Digital Identity / Module 5: Final Reflections on My Learning Hub and Blog

Looking back to July when I started the IT&DML program, I realize I’ve come a long way! I didn’t have much of a digital identity and I wasn’t very technologically savvy. I definitely identified with the term “digital immigrant!” It’s now November and I know I still have a long way to go, but I’m learning so much.

My philosophy hasn’t really changed much; I still think that learning is all about being challenged, being engaged, having fun, but working hard. The past few months, I feel that I have experienced all of the above, and that is what I want my students to experience. I’ve been frustrated at times, but I’ve enjoyed the journey and I’m coming away better prepared to engage my students.

Setting up a blog was my first challenge. Once I established my site, I enjoyed posting entries. I’ve always liked writing - it helps me to clarify my thinking. The blog was a perfect fit for me and an excellent way for me to wade into the waters of technology.

In September, when I realized I needed to develop my own website, I spoke to the tech person in my district and was told that the only approved sites were Final Site or Google Classroom. I immediately set up sites for each of my classes on classroom.google.com and I have had a lot of success with them. I’ve added more technology to my lessons, and I’ve been able to upload documents, links, and assignments to the classroom website. In addition, kids can turn in their projects on the website so that I have all of their work in a specific folder. As the year goes on, we use it more and more. I’ve demonstrated the site to a few teachers and might be modeling for others soon. Who would have thought??

Although the Google Classroom site is convenient for my students, it’s private and accessible only with a Bristol Public Schools gmail address. I realized that I would need to create an additional site to share with parents, my class, and anyone else interested. After experimenting with a few sites, I chose Weebly because it seemed pretty straightforward.

The fact that I even have a website is amazing to me! However, after evaluating my own blog and learning hub, I realize that I need to make some changes. My partner for the learning hub critique was Tina, which was lucky for me. To me, Tina’s learning hub is an exemplar, and provided me with ideas that I would like to incorporate into my site. In particular, I love how Tina categorizes all of the entries on her blog. I see that I definitely have some organizing to do. Tina embedded her tutorials on her hub which inspired me to revise my hub to embed my tutorials instead of just posting links. I’ve looked at others’ websites also, and have come away with ideas for designs and content that I would like to include in my hub. There are lots of talented individuals in our program!

While my learning hub and blog are still works in progress, so is the art of teaching. I’ve grown a lot in the past few months and I plan to continue to learn along with my students. As I take risks, I’m encouraging my students to move out of their comfort zones. So far, students seem to be receptive. My students this year have been engaged in their learning which is a big first step. I feel like my new knowledge has invigorated my teaching and I’m looking forward to continuing the journey.

A Collaborative Playlist / The ITDML Journey: ED 7720: Module 2

     It took me a while to decide what to add to the playlist. When thinking about the journey, my first thoughts were how much work it has been. I thought of "A Hard Day's Night," but scrapped that idea - too negative. Then I thought of "Let It Go" from Frozen since I feel like I need to be less of a perfectionist. I scrapped that idea also. I figured anyone with little kids has probably had more than enough of that song. Then I thought of "Running on Empty" by Jackson Browne which definitely fits, but I decided instead to focus on the positive.    
     I chose two songs, both of which are inspirational. First was "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen. I will admit that juggling so much has been stressful at times, but I like to run and that has been a release for me. Running has given me not only time to relax, but has produced some good ideas.  The second song I chose was "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles. I have always liked the song and it reminds me that no matter how stressful life is, the sun will come up and everything will be alright. After all, life is good!

   

What is Courage: Lesson Plan and tutorial for MOOC Module 1 / ED 7720

To Kill A Mockingbird and the Real Definition of Courage

Click the link above to view the lesson plan, handouts, and tutorial.

