Young Learners

Searching through various wiki sites seems infinite.  Wiki, blogs and other social media will afford students far reaching experiences. Can you image the impact on young learners?

                                               
Children today will becoming inventors, creators and powerful thinkers through their access to technology. Students will learn cooperatively and be able to share their dreams.  This will have a monumental impact on the world. Educators are shaping the future and using opportunities to broaden student's life.

Browsing through numerous wiki sites, I discovered a poetry wiki.  Although it was for older students and quite complicated, I think it could be easily adjusted to the lower grades.  Poetry Wiki
                                               
         




Continuing my trek in cyberspace I learned that Mrs. Ballweg's third grade class keeps tracking of their reading throughout the course of the year along with the genres they must read.  Mrs. Ballweg's class  This is useful because instead of having student's write things down they can keep track of it electronically.  In addition she offered a site for book talks which my students would thoroughly enjoy.

Lights, Camera, Action in Digital Media

Lights, Camera, Action!      

Exploring various digital story telling was thrilling.  kid movie is one creative idea.   There are so many tools available. How amazing it would be to experience this as a young student!   The options range from comic strips,

 

 

research reports, to puppets,     and much more. 

     Digital storytelling has a way to inspire all students because it can be multisensory and utilize multiple intelligences. Kid video of a fable In order for students to create digital stories, they need to comprehend what they read.  Kid storytelling

     Is the purpose to retell a story they already know? On the other hand, students can think outside the box and create their own story. All these techniques involve higher order thinking skills which aligns with  NETS   and the  Common Core Standards.

 

Being A Social Butterfly in Cyber Space

   

       The best way to keep well-informed is to read, write and interact with others in cyberspace. As I browsed various sites and subscribed to them, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of information.          

                                                                                          

      I realized as an educator, I must keep up with the latest trends educationally and share what I am learning with my class.  Human Brain Adapting to New Technology   If I am teaching

about Native Americans, I will have the ability to search online to find out what other

teachers are using for resources. It will inspire me to be more tech savvy and creative in my

teaching.   As I perused Ms. Lareau’s site, I put a tag on her Wampanoag video Plimouth/Wampanog Movie/Game  because I teach about the Wampanoag in third grade.   

 

There can be glitches with sites. What appears to be interesting may not be what is seems! In fact, I thought I found a site about Smart boards, but it turned out to be about equine nutrition. I don’t think this is part of the third grade curriculum!


Really Simple Syndication replaces the old fashion library catalogue  and does it automatically. I have the ability to narrow my focus for information I want to read on the web by using an aggregate. However, it is critical to assess the validity of the information presented by judging  the purpose and the credentials of the blogger. Veracity of Web Sites

       With Google.com/reader I can subscribe to information about using my new smart board and, if I have to create a new unit on character traits or explorers, I can receive information related to these topics, so I can be more knowledgeable when teaching a topic or content area. As teachers, we encounter issues and can get help from our peers. For example, I want to reorganize my library. After reading Rockin Reader's Workshop, I have a new idea to let the students organize the library.  Since students will need to master digital reading literacy, I must be able to expose them to  various aspects of digital media like a Reader's Theater.

 

 

 

Blogging Ventures and Multiple Literacies

                                                 

                  BLOGGING VENTURES AND MULTIPLE LITERACIES         

       

                                     

     Blogging will permit students to meet the Common Core Standards because it encompasses multiple literacies and performance type activities. NETS for Students  Blogging extends student's audiences in many difference scenarios.  Not only can students blog with their peers in the same class, but they can blog with students globally, with experts in a content area or authors of books they read. Mr Salsich's class participated in quad-blogging. Quad Blogging Blogging expands student's learning opportunities.
                                  
