Monday, July 9, 2012

Think About It - What Does it Mean to be Literate in a Digital World?

This is a question I have been asking myself and others for some time, particularly with the constant changes in how we communicate, create and access information online. In addition, I see this question relevant to Matt Allen’s previous post Reframe Your Thinking  when he asks, How has the digital age changed the learner? The learning? Our role as educators?  

How is the way we approach literacy in school keeping up with what it means to be literate in a world where information is no longer just printed text on paper? Are students using digital literacies to develop understanding, engage in their learning, and share their knowledge with others?
Steve Covello outlines the subdisciplines of the digital literacies as information literacy, computer literacy, media literacy, communication literacy, visual literacy, technology literacy. Since his list in 2010, I would add the newer domain of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc...) To be literate in today’s world is to be able to access online information, comprehend it at high levels, critically evaluate information as to it’s reliability and credibility, as well as create, collaborate, communicate, curate and publish all within the subdisciplines of digital literacy.
In the past many of these disciplines have been in the purview of the Librarian/Media Specialist  or Technology Class where students learn about online research, created media products and learn basic technology skills. The new digital literacy skills are “literacy skills” and must be embedded into classroom curriculum and literacy instruction. “Review of research on reading comprehension concludes that the Internet requires additional comprehension skills beyond those required for reading traditional print texts (RAND Reading Study Group, 2002).” Yet, when we teach reading and writing the focus is on text based materials. While traditional reading and writing skills are the foundation for being a literate person we need to expand teaching of traditional literacy skills to include the new digital literacies.
I believe this is an opportunity to transform teaching and learning as we align curriculum to the Common Core to embrace the digital learning that is embedded into and expected from the Common Core State Standards.  As we adjust our curriculum to meet the new standards, we should be looking for ways to shift traditional text based activities to digital learning opportunities that are more relevant to today's learners.
Listen to Glynda Hull from University of California Berkeley talk about this opportunity and review the Google Presentation created by Maggie Eaton, Middle School LA teacher/Curriculum Leader and myself. As you listen to Glynda and go through the slideshow consider how you might begin to embrace the new literacies and provide digital learning opportunities for your students.
http://ell.stanford.edu/publication/5-what-development-literacy-development






  • How can you learn more about what it means to be literate in a digital world?
  • What ideas do you have for leveraging technology for student learning as you look at the new CCSS in addressing literacy?

50 comments:

  1. Upon listening to Glynda and going through the slideshow I believe I can begin to provide more digital learning opportunities in my room by having students create more videos, use podcasts to have students reflect on the knowledge they are acquiring, use Twitter and blogs for students to gather information about a topic and to share with each other that knowledge.
    I can keep working on becoming more literate in the digital world by learning the new technology with students. My classes due to the nature of their content: Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Leadership Training, and Career Exploration have always been student-centered, authentic, engaging and relevant due to the nature of the subject. I need to keep shifting to being even more student-centered than I already am and use everyone’s knowledge in the classroom when it comes to the digital world. Each student brings their own skill set into the room and the entire class can learn from each other. I like the concept that things should not be done in isolation and I should continue to look for ways to integrate units not only within my subject matter but to link with others in my department and across the school curriculum. I believe that we should use technology when it is appropriate for whatever is being taught and still keep some of the traditional ways in place as sometimes we overuse the technology where students can still learn the material in a traditional way. We need to keep a balance between the traditional and the use of technology.

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    1. I agree that balance is important to maintain. You also mention several things that resonate "best practices". In the digital arena we must resign ourselves to the fact that our students might have more skills with technology than us and have them teach each other, and us, tips and tricks. At the same time, students need to know how to use paper and pencil, so they should have a spot in our room. As I like to tell my kids, "true knowledge is what you know when the power is out". So, keep the balance.

