StringTheoryPracticist
12-15-2012, 12:13
You are a junior consultant working for a software development house called “Edutechno”. The company’s main focus is upon the development of IT based educational packages for the home market – games and packages that are marketed to parents as being beneficial to the development of numeracy, literacy and problem solving skills in primary and secondary school age children.
Over the last two months your consultancy team which consists of you, the business consultant and the senior technical consultant, have been in discussions with a consortium of three local education authorities (LEAs) in the South East of England about the development of an educationally based social network for school age children called “EduBook”. The idea behind the project is to develop a social networking site (based on the concept of Facebook, MySpace etc) that will encourage children to develop their writing and communication skills within a safe social networking environment.
The discussions between your consultancy team and the LEA consortium have been very positive to date and at the most recent meetings you have identified the key requirements for Edubook: In addition to allowing children to develop a personal ‘page’, Edubook will also include forums and blogging facilities to encourage children to express themselves through the written word.
Your consultancy team, therefore, was shocked today when at the latest meeting with the consortium , Julia Lancelot, Head of South Kent LEA, expressed concern with the project and indicated that her LEA would be withdrawing from the consortium with immediate effect. She then produced the results of an online poll commissioned by a company called JCA that arranges educational trips and outdoor activities. (Available in Appendix A of this specification). She told the other consortium members that the conclusions of this online poll were that “teachers believe social networking sites are to blame for pupils’ poor grades”.
Julia Lancelot’s argument to the rest of the consortium was very clear: she said that no LEA could be associated with an ‘educational’ social networking site when the latest research makes it very clear that teachers believe that those with poor levels of literacy are those who are biggest on social networking .
The meeting ended in disarray with the other consortium members now considering their positions as well.
Requirements
Back at Head Office, the senior technical consultant was furious: he told the rest of you that there is no clear evidence to support Julia Lancelot’s claims. In fact he mentioned recent research by the National Literacy Trust (2009) which suggests that “having a profile on a social networking site or having a blog is connected to enjoyment of writing and confidence in writing” (Information about this research is given in Appendix B) .
You are given the task of compiling a report that will critically evaluate the online poll highlighted by Julia Lancelot to show that it is not a reliable source/reliable study.
Within the report you are also told to critically evaluate the research by the National Literacy Trust to show why this is a reliable source/study and to summarise its findings.
Lastly, you are told to find at least one other reliable source, to suggest other reasons for poor levels of literacy amongst children.
Deliverables
You must submit a report (approximately 1500 words excluding your bibliography) to meet the requirements given above.
The report you submit must follow the framework given here:
1. Report title
Make this relevant and sensible
2. Contents page
3. Introduction
Here state the background to the report (why are you writing it), the aims of the report (what are you going to do within the report) and its anticipated audience (who is going to read it).
4. Methodology
In this section explain the activities you have undertaken in order to be able to
compile the report.
5. Critical evaluation of online poll commissioned by JCA.
In this section consider the online poll (details given in Appendix A) and discuss the key points made. Does the poll actually reach the same conclusion as Julia Lancelot? Give reasons why it may not be considered a reliable source/ reliable study.
6. Critical evaluation of National Literacy Trust research (2009)
In this section consider this research (details given in Appendix B) and discuss the key points made. Give reasons why you would consider this to be a more reliable source/study.
7. Other reasons for poor literacy levels in childhood
In this section, identify the study/studies you have found yourself that suggest other reasons for poor literacy and explain why you consider them to be reliable. Summarise the other reasons you have found that may contribute to poor literacy levels in childhood.
8. Conclusions
In this section you should reinforce the significant points of your report (don’t make any new ones).
9. Bibliography
All your references must be properly listed here using the Harvard method. You must
also reference using the Harvard method within the body of your report.
Appendix A
Results of online poll commissioned by JCA.
The research for this online poll was conducted by a global market research company www.onepoll.com. They undertook the research on behalf of a company called JCA (http://www.jca-adventure.co.uk/) which specialises in residential school trips and has 13 UK activity centres.
The survey for One Poll was carried out online in the UK between 19 and 25th October using 500 teachers.
