Technology is OK, Teachers are better

As I have stated in earlier blogs, I entered this course with very little regard for new technologies and their usage in the classroom. From personal experience, it had seemed that technology does more to cause frustration and headaches in the classroom rather than supplement learning. Regardless of my personal opinion, I went into this new literacy project with the hope that I would learn to appreciate digital resources and begin to understand all the hype surrounding technology.
Due to the nature of this project and my limited background with different digital resources, I knew that this was going to require a lot of time. I chose my literacy based on one of my favorite things: maps. For me, maps not only illustrate locations, but represent adventure, travel, and exploration. I plan on instilling this same passion for maps and what they represent in my students. However, in today’s technologically driven society, children rarely experience some sort of learning without any technological input, such as television, video games, or computers. In other words, today’s students are digital natives who enjoy practicing visual literacy.
As a result, I decided to combine my interest in maps with digital literacy to create a new visual application that would better capture the attention of today’s students. After much time perusing different websites and downloading different applications to my computer, I decided that GoogleEarth would be the most assessable for me as well as my students. As I experimented with the program, it became apparent that two forms of literacy are required to create a map tour. In addition to digital literacy, I would need to be fluent in environmental literacy as well. In other words, I would need to apply my geographic knowledge and experiences to this new program.
As I was becoming more fluent in the GoogleEarth program, I was actually enjoying myself. This digital resource gave me the opportunity to express myself through my interest in maps, geography, and the environment. Before I knew it, I was uploading old pictures, reminiscing, and feeling a sense of ownership over this project. However, after finishing the project and taking a deep sigh of satisfaction, I pushed one final button before going to bed – “upload.” This one button proved to cause me a terrible headache and made me spend more time figuring out how others can view my video than the amount of time actually doing it. Unfortunately, this only strengthens my ill notions towards digital resources.
Problems with technology are incredibly unpredictable. In many cases, an educator will spend an ample amount of time developing an educational resource only to run into problems when using it in the classroom. In turn, the only thing that the technology seemed to do was waste valuable personal and class time.
Nonetheless, a diverse group of students will still require “effective literacy instruction.” I just believe that that particular technology should be simple – with as little room for error as possible. For instance, I still believe that GoogleEarth is a powerful tool, but I would not use it for much else than classroom instruction. Although this will help all students learn through their own visual literacy skills, it lacks student involvement because of the issues I faced when trying to upload the document.
In general, there is no doubt that technology can be a powerful tool in the classroom. However, I believe that educators are focusing too much on the push to use more innovative digital resources in the classroom and forgetting how to establish quality learning without new technologies. Although it may help in its simplest forms, quality teachers will continue to make more of a difference in the classroom than any technology ever will.

Cultural Literacies

I just got done with my cultural literacies project for the new technologies assignment. I spent a lot of time on this project. The majority of the time was spent trying to decide what to do. I wanted to focus on another culture but I haven't traveled that much so I was unsure what to do. And then I had a meeting for my study abroad program that I am doing this summer and I realized that I might as well do my project on that because I am learning so much about the Malaysian culture. I know that I have not been there yet, but I have so many resources that I could still make my materials authentic.

I wanted to do a digital story because I like visual things. I also think the best way to learn something new about a culture is to fully immerse yourself in it, and the best way I could think to do that was through pictures. I used the Malay language to enrich the pictures, but I really wanted to focus on the pictures.

To use this in my classroom i would show the students this digital story before I left to travel. I would want my students to know where I am going and to know things about where I am going to be. I plan on using this experience when I am a teacher so I would want my students to know where it came from. I can't really say that my concept of literacy has changed after this project. My concept of literacy has always been pretty large and encompasses a number of things.

I think this is just one example of one way you could provide an effective litearcy instruction to your students. I know one theory of literacy is just to immerse your students into the subject and let them absorb the knowledge wtih guidance. I know this isn't practical for everything, but i feel as if it is ok for this kind of literacy. I think that learning about new cultures is hard, and the best way is to throw yourself into it and just absorb everything like a sponge.

