EDLD 5326 Action Research Update

The goal of my action research is to expand the usage of OverDrive Media and to construct the eBook collection with the types of eBooks and genres most utilized by users. I began this project in December 2011 and it included ten steps. I am currently completing step seven which entails me doing personal interview with the staff regarding their views of OverDrive Media. I am finding the data and interviews to be disappointing. Teachers especially have been so overwhelmed by district technology initiatives that OverDrive Media is simply “one more thing” and it gets put on the back burner. A vast majority of teachers are not even taking the time to suggest OverDrive to the students or to even use this personally. Fourth and fifth grade classes have Nooks in the classroom but still are not utilizing OverDrive. They are only interested in using the Nooks for classroom novels. As soon as I complete my teacher interviews, I will begin to collect data from the OverDrive Management to determine the types / genres of books that were checked out during the time period. From the data that I have collected from teachers and students who have used OverDrive the results have been disappointing. The program is not meeting the potential of reaching out to students and/or teachers. I will be able to take the data and analyze it and share with all stakeholders to determine the direction that should be taken with OverDrive Media for the entire district. Although, this action research project involves only one campus, I do believe that the results would be comparable to other campuses.