1. PRESS RELEASE by onepoll.com: JCA research study
Written: Friday 19th November, 2010
Teachers believe social networking sites are to blame for pupil's poor grades, a study revealed yesterday Thurs).
According to the report, children who spend much of their time online find it harder to concentrate in class, are permanently distracted and have shorter attention spans.
Teachers also put the dip in the quality of children's' homework down to their willingness to spend their evenings on Facebook and Twitter instead of studying.
And many are unhappy at the increase in the number of children who are using text-speak or social networking chat - such as 2mor, msg, lol and bk - in place of English grammar.
The worrying stats emerged in a study of 500 teachers conducted by leading school trips provider JCA - which motivates personal and social development outside the classroom.
A spokeswoman for JCA Janie Burt said: ''This research clearly demonstrates that students up and down the country are spending more and more time using social media.
''Rather than relying on life experiences, educational travel and face to face interaction with others, children are becoming obsessed with social networking and this is shaping their attitudes instead.
''And as the teachers spell out, it is this obsession which has a direct impact on the future of our children - affecting their grades because they fail to complete their homework on time or to the standard required, and being unable to concentrate in class.''
The report shows a quarter of teachers are prepared to put their necks on the line and conclude the children with the poorest grades at school are the ones who are biggest on social networking.
Seven in 10 British teachers believe children are becoming more and more obsessed with websites such as Facebook, Twitter and My Space.
Half of the 500 teachers polled believe this fixation is affecting the children's ability to concentrate in class.
And two thirds say the quality of children's homework is poor as they rush to finish it so they can communicate with others online.
Educational Psychologist Kairen Cullen, CPsychol. AFBPsS said: ''It's a complex subject. Drawing on the basis of my clinical practice working with lots of children and young people, in this day and age it is inevitable that children will want to access and make sense of social networking.
''They enjoy using this tool but there is a danger that these virtual interactions filter out problematic or emotional issues, which in real life, support social and emotional development.
''Social networking has become so much the norm, for adults and children alike, that non-participation can result in feeling excluded or even socially ostracised.
''The time invested in social media versus real life interpersonal interaction can detract from that available for real human contact and contribute to delayed and/or distorted social and emotional development.''
Over the last two months your consultancy team which consists of you, the business consultant and the senior technical consultant, have been in discussions with a consortium of three local education authorities (LEAs) in the South East of England about the development of an educationally based social network for school age children called “EduBook”. The idea behind the project is to develop a social networking site (based on the concept of Facebook, MySpace etc) that will encourage children to develop their writing and communication skills within a safe social networking environment.
The discussions between your consultancy team and the LEA consortium have been very positive to date and at the most recent meetings you have identified the key requirements for Edubook: In addition to allowing children to develop a personal ‘page’, Edubook will also include forums and blogging facilities to encourage children to express themselves through the written word.
Your consultancy team, therefore, was shocked today when at the latest meeting with the consortium , Julia Lancelot, Head of South Kent LEA, expressed concern with the project and indicated that her LEA would be withdrawing from the consortium with immediate effect. She then produced the results of an online poll commissioned by a company called JCA that arranges educational trips and outdoor activities. (Available in Appendix A of this specification). She told the other consortium members that the conclusions of this online poll were that “teachers believe social networking sites are to blame for pupils’ poor grades”.
Julia Lancelot’s argument to the rest of the consortium was very clear: she said that no LEA could be associated with an ‘educational’ social networking site when the latest research makes it very clear that teachers believe that those with poor levels of literacy are those who are biggest on social networking .
The meeting ended in disarray with the other consortium members now considering their positions as well.
Requirements
Back at Head Office, the senior technical consultant was furious: he told the rest of you that there is no clear evidence to support Julia Lancelot’s claims. In fact he mentioned recent research by the National Literacy Trust (2009) which suggests that “having a profile on a social networking site or having a blog is connected to enjoyment of writing and confidence in writing” (Information about this research is given in Appendix B) .
You are given the task of compiling a report that will critically evaluate the online poll highlighted by Julia Lancelot to show that it is not a reliable source/reliable study.
