinclassandencouragedthemtodotheirhomeworkinthetextsshesent.Some
examplesoftextsshesentcanbeseeninFigure4.

Figure4.ScreenshotofRemind101Textssentduringstudy
AtotalofsixtextsweresentfromNovember6thtoNovember22.Duringthese17days,six
homeworkassignmentsweregiven,andthehomeworkcompletionrateduringthisperiodforthe
classasawholewas46%.However,thehomeworkcompletionrateforthestudentswhoreceived

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thetextswas57%.Obviously,thestudentswhowerereceivingthetextswereperformingbetter
thanthestudentswhowerenot.Frompretopost,theclassasawhole(includingtheRemind101
group)showedadropinhomeworkcompletionratesfromquarterone(beforeintervention)toquarter
two(duringintervention).(seeTable:Quarter2HomeworkCompletionData).Thoughthesenumbers
showadecreaseintheirhomeworkcompletionrateeveninthestudentswhodidreceivethetexts
frompretopost,thereisagreatdealtoconsiderwhenlookingatthestudyoverall.First,therewere
farfewerhomeworkassignmentsinthesecondquarterdatacollectionthentherewereinthe
baselinedatawecollectedfromthefirstquarter.Second,theattritionrateinthisclassishighwe
evensawtwostudentsdropfromthetimewebeganthestudytoitsclose.manyofthestudentsin
thestudyareathighriskfordroppingout,suspension,orfailure,soitshouldntbesurprisingthat,as
thesemesterwearson,thenoveltyofanewyearandnewstartwaneswiththesestudents.
Attendanceforthisclassisaproblem,andasthesemesterprogresses,theimpactofthose
absencesismoreprofoundintheiracademicsandinterest.
Table2.Quarter2HomeworkCompletionData

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(Noteontable:StudentswhoelectedtoreceivetextsfromRemind101arehighlightedinyellow.)

Thestudentswereaskedthefollowingquestionsinexitinterviewsattheendofthestudy.I
decidedtointerviewthestudentswhodidreceivethetextsandtaskthemthefollowingquestions:
WhatdoyouthinkwerethebenefitsofyourteacherusingRemind101?
Doyouthinkyoudoyourhomeworkmoreconsistentlywiththetextreminders?
Doyouthinkthatdoingyourhomeworkmoreoftenhelpsyouinclass?
Howdoesitmakeyoufeeltogetatextfromyourteacherafterschool?
Responsesrangedfromthestudentslikingthereminderstosayingtheyhadremembered
theirhomeworkbecauseofthetexts.Thestudentswhoreceivedthetextreminderswerereally
alreadydoingprettywellontheirhomework(together,thefiveofthemaveraged80%completionin
thebaselinedata).Theystillscored10percentagepointshigherthantheclassoverallinhomework

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completion,eventhoughtheircompletionratediddeclinefromfirstsemestertosecondsemester.
Anotherthingthathasimpactedthisdataisthatthemakeupdeadlineforourschoolhasnotyet
passedasIamcollectingthefinaldataforthisproject.Whatthatmeansisthatthestudentswillget
anopportunitytocompletesomeofthishomeworkbeforethequarterisover,whichshouldbringup
theirgradesandprovideremediationopportunities.Thescoresinthebaselinedata(fromfirst
quarter)reflectmadeupwork,thoughthefinaldata(secondquarter)doesnot,sothatispartofthe
discrepancy.Overall,thestudentswhoreceivedtheRemind101textsdidcompletetheirhomework
atahigherratethanstudentswhodidnotreceivethetexts,butitisdifficulttodetermine,basedon
theresultsofthisstudy,howmuchofthathigherratecanbeattributedtoRemind101,especially
sincethecompletionrateactuallywentdownfrombaselinedatatofinaldata(seeFigure5).Itcould
bespeculatedthatthatstudentswhowerewillingtosignupforthetextsweremorehighlymotivated
thanthosewhooptedout,andthattheirmotivationlevelitselfisthecausefortheirhomework
completionlevels.Studentswhoreceivedthetextswantedtheinteractionfromtheirteacher,sothey
respondedpositivelytoquestionsregardingtheirthoughtsontextsfromMrs.Mwandaafterschool.
TheengagementandcommunitybuildingthatRemind101affordsisagreatfitforkidsmotivatedin
thisway.ThisechosthestudyfromSnapeandFoxTurnbull(2013)thatdiscussesthattechnology
canhelpeducatorsencouragestudentswhoareintrinsicallymotivatedandwhotochoosetolearn.
Figure5.Remind101vs.Overallclass

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Ialsointerviewedafewotherstudentswhodidnotreceivethetexts.Quitefrankly,Iwas
reallysurprisedthatmoreofthemdidnotsignupforthetexts.Forthemostpart,lackoftechnology
wasnottheissue.MostoftheregularattendeesinMrs.Mwandasclasshavesmartphones(they
aretakenawayforinappropriateuseinclassonaregularbasis).Whenlookingforparticipantsfor
thisstudy,Iwas,perhaps,alittleambitiousinpickingareallytough,highriskclass.Mythoughtwas
thattheyneededtheattentionthemostandthatalackofengagementwaspartofthereasonthey
feltsodisinterestedinschool.Thatdisinterestbackfiredwhentheywerealsotoodisinterestedto
optinfortheremindersfromtheirteacher.Iaskedfortheirthoughtsonthesequestions:
InoticedthatyouwerenotsignedupforMrs.Mwandastexts.Canyoutalktomeabout
that?
Howdoyoufeelaboutgettingcommunicationviatextfromyourteacherafterschool?
Doyouthinkthatdoingyourhomeworkmoreoftenhelpsyouinclass?
Ingeneral,theiranswersreflectedadisinterestinmoreinvolvementinschool.One
interestingthingthatastudenttoldmewasthattheyhadallsignedupforthetextsduringclass.He
wassurprisedtolearnthatonlyfivestudentsactuallysignedupforthetexts.Iaskedhimwhyhe
thoughttheothersdidntactuallysignupforthetexts,andhetoldmethattheydidntwanttohear

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fromtheteacherafterschoolandtheywerentgoingtodothehomeworkanyway.Theydidnotwant
tohearfromMrs.Mwanda(oranyteacher,forthatmatter)oncetheylefttheschoolgrounds.While
theyseemedtounderstandtheconnectionbetweenhomeworkandhighergrades,theywere
lessthaninterestedinputtinginanyadditionalworkbeyondtheirschooldaytoimprovetheirgrades
orunderstanding.

Conclusions
Fromtheresultsofthestudyalone,itisnotveryclearwhatimpactRemind101hason
homeworkcompletion.ThequalitativedataIcollecteddoesnotnoteadetectableimpact,butIknow
thatdespitetheempiricaldata,thatRemind101canbeapowerfultoolforeducatorstoengage
students.EventhedataIcollectedontheintroductorysurveyindicatedthatthestudentsIchoseto
studyfeltdisconnectedwithschoolingeneralanditispossiblethatRemind101wastoolittletoo
late.ThosewhodidparticipateinreceivingtheRemind101textsdidenjoyandappreciatethe
remindersandencouragementMrs.Mwandaprovidedthroughthetexts.
Inreflectingonmyownpractice,itisclearthatIhaveworktodo.Tostart,Isetaverylofty
goalofnearlysavingtheworldwiththisresearchproject,and,indoingso,mayhavetriedtodotoo
much.Suchastretchmayhaveimpactedthesuccessofmystudy.Ichoseoneofthemostdifficult
groupsofstudentsinourschoolandsoughttoshowthattheuseofonetoolcouldimpactthemina
noticeableway.Engagementwasmyoverarchinggoal,andso,inchoosingoneoftheleast
engagedgroupsinourschool,Imayhavemademyfirstactionresearchprojectmoreofabearthan
itshouldhavebeen.Perhapsitwouldhavebeeneasiertoshowanincreaseinengagementina
groupofstudentswhoatleastprofessedastronginterestinschool(thoughtheirgradesmaynot
reflectit).
Inaddition,Ivelearnedquiteabitonthisjourney.Tobegin,Ineedtobeginearliertoallow
myselfandmypartnerampletimetogetsidetrackedbytherealitiesofpubliceducation.Delays
causedbyunavoidablethingssuchasmidterms,benchmarks,firedrills,reportcards,andmeetings
shouldhavebeenfiguredintomytimelineinamorerealisticmanner.WhileIthoughtthatbeing

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loosewithmycollaborativepartnerwouldbehelpfulinfosteringcamaraderie,itactuallycausedme
tohavetohoveroverhermoretowardstheendduetothetimecrunchofmydeadlinefor
submission.Ihadtowaituntilwhatseemedlikethelastminutefordata,onlytobehitbythesurprise
thatonlyafractionofherstudentshadsignedupforthetextsatall.Iwillneedtoanticipatestudent
reactionslikethis,andwalkmycollaborativepartnerandthestudentsthroughthistoprevent
surpriseslikethisthatmostassuredlyskewedmyresults.HadIensuredthatatleastthemajorityof
Mrs.MwandasstudentsweresignedupforRemind101,itspossiblethatmoreofthemwouldhave
experiencedgainsacademicallybecauseofhavingcompletedmoreoftheirmathhomework.Going
forward,IwillneedtodoabetterjobofsellingthetechnologytoboththeteacherANDthe
studentsinordertogetthemonboardtotryRemind101.Thesameshouldbetrueformeofany
typeofeducationaltoolmyencouragementandfollowthrougharecriticaltotheimplementationof
anytechnologytool,andIshouldhaveofferedbettersupporttomypartner.Goingforward,perhaps
Ishouldofferanincentiveofsomesort,suchasafreehomeworkpassorcandy,providedtheystay
signedupforthedurationofthestudy.Itisdifficulttoshiftfromteachertopartnerandtoworkwith
someoneelsesstudentswhenIdontreallyhaveownershipoftheclass.Navigatingthatshiftwillbe
somethingIneedtoworkonasItransitiontoTechnologyFacilitatorinaschool.Iamalsohopeful
thatonceIaminaTechnologyFacilitatorspositionIwillbelessencumberedbythesame
unavoidabledelaysthatcaughtusupinthisproject(i.e.grades,reportcards,etc.).

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References
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