Impact of Using Technology in a Foreign Student Class - Essay Sample

Introduction

A research question that I would use the participant observation method of research to study and find an answer to would be 'What is the impact of using technology in a foreign student class to enhance learning?'

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In answering this research question, it would be advisable for me as the researcher to join a group in which I would participate in and make observations so as to arrive at logical conclusions. Before linking up with this group, it would be prudent for me to fit in as a fellow foreign student to conceal my true identity as the researcher in the study and to avoid influencing the behavior of the students who will be in the research group. Joining this group would require that I get into the location of where the action I am studying is (DeWalt and DeWalt). Since I wish to study about the impact of technology on foreign students in enhancing their learning, I will be required to join their class and interact with the students throughout the day and if possible, get allocated a sleeping lace in their hostels. This will help me to blend and interact with the foreign students as I observe their use of technology while assessing whether this has any influence on their learning process. Joining the class will be easy but the hard part will be building a rapport with the participants whom I am observing as a researcher. I would have to convince the students that I am a foreign student for them to accept me and encourage them to be normal in front of me without realizing that I am the researcher. This calls for building mutual trust between the research participants and myself. The final aspect is that I would need to spent sufficient time with the research participants to enable me to collect the required data for carrying out the study. This ample time will be spent observing the participating students while making notes on the observations as time goes by. This time could range from weeks to months. These three aspects of participant observation would make it easy for me to join the group undetected and carry out my study without altering the behavior of the research participants whom I will be observing.

The findings of this study that utilizes participant observation as a method of gathering research data would have practical significance as they would shape the recommendations to be made on the research question. The findings may establish that the foreign students are utilizing technology well to enhance their learning process or the outcome may indicate that the same students are not using technology properly to leverage on the learning opportunities that it provides. If the findings show that the foreign students are properly utilizing technology to enhance their learning, then as the researcher I would recommend no change in the use of technology but only slight improvements that will maintain their learning process or improve it slightly as well. However, if the finds are opposite, then it would mean that the students are not using technology well to enhance their learning in class. This deviation would mean that as the researcher, I would make recommendations to significantly change the approach through which the foreign students use technology to maximize the learning opportunities that it avails. The technology may be altered to meet the demands of the foreign students or the students themselves may be undertaken through a crash course on how to properly use the technology to enhance their learning in class.

Work Cited

DeWalt, Kathleen M, and Billie R. DeWalt. Participant Observation: A Guide for Fieldworkers. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print.