Saturday, February 25, 2012
Edmodo ELA Benefit
Edmodo presents so many benefits for the ELA classroom. There are unlimited applications through this program to promoting writing, reading, listening, and even speaking. The promotion of this new literacy should considered by teachers, not just ELA. The reason this website can be such a valuable tool for adolescents is because of the friendly and familiar user interface. Students love to spend on average 50 percent of their time on social networking sites communicating with friends and family. Because of this, teachers need to get on board with social networking and accept that students will be more prone to complete their work if it is made available at their fingertips just as facebook.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Drop Box Questions
I am very familiar with dropbox, but I do not think that you can upload a URL web address. I attempted to save the web address and then upload that saved file. When I copied the link from the public folder it did not work correctly. Any ideas on how to save an article to dropbox besides copy and pasting it into word and saving the word document to dropbox?
Week 5 Article on Writing and Technology
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/43439166/Texting%20harm%20writing.webarchive.
I really liked this article because it shows how an increase in technology usage among our teenage generation may be hindering their ability to write. We all know how students write when they are talking with their friends over IM or facebook, so it is important to remember that through all of the amazing benefits that technology in the classroom has to offer, it may be ultimately taking a toll on that generations literacy skills. I believe this article is valuable for everyone to read to see the other side of the spectrum, away from how technology is the way to go. This article made me realize that sometimes too much technology or certain technologies can sometimes be more harmful than helpful. We need to choose carefully what we are promoting.
If dropbox link does not work here is the URL to the article
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/arcives/texting_impacts_student-writing.shtml
I really liked this article because it shows how an increase in technology usage among our teenage generation may be hindering their ability to write. We all know how students write when they are talking with their friends over IM or facebook, so it is important to remember that through all of the amazing benefits that technology in the classroom has to offer, it may be ultimately taking a toll on that generations literacy skills. I believe this article is valuable for everyone to read to see the other side of the spectrum, away from how technology is the way to go. This article made me realize that sometimes too much technology or certain technologies can sometimes be more harmful than helpful. We need to choose carefully what we are promoting.
If dropbox link does not work here is the URL to the article
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/arcives/texting_impacts_student-writing.shtml
Monday, February 20, 2012
week 4 updated copy with iste standards
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/43439166/Language%20Arts%20%26%20Tech%20Week%204.docx
Monday, February 13, 2012
Week 3: Hands-on help of ELA
Grade Level: 7-8
Topic: Book report alternative: Comic strips and cartoon squares using Comic Creator.
Standards Addressed:
W.8.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
W.8.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
W.8.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
NCTE/IRA NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound–letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
Learning Outcomes:
Students examine graphic novels and comic books and discuss the important components of the genre, such as captions, dialogue, and images. They then use an online tool to create a six-panel comic highlighting six key scenes in a book they have read. By creating comic strips or cartoon squares featuring characters in books, students are encouraged to think analytically about the characters, events, and themes they've explored in ways that expand their critical thinking by focusing on crystallizing the significant points of the book in a few short scenes.
This activity invites the student to think symbolically. The students choose key scenes for their characters and books, find landscapes and props that fit the scenes, and compose related dialogue. These student representations of the books, with their multifaceted texts using symbols, images, texts, and metaphor, succeed in the classroom because they provide a snapshot of the students' comprehension of the ideas in the texts. The alternative to a traditional book report "allows students to create something unique and show their understanding of what they read."
Technologies Needed:
Comic creator website
Other internet resources
TimeLine for implementation
2-3 class sessions depending on familiarity of program.
Integration/Implementation
This can be tied into class time after reading a novel, but also can be done after school for 3-4 thirty minute blocks. I think that students will benefit from this if it is used as an alternate form of a book report instead of the traditional 5 page paper. Giving the students this as another option is great.
Mind's-on "New literacies Definition and Component"
1.) Which ideas from the video reflect what the ELA teachers you interviewed are currently doing to integrate technology with their literacy instruction?
One idea that was taken from the video about teachers not having the proper pedagogy or training in order to effectively implement the technology to enhance student learning. That is what the ELA teacher had told me just in different terms. She said something along the line of "I don't know how to use some of these technologies. I would have to ask one of my kids to help me with it because they use this stuff all the time." She wants to use the technology when it is available and after she feels like she has got a really good grip on the tool and all that it offers. Without the proper training with these social networking tools, it seems that language arts teachers will remain reluctant to implement these technologies.
