The Origin of My Dissertation

My focus for my dissertation topic started in the direction of the digital divide. It evolved into addressing technology skills gaps among teachers and students. The next iteration was addressing the technology skills gap in teacher preparation programs. The present topic is technology integration in the classroom, using augmented reality (AR) as the technology for study. 

The phase 1 of my dissertation I would like to survey classroom teachers and how they presently use technology in the classroom. The survey I am interested in using is the LoTi Digital Age Survey. I came across this survey during my first semester in the program and became interested in using it. Following this, or I would also be interested in an impact study on AR on student learning outcomes. This study would evaluate the effectiveness of AR in the classroom using student data, observations, and interviews. The student data would be gathered from a pre-test and a post-test to determine knowledge acquisition from a control group, a group not using AR in the lesson, and from the experiment group, the group using AR in the lesson. 

I feel somewhat confident in my topic. I am aware that I need guidance to fine-tune and focus my topic further. I am grateful to my mentors who are guiding me through this process. Over the last year, I have gathered research around technology integration and AR. While I have not begun the literature review for my dissertation, I have begun building my reference list for it. Regarding the proposed research methods, I am not married to them and am open to recommendations to improve my approach.