Saturday, March 31, 2012
Digital Story Telling Project
Article Review
The Impact of Using Blogs on College Students' Reading Comprehension and Learning Motivation
I found this article to be very informative in the area of digital technology and college students. With the implantation of "New Literacy, future college students will be better prepared for the digital learning atmosphere. Although I have been exposed to technology as a young adult, I am not as familiar or efficient in the areas of digital technology that some of my students are. This supports the articles view on the importance of digital education in the school setting. We as educators need to prepare our students to the challenges that they will be facing in the future. This includes the movement of digital media into the workforce and college settings.
I have never used a blog until this class and I see the benefits that are described in the article about use of blogs to support college reading instruction. I enjoy the opportunity to quickly and easily share my thoughts and projects with my classmates and instructors by a click of a mouse. I have to admit, at first I was a little skeptical about the whole idea of blogs because I am not a fan of social networking but blogs are effective in the educational setting. I have talked to ELA teachers about the benefits of blogs in the classroom and some seem to be willing to try the new idea. I enjoy the sense of community that the blogs offer for an online class like ours. Now you can bring the classroom into your students homes with uses of blogs!
I find the results of the experiment in the article fascinating and surprisingly accurate when I think about it. The fact that the data indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups of students in the areas of reading performance, motivation, and retention rate is impressive. I never would have thought that using blogs would be so beneficial to educational learning environments. I am excited to begin using blogs in my own classroom to see if I experience the same positive results.
I found this article to be very informative in the area of digital technology and college students. With the implantation of "New Literacy, future college students will be better prepared for the digital learning atmosphere. Although I have been exposed to technology as a young adult, I am not as familiar or efficient in the areas of digital technology that some of my students are. This supports the articles view on the importance of digital education in the school setting. We as educators need to prepare our students to the challenges that they will be facing in the future. This includes the movement of digital media into the workforce and college settings.
I have never used a blog until this class and I see the benefits that are described in the article about use of blogs to support college reading instruction. I enjoy the opportunity to quickly and easily share my thoughts and projects with my classmates and instructors by a click of a mouse. I have to admit, at first I was a little skeptical about the whole idea of blogs because I am not a fan of social networking but blogs are effective in the educational setting. I have talked to ELA teachers about the benefits of blogs in the classroom and some seem to be willing to try the new idea. I enjoy the sense of community that the blogs offer for an online class like ours. Now you can bring the classroom into your students homes with uses of blogs!
I find the results of the experiment in the article fascinating and surprisingly accurate when I think about it. The fact that the data indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups of students in the areas of reading performance, motivation, and retention rate is impressive. I never would have thought that using blogs would be so beneficial to educational learning environments. I am excited to begin using blogs in my own classroom to see if I experience the same positive results.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Book Builder Project
The book that I created was geared towards 3-8 grade students. The book title is "Pi Day" and takes you through a students perspective of what he thinks pi day is going to be about. Being a math teacher, Pi Day is an excuse to party in the classroom while learning about circumference and area of circles. I had a lot of fun creating this book and I will be presenting it to my Integrated Algebra class on Wednesday! I think that they will like it and be supportive of my first web published book. I will ask for their feedback and improve the story as needed.
http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=57710&page=1
In the ELA classroom, Book Builder can be used at all levels. In elementary setting, students can work in teams to develop a story line and create the book through Book Builder. In middle school and high school settings, teachers can instruct students to be creative and express their thoughts through story telling. They can also present poetry and book report summaries with this tool. Many of the essential ELA components can be incorporated in the Book Builder program with the different features that it offers.
http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=57710&page=1
In the ELA classroom, Book Builder can be used at all levels. In elementary setting, students can work in teams to develop a story line and create the book through Book Builder. In middle school and high school settings, teachers can instruct students to be creative and express their thoughts through story telling. They can also present poetry and book report summaries with this tool. Many of the essential ELA components can be incorporated in the Book Builder program with the different features that it offers.
Incorporate Second Life in ELA Instruction
I discussed with an ELA teacher what Second Life is and how it can benifit ELA instruction. We talked about possibly creating an online world with the entire 10th grade English classes to discuss current novels they are reading. She was a little concerned about the students not being able to work from home since our school blocks the program. We thought that maybe we could have permission from the tech department to allow access but then we (me and the ELA tearcher) will be held responsible if there are any inappropriate uses of the site.
She was very supportive of applying the concepts of mutimodality to the teaching of ELA but thinks it will work best in a secure, private environment. The use of digital media and visual text has been used in her classroom before through power points and online gaming and she supports the idea of using these tools to create a culture friendly learning classroom.
She was very supportive of applying the concepts of mutimodality to the teaching of ELA but thinks it will work best in a secure, private environment. The use of digital media and visual text has been used in her classroom before through power points and online gaming and she supports the idea of using these tools to create a culture friendly learning classroom.
Snap Shot of my avatar
My avatar name is jmcdonald2285 and I wondering how we find our classmates!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Week 7 Article Reviews
Theories and Practices of Multimodal Education
I found this article very informative and surprisingly interesting. Not being an ELA teacher, I fell that I have not been able to explore the values of literacy in the educational development of young learners. Simply ideas that the article discussed such as the font having meaning and the various computerized type design and photo mechanical printing technologies that enhance visual texts, I was not aware of prior to reading this article. The article explained how there has been new shifts in literacy learning when teachers and students interact with the characters, plots and visual aids in children books. When reading a book out load to a group of students, the students should be able to comment aloud during the reading to express feelings and thoughts as they hear the story. I remember when I was in elementary school and it was "story time" the class was not aloud to make a sounds. If you did talk, you were sent out of the reading circle and had to read silently at your desk. Maybe this is why I never liked reading as a child. Reading was a form of punishment in school. This is where I think education in America has failed. Many children don't have the desire to learn because we do not allow them to want to learn by making learning exciting and fun for them. Allowing students to create their own stories and animations to go along with them allows students to be creative and independent thinkers. Literacy education has been reconstructed now with the use of digital media and visual text. Now there are various forms of social and cultural shaped resources that school can bring into their classroom to enhance learning.