2.) How can you help change their instructional practices to include the use of technology and the Internet in their literacy and content-area curriculum?
I think that it is very difficult to change a person's instructional practices when the technology availability is lacking. It is important to remember that while we may have budget cuts in the short term, there is a long term commitment out there to seeing technology as part of the everyday experience for all students. I would first recommend to the teacher that it would be a good idea to learn about writing grants, attending city council meetings, and working with different parent and teach groups to get change going.
Having said all of that I would still introduce and teach the language arts teacher how to effectively create, manage, and assess a blog for later use. Because some students may not have internet access at home, the blogging assignment can be issued on a monday and due the following monday so they are given time to use the computer labs. There are such great new literacy ideas that can be accessed through the internet, and eventually with the expansion of more laptops per pupil, they will become increasingly valuable. Having students work with an interface like the one presented in the first reading where students will learn a vocabulary word by making a sentence, and using nonlinguistic skills to interpret the word by drawing on an online drawing software. I would at the very least get the teacher more amped and excited about how much more literacy can be engaging.
3.) What professional development and/or resources will they need in order to make these changes?
As far as I am concerned there are literally thousands of free online resources that teachers can have access to as long as they have an internet connection. It might be a good idea for the teacher to purchase her own hosted web server for like $10 a month and install different programs like moddle, wordpress and other software for students to access. I think it would be beneficial to contact the technology specialist of their district and see if they have any good recommendations for new literacies or technologies to enhance student learning. If you are not successful in that professional development, there are various courses offered through BOCES that are teaching things like the smartboard, and various literacies (blogging). Teachers need two types of skills, cognitive and technology skills. Most teachers already have all of the required cognitive skills, but they are lacking in the technology skills like operating and troubleshooting. We have this gap, which needs to be closed, where the teachers have the cognitive and the students have the tech skills. I would suggest that a teacher manages and learners the ins and outs of a particular device for at least 4-6 month depending on your technology learning curve, before using it with your students in the classroom. I really feel that if you are going to ask the kids to use a technology, you had better have a strong grasp on it and be ready for troubleshooting. When using ICTs (information and communication technologies) teachers should use it to identify questions, locate information, evaluate information, synthesize information to answer questions, and communicate those answers to others.
4.) What ideas do you have for grouping students so they will have equal access to technology in the classroom?
I think that students can be paired up in order to share a laptop or desktop. This will encourage communication and collaboration, an important 21st century skill. Students can work together to locate, evaluate, synthesize and communicate info back to their classmates. Just as the common rule says use technology where it makes sense to, it might not always be beneficial to use groups
One idea that was taken from the video about teachers not having the proper pedagogy or training in order to effectively implement the technology to enhance student learning. That is what the ELA teacher had told me just in different terms. She said something along the line of "I don't know how to use some of these technologies. I would have to ask one of my kids to help me with it because they use this stuff all the time." She wants to use the technology when it is available and after she feels like she has got a really good grip on the tool and all that it offers. Without the proper training with these social networking tools, it seems that language arts teachers will remain reluctant to implement these technologies.
2.) How can you help change their instructional practices to include the use of technology and the Internet in their literacy and content-area curriculum?
I think that it is very difficult to change a person's instructional practices when the technology availability is lacking. It is important to remember that while we may have budget cuts in the short term, there is a long term commitment out there to seeing technology as part of the everyday experience for all students. I would first recommend to the teacher that it would be a good idea to learn about writing grants, attending city council meetings, and working with different parent and teach groups to get change going.
Having said all of that I would still introduce and teach the language arts teacher how to effectively create, manage, and assess a blog for later use. Because some students may not have internet access at home, the blogging assignment can be issued on a monday and due the following monday so they are given time to use the computer labs. There are such great new literacy ideas that can be accessed through the internet, and eventually with the expansion of more laptops per pupil, they will become increasingly valuable. Having students work with an interface like the one presented in the first reading where students will learn a vocabulary word by making a sentence, and using nonlinguistic skills to interpret the word by drawing on an online drawing software. I would at the very least get the teacher more amped and excited about how much more literacy can be engaging.
3.) What professional development and/or resources will they need in order to make these changes?