     When students blog they are deepening their learning of reading, writing, and communicating.  Mr. Avery's Newscasters had the opportunity to practice their oral communication skills after they undertook a research project on animals.  Blogging can encompass a spectrum of learners in the classroom who benefit from this type of experience.
                                      


In my class, I read The BFG by Roald Dahl. In addition to using it as a read-aloud, I use excerpts from the book to teach narrative writing. Mr. Avery's class participated in a video by recreating the story with students playing the roles of the main characters.  Mr. Avery's students rendition of The BFG  Using technology to enforce comprehension is a phenomenal way to complement literacy.

As students participate in blogging, they receive responses from their blogs. This will inspire them to read and write back creating an interactive component for students not previously addressed in the classroom.   Struggling readers can process literature through a multisensory approach.  Students are exposed to images, audio, and movies when they blog which broadens their understanding of the text. Hyperlinks may provide higher functioning readers with further resources to aid and develop their literacy skills.

Use of KidsBlog permits teachers the ability to engage in blogging under controlled situations.  With this venture students learn to write for different audiences and purposes. By blogging about their reading and receiving feedback from others, students are more motivated. Blogging extends the level of student's thinking a step further. Johanna Cleary's class created blogs on topics ranging from book reports and book clubs to research reports.   Mr. Avery's students created animotos about their animal research projects.  My students would find blogging more interesting than just writing a report and handing it in to me.  The New Common Core Standards require third graders to do a research report. Mr. Avery and Ms. Cleary inspire me to use animotos as a tool to demonstrate student learning.

                                                             
                         

Weblogs and Wikis

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste the experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for new and richer experiences."
- Eleanor Roosevelt      
Weblogs

Teacher’s use of Weblogs will depend on their goals and the expected outcomes for their students.   Why teachers should blog  In order for educators to teach students about blogs and other web based programs, they must have the same experiences.  Support Blogging 

As a teacher, I promote and encourage students to engage in reading and writing daily. The more one practices something the better they become at it.  

Concert pianist cannot achieve their stature without constant practice.

                                                           
 Likewise, the professional baseball player would not be playing for the Red Sox or Yankees if they weren’t committed to becoming experts at their sport. Using Blogs, Wikis, and other websites are ways to build student’s confidence in their literacy and the more opportunities they have, the more proficient they will become.  

                                                               

Students learn from teacher modeling.  The educator must exhibit the appropriate use of blogs and explain the importance of using links and pictures as ways to enhance student work.    Hopes and Wishes for 2013 by David Warlink.  I think my students would become better writers if they published their work using a website.  I continually remind my students about the importance of writing fluently and sequentially.  In my last grad class, the course emphasized the importance of student’s listening to each other’s writing.  If students see their work published on a website, it may offer more motivation. Mrs. Norton's class website Publishing work on a website would offer feedback from other students, so students would develop a better understanding of the importance of their writing.
Although the school where I work has a website with some links for the general population of students to use for practicing math and reading, I think it would be useful for students to have more specific resources as a tool to increase reading comprehension and writing skills in the areas they are studying in class.

Since my students are 8 and 9 and several do not have computers at home, most of the opportunities for practicing blogs would occur in the classroom.  All parents have signed a release allowing permission for their child to be published on the web.  Teachers must be vigilant to monitor students’ work for safety reasons. Instead of reading exemplars of student’s work to the class, student writing could be posted on a website. Examples of student writing

Rubrics, which are evaluation tools for student work in many content areas, can be utilized to assess student’s work on the web. I use it in the classroom for written responses and performance assessments, so students are familiar with this.
 
During our unit on Fables and Folktales, students can write a fable on the weblog and after they finish, they will add pictures related to the story.  In order to effectively stimulate higher order thinking skills, they could compare their fable to one that they read about on the website.  Following this, they can write comments about the similarities and differences of their fable to the one they read about.  To engage the students, further they could embed links to fables from www.unitedstreaming.com so that other students might enjoy learning about other fables.  All these projects would be closely monitored to ensure student’s use the Web appropriately. Student Safety of Internet
Wikis 
http://www.wikipedia.org/ is a resource frequented by many students. If this site can be edited by anyone, then how valid is the information on it?  Since there are “400,000 edits a day and misinformation is corrected regularly”, Richardson claims it is more reliable than people have thought (Richard, 2010). Wikis remind me of the quote from the original Star Trek series: "Space the final frontier...to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before" (Wikipedia.org).
                                                           

           Wikis promote collaboration which is a critical component for student learning in school and beyond in the job market.  Since large corporations are using Wikis, student should have the exposure to engage in wikis.

