Happy Thanksgiving from Dr. Walker...

     So what an I thankful for?  I finally defended my doctoral dissertation this month!!  When the next person yells out in a restaurant, "Is there a doctor in the house?" I can reply, "Sort of?"  A number of "real doctors" have told me my kind of doctorate i recently earned is harder to get than their degree which is quite a compliment, but honestly, I think I'd rather have their salary than the compliment.
     At any rate, in keeping with the open source mentality that inspired the development of this blog almost three years ago, I will be posting my doctoral dissertation in the coming week for anyone who might be interested in learning from my research in order to take this whole mobile technology thing to the next level.  I hope my research continues to encourage people around the world to conduct action research and full blown empirical studies to identify best practices in the use of technology in education settings.  The conversation and collaboration have been rich.  I hope they will continue.  Stay tuned for a posting letting you know where you can find my dissertation.
     So now that I have my doctorate, what an I going to do when I grow up?  That's a good question. Still trying to figure out if I even want to grow up...

Rubric Research Data Coming Soon!

Good day fellow mobile enthusiasts.  I am very happy to announce that I am coming down the home stretch on my doctorate and will have more data to share in the very near future.  Seventy subject matter experts from around the globe recently completed an online survey and shared their experiences using the App Rubric, as well as how they are using Apps in their settings.  It was interesting data and further supports the importance of research in the area of mobile technology applications in education settings.  In addition to posting this latest round of data, my hope is to post a link to my dissertation sometime this summer.  Happy surfing....

Validated Evaluation Rubric for Mobile Applications (APPS)

As promised, the link below will connect you to the empirically validated evaluation rubric for mobile apps that was the result of my doctoral research at Johns Hopkins University.  I appreciate everyone's support who contributed as subject matter experts in the study, as well as those who are currently using and adapting the rubric in their wok around the world.  When my dissertation is completed, I will be certain to provide a link so that any interested may have easy access to my research.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/169iZMhNMB_ycJLRT2zSRbozAR_1TiGQ1-FmjfKzoppk/edit

And if you have been wondering where I've been.....  40 days and 40 nights without a post......

At the end of October, I resigned after 32.8 years in the public schools to take a senior consultant position with Education Elements.  Our company is in the process of truly transforming education.  And I thought I was changing the world before.  We are doing amazing work all over the country designing and implementing personalized learning environments for kids.  I'll have more about my work in an upcoming blog.  Until then, you can check out my new company at-

http://educationelements.com/

If you have tried reaching out to me in the past month, your emails have likely gotten kicked back as I no longer work in BCPS system.  You can reach me at harry.walker@comcast.net.  I look forward to reconnecting with folks I have worked with in the past.

App Rubric Research Update

     I just completed the data analysis for the second round survey of my doctoral research utilizing the Delphi process to establish content and construct validity for the Evaluation Rubric for iPod/iPad apps.  Overall, very few changes to the rubric are indicated by the data.  One domain name will be changed and point descriptors in two of the domains will be revised as driven by the input from the subject matter experts who participated in my research.  Based on the data, I am not going to need to do a third round survey.  You can view the data summary from the second round by clicking on the link below.  I will be making the final revisions and publishing the validated rubric in the coming weeks.  I am hoping to have my dissertation completed sometime around the first of the year. Thanks for your interest in my work.  Stay tuned for the final validated rubric later this month.  Happy computing....

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bo_nURJgwTmvwmmGCSDzbt8tTUzuHVmdIJ4K_6Burfc/edit

Research Results for iPod/iPad Rubric

Great news.  The initial results from my doctoral research have been complied and analyzed.  Ninety-four experts from around the world completed the first round survey designed to establish content and construct validity for the Evaluation Rubric for iPod Apps being used in over 400 schools, universities, systems and agencies across the globe.  The first round survey results were very positive.  This first round sought to determine if the domains in the rubric were good indicators for determining app quality and if the wording in the score descriptors adequately differentiated the score points within each domain. Based on the first round survey, I constructed a second round that is now in the hands of these same experts for feedback.  After the second survey I may be ready to make revisions and in the near future report with a high degree of certainty that the field has a valid instrument for evaluating the quality of mobile applications. 

I have attached a Google Doc of two tables that summarize the data from the two most important questions that made up the first round survey.  In the near future, I will also post the second round survey results, as well as the revised and validated rubric when it is completed. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jaSzsdOCqYIHxIZfMTf8fyRojLstt4dfaj4TX9EZ5Bs/edit

It have enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with so many of you and thank you for your time and expertise as we continue to better understand the most effective ways to incorporate technology in our schools and lives.  Happy surfing.....

A Great Question about the APP Rubric

Hi Harry,  It's me Laurie from Australia, now living in Alexandria VA. 

I have a question about your rubric.  There has been a somewhat heated discussion within my research group around the domain "curriculum connection".   As you know, we are adapting the rubric to make it applicable to choosing apps for students with autism.  

One comment from the group, was that "curriculum connection" was too broad for our purposes because there is no "curriculum" for autism in Australia.