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    2. I couldn't agree with both of you more and this can be implemented through a blended learning approach which takes the best practices of online tools and the traditional classroom and melds them together. This would address several of the topics that are central to this discussion. There would be multiple literacy areas intertwined and this would be a bit of a balancing act but in the end multidisciplinary. Teachers are the guide on the side and students would take responsibility for their own learning. Teachers would need to be willing and able to learn right along side with and from students about not only the content but the various technological tools present. We learned by paper and pencil so we have that to bring to the table which will broaden the students learning.

      Your point about students only having true knowledge when the power goes out really resonated with how I sometimes give my final U.S. History exam. They have to explain and justify their learning and growth to a community member rather than regurgitate facts and dates. They must explain and analyze what our history means to be a global citizen and what roles and responsibilities we have.

      So I feel a blended learning approach maximizes our collective ability to learn.

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  2. I loved the podcasts. Good teaching always integrates and asks reflective questions. As a special educator with a supportive co-teaching role at k-4 I have been able to establish weekly team meetings across grade level for next year. I believe the isolation will begin to disappear and teams will have opportunities for collaboration and sharing of ideas.

    I love taking essential questions and allowing the student to explore and decide what directions they take. This will be the focus of my project.

    Common Core-map for student learning....I am placing this quote in my memory bank.

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  3. I think that I can learn more about what it means to be literate in a digital world by being part of the digital world. I have just started Twitter and I don't really know what it's good for because nobody ever responds to my tweets, maybe that's because I only have 8 followers, but I also follow other people. I need to talk to and listen to my students about what they are using and figure out a way to incorporate what's already being used for the best impact for the classroom.

    I have just learned about using Google forms to create different assessments based on the same topic. I think this is a really cool way to be able to modify and collect student data right in a spreadsheet, but I am just learning so maybe this will be more of a headache than a good thing.

    The Common Core seems to be very open ended with the literacy standards so that they would fit text or technology literacies. I think along with your typical 5 paragraph essay there will be pod casts with scripts, blogs that foster deeper thinking and rich dialogue and so much more.I think along with using the technology that it is critical to teach the roles and responsibilities that the students will have in this technological world that they live in today.

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    1. Nancy,

      I agree with you, the Common Core does seem to be more open ended when it comes to combining literacy and technology standards together. I think what we a current educators need to do is to take the lessons that work (for example your 5 paragraph essay assignment) and make them more interactive, as you stated with the use of podcast, blogs, forms. etc. The goal is to engage and celebrate these collaborate technological tools and use them more effectively in the classroom.

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    2. (I'm trying to keep quiet and let the conversation occur between you guys, so I'll keep this short.)
      I felt strongly compelled to thank you, Nancy, for the first sentence of your post. I've observed that teachers who are not involved with the digital world in a meaningful way tend to be the teachers who are not comfortable with technology. And, can anyone claim that being tech-literate is not an important trait for teachers today?
      (It was harder than you might imagine for me to leave it at that.)

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    3. I feel similar to Nancy. When we got the Ipod's from class, my 10 and 13 year old sons needed to show me how to use them. I think we can learn so much from kids and they can help teach others. I am really looking forward to making videos with my students. I think that will be interesting to all the students. I have learned a lot from reading the text "Retool Your School". It has helped me make eforms which I absolutely love! It has many other great apps as well for beginners like me.

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    4. Matt your restraint here was very impressive - I agree that teachers who are comfortable using technology in the classroom are the ones who embrace and use it in their daily lives to communicate and interact. Being open and willing to try new technologies, go outside the wake, make mistakes and dive back in is our job as educators. Having that comfort level with technology is so important in our current state to understand our students and how they learn. Way to go Nancy for taking those risks! I also have been intrigued by the possibilities around Google forms and the collection of data - could be very useful in my PE world. Heather I agree that our students and children can be such great resources - I am constantly learning from my 3 boys - they always have an easier way of doing something and love to show me new apps that we "need".

