Thursday, June 25, 2009
Digital Stories
I think that using digital stories in the classroom would take a lot of time, and you would probably only do 1-2 per year. However, I think that watching each others own personal digital stories showed us what was of value to our classmates. No one would spend hours working on a project about a topic that wasn't important to them, when they were allowed to choose their own topic. In a K-12 setting, I think that the implications would be the same--students would gain significant insight about their classmates.
Article Numero Dos
This article is, again, outdate in the realm of the technological world, but I think that the fact that it's outdated actually is useful here.
The study was done from 1990-1994 to see how technology influences education. From the conclusions of the study, technology had huge benefits:
Sivin-Kachala, Jay; Bialo, Ellen R., 1994.
The study was done from 1990-1994 to see how technology influences education. From the conclusions of the study, technology had huge benefits:
- "Educational technology has demonstrated a significant positive effect on achievement. Positive effects have been found for all major subject areas, in preschool through higher education, and for both regular and special education students."
- "Educational technology has been found to have a positive effect on student attitudes toward learning and on student self-concept. Students felt more successful in school, were more motivated to learn, and had increased self-confidence and self-esteem when using computer-based instruction."
- "Introducing technology into the learning environment has been shown to make learning more student-centered, to encourage cooperative learning, and to stimulate increase teacher/student interaction."
- "Courses for which computer-based networks were used increased student-student and student-teacher interaction, increased student-teacher interaction with lower-performing students, and did not decrease the traditional forms of communication used."
- "Greater student cooperation and sharing and helping behaviors occurred when students used computer-based learning that had students compete against the computer rather than against each other."
Sivin-Kachala, Jay; Bialo, Ellen R., 1994.
Report on the Effectiveness of Technology in Schools, 1990-1994.
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED371726&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED371726 |
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Article #1, Literacy Types
I read an article by Ann Holum & Jan Gahala called "Critical Issue: Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction. This article was published in 2001, so I would probably call it "out-of-date" because technologies change so often, that it is hard to keep up research on specific technologies. (This article also states that recent research is hard because technologies are constantly being updated, revised, and even become extinct in a matter of years.) Nevertheless, I think this article does a great job of describing literacy and how the definition of literacy has and is changing.
The article begins by giving a traditional definition of literacy: reading, writing, speaking & listening. It goes on to say that technology has contributed to an expanded version of literacy. The article gives several examples of new types of literacy and their definitions. These types are: digital literacy, information literacy, new literacy, computer literacy, computer-technology literacy, critical literacy and media literacy. Clearly, all of these go above and beyond our traditional view of literacy. And, in the 21st century, we have to push the limits. Education is always so slow to catch up with the "real world". We need to teach in ways that are relevant to students, by using tools that are relevant in everyday life.
This article also talks about the 3 essential questions that we have to ask ourselves when we decide to integrate technology into our classroom:
1. Research--does research back up what we're doing? Can we prove that the methods using technology are better strategies than a more traditional route?
2. Practice--which technologies are being used currently that are successful? Which show promise? Which do we think will emerge into the future, despite it's quickness to change.
3. Professional Development--What skills do teachers need in order to effectively integrate technology into the literacy program?
The article goes on to talk about many technologies that have been proven to be successful in literacy, but again, some of them are outdated. For instance, audiobooks were on the list, but it offered up the idea of using 4-tracks or cassette players for audiobooks. Amazing what 8 years can change!
Overall, I thought this article had awesome ideas and powerful statements about what technology can do in the literacy program, even if the tools they noted are a little out dated.
Holum, Ann & Gahala, Jan. (2001). Critical Issue: Using Technology To Enhance Literacy Instruction. Available: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li300.htm
The article begins by giving a traditional definition of literacy: reading, writing, speaking & listening. It goes on to say that technology has contributed to an expanded version of literacy. The article gives several examples of new types of literacy and their definitions. These types are: digital literacy, information literacy, new literacy, computer literacy, computer-technology literacy, critical literacy and media literacy. Clearly, all of these go above and beyond our traditional view of literacy. And, in the 21st century, we have to push the limits. Education is always so slow to catch up with the "real world". We need to teach in ways that are relevant to students, by using tools that are relevant in everyday life.