So we discussed changing it to "IEP connection".  Actually that was my suggestion.   I suggested changing skills and content to goals and objectives   I'm coming at this from the angle of a former state administrator and current research professor   Increasingly there is an expectation and indeed a mandate to include measures of accountability in the education of children with disabilities.   I'm also aware of a number of cases in the US where parents are retroactively suing the school district for the denial of FAPE after their child graduates because they are ill prepared for the post secondary world.   Well, the suggestion was not well received by the rest of the group because they felt it was TOO specific.   So, what was your original intent in including the "curriculum connection" domain?  was it to help teachers make a decision about what educational benefit would be derived from the adoption of that app?

Thanks for any insight you can provide. Kind Regards,

Laurie

Hi Laurie from Australia why did you ever leave and move to Virginia,

      I think you make a great point.  The rubric was originally designed with the general education environment in mind.  As I have collaborated and corresponded with folks around the world, my thinking has certainly been expanded.  I have come to the realization the rubric should be revised/adapted depending on the field or the population.  In your case, depending on the severity of the child’s condition, the IEP may in fact be the “curriculum.”  A number of folks have used my rubric as a skeleton and made revisions based on the clients or students who are sitting in front of them.  That makes a lot of sense to me.  The big idea that spurred my thinking to develop the rubric was the realization that we(within a given field) needed to be using a consistent language and structure to evaluate apps for any given purpose.  There wasn’t a system for doing this prior to 2010 when I first conceived of the rubric.  While it would be nice to have top rated apps for every purpose, that just isn’t going to happen until app developers better understand what we are trying to do.  I believe the most effective use of the rubric is in the comparison of apps for the same purpose with the goal of finding the best within that group.  Thanks so much for your question and for continuing to push for the use of mobile technologies to meet the needs of all kids.

Best,

Harry

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) App Rubric

Dr. Robin Parker, Professor at Nova Southeastern University created an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app rubric.  Dr. Parker is associated with Programs in Speech, Language, and Communication with the Abraham Fischler School of Education and Consulting Director UM-NSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. Attached is the draft created by Dr. Parker and a colleague. They are in the process of getting feedback and making revisions to their rubric.  The link to the rubric is below.  I am sure Dr. Parker would appreciate any feedback you might be able to provide.

http://praacticalaac.info/praactical/introducing-relaaacs-rubric-for-evaluating-the-language-of-apps-for-aac/ 

The New and Improved Rubric

After receiving feedback from folks all over the world, I have made some several revisions to the widely adopted Evaluation Rubric for iPod/iPad Apps. In the coming weeks I will be launching a formal study as a part of my doctoral dissertation research at Johns Hopkins to empirically validate the rubric.  You can find the revised rubric at the following link:

https://www.box.com/s/2a70214763a4e0fef802

If you encounter difficulty accessing the rubric, please email me and I will send you a PDF.  I have traditionally used EmbedIt, but apparently they are no longer accepting embeds, so I'm trying a new system called Box.  Thanks and I'll keep everyone posted on my research.

If you are unable to access the rubric via the box link, try this one:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KKm3Ls_jIg8s0_rXcFmVqbXiZtvFb0nr54BzFSOl_SY/edit

300 Rubric Requests and Going Strong

I received an email from a research assistant working at the, are you ready for this, University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia.  Now as a student, who wouldn't want to go there? It marks the 300th formal request to use the Evaluation Rubric for iPod Apps from folks all over the world.    It is being used in school systems, agencies, universities, and by individuals from all over the planet.  And that's just the formal requests.  How cool is that?

With such a large and diverse group of folks using the rubric, I am getting ready to launch a formal research project as part of my dissertation research at Johns Hopkins to empirically establish content validity for the rubric.  If have requested permission to use the rubric and happen to be reading my blog too, look for a formal invitation in the coming month.  I have also had requests to publish a list of top apps using the rubric.  Look for that list to be in an upcoming blog (once school gets out and I have a little more time on my hands).  Thanks again for your interest in my blog, in the rubric, and most importantly in your work to get mobile devices into the hands of students.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Apps for Mobile Devices

Well, EmbedIt finally decided to cooperate last night.  The website allowed me to embed my article that was published in the most recent copy of the Journal of Special Education Technology (JSET).  The article is entitled, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Apps for Mobile Devices, and outlines the rationale I used to develop the IPod App Rubric being used by so many of you around the world. Reading the piece may help to improve inter-rater reliability when more than one person is rating the same app.   If you would like to read the article you can find it here:

 http://embedit.in/Wp28yIHnc2.swf

I'm Famous, Well Sort Of...Journal of Special Education Technology Article

Not one to toot my own horn, (yeah right!), I just had a piece published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Special Education Technology (JSET) volume 26 #4.  It's entitled, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Apps for Mobile Devices.  If you are a TAM member, check out the article online.  If not, I will try to post it in the coming days.  EmBedit is not being very cooperative tonight!!!!