As far as I am concerned there are literally thousands of free online resources that teachers can have access to as long as they have an internet connection. It might be a good idea for the teacher to purchase her own hosted web server for like $10 a month and install different programs like moddle, wordpress and other software for students to access. I think it would be beneficial to contact the technology specialist of their district and see if they have any good recommendations for new literacies or technologies to enhance student learning. If you are not successful in that professional development, there are various courses offered through BOCES that are teaching things like the smartboard, and various literacies (blogging). Teachers need two types of skills, cognitive and technology skills. Most teachers already have all of the required cognitive skills, but they are lacking in the technology skills like operating and troubleshooting. We have this gap, which needs to be closed, where the teachers have the cognitive and the students have the tech skills. I would suggest that a teacher manages and learners the ins and outs of a particular device for at least 4-6 month depending on your technology learning curve, before using it with your students in the classroom. I really feel that if you are going to ask the kids to use a technology, you had better have a strong grasp on it and be ready for troubleshooting. When using ICTs (information and communication technologies) teachers should use it to identify questions, locate information, evaluate information, synthesize information to answer questions, and communicate those answers to others.
4.) What ideas do you have for grouping students so they will have equal access to technology in the classroom?
I think that students can be paired up in order to share a laptop or desktop. This will encourage communication and collaboration, an important 21st century skill. Students can work together to locate, evaluate, synthesize and communicate info back to their classmates. Just as the common rule says use technology where it makes sense to, it might not always be beneficial to use groups
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Week 3 Work: Theory in Practice
Week 3
Articles Summary
I found the articles to be fairly informative on the topic of "new emerging literacies" in the classroom. Literacy is changing from a traditional paper and pencil to digital and media technologies that can be accessed by the click of a link on the internet. It is the teachers responsibility to help students access these literacies through the internet, but as the articles points out, students only access the computer/internet for 12 minutes per week. This is a very uncomfortable number for me because there is no feasible way to introduce and work with these new literacies the article mentions when there is no scheduled time for students to access and explore these things. In Todd's classroom he has a great classroom website that each student has access to on their laptops. This includes learning centers, writing prompts, graphic organizers, digital worksheets, URLs, media files, and corrected work. I think that it serves as a great supplemental resource to paper, pencils, and books. He has the students focus on a particular topic like vocabulary and they promote literacy through the laptops. Students were asked to take a vocab work and use a word processor in order make a sentence to show understanding of the word. The students then open a drawing application to create a picture to show a nonlinguistic representation of the word. When the class is responsible for reading, they are introduced to a topic by using a graphic organizer and then are paired up to collaborate and communicate through IM. Having laptops for each student allows a great opportunity to take the traditional literacy practices that are done on paper and pencil and infuse technology into them, making them more appealing for students. I think this approach will result in a more engaged learning environment that more students will appreciate and open up to. Once schools can afford to give each student a laptop, these new literacies can successfully be implemented and not replace old literacies, but supplement them to enhance the learning experience.
I found the articles to be fairly informative on the topic of "new emerging literacies" in the classroom. Literacy is changing from a traditional paper and pencil to digital and media technologies that can be accessed by the click of a link on the internet. It is the teachers responsibility to help students access these literacies through the internet, but as the articles points out, students only access the computer/internet for 12 minutes per week. This is a very uncomfortable number for me because there is no feasible way to introduce and work with these new literacies the article mentions when there is no scheduled time for students to access and explore these things. In Todd's classroom he has a great classroom website that each student has access to on their laptops. This includes learning centers, writing prompts, graphic organizers, digital worksheets, URLs, media files, and corrected work. I think that it serves as a great supplemental resource to paper, pencils, and books. He has the students focus on a particular topic like vocabulary and they promote literacy through the laptops. Students were asked to take a vocab work and use a word processor in order make a sentence to show understanding of the word. The students then open a drawing application to create a picture to show a nonlinguistic representation of the word. When the class is responsible for reading, they are introduced to a topic by using a graphic organizer and then are paired up to collaborate and communicate through IM. Having laptops for each student allows a great opportunity to take the traditional literacy practices that are done on paper and pencil and infuse technology into them, making them more appealing for students. I think this approach will result in a more engaged learning environment that more students will appreciate and open up to. Once schools can afford to give each student a laptop, these new literacies can successfully be implemented and not replace old literacies, but supplement them to enhance the learning experience.
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