This article also talks about the 3 essential questions that we have to ask ourselves when we decide to integrate technology into our classroom:
1. Research--does research back up what we're doing? Can we prove that the methods using technology are better strategies than a more traditional route?
2. Practice--which technologies are being used currently that are successful? Which show promise? Which do we think will emerge into the future, despite it's quickness to change.
3. Professional Development--What skills do teachers need in order to effectively integrate technology into the literacy program?
The article goes on to talk about many technologies that have been proven to be successful in literacy, but again, some of them are outdated. For instance, audiobooks were on the list, but it offered up the idea of using 4-tracks or cassette players for audiobooks. Amazing what 8 years can change!
Overall, I thought this article had awesome ideas and powerful statements about what technology can do in the literacy program, even if the tools they noted are a little out dated.
Holum, Ann & Gahala, Jan. (2001). Critical Issue: Using Technology To Enhance Literacy Instruction. Available: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li300.htm
Web 2.0
I was introduced to Web 2.0 a couple years ago in CI 302. We looked at several different Web 2.0 tools including Scratch, and many of the Google tools--Google Earch, Google Sketchup and blogger. While all of these tools were neat, it was a little bit hard to see how they'd be integrated and used in classrooms since the tools were fairly new. Now, however, it is clear to see that Web 2.0 is huge and going to get bigger in education.
Benefits of Web 2.0:
+ motivation--students enjoy interactive software, where they are the builder
+ interactive & user friendly-- Web 2.0 tools make the user in control of what's happening
+ ownership-- again, the user is in control of their own knowledge
+ options-- there are so many Web 2.0 tools available, that every learner and instructor is sure to find something that matches with their selected content goals
+ IT'S FREE!--most Web 2.0 tools are available at no cost. Some have basic programs that are free and then have a slight charge for more advanced tools or for other options, but basically--free! What teacher could pass up free tools?
Here's a video on Web 2.0
And here's a wordle of Wikipedia's Web 2.0 article:
Benefits of Web 2.0:
+ motivation--students enjoy interactive software, where they are the builder
+ interactive & user friendly-- Web 2.0 tools make the user in control of what's happening
+ ownership-- again, the user is in control of their own knowledge
+ options-- there are so many Web 2.0 tools available, that every learner and instructor is sure to find something that matches with their selected content goals
+ IT'S FREE!--most Web 2.0 tools are available at no cost. Some have basic programs that are free and then have a slight charge for more advanced tools or for other options, but basically--free! What teacher could pass up free tools?
Here's a video on Web 2.0
And here's a wordle of Wikipedia's Web 2.0 article:
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Blogging Ideas
As I was walking to Lago from the Library last night, I was thinking about blogging. I'm not quite sure why, but an idea just popped into my head.
Use blogs for book reviews.
Students often read books because they are recommended by their friends. Now, traditional book talks or book reviews are great, but what about blogging book reviews?
I tend to think of things in +/- format, so as I was walking I thought of all the pros of blogging book reviews.
+ Students take ownership, because they know that their friends are going to read this
+ Writing practice--students have to WRITE instead of orally speak their book review, again, knowing that is going to published to the web, and read by their peers
+ Typing skills-- students are TYPING their ideas about books---AUTHENTIC typing!
+ Motivation--students will be motivated to read their book, understand it, and review it
+ Ease of Use--how much easier would it be for a teacher to read their blogs and respond in that way rather than responding to a written journal or using a checklist
+ User Interaction-- to me, this is the biggest one. Students can not only READ what other students have WRITTEN, but they can actually comment on it! And their comments can be seen by peers and the teacher. They can ask questions, comment on a book they've also read, discuss opinions, brainstorm solutions, etc.
+ Multimedia-- students could insert audio, video or pictures of/about their book. They could be as creative as they wanted, or simply type the review.
There are just so many options that I see with using blogs for book reviews, that I don't even want to list my negatives, but I'll be fair:
- Security--gotta make the blogs safe for students
- Time to teach--this is barely a negative, because taking time at the beginning of the process to model and teach how to do the blog will end up saving loads of time in the long run.