When my students undertake their research projects this year, they will be allowed to use Wikipedia as one resource.  Student Research Project  Students must learn to evaluate and analyze the perspective of the information they find on a website by using a site, like  http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Using a web based wiki for students is an option because it has a password and log in system.  This will appease parents and allow the teacher control over the wikis. The purpose for students to use wikis in my class would be to teach each other. Presently, in my classroom, students work cooperatively and discuss content information.  Wikis would add another dimension to this level of collaboration. Student Collaboration on Writing  Students could add graphics and links to enhance their wikis. 

        Another alternative for Wikis is http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikibooks_portal.   Students would be thrilled to edit books on the web.  Editing Books On-Line   It would promote and enrich student’s critical thinking skills because they would need to comprehend, analyze and evaluate what they read and then use their background knowledge to revise and change the story. This adds a perspective to stretch their understanding of stories and writing. Wikijunior 

                                        

Using wikis by connecting with other schools around the world provides rich diverse learning experiences for students because they share their ideas and gain knowledge of people who are from different cultures and geographical areas.
                        
                                               

I like the idea Shelley Paul, a Georgia teacher, offered about doing a book study on a wiki (Richardson, 2010).  When students in my class read about Native Americans or Titanic, they could talk to authors about the story and integrate the information learned from other resources into their learning. 

           Weblogs and Wikis are changing the face of education.  Students need to have these experiences in the classroom to prepare them for the future.

                       

  

 

Moon Phases

     I saw Planet Animoto on Mary Ellen's Integrating Technology and Literacy Blog. Mary Ellen's animoto showed the planets and their names to reinforce student learning about the solar system. Planets

    As part of the science curriculum and the CT Content Standard 5.3, my students study the moon. I decided to create an animoto about the phases of the moon. The students are responsible for identifying and naming the moon's phases.  This will be a useful tool to help students visually reinforce this concept. Here is my animoto project.



    My class also must keep a moon journal for a month. Twice a week students are expected to observe the moon, draw a picture and write a description of their observation. 
                            
                       


    After the students have observed the moon, they are so excited to tell me what they saw and share with their classmates.  One student offered this profound observation: The moon can be seen in the daytime! 
                                   
                                 

The Tentacles of Technology

     “The most profound influence on life in the 21st century may turn out to be the internet” (Leu, D.J., O’Byrne, W. G., Zawilinksi, L., McVerry, J.G. Everett-Cacopardo, H., 2009).  There is no doubt that the World Wide Web has its tentacles attached to all aspects of society. 

This YouTube video demonstrates the powerful influence that digital media has spawned in our society. “At the current pace more the half the world’s population will be on line in 7 years and most of the world will be on line in 10 to 15 years” (Leu, D. J., et al, 2009) This “tectonic shift” permits anyone to write, read, share, and connect on line (Richardson, 2010). Since publishing any type of media is possible today, people are well informed and exposed to global happenings. 
           

The technological advancements have been slow to impact the schools because of the financial demands that it will place on the school systems.  The economy is recovering at a snail’s pace; budgets are being trimmed to the bare basics.  As a result, students and teachers are being deprived of the educational benefits inherent in technology. If teachers are not offered professional development in using the web to create blogs and web pages, etc., then students cannot apply their learning from an educational/technological standpoint. 21st century literacies


Social media impacts the way people learn. The role of educators must involve not only instructing students how to navigate the web, but to make judgments on who to trust and what to believe when they read material on the Internet. Students must be protected and teachers should control their audience when they publish. Student's identification must be safeguarded, so predators do not gain access to student's personal information.   http://mrcsclassblog.blogspot.com/



Teachers could utilize various toolboxes as technical tools for students. Blogs, Wikis and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) are ways to teach students to communicate, reflect and analyze information. Students can explore, research, and collaborate with other students and experts when studying various content areas.  This avenue will lead students to broaden their horizons and expand their knowledge base. In order for students to be prepared for the global job market, it is essential that teachers are tech experts. http://lewiselementary.org/

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.        
T.S. Eliot

                                                 References

 

Leu, D.J., O'Byrne, W.I., Zawilinski, L.J., McVerry, J.G., Everett-Cacopardo, H. (2009).

     Expanding the new literacies conversation. Educational Researcher, 38(4) 264-269.

Richardson, W,. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.

     Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin

    

 

 

The Explosion of New Literacies

Explosion of digital media in today's society

New literacies are encroaching on the demands of the  educational system. With the explosion of social media, students are being bombarded by information via the Internet. Most students have experience with digital media. Therefore, teachers must utilize technology to educate students in nonlinear text.  By integrating content areas with the Internet, students will develop into more critical and analytical students.  They will be challenged to make decisions, evaluate text, and determine valid sources while reading and writing.

Students need to develop new literacy skills since the Internet involves reading on-line and comprehending information.   Students must decipher valid information and critically evaluate it. Audience, format, and purpose are factors the writer/reader must take into consideration when using the Internet (Coiro, J. 2003).  Students need the skills to be tech-savvy in order to be successful in the world.



 

According to the National Educational Technology Standards for Students, the expectation for the student is to use their schema and develop the information gained from digital media. Digital media will enable students to become more innovative and creative in their thinking.  Students will become more adept at communicating and collaborating with others.  They will have to learn to navigate the web to find sources. Once they locate sources, students will need to analyze and critique them. Furthermore, students will have the flexibility to learn new information and apply it since the web is constantly changing.  NETS for Students  NETS for students

National Educational Technology For Teachers expects teachers to become better informed and educated in digital age technology. This new responsibility means professional development for teachers in technology. The demands of the global job market mandate that students are to have the expertise in reading and communicating in nonlinear text.  Teachers, who gain this technological expertise, will be able to promote a richer learning environment. As a result, students will have the learning experiences to develop into responsible, productive citizens. NETS for teachers
The teachers must ensure there is a clear cut purpose designed for the students when reading online and the process that must occur should involve the student making judgments about what is relevant or irrelevant about the information learned.  As a result, students will evolve into more analytical and critical thinkers.  In third grade, students study the explorers, Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, and Jacques Cartier. Students can use the Internet to research one of the explorers. Students will be given various links to read and then discuss with the class the variation in stories about the explorer’s lives, accomplishments, and other people’s perception of the various explorers.

In technologically advanced classrooms, students will have ample time to develop new literacies.  Professional development for teachers will provide educators with the skills to promote richer classroom environments for students. Students will be given opportunities to read, explore and evaluate the web so they can develop their skills for the digital age.

                                              References
 

Coiro, J., (2003, Feb.). Reading comprehension on the internet: Expanding our understanding of
    
     reading comprehension to encompass new literacies. The Reading Teacher. 56(6)
    
     http://www.readingonline.org

Leu, D., Leu, D.D., Coiro, J.(2009) Teaching with the Internet K-12: New Literacies New Times

     http: www.sp.uconn.edu/~dj/eu/fourth/one.ht

Leu, D. J., O'Bryne, W.I., Zawilinski, L.J., McVerry, J.G., Everett-Cacopardo, H. (2009).

     Expanding the new literacies converation. Educational Researcher. 38 (4). 264-269
   
     http://ctserv.org/ssr/downloads/eu-newlit.pdf

 

 

First Days

First days in grad class are always overwhelming. It is important to take one step at a time. First days make me realize as a classroom teacher what my students go through when they enter my classroom the beginning of the school year.  Without this perspective, teachers cannot reach their students successfully.