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    5. I am what I would consider to be an "average" (maybe low average?) user of technology in my personal and professional life. I text, e-mail, Facebook, participate in listserves, discussion boards, can create & use QR codes, etc. At the Dynamic Landscapes conference I created a Twitter account to follow so national discussions regarding the "library world" - so I was looking for it as a professional development tool, not as social media. However, I've only "followed" it a few times, since I tend to forget I have it, although some of that may be due to being in "summer mode" as well as focusing on this class more.
      All of that being said, I don't own a smart phone, so I don't walk around 'connected' all of the time. I already had an iPod Touch (formerly my son's that I inherited when he got his smart phone) but I don't use it as much as I expected - it's downfall being the need for wi-fi instead of being a 4G device usable everywhere. This may be why I consider my self average/below-average in the tech area.
      I know about these, but had a hard time incorporating tech into lessons when I was teaching full time. It might go back in part to a previous blog thread in which Mike Campbell talked about how change can be hard. That is part of why I'm here this week. This past year, I had a student completing an independent study course under my supervision from off site so I had finally incorporated GoogleDocs into that, teaching her how she could submit work to me & receive my feedback right into the document & rework it more easily. Previously, I had only had students e-mail me their assignments as attachments. I wish I had thought of GoogleDocs back then! Of course, one of my limitations was that we only had 4 netbooks available, for both independent and classroom use, so using technology within the classroom was difficult. (I was alternative education, so I usually never had classes larger that 7 or 8, so some pairing was possible.)
      In my role of Library Media Specialist (LMS), as stated in the article/intro. above ("In the past many of these disciplines have been in the purview of the Librarian/Media Specialist or Technology Class where students learn about online research, created media products and learn basic technology skills."), I have been the person to teach these things with some groups. Teachers have brought classes to our Media Center and I have gone to their classrooms. I know that some teachers have been very good about imbedding this instruction into their lessons and haven't needed me to do this which is great. However, I love when I can go into a classroom to work with students on these skills so they don't just see me as a person to get books from.
      This class is being helpful for me to learn more about the tools available to students and teachers, so as I interact with them I can offer suggestions of options and know what they are talking about if they are already using them. I obviously have to keep improving my Digital Literacy to keep up with, if not a little ahead of, the curve.

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  4. I have been impressed with the different ways teachers are harnessing both technology and CCSS. There are so many components to juggle today as a teacher, and I have been learning more and more about how to reach students by truly engaging them in the learning process. I had the opportunity to observe the Google Presentation in person at the Vita-Learn Tech Fest, and it was empowering to know that part of the work my students were involved in was so similar. The information in the slides helped me to take them the additional steps further. Sarah Brown Wessling's information validates the work we need to be practicing each day with students. It think this is a great keynote presentation for CCSS. Ending the school year with students taking their Google Drive (Doc) writing through the drafting stages, conference/comment writing teams and finally publishing their work for authentic audiences by way of a message to the world on their own web sites is a true highlight as an educator.

    Using this information and the upcoming opportunities to collaborate with colleagues both in and outside of my district is exciting. Google allows for these amazing experiences to happen. It is impressive to see the many ways teachers are harnessing these tools in the classroom and making rich learning experiences for students. As Sarah's presentation indicates, we are looking for experiences and conversations over assignments and tasks.

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    1. I also really appreciated Sarah Wessling's video presentation. With information overload it is hard to always know what focus to take to become a more effective teacher. What she had to say made a lot of sense. I really want to change the way I teach to make learning more student centered and engaging. I plan to focus this goal on Project based learning (PBL)in which the students create their own driving questions in hopes that it instills a sense of purpose and self motivation. I have included a good article for a start point with PBL: http://www.bie.org/images/uploads/useful_stuff/8_Essentials_EdLdr_2012_version.pdf

      I also look forward to new opportunities to collaborate with colleagues this coming school year. I believe their are at least five of us in this course.

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    2. I agree with Project Based Learning but it is difficult to do when you