Good try negatives, but positives win. I am eager to try this someday!
Use blogs for book reviews.
Students often read books because they are recommended by their friends. Now, traditional book talks or book reviews are great, but what about blogging book reviews?
I tend to think of things in +/- format, so as I was walking I thought of all the pros of blogging book reviews.
+ Students take ownership, because they know that their friends are going to read this
+ Writing practice--students have to WRITE instead of orally speak their book review, again, knowing that is going to published to the web, and read by their peers
+ Typing skills-- students are TYPING their ideas about books---AUTHENTIC typing!
+ Motivation--students will be motivated to read their book, understand it, and review it
+ Ease of Use--how much easier would it be for a teacher to read their blogs and respond in that way rather than responding to a written journal or using a checklist
+ User Interaction-- to me, this is the biggest one. Students can not only READ what other students have WRITTEN, but they can actually comment on it! And their comments can be seen by peers and the teacher. They can ask questions, comment on a book they've also read, discuss opinions, brainstorm solutions, etc.
+ Multimedia-- students could insert audio, video or pictures of/about their book. They could be as creative as they wanted, or simply type the review.
There are just so many options that I see with using blogs for book reviews, that I don't even want to list my negatives, but I'll be fair:
- Security--gotta make the blogs safe for students
- Time to teach--this is barely a negative, because taking time at the beginning of the process to model and teach how to do the blog will end up saving loads of time in the long run.
Good try negatives, but positives win. I am eager to try this someday!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Keyboarding
Obviously keyboarding is a necessary 21st century skill. Almost every job right now will use a computer in one way or another. Therefore, we must teach it to students so that they do it properly. What good is typing if you only do it one letter at a time?
So, my question is, how can we teach proper keyboarding mechanics in an authentic and meaningful way?
Most schools use some type of game or program to teach typing. My only experience is with Type to Learn, which I've seen used with 2nd-5th grade students. Type to Learn has students practice proper mechanics, starting with using the homerow. Then it branches out and goes up in levels. When you start a level you start by typing non-words and using the correct finger. Such as: jkjkjkjk, or ;l;l;l;l;l. So, here we've taught mechanics and proper fingers, but no one could try to argue this as meaningful. Eventually, you move up to the point where you are typing words and some sentences. Perhaps those are a little more meaningful, but if the sentence is about Jupiter and I don't even know what Jupiter is, what do I care?
I'm stumped as to how to teach mechanics and be meaningful. How can we let students loose to type with their own writings if they are going to 1-finger-peck at the keys to type the entire thing. Perhaps we keep teaching the mechanics with the unmeaningful programs, and then let students type their own work as they're learning mechanics.
Maybe in 100 years everyone will have personal keyboards that will read our fingerprints and be able to tell us when we are using the wrong keys while typing original works. If someone makes millions someday, remember, I had the idea first :)
So, my question is, how can we teach proper keyboarding mechanics in an authentic and meaningful way?
Most schools use some type of game or program to teach typing. My only experience is with Type to Learn, which I've seen used with 2nd-5th grade students. Type to Learn has students practice proper mechanics, starting with using the homerow. Then it branches out and goes up in levels. When you start a level you start by typing non-words and using the correct finger. Such as: jkjkjkjk, or ;l;l;l;l;l. So, here we've taught mechanics and proper fingers, but no one could try to argue this as meaningful. Eventually, you move up to the point where you are typing words and some sentences. Perhaps those are a little more meaningful, but if the sentence is about Jupiter and I don't even know what Jupiter is, what do I care?
I'm stumped as to how to teach mechanics and be meaningful. How can we let students loose to type with their own writings if they are going to 1-finger-peck at the keys to type the entire thing. Perhaps we keep teaching the mechanics with the unmeaningful programs, and then let students type their own work as they're learning mechanics.
Maybe in 100 years everyone will have personal keyboards that will read our fingerprints and be able to tell us when we are using the wrong keys while typing original works. If someone makes millions someday, remember, I had the idea first :)
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