The students have the final say

The Wonderlands curriculum was developed for my students so having the opportunity to use the finished iBook with them and receive their feedback was an important final aspect of this research. The questionnaire I gave to the students (see appendix G) produced very encouraging feedback on what I was doing and gave me confidence that I was achieving my original aims and objectives. When asked specifically how the Wonderlands iBook compared to other iBooks that they had used, their positive responses highlighted the popularity of the interactive features. They described it as “more interactive and personal” (CM9) and “more interactive and better suited to an iPad” (CM10). Some had mixed feelings noting, “I like the activities and interactive videos but I think I prefer the layout of textbooks better” (CM17). While another felt it was “easier to use and more colourful” (CM14). The photos and videos proved to be the most popular feature, “I prefer it as it is interesting to be able to watch videos, slideshows and see picture galleries” (CM12). The personalised aspect of the iBook was also emphasised, “It’s more interactive and has videos and photos galleries available with photos taken by people in our school” (CM1). I was particularly surprised to note feedback regarding how well it operated for the students with one commenting that it “works very well, has no glitches that the textbooks have” (CM3) and another simply saying it has “much more functions, crashes much less” (CM22). After my careful deliberations when choosing my technology platform I was relieved that choosing iBooks Author because it was specifically designed for iPads seemed to pay off.

Students were asked for specific feedback on what they liked about Wonderlands in the feedback questionnaire. There were some very positive responses describing a wide variety of things that students liked about it. While many referred to the interactive features I was delighted to see that the learning outcomes being included in the text was also mentioned, “I liked the learning outcomes and the pictures and the websites to find the questions” (CM9). Many repeated previous feedback talking about the photos, videos and interactive features “I liked the picture albums and all the audio and video clips as they were very interesting” (CM2). Others picked specific features; “The Hajj live streaming was very interesting” (CM1). A number of students shared their appreciation of the web links, “I like the way there were links you could go straight to” and “the different links were very helpful because

they gave you loads of interesting information” (CM14). I was pleased to see some students referred to the quizzes noting, “it helped to learn about the topic and revise what you did learn also” (CM24).

The many positive comments on the iBook artefact gave me a sense of pride in my accomplishment and also let me know I was on the right path in terms of following my instincts of what could constitute an engaging approach to non-examination RE. The student reaction to the visual and audio elements reflected what the literature had indicated. In the second iteration of the artefact I drew on the positive feedback to reinforce what was working, adding additional images and video clips.

Students were asked to describe what they did not like about the iBook artefact. A few reoccurring issues emerged. Some of these issues were down to the students being unfamiliar with the iBook platform, which was considerably different to the

Edco or Folens apps that they were used to using. Students felt “it was a bit hard to

find chapters” (CM19) and said they were “confused about how to get to different chapters and pages” (CM3). One observed that “some of the pages were hard to find as there were different pages in other pages” (CM8), highlighting the difference between an interactive, multimodal text and the normal texts they were used to. While some students had stated that they liked the layout, many felt that this could be improved commenting “There was a lot of writing all in one go” (CM16); “I did not like the way there was a lot of information in small sections” (CM2) and “the questions didn’t look very clear on the page” (CM7). As I reviewed the layout in light of these comments it was evident that some pages needed improvement. One particular point that students quickly discovered was that “you couldn’t zoom in on the text” (CM24) which I had to keep in mind when placing text on the pages. They also found that it “took up a lot of storage and was slow to open for me” (CM1). This was not surprising as the finished iBook was a large file and student iPad storage is very limited. Table 4.4 summarises the main categories of constructive feedback of the iBook artefact and the action taken to address these issues where possible.

