NAEP Results 2011

This assignment required us to access the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) website.  The NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.  From there we were to download a spreadsheet from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which is the largest national representative of what students know and are able to do.  They collect data by breaking the nation up into regions.  Each year they randomly select school and a certain number of students from those schools to test in a range of subjects from art, math, English, science, etc.  Once all their information is compiled they develop state and national averages. Using the spreadsheet from NAEP we were to develop a scatter chart to demonstrate where states fall against the national average. As we all know by now, WV isn't doing so hot.

Then, we were to conduct a t-test to determine if boys were smarter than girls, which they are not.

This assignment falls under ISTE NETS T standard 5 because it is a continuation of our ability to grow and learn as professionals from the evaluation of current research.

YouTube....again

So I received a nice email from a guy who wasn't very enthused that I had used his video for my YouTube assignment.  I didn't really want to upset the whole balance of this guy's YouTube world so I apologize, deleted said video, and uploaded this gem.  Enjoy the holidays everyone!

Appropriating a YouTube Video

This assignment asked us to create a YouTube account, download a video from YouTube onto our computer, and then upload that same video to our YouTube account.  Step one of this assignment was a walk in the park, but that's only because I've had a YouTube account for a few years.  However, it's still quite simple to create a YouTube account.  You simply go to this page, which looks like the page in the image below, and fill out all of the necessary info.  Next thing you know, you've got yerself a brand spankin' new YouTube account.

I used RealPlayer to access and download the video I wanted to later upload.  Once I had the video saved to my computer I simply uploaded it on YouTube and copied the URL which I have pasted here for your viewing pleasure.  The video I chose is of the best laugh I've heard come out of a kid in ages.  I was having a cruddy day when I stumbled on this gem and it made me forget my nonsense for a few minutes.  

APA Writing

This assignment seemed a little hairy at first glance, but once I got crackin' on it I realized it wasn't as bad as I thought.  We were asked to formulate two research questions and write up an APA formatted document. We were given some examples that were pretty extensive but our documents were condensed into just the methods, results, and reference sections.  My document can be found here in Google Docs.

This assignment falls under ISTE NETS T standards 3 and 5 as it models digital age work and learning, as well as engages in professional growth.  This assignment enable us to analyze, interpret, and communicate relevant information to our classmates using a format that can be easily understood.  Becoming familiar with the APA format we'll be able to evaluate and make reflections on one anothers' research with more insight.

Hypothesis Testing

My t tests are linked in my previous post, but I failed to mention my findings on my research question.  

Research Question

Does age affect one's Millennial score?

Hypothesis

Those who are 29 years of age or younger will have higher Millennial scores than their older classmates.

Null Hypothesis

Age will not be a factor in determining one's Millennial score.

I noticed that my classmates Millennial scores were greatly skewed, but I was more curious to see if the scores reflected whether or not they were true to the generation they said they represented.  Before performing my t-Test I sorted the age column in ascending order, had Excel find descriptive statistics on the data since age is a continuous variable (a step that wasn't necessary for this part of my t-Test), and made the 29 the high/low cut-off age for Millennial scores when performing my t-Test.  What I found was that those aged 29 and younger do, in fact, have higher Millennial scores than their older classmates as the data below indicates.

Initially I misinterpreted things and thought I had to perform descriptive statistics on my data because one of my variables was age, but I realized that the way my hypothesis was worded enabled me to work around that.  Since I had already completed the work I thought I would just go ahead and throw it out here.  I went ahead and did the descriptive stats.  Excel gave me the mean age as 32.  I performed my t-Test with 32 being my high/low cut off and found that even at that age there was a significant difference.  Those 32 and younger had higher Millennial scores as the data below shows.

                                                                      

This assignment falls under ISTE NETS T standard 3 because we each had to demonstrate knowledge of Excel and its various functions in order to analyze and interpret data.  Being fluent with such programs enables us to look at our classrooms in ways that many of us probably haven't considered before.  We're now gaining experiencing in knowing how to take down data, analyze and interpret data, and then effectively communicate how to better educate.

t tests

Here are my t test results.  I went through initially and got all sorts of whacky numbers.  I retraced my steps, watched Dr. Pierce's tutorials a few times, and finally realized I was a knucklehead who skipped a vital step.

Data Analysis

This assignment requires us to analyze the data we have been provided in the spreadsheet and come up with two research questions and hypotheses.  This assignment is sort of backwards to me.  I did the psych undergrad thing so I'm accustomed to collecting my data after devising my hypothesis, but this works just as well.

Research Question 1
Does age affect one's Millenial score?
   Hypothesis
   Those who are 29 years of age and younger will have higher Millenial scores than their older classemates.
   Null Hypothesis
   Age will not be a factor in determining one's Millenial score.
   Independent Variable                           Dependent Variable
   Age                                                         Millenial score

Research Question 2
Does a non-teaching status have a positive correlative effect on quiz scores?
    Hypothesis
    Those who are not currently teaching score higher on quiz scores.
    Null Hypothesis
    Teaching status has no correlative effect on quiz scores
    Independent Variable                          Dependent Variable
    Teaching status                                      Quiz score
   
This assignment fits ISTE NETS T standard 3 because we have analyzed this data and will now be using this information to collaborate with our peers in a digital class setting.