MOOC: Module 1: Response to Allen article / ED 7720

In Rick Allen’s article, “Dawn of the New Literacies,” Edith Ackerman is quoted as saying “Students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.” In some ways I agree with Ackerman. In the article, Allen discusses the idea that “modern society could easily lose the capacity to read and think deeply through the desultory and multimodal nature of typical web reading, which lends itself to skimming rather than detailed reading.” Not only have I noticed that my students skim rather than read closely, but I find myself doing the same. Whether it’s newspapers, magazines, textbooks or even pleasure reading, I find myself reading cursorily, always rushing to “be finished.”

One of our “Student Learning Objectives” this year is to have students read text closely. It is a challenge! Since students live in a multimodal world, we can use a variety of mediums to help them develop close reading skills. We also must remember that text is not just books. As an English teacher, I am definitely not ready to throw the novels out the window! However, I try to supplement the novels as much as possible with relevant videos, speeches, news and magazine articles. It’s important to provide students with background information and also to help them make connections with society today. When I can relate a novel to current social situations, students become more engaged.

In addition to providing multimodal sources to students, they frequently research topics to enrich their learning. One if my goals this year is to have students try new options to present their information. At the beginning of the year my students made Animoto videos to introduce themselves to the class, and everyone enjoyed them. I am starting slowly with class websites. Students in some classes have the option of posting their responses to reading assignments online. I want to have them begin responding to each other as well to create more interaction. Right now my seniors are working on presentations and I have suggested (but not required) that they try something other than PowerPoint or Google Presentations.

Students have changed due to the technological world they live in. They are used to multitasking and want information quickly and in an entertaining way. As teachers, we can use technology to engage students and to increase their skills, but I believe we still must require them to do some good old-fashioned reading. They might even enjoy it!

Citations:

Allen, Rick. Dawn of the New Literacies. Education Update. 2010.

My Learning Hub Con't: ED7720 / Week / Post 2

I’ve spent the past week stressing about how and where to create my learning hub. I decided to start small and created communities for two of my classes on Google+. The kids couldn’t log in; it was unavailable on our wireless network. I contacted our central office tech person, and was told that Google+ was off limits; try Google Classroom. I set up several sites there. They work. Kids are registered and have actually submitted a few responses to a post. While Google Classroom has some cool features, it doesn’t have everything I want. Although it seems limited, it is a start.

I also spent time researching Google Sites and Wix. Several students in last year’s IT&DML program strongly recommended Wix. I reached out through Google groups and got some great advice. Tim Flanagan sent a link to his website on Google Sites and I really like it. I would like my site to have similar features. However, I was still considering creating my site on Wix since it is supposed to be easy to navigate and has lots of professional looking templates.

My decision was simplified for me today. I was working on common assessments at the Board of Ed and ran into the “tech” guy. I was told that I was only allowed to use approved sites if students and/or the school was involved. That left “Final Site” which according to the “tech guy” is extremely awkward and definitely not user friendly, or Google Sites. He said that I should be able to use Google Sites, but I have not yet tried it with students. My plan is to put my content (blog, tutorials, philosophy, lesson plans, etc.) on Google Sites and maybe link it to Google Classroom where I would post homework and kids could hand in assignments. How successful my plan is remains to be seen. My district is very big on filters, so I may have to get extra special permission, but we’ll see.

The New Literacies: ED 7720 - Week 2 / Response 1

The readings for week 2 shared a common topic; both articles discussed new literacies and their relationship to society. Lankshear and Knobel in The New Literacies Sampler reinforce the idea that “reading and writing are understood in the contexts of social, cultural, political, economic, historical practices to which they are integral (p. 3). Lankshear and Knobel’s discussion of mindsets was particularly interesting. I can see how the traditional mindset (Mindset 1) values artifacts and the “dominance the book as a text paradigm” (p. 13). The first mindset tends to protect the “status quo” and maintain the traditional power structure in society. In Mindset 1, expertise is scarce, hence, people who have mastered the “traditional” definition of literacy tend to be the ones with power. Mindset 2, however, changes the notion of literacy. It values participation, sharing, and views expertise as more widespread. Mindset 2 is much more collaborative, allowing for a more collaborative and less hierarchical power structure.

The second article, “What is New About the New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension?” by Leu, Zawilinski, Casket, Banerjee, Housand, Leu and O’Neil, support Lankshear and Knobel’s interpretation and discuss implications for the classroom. In addition to elaborating on the need to address the skills necessary for online reading comprehension, the authors point out that the “assumption that teachers are more literate than students is no longer true.” Leu, Zawilinski et al recognize the validity of the new literacies. The student who is an expert at gaming has valid skills and most definitely is more literate than I am in that area. As teachers, we must recognize that online and offline reading skills are different and being good at one does not necessarily translate to being good at the other. Teachers must become facilitators, assisting students to work cooperatively to develop the skills essential for online and offline reading. As the authors state, a mastery of new literacies is “central to full civic, economic, and personal participation” in society.  

Citations

Lankshear & Knobel. Chapter 1 in The New Literacies Sampler. Sampling “the New” in New Literacies. 2007

Leu, Zawilinski, Castek, Banerjee, Housand, Liu, & O’Neil. “What is New About the New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension”. 2007.

Creating A Digital Learning Hub: Why and Where? / ED 7720: Week 1

After reading the article by Lankshear and Knobel, I am reminded that with new literacies, learning space is not bordered by the classroom. Additionally, as we move from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, learning becomes much more interactive and collaborative. Expertise becomes more “fluid and collective.”

Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear and Leu further address the new literacies in Chapter 1 of the Handbook of Research in New Literacies. Once again, the prevalent theme is that new literacies are characterized by unprecedented change.In addition the definition of literacy is changing from that of traditional reading and writing to include things like digital animation, music, and video. As an English teacher, literacy is my prime concern. Looking at the definition of “new” literacy, I have students that are far more literate than me in many areas.

As we adapt to the changes of new literacies and recognize the skills that are required to be effective learners in the digital age, it is also important to remember that, as Lankshear and Knobel point out that, “One literacy doesn’t replace the other.”

New literacies not only change the definition of text, but they imply “associated changes in social and cultural ways of doing things, ways of being, ways of viewing the world (Coiro, Knobel et al). New literacies allow us to be more globally connected. Although Coiro et al suggest that policy makers have not caught up with the changes, I believe that is changing. As we move away from No Child Left Behind, the Common Core attempts to address 21st century learning skills. As just one example, under the Common Core, students must be able to read closely and synthesize information from multiple, multimodal sources. In addition, new curriculums recognize the value of personal inquiry and collaborative work.

As I prepare to build my Digital Learning Hub, I consider the Personal Learning Networks I have developed so far. I am able to reflect on a variety of issues on my blog. In addition, I am using Google+, YouTube, and Twitter. I am in the process of creating websites for my classes. I had created several Google communities only to find out that they were not supported by my district. However, we do have access to Google classroom, so I am in the process of setting up sites for my classes there. At this point, I am planning to use Google classroom to post assignments and also as a blogging tool. I hope that by creating classroom sites, I will foster more collaboration, reflection and connectivity among my students. It is going to be a learning adventure for all of us.

In addition to my classroom sites, I will make a Digital Learning Hub for myself. I hope to include lesson plans, reflections, and links to articles, tutorials, videos, and other websites. I’m sure I’ll also include some personal information about myself, my family and my school. I want my hub to be engaging, entertaining and user friendly.  At this point I am not sure whether to use Google Sites or Wix. After reading Ian O’Byrne’s article on using Google Sites, I see the advantages of being able to embed my Google docs, YouTube,  and maybe even information on my Classroom sites to my hub. However, several students who just finished the IT&DML program promoted the advantages of Wix over Google.

I need to experiment with the sites and would also welcome comments and advice from others. One of the great benefits of being part of the IT&DML program is knowledge and helpful advice of my colleagues, so suggestions are welcome! Thanks!