Table 4.4: Student feedback and resulting action to improve artefact

The importance of collaboration and co-creation in the EEA was evident from the valuable constructive feedback that I received throughout the research but most notably during the Create stage. The differing perspectives, preferences and expertise of all the feedback participants when brought together helped to create a well-rounded curriculum and artefact that exceeded my own ability. The formative feedback influenced the content choices, shaped the pedagogical approaches and helped to tweak the technology glitches. The time and attention that peers, colleagues and students took to carefully appraise and critique the work surpassed my expectations. It showed they were engaged with the curriculum, which kept me motivated to successfully finish and implement it. Upon completion of the curriculum I was delighted to receive this final feedback from my colleagues at our RE Department meeting on 29th May 2017.

• The iBook looks very professional; it is hard to believe you made it! It is a well-written and pedagogically grounded curriculum.

• It makes my life easier because it has all the content, links and videos in the same place. The students seem to love it as much as I do so even if I am biased that is the real sign of success. They love the interactive links.

• The students are completely engaged in the lessons. Little things like the way there are boxes they can scroll through seems to fascinate them.

• The amount of planning and creative hard work you have done has paid off.

Feedback Action

Too much writing on some pages

Edited writing to reduce content where feasible and improved layout of text to take this into consideration. Can’t zoom in or add notes Cannot do anything about this but hopefully change in text

layout as noted above will help. Trouble opening the book/

storage issues

Storage issues with iPads were a recurring issue that I could do very little about. I did try to ensure that videos were not built into the text directly, using web links or widgets to try and save space. Students were also advised to delete

unnecessary data.

Questions not clear Added headings in bold and numbered questions. Hard to find chapters and

pages

A lot of the layout was based on the iBooks Author

template. I added extra instructions e.g. click here for more, scroll down etc. Going forward it is also worth showing students an overview of chapters and how to navigate before we begin.

4.5 Chapter summary

This chapter illustrates the ingenuity and originality in my work by providing evidence of the creative process I undertook on ‘the way to Wonderlands’. Following my educational values and the EEA I outlined how I was open to collaboration and co-creating knowledge with others throughout this process (Crotty 2014). Central to this was the exploration of how I shaped and was shaped by the new eCulture in my workplace. I demonstrated how rediscovering my talents and skills helped me understand what I could do to improve my workplace practice. Evidence was shared to show how I made use of all the communication channels available to me in order to receive formative feedback, validate my work and produce quality research (Crotty 2016, 2014). From my vision for the Wonderlands curriculum through to seeing it being implemented in my workplace I was inspired by the quote at the start of this chapter,

What is the use of a book, thought Alice, without pictures or conversations?

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The Wonderlands iBook is filled with pictures and conversations bringing content to life in a new and personalised way for my workplace context. It has transformed our approach to non-examination RE. I have achieved my aim of creating an innovative curriculum for religious education that integrates technology, pedagogy and content. The transformation that has resulted from this research goes beyond the completed curriculum and iBook artefact. In the next chapter I will reflect on how this work has been transformative for me on a personal and professional level as well as the wider impact of this research.

CHAPTER FIVE

WELCOME TO WONDERLANDS

I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then. Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland  

5.1 Introduction

The final phase of the Educational Entrepreneurial Approach (EEA) to action research requires the researcher to ‘show transformation’. In this chapter I will turn my attention to the EEA’s final question; “what has been the impact of this

research?” (Crotty 2014). I will reflect on the impact of this research on me,

professionally and personally, as well as within my school context, starting with our newly transformed RE curriculum. The Wonderlands curriculum successfully integrates technology, pedagogy and content. The evidence for this is found in the

Wonderlands iBook, an original artefact that did not exist before this process began.

Access to the finished iBook is available by clicking on figure 5.1, scanning the QR code below, or via https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/enroll/ENF-XDF-CRC [Please note: To access it you must use an iOS device with the iTunes U app installed].

Figure 5.1: Opening page of Wonderlands iBook

Created from a research process driven by my values and those of my workplace I will now illustrate how the Wonderlands curriculum has transformed the approach we take to non-examination RE.

Figure 5.2: An overview of the research during the Transformation stage