Week 10

Week 10

Assignment 1:
View my video on New Literacy issues here.

Week 13

Week 13

Assignment:
View my prezi here.

Week 12

Week 12

Assignment:
Glogster is the perfect tool for teachers who want to incorporate new literacies in their classroom. Offering a simple platform where students can work with text, graphics, audio, and video, Glogster is ideal for every type of learner in all settings. This technological tool will motivate students with the fun and easy-to-use features. It is a great way for teachers to create an interactive learning experience where students collaborate with each other while gaining new literacy skills. Glogster allows users to share their links with others so students can share with their classmates and comment on each others work. It is a great choice for digital storytelling, story timelines, book reviews and more. After exploring Glogster and creating my own glog, I am surely eager to bring it into my classroom.

My Glog

Week 11

Week 11

Assignment 1:
After reading the article "Using VoiceThread to Promote Learning Engagement and Success for Students" I understand the many benefits of using this great technological tool in the classroom. The article describes the many ways VoiceThread can be incorporated in our teaching. VoiceThread provides a simple way to enhance every learning experience and can be used for the benefit of every type of student across all subject areas. This platform allows users to upload pictures, videos, and voice recording, and then others can comment with text or audio. Teachers can create VoiceThreads to introduce new topics, or have students create VoiceThreads for interactive and engaging learning experiences. With the different choices of expression, VoiceThread gives all students, including those who struggle with writing or have other learning difficulties, a chance to shine.

Assignment 2:
Here is the link to my Voice Thread. This Voice Thread I created for a free verse poetry lesson that was part of a unit on Ellis Island and Immigrants.

Week 7:

Assignment 1:

Summary of  Theories and Practices of Multimodal Education: The Instructional Dynamics of Picture Books and Primary Classrooms:

Using multimodal texts when teaching literacy to young students provides them with much more than just a regular reading experience. As educators, we want to provide students with the skills they need to be able to interpret and produce complex text/image/design relationships. In our digital age, it is important for teachers to expand literacy instruction by focusing not only on the text, but also on modalities like fonts, typesetting, interactive narration, multiple perspectives, and images.

Summary of Using the ADDIE Model to Design Second Life Activities for Online Learners:

Virtual learning is a part of the classroom and college experience today, and Second Life is a virtual environment that provides a great tool for teaching and learning. Offering virtual simulation in the form of avatars and places, SL gives students a real-life learning experience with lots of collaboration. Despite its drawbacks, like poor file management and delayed speed, SL is a great way to engage and motivate students when instructors design their curriculum effectively. It is most important to explore SL and how activities can relate to course topics and ideas before introducing it to students. 

Assignment 2:

Second Life offers so many features that can greatly enhance ELA instruction. In this digital world, students can visit places or jump to different time periods that they are exploring in literature units. This will give them a much deeper understanding of what they are learning and provide them with the real-life feel that they could never experience with traditional text. Additionally, Second Life can be used for students to collaborate with each other to reflect or analyze different readings, as well as for students to practice basic literacy skills with the chat features.

Week 6

Assignment 2-1:


New literacy skills are essential for students to be able to function in society today. As teachers, it is our responsiblity to infuse ICTs into the curriculum to prepare students for real life. By providing students with a broad set of literacy skills, we can help them comprehend and internalize multi-modal information. Teachers must be able to master advanced ICT skills to be able to effectively implement technology in the classroom. Teachers and students need access and support to the many technologies available today. Utilizing social networking sites is a great way to help students share information using multi-modal formats. Since students are exposed to technology on a daily basis outside the classroom, it is increasingly important for technology to be integrated in the classroom to keep them motivated while providing the literacy education they deserve.

Assignment 2-2:

Edmodo is an extremely useful tool for teachers, specifically in ELA instruction. It connects students and teachers, and allows teachers to easily track students. Additionally, students can collaborate and self-assess. Some great features of Edmodo:

Teacher can write notes to the class using the note feature.  Teacher can create quizzes or a poll to see if students enjoyed/understood the lesson. 
Students can add folders, members can join. 
For example in a literacy class, the teacher can create pre- reading quizzes, and take polls to see if students understood character development. It provides an easy and intuitive way to share, track, and assess information while integrating technology, and utilizing New Literacies.

Week 5

Assignment 2:

Integrating game-based learning in the classroom provides teachers with a unique and effective tool to enhance literacy instruction as well as the teaching of all other subjects. Although gaming is not a traditional teaching method, this new concept has proven to be a great advancement in the classroom. When introduced to the idea of using games in my classroom, I was reluctant. and worried if it's possible to bring this technology into the classroom without distracting students from the learning goals. However, I realized that as a teacher I can use the right techniques to incorporate gaming effectively in the classroom and make sure the games are used to enhance student learning, without becoming a distraction. 

Students of today's generation are exposed to all kinds of technology and the technology we use in the classroom increases their motivation to learn drastically. Students are excited and eager to research, locate, evaluate, synthesize or communicate information for learning when they are using technological tools in the process. On the contrary, when they don't have the technology, they can find the learning boring and lose out so much. Additionally, when gaming is used for literacy instruction, students will develop their new literacy skills, which they will greatly benefit from in their future.

Assignment 3:


Game Scenario/Script

Week 4:

Assignment 1:

Game - Ruzzle

1. What gaming elements provide users the learning content and how?

• Text: The text is provided by written instructions to the game as well as feedback. Additionally, throughout playing, the scrambled letters must be read to form new words.
• Visual-graphic elements: Visual-graphic elements are provided by scrambled letters and bonus tiles, which players use to collect more points than their opponent.
• Audio elements: Audio elements are provided to make it more enjoyable to play.

