Case Study

It is important to consider what the Triple E Framework looks like when evaluating a lesson plan.  Below are is one scenario that is evaluated based on the Triple E Framework.  

Case Study:  Qrcodes for Discussion

Learning Goals/Objectives:  

• Students will be able to participate in a book club discussion around a shared reading novel. 
  
• Students will be active in the conversation, sharing and commenting on their peer's ideas
  
• Students will be able to draw evidence from the novel to support their claims in the discussion
  

Technology Tool:  

• Student's own cell phones and a QRcode scanner on phone.
  

Activity:

1. Students will have already read the novel prior to the book club discussion.
   
2. Studnets will be placed in groups of 4 or 5.
   
3. Students will have a handful of QRcodes in the middle of the table (the QRcodes will be generated by the teacher prior to the discussion, each QRcode will have a unique question for discussion).
   
4. Each student will take a turn using their phone to scan a QRcode, when the question appears on their phone, all the students will discuss the question.   
   
5. The student who scanned the code will lead the discussion by answering the question first.  
6. Each student is expected to comment on and answer each question.  
7. Each student is expected to use evidence from the novel to support their views or positions.

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Measuring and Interpreting how well case meets criteria for Triple E Framework

Triple E Components in Lesson

Engagement

1. Does the technology allows students to focus on the task of the assignment or activity with less distraction?  (Yes=2)
2. Does the technology motivates students to start the learning process? (Yes=2)
3. Does the technology causes a shift in the behavior of the students, where they move from passive to active social learners? (YES=2)

Enhancement

1. Does the technology tool aid students in developing or demonstrating a more sophisticated understanding of the content? (creates opportunities for creation/production over consumption) (NO=0)
2. Does the technology creates scaffolds to make it easier to understand concepts or ideas? (NO=0)
3. Does the technology creates paths for students to demonstrate their understanding of the learning goals in a way that they could not do with traditional tools? (NO=0)

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Extension

1. Does the technology creates opportunities for students to learn outside of their typical school day? (NO=0)
2. Does the technology creates a bridge between school learning and their everyday life experiences? (NO=0)
3. Does the technology allows students to build skills, that they can use in their everyday lives? (NO=0)

Total Points=6
See Evaluation Tool for more information on reading the results

Interpretation


Engagement YES!
Asking students to use their own cell phones can be engaging to them and by having them scan in the codes, it may help them focus better or motivate them into the content of the discussion.  It also does move them into becoming more active social learners in that they are collaborating in groups for their discussion (although one could argue that this could be done without technology--see Enhancement).


Enhancement NO!
While initially the idea of using cell phones to scan the questions, rather than a more traditional hand-written fish bowl of questions, could be motivating to students.  The effectiveness of the technology to meet and/or exceed the learning goals seems to end at the engagement level.  There is no enhancement of the learning goals through the technology.  The technology is not scaffolding questions for different student learners, nor is it making it easier to participate in the discussion.  If anything, it may have the opposite effect, students without cell phones may end up being left out of parts of the discussion because they may get skipped when it is their turn to scan, read and answer the question.  Furthermore, this activity could have been done with papers in a fishbowl, instead of students spending extra time locating their bar code scanner and then scanning in the code.  Students may also want to hurry through the discussion questions so that they can scan a new code.  


Extension NO!
The students are not learning how to make their own QRcodes, thus there is a good chance they are not gaining any new skills by extending learning through technology.  While students may use cell phones in their everyday lives, they are not learning how to use cell phones as communication tools for generating richer and more robust discussions.

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