Within the report you are also told to critically evaluate the research by the National Literacy Trust to show why this is a reliable source/study and to summarise its findings.
Lastly, you are told to find at least one other reliable source, to suggest other reasons for poor levels of literacy amongst children.
Deliverables
You must submit a report (approximately 1500 words excluding your bibliography) to meet the requirements given above.
The report you submit must follow the framework given here:
1. Report title
Make this relevant and sensible
2. Contents page
3. Introduction
Here state the background to the report (why are you writing it), the aims of the report (what are you going to do within the report) and its anticipated audience (who is going to read it).
4. Methodology
In this section explain the activities you have undertaken in order to be able to
compile the report.
5. Critical evaluation of online poll commissioned by JCA.
In this section consider the online poll (details given in Appendix A) and discuss the key points made. Does the poll actually reach the same conclusion as Julia Lancelot? Give reasons why it may not be considered a reliable source/ reliable study.
6. Critical evaluation of National Literacy Trust research (2009)
In this section consider this research (details given in Appendix B) and discuss the key points made. Give reasons why you would consider this to be a more reliable source/study.
7. Other reasons for poor literacy levels in childhood
In this section, identify the study/studies you have found yourself that suggest other reasons for poor literacy and explain why you consider them to be reliable. Summarise the other reasons you have found that may contribute to poor literacy levels in childhood.
8. Conclusions
In this section you should reinforce the significant points of your report (don’t make any new ones).
9. Bibliography
All your references must be properly listed here using the Harvard method. You must
also reference using the Harvard method within the body of your report.
Appendix A
Results of online poll commissioned by JCA.
The research for this online poll was conducted by a global market research company www.onepoll.com. They undertook the research on behalf of a company called JCA (http://www.jca-adventure.co.uk/) which specialises in residential school trips and has 13 UK activity centres.
The survey for One Poll was carried out online in the UK between 19 and 25th October using 500 teachers.
1. PRESS RELEASE by onepoll.com: JCA research study
Written: Friday 19th November, 2010
Teachers believe social networking sites are to blame for pupil's poor grades, a study revealed yesterday Thurs).
According to the report, children who spend much of their time online find it harder to concentrate in class, are permanently distracted and have shorter attention spans.
Teachers also put the dip in the quality of children's' homework down to their willingness to spend their evenings on Facebook and Twitter instead of studying.
And many are unhappy at the increase in the number of children who are using text-speak or social networking chat - such as 2mor, msg, lol and bk - in place of English grammar.
The worrying stats emerged in a study of 500 teachers conducted by leading school trips provider JCA - which motivates personal and social development outside the classroom.
A spokeswoman for JCA Janie Burt said: ''This research clearly demonstrates that students up and down the country are spending more and more time using social media.
''Rather than relying on life experiences, educational travel and face to face interaction with others, children are becoming obsessed with social networking and this is shaping their attitudes instead.
''And as the teachers spell out, it is this obsession which has a direct impact on the future of our children - affecting their grades because they fail to complete their homework on time or to the standard required, and being unable to concentrate in class.''
The report shows a quarter of teachers are prepared to put their necks on the line and conclude the children with the poorest grades at school are the ones who are biggest on social networking.
Seven in 10 British teachers believe children are becoming more and more obsessed with websites such as Facebook, Twitter and My Space.
Half of the 500 teachers polled believe this fixation is affecting the children's ability to concentrate in class.
And two thirds say the quality of children's homework is poor as they rush to finish it so they can communicate with others online.
Educational Psychologist Kairen Cullen, CPsychol. AFBPsS said: ''It's a complex subject. Drawing on the basis of my clinical practice working with lots of children and young people, in this day and age it is inevitable that children will want to access and make sense of social networking.
''They enjoy using this tool but there is a danger that these virtual interactions filter out problematic or emotional issues, which in real life, support social and emotional development.
''Social networking has become so much the norm, for adults and children alike, that non-participation can result in feeling excluded or even socially ostracised.
''The time invested in social media versus real life interpersonal interaction can detract from that available for real human contact and contribute to delayed and/or distorted social and emotional development.''