Environmental Literacy

I began this assignment quite some time ago, after we had turned in our new literacies plan. When i turned in my plan, i said that I was going to create a wiki about social literacy. For many reasons, this changed. After attempting to do research about social literacy on more than one occasion, I not only realized that there was very little to find 'out there' about it, but what i did find, i thought to be quite dry and boring. At that point, i decided to take a different route. I started back at square one, re-reading the website about new literacies a few times, and then deciding on a new literacy: environmental literacy.
I decided environmental literacy would be a cool thing to do a project on, mostly because I really enjoy learning and teaching about the environment. Further, i have been trying to come up with ways to help students to learn to live more environmentally friendly lives.
After thinking about how I might do a wiki for this, i decided a wiki wouldn't be the best option for a project like this. This project is basically individuals working (non-collaboratively) to accomplish a goal of explanation. Wikis are best when used with numbers of people so that collaboration, explination and change can take place. To create a wiki by myself would probably end up being rather boring. Therefore, I decided to expand my e-portfolio a bit and create a website about Environmental Literacy. Because I have worked with NVU in the past, i decided to switch it up a bit, and attempt to use googlepages website creator. I wanted to see how accessible it was - specifically for students, and i found that it was quite accessible. It was much simpler than NVU to use, and didnt involve setting up a network on your computer, which msu.edu requires you to do when you use NVU. I can see myself using googlepages in the future with my students (i even left a page where I plan to put links to student projects on my site :-) )
I also ended up using Del.icio.us to tag some of the cool sites i found information on, which i think is cool. It helps to give credit to where I got my information, as well as keeps it all in one place for my students and peers.
I really did end up enjoying this project, despite the fact that i was off to a bit of a rough start.
This project helped me to analyze my own plans for the future, and really think about how I am going to incorporate something that i believe in into my classroom. I am excited to help my students to become more environmentally literate in the future.

Miller Article

I know we don't have to blog about this, but I enjoyed some of the tips in this article, so I figured I would post them.

1. Plan Ahead - don't just think that stuff will come to you while you're teaching. You have to plan your prompts, your questions, your connections, everything ahead of time.
2. Authenticity Matters - by choosing books that you really connect with, and making sure that you can relate to them, it makes lessons able to be more authentic.
3. use a variety of types of literature.
4. use precise language. define words that students may not know, and stay consistent in meanings and uses of words.
4. "think through the text" with students - make connections and ask for theirs, etc.
5. plan for student discussion ahead of time, figure out how to put it into your lesson.
6. make meaningful connections
7. PRACTICE. tell students what you expect, and practice it. your first lessons of the year wont be perfect. learn from them, and make changes to reach your goals.

For today’s class, I read Joanne Carlisle’s article, “How Can I Help Children with Learning Disabilities.” As she illustrated, nearly one in twenty students are said to have some sort of learning disability in the United States. To be honest, I was surprised at this estimate considering that many of the classrooms I have visited or been a part of have had a much smaller ratio of students to LD students. Personally, I believe that students in America’s classrooms are misdiagnosed and over-diagnosed. It often seems like an easy way to remove responsibility on the part of the teacher to place an “LD” label on a problem student. I am in no way an expert on this matter, but even in TE courses, I have heard TE students suggest to first get a child on medication for a specific disability, most often ADHD, and then approach the problem.

However, as Carlisle suggests, the first step is to have the child properly evaluated. According to such evaluations, the most common LD among elementary students involves reading and spelling. In fact, nearly 75% of LDs involve these two aspects of literacy. Research suggests that the number of students with this specific disability is so prominent because children often have trouble develop their phonological processes. As a result, this LD has direct implications on a child’s spelling and reading comprehension. As with any disability, it may have profound effects on the child’s self esteem and confidence in school or social settings. As teachers, we can avoid such problems and foster literacy development by creating a classroom environment that is safe and comfortable where intellectual risks are encouraged and rewarded instead of right answers. Once the classroom community is established, the teacher may aid LD students with certain activities that help them develop their spelling and reading skills, such as storybook reading and discussion, word games, journal writing, and other activities. In addition, when participating in whole-class activities, it is essential to break down tasks into a sequence of short activities.

I certainly agree with much of what Carlisle suggests, but I do not think that all LD students, even if they have the same disabilities, should be approached the same way. It is up to the teacher to evaluate and monitor each student's progress academically and socially tailoring activities and instruction accordingly.

Today's Reading

I read chapter 2 for today's class. The chapter discusses the different parts of the reading and writing processes. What interested me most was the 5 stages in reading.

1. The first stage is pre-reading, where students preview the text, set goals for their reading, and make connections.
2. The second stage is reading, where the students do the actual reading where they use many skills like making predictions and take notes while reading.
   
3. The third stage is responding. In this stage students either write in a reading log or take place in a discussion.
4. The forth stage is exploring where students reread the text and continue to make more connections.
   
5. The final stage is applying where students do a project on the book, or connect with other books, and mainly reflect on the reading process.
   