Using The ADDIE Model to Design Second Life Activities for Online Learners
I really enjoyed reading this article and I had no idea that a technology such as Second Life online learning existed. I am amazed at the findings discussed in the article about "social presence" and the comparison between face-to-face learning and the SL learning. I personally do not enjoy the online learner experience because of the lack of social presence. I am a face-to-face learner and I have always strive in the classroom setting. This is currently my first online class and I feel that I am not creating relationships with my instructor or my peers. Through the use of SL, I am anxious to see if this will change. I think that the interactions of the avatars will be different and I find it hard to believe that they avatar's personality will reflect mine but I am eager to discover the use of SL to enhance my performance as an online student. As the article discussed, the three relationship categorize of multi-level interaction are very important for a strong learning community. I am interested to test out the verbal and non-verbal forms of my avatar to help promote these interactions. I think that SL sounds like a effective tool to help bring together the online learning community but I do worry about the different challenges that were mentioned in the article. My main concern is the possible need to upgrade computer equipment. Not all students are in a position to upgrade their computer which may cause a huge bump in the online learning unit. Overall, I thought that the article was informative and I am eager to create my avatar!
I found this article very informative and surprisingly interesting. Not being an ELA teacher, I fell that I have not been able to explore the values of literacy in the educational development of young learners. Simply ideas that the article discussed such as the font having meaning and the various computerized type design and photo mechanical printing technologies that enhance visual texts, I was not aware of prior to reading this article. The article explained how there has been new shifts in literacy learning when teachers and students interact with the characters, plots and visual aids in children books. When reading a book out load to a group of students, the students should be able to comment aloud during the reading to express feelings and thoughts as they hear the story. I remember when I was in elementary school and it was "story time" the class was not aloud to make a sounds. If you did talk, you were sent out of the reading circle and had to read silently at your desk. Maybe this is why I never liked reading as a child. Reading was a form of punishment in school. This is where I think education in America has failed. Many children don't have the desire to learn because we do not allow them to want to learn by making learning exciting and fun for them. Allowing students to create their own stories and animations to go along with them allows students to be creative and independent thinkers. Literacy education has been reconstructed now with the use of digital media and visual text. Now there are various forms of social and cultural shaped resources that school can bring into their classroom to enhance learning.
Using The ADDIE Model to Design Second Life Activities for Online Learners
I really enjoyed reading this article and I had no idea that a technology such as Second Life online learning existed. I am amazed at the findings discussed in the article about "social presence" and the comparison between face-to-face learning and the SL learning. I personally do not enjoy the online learner experience because of the lack of social presence. I am a face-to-face learner and I have always strive in the classroom setting. This is currently my first online class and I feel that I am not creating relationships with my instructor or my peers. Through the use of SL, I am anxious to see if this will change. I think that the interactions of the avatars will be different and I find it hard to believe that they avatar's personality will reflect mine but I am eager to discover the use of SL to enhance my performance as an online student. As the article discussed, the three relationship categorize of multi-level interaction are very important for a strong learning community. I am interested to test out the verbal and non-verbal forms of my avatar to help promote these interactions. I think that SL sounds like a effective tool to help bring together the online learning community but I do worry about the different challenges that were mentioned in the article. My main concern is the possible need to upgrade computer equipment. Not all students are in a position to upgrade their computer which may cause a huge bump in the online learning unit. Overall, I thought that the article was informative and I am eager to create my avatar!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Edmodo: Enhancing Teaching and Learning
- Students interact with each other and the teacher in an environment that allows multiple responses and opinions through a computer screen all at once.
- Students can communicate with each other with out getting up out of their seats and walking around.
- Students can choose to have their Edmodo notifications sent via SMS text messaging for instant feed back and interactions.
- Students can upload files quickly and easily.
- Students are able to interact with students form around the world in such things as the National Book Club where classes can discuss the book that they are currently reading in English class.
- Students can have their reading critiqued by uploading fluency files (audio clips of themselves reading) and having other students comment on what they noticed the child doing well.
My Philosophy of Gaming in the Classroom
As and educator, I have the ability to help improve the lives of my students. I feel that it is my duty to give them all that I can to make them successful in our society, in their future. Introducing and implementing gaming into the classroom is a new concept for me but I believe that it is an important part in developing 21st century learners. The students will learn how to create and manipulate programs and tools that will give them the key problem solving and critical thinking skills that will be need in the future. Gaming can be used in all core subject areas to enhance performance across the curriculum.
Schools have the opportunity to give
teachers the key to opening a whole new world of learning to their
students. Everyone must jump on board if we as educators are going to
allow our students to strive in a new and every changing job market.
Gamestar Mechanic in Education
Gamestar Mechanic is a way that teachers are bring the familiar world of gaming into the academic classroom for students to discover and implement critical 21st century skills. Through programs such as Gamestar and Scratch, students use critical thinking skills, problem solving, creativity, collaboration and digital media literacy. The focus of Gamestar is to design games rather than computer programming. When students have the tools to create a game on their own, they are motivated to learn ways to improve their game. Gaming can be used across the the curriculum. ELA teachers can have students create game scenarios based on character creation and formulating a plot. The possibilities are endless when students create scripts for games and stories that help express their imaginations.
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