2. What is the goal of the game?

 The goal of this fast-paced word game is to find as many words as you can in two minutes.

3. What are rules of playing this game?

Find as many words as possible from a given set of letters in two minutes.

4. Does this game have any scenario design? (Refer to the journal article page 5.) If yes, is this a fabricated or embedded in curriculum-related content?

This game does not have any scenario design. 

Assignment 2:

Lesson Plan

Grade level - 1

Common cores standards and learning outcomes

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.B
Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.

Instructional activities

Class Activity:

Introduce common and proper nouns with this video.

Model underlining different types of nouns in sentences with different color markers.

Students collaboratively underline different types of nouns in sentences with different color markers.

Group Activity:

Every group gets a pile of index cards with common nouns. Students take turns picking up a card and coming up with a proper noun for that word.

Independent Activity:

Students play the "Noun War" game on their computers and complete a sheet to categorize which type of noun they aimed at in this virtual game. Students will then write in their daily journals about the different types of nouns they found in this game and how it helped clarify their understanding of this part of speech. This motivating game combined with the debriefing provides students with the practice they need for the lesson goals while enhancing their vocabulary bank.

Assessment

Students will be informally assessed during collaborative and group work. Their sheets used while playing the game online will be used to formally assess them.

Debriefing 

The sheet students work with while playing the game online scaffolds the learning for them. Additionally, when students write in their journals they reflect on how they performed on this game and how it will help them with their language use in real life.

What cognitive skills does this game cultivate?

Recognizing nouns.

What new literacies does this game cultivate

The challenge and adventure increases motivation to learn this new literacy concept.

Assignment 3:

Instructional Video

Week 3:

Assignment 1:

With the advancement of technology in the 21st century, our lives have been influenced in almost all areas. Our literacy practices are no exception. Even more so, literacy practices have taken on a whole new role with the use of internet becoming a regular part of our day-to-day life; changing the way we communicate, obtain information, and more. As educators, we want to provide our students with literacy instruction that will benefit them not only in their school years, but also in their future. Therefore, we must take into account the constant changes literacy is taking when we teach. The goal should be to help our students use the new literacies of the internet proficiently. By incorporating digital and media technologies in literacy activities as well as guiding students on how to use search engines and other internet sources effectively we can provide them with an effective new literacy 

experience.

Assignment 2:

Which ideas from the PPT reflect what the ELA teachers you interviewed are currently doing to integrate technology with their literacy instruction?
The teacher I interviewed uses technology in her classroom to help build her students ELA skills. She tries to help her young students build as much knowledge as possible through the use of technology. 

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 would use technology more in ways that students can learn on their own. For example, encouraging students to create their own blogs or podcasts. I would also have students use technology for researching more. Before introducing a new concept or students writing about a topic, I would have them do the research instead of the teacher spoon-feeding them the information.

What professional development and/or resources will they need in order to make these changes?

They will have to learn as much as possible about integrating technology in the classroom effectively and be provided with all the equipment needed in the classroom.

What ideas do you have for grouping students so they will have equal access to technology in the classroom?

I think using centers and a rotating system is a great way to give all students equal access to technology in the classroom.

x

Week 2

Learning Task 2:

Common Core Standards

The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy. These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade. By having all states follow the same set of standards students across the country can be attaining similar goals at about the same time. It keeps teachers focused on what they need to accomplish and allows educators to set effective goals for students.

Learning Task 3:

The five key features of the common core ELA standards include reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.

Reading:

The reading standards focus on the level of students’ reading material and the skills they use to read. The goal is to increase text complexity from a beginner’s level to college and career readiness level. Students also have to show progress in their reading skills, like being able to make more connections in their reading, using textual evidence, and more. Teachers should integrate technology, like digital text or e-text, to help students 

become better readers.

Writing:

The writing standards are divided by general writing skills that students should master, and writing skills that are applicable to specific writing genres. In these standards, the importance of the reading-writing connection is also stressed on. Additionally, helping students enhance their research skills is a strong focus here, and new literacies should be incorporated in the classroom.

Speaking and Listening:

The speaking and listening standards focus on developing students’ oral communication and interpersonal skills. It is important for students to work well together and learn how to be good listeners. These standards stress on helping students integrate information from different sources, evaluate it, and use media and visuals for communicative purposes.

Language:

The language standards are divided into the ‘rules’ of the English language, and the way this language can be crafted with informed choice. There are also vocabulary standards, 

which help students understand words and phrases and acquire new vocabulary.

Learning Task 4:

I interviewed Sarah Green, a Pre-k teacher, to find out how she incorporates technology in her classroom.

Sarah explained that because her students are very young, she uses basic technology appropriate for their age. She uses the technology to facilitate the teaching of ELA and other subjects. There is a listening center set up in her classroom and students can plug in headphones and listen to audio books to improve their listening and responding skills. Sarah also brings in videos and songs to create audio/visual enriched lessons.

Her favorite technological resource is the Teaching Strategies Gold Technology. According to Sarah, this is an online tool that has many facets which promotes professional development, student assessment, lesson planning, and collaboration. Sarah uses this technology resource to assess and evaluate students. She can upload videos and student work, as well as record anecdotal/observational data and assessments. She then uses the information to create a student profile so parents and future teachers can track the progress of each child. She explained that this technology organizes everything so her lessons are structured, student based, and differentiated. Sarah cooperates with parents and other educators consistently and using this technology helps her in all facets of curriculum, and specifically with ELA instruction, development, and collaboration.

Check out my Voki self-intorduction here.