I find this interesting because this is how most literacy circles are formed in the classrooms that I have been in, have been formed. I also find this interesting because this is how many reading strategies are structured, such PQ3(or4)R, where the students preview the text and make predictions and then read and then review.

How do today’s readings help you understand your own reading comprehension processes?

For class, I read the applegate article which focused on different types of 'problem' comprehenders. I'm not going to lie, i saw a little bit of myself in a few of these groupings....
I remember in high school i was very much a literalist(someone who believes that all answers are in the text) - i hated questions that didnt have direct answers in the books, because i coudlnt find them or they didnt make sense to me. I also sometimes am a quiz contestant (background experience is taken over text, as text is almost disregarded), but i typically try to relate it a bit more to the text than not. i used to be quite the politician (telling teachers what thye wanted to hear), but i feel like that is all a part of the 'game' of school. everyone does that at some point or another in their schooling, and often it is just to get teachers 'off their back'.
i feel like all students have qualities of these comprehenders in them, it is just a matter of the situation and the readings in question. some topics i am more comfortable with because they 'hook up' with me more, and i am more willing to talk about them. other topics i have no interest in and therefore dont comprehend quite as well.
i suppose it will help me to recognize when i am exhibiting these patterns of thinking and discussing to know how to stop it and re-formulate my actions and thoughts.

FYI

i just found out that we can post profile pics on this thingy...so i did.

In thinking about emergant literacy and "literacy" in technology, i feel as though, despite that they are similar, they are really different ideas.
With emergant literacy, i feel like there's a lot of ways for students to learn and sooooo much to help them with (activities, DI, etc). whereas with technology, a lot of knowing how to do it revolves around expiramenting with new technologies. for example, i started blogging when i was in middle school, so i have had a lot of experience with it, whereas, i hadnt used a bookmarking site (like delicious) until last year, and after playing around with it, i got the hang of it. i was instructed in how to use it (through the te technology class), but i didnt 'get' it until i played around with it fora while. even in that class, we talked a lot about how expiramentation is the best way to 'teach' with new techs.
so i feel like although both literacy and tech literacy take time to adjust and learn with, the ways in which they are learned are strikingly different (at least in my mind), but i could be wrong....

Technology - Eww

To be honest, I seriously HATE technology. It may have short-term benefits and may make life a little easier for some, but I really wish we could all live like our indigenous ancestors. Life back then was so much simpler; eat, sleep, and partake in spiritual rituals. Sure, we would have to hunt, fish, or farm for food, but we would all appreciate it a lot more, and we would certainly be a lot healthier. We would be living off the land instead of trying to conquer it by spilling our technology’s pollutants into the ground, water, and air. There may even be an occasional war, but it would be over something meaningful, like food, instead of something that civilization gave meaning to in order to keep our technologies running (money/oil). Besides, if there ever was a quarrel, it could be easily settled with a gathering around the peace pipe. I could go on and on about how badly I wish I were hanging out in the forest right now getting ready to go on a week long buffalo raid with my good friends, carrying a hatchet-like weapon and wearing minimal clothing made out of bear skin, but I know that the technology we’re discussing here is supposed to be about the modern classroom.

So, since we’re stuck in this time period, I took the quiz and only answered about half of the questions correctly. I thought “wiki” was an abbreviated term for “Wikipedia,” “smart mobs” were a group of really tough Russians that like to read and solve crossword puzzles, and “modding”…well, I don’t even know how to translate the definition. I have played video games, but never online, nor do I know how, this is officially my first blog, and I used to instant message when I was a freshman or sophomore in high school. I definitely think that some technology can be beneficial for the classroom. But more often than not, it seems like there is as much time spent trying to figure out how to use the technology than there is actually using it. In my field placement, if our teacher can’t fix a problem on the computer, she asks one of her 2^nd grade students. Learning technology seems to be a lot like learning a second language: the older you get, the harder it is to catch up to those that are fluent. In this sense, it seems like I am still in the “emergent” stage of technological fluency. Although I grew up in - “Generation-D,” my parents bought an old black and white screen computer from my uncle when I was in 7^th grade, and I didn’t own a cell phone until I was a freshman in college. On the other hand, today’s students are using the same technology I am trying to learn how to use as soon as they enter their first classroom, and there are rules preventing them from carrying their cell phones in school. There is no doubt that they are “digital natives.” As a result, as they are emerging in their literacy skills, they may be simultaneously emerging in their technological skills. In order to get through today’s world successfully, it seems like we will need to teach students both types of skills.

Digital Native Quiz

Digital Native Quiz

So I took this quiz and there were 2 words I was unfamiliar with, modding, and smart mobs. I know I am unfamiliar with "modding" because in the definition it says it was related to gaming, and I don't do gaming so there is no way I would have exposure to this word. "Smart mobs" I had just never heard used before. So I was familiar with 4 out of 6 words. I'm not sure if that makes me a native, but I'm certainly not new or emerging. To connect this with our reading I would have to say that it is understandable that I am unfamiliar with some of the terms because I am not exposed to them. Just as children are not going to be familiar with things if they are not exposed to them in their environment.

Response to 1/30...i think

So I am pretty sure I am writing this response about our posts last week about the choral reading activities? I'm feeling a little confused with the blogging thing.

So I do think that we all see the benefit in choral reading. We did all take something different away from it too. I think what is interesting is that we all saw downsides to choral reading, and for the most part we saw the same things here. We saw that it could be challenging to get students to discuss what we want to, etc...

Response to 1/30

As we talked about in class and these prompts, class discussion is not always effective. This is most often seen when students, in groups or individually, try to find the “right answer” that will please the teacher. In fact, for some classes, it seems that most of the discussion time is used in order to choose what is going to be discussed. When called upon, that person or group can only contribute that which was chosen and may know very little about the topic as a whole. Although the methods that we have been practicing in class have helped overcome some of those problems, it only reinforces the notion that motivation must be intrinsic. If students are “discussing” only to get an A for the day, discussion will likely be shallow, uninteresting, and ineffective. However, if students are motivated intrinsically, they will be naturally interested and more engaged leading to a valuable discussion.

So far, from experiences in the classroom and work, it seems that student engagement has very little to do with the subject being taught. For instance, I teach sex education for the county, and hormone-pumping middle school students could sometimes care less about what I have to say. In my field placement, when 1st and 2nd graders are asked to discuss a topic, and it often leads to a bit of chaos at some tables. Even in a classroom were there is a strong community present, and motivation seems to be intrinsic, it seems that teachers cannot always use discussion as a truly effective activity. Maybe, I’m just being pessimistic, or rambling, but it seems that this is going to be a struggle that we are going to deal with for the rest of our teaching careers.

comments on your blogs

I think the problem is fixed with my posts not appearing. I've always considered myself pretty technologically savey, but apparently blogging is not part of that ability. I have figured it out, though and soon I hope to move out of the emergent stage of blogging and at least into the beginning stage. :-)

There appears to be a huge difference between what is covered in the special ed version of 301 and the regular ed version of 301. I am only familiar with the regular ed version, so therefore what is taught is really an extension of that class. Now that this difference has been brought to my attention I will be sure to investigate what was covered in that version. Based on the assessments given at the beginning of the year, it would appear that most people are not familiar with everything that is being covered though. For those of you who are familiar with this information, I would be interested in hearing what you propose to help you learn more, think deeper, and extend yourself. What kind of differentiation would you do if you were the instructor?

I'm glad you enjoyed the articles on discussion. I agree that some students do not benefite from discussion, and that is why it is important to vary what is being learned. I am interested though to learn about your experiences with discussion in your classrooms. How are teachers utilizing them? How are teachers not utilizing them when they could?

Try to use your responses to delve deeper into your thoughts. Don't just say "I agree..." Challenge each others thinking. Talk more about what connections you see across the posts or what you see as not being consistent across the posts.

Response to participation for 1/23

I thought that we had fun doing the choral reading during the last class, but I didn't really benefit from it. I know the benefits of choral reading and I didn't feel like actually doing it helped me. I felt like we could have spent the time that we devoted to the choral reading activity to something that I am not familiar with. I don't think I am alone in thinking this, because a few of us were discussing this.

Response to 1/23

For the most part, I thought the readings for last week were interesting. The “fishbowl” discussion and these posts provided some helpful insight on the different methods to conduct a classroom discussion. Of the different types of discussions, I like the fishbowl method the most. However, I totally agree with you, Ms. Oswald, in that children should come to understand literature and literary concepts through discovery. In my experiences as well, it often seems like the students do not have enough opportunities to discuss literacy freely so that they can connect ideas and learn new concepts. I really liked that you pointed out that not all students like to write for different reasons, so this method of student led discussion is a way for them to feel more comfortable with their abilities. Once more confidence is established, students may grow more interested and willing to try new things and further their own discoveries.

Say it with me: "Choral Reading Post"

Unlike the some of the other subjects (or strands) we cover in TE 401/402, almost everything in this class is new to me. I have taken some writing courses and literature classes, but I have never focused solely on “literacy” and the methods to teach it. In fact, all I really remember about my elementary literacy classes is how much I disliked the subject. As a result, participating in activities like the “fishbowl discussion” and “choral reading” provide a sampling of interesting teaching methods that I have did not experience as a student. Although I thought our version of the fishbowl was certainly a refreshing way to discuss different readings, I really enjoyed our choral reading activity. Before this course, I had no idea that choral reading could be used as a tool to promote reading fluency. However, it seemed that a lot of elementary classrooms, especially those in the lower grades, were composed of students who frequently made announcements, gave directions, or read cooperatively with each other or with the teacher. Certainly, this behavior must stem from choral reading activities as well as a natural desire on the part of the students. For me, the choral reading activity was fun. I often hear that school should be more about learning than fun, but if the activity is enjoyable, students will feel more engaged and willing to participate. Unlike simple, but popular, activities, such as “popcorn reading,” choral reading allows students to work together and may support social development and confidence reading or speaking. In all, the activity was a lot of fun and helped me learn a new activity for my classroom.

Choral Reading Activity

Although this activity may have been beneficial for those who (a.) didn't know what choral reading was, or (b.) had never experienced it before, I don't think it was the absolute best use of time. Perhaps this can be attributed to Dr. Troia's in-class explinations of the benefits and research-based information surrounding choral reading and the benefits of it, followed by our own experiences chorally reading in CEP 301 (literacy for students with mild impairments). It's really frustrating for me to have the same information presented in MORE than two classes. I feel as though this happens a lot at MSU in the Special Education program (not necessarily the regular ed program). I understand it is necessary information for us to cover, but it just puts me off when I am going over the same kinds of things each semester I am here. Perhaps it may have been more meaningful if we were told (a research-based reasoning behind) why choral reading was used, as oppsed to just 'doing' it.... but i digress.
I realize the benefits of choral reading in a classroom, and although it isnt my favorite thing, i do plan on using it in my classroom at various appropriate times.
i also enjoyed how we did this activity in various ways with various types of books - it made the different types of choral reading stick out in their own ways, and it actually was somewhat enjoyable. i just struggled with having a positive attitude toward it because this material isnt really alll that new to me.

Almasi's New Discussion

As teacher education students, I feel like we utilize the technique of classroom discussion quite a bit more than most fields. In fact, since we first set foot in any TE classroom, it seems that the importance of discussion, specifically viewed as a tool for learning through classroom community building, has been consistently frequently drilled into our minds. However, besides observing our professors, I cannot remember ever learning about how to establish or lead effective classroom discussion. As a result, Janet F. Almasi’s article, “A New View of Discussion,” quickly caught my interest.

Almasi states that discussion is often viewed as something that is static usually led by a small group or single person in order to stimulate thought-provoking conversation. In fact, it seems that the success of a discussion is often viewed in terms of the amount of conversation. Almasi suggests that discussion can be much more powerful, especially in literacy. As people express their ideas and views towards a certain literary piece, the others who are actively engaged will absorb those new ideas and make connections to their own. As a result, an effective discussion may leave those involved thinking about their ideas and challenging others well after the actual conversation has stopped.

According to Almasi, effective discussion is nearly always student-led. Instead of teachers asking questions and searching for specific answers, students should discuss their own interpretations in their own ways in order to avoid recitation. In addition, by assigning student responsibilities and roles in discussion will help foster a sense of responsibility and ownership over the discussion. As seen in Almasi studies, effective discussion can not only lead to more powerful learning situations, but can also help develop confidence one’s inter and intrapersonal intelligences.

Response - Centered Talk, McGee

I read the article by McGee about response centered talk and using it to teach literacy. Response centered talk is "the discovery or construction of new understandings about literature" (McGee). I enjoy the idea of children coming to understand literature through discovery and not having the teacher spell everything out for the children. I also like this idea because it does not focus on the aspects of literature that are often harped on by teachers like vocabulary. I really like the idea of discussing literature with the students. In my experience children do not get to discuss what they read enough. I also think discussion is a good outlet for students to talk about what they have read instead of writing about it. Not all students like to write or are good at it, and this could be a way for the students to feel comfortable with their performance.
The only problem I have with this idea is that it is an approach that is encouraged by teachers of all subjects. We have been taught to teach science, social studies and math as exploration subjects where the students need to discover the knowledge. While I do agree with this I am also a person who needs a lot of structure and a clear path and I think if I had been taught in this manner as a student I would have been extremely irritated. I also can't help but think of students who have learning disabilities who need very clear directions. I think that a healthy balance of both would be ideal, and then students who need more direct instruction can have it.