Deciding on Action Research Wonderings

Chapter 2 of the Dana text discusses the passions that can guide your action research. There are nine:
1. Staff development
2. Curriculum development
3. Individual teacher(s)
4. Individual student(s)
5. School culture/community
6. Leadership
7. Management
8. School performance
9. Social justice or equity issues

I did not find it easy to narrow the search for an idea! Since I'm getting my Masters in Educational Technology, that answered part of the question. I will base my inquiry on technology integration. The videos this week suggest choosing a topic that is practical, so I am taking advantage of the new administrative software we will be using for grading and attendance, called Skyward. The text suggests choosing a topic that I am passionate about. When reading about each passion, I found myself drawn to many of them, so that did not really help me make a solid decision. Good thing we had to write about three ideas!

My action research ideas are related to individual teachers, individual students, and staff development.

1. How can we make technology integration "sticky" for teachers? How can we build in school-wide professional development to increase Web 2.0  tools? (Staff development/individual teachers)

2. How can we offer 24/7 training for Skyward to teachers? Can online training increase the use of Skyward while answering questions in short tutorials and therefore, opening up time for administrative staff during the day? (staff development)

3. How can we make technology use "sticky" for students? What collaborative sites can be safely integrated into student learning? Can we help students develop online portfolios?

So far, my site mentor and I have decided upon #2. I think that learning a new management system is the most practical application of starting action research, so I'm excited to bring some online tutorials to the staff in our district. I hope to still incorporate some of the Tipping Point ideas with Skyward. It is such an interesting look at why ideas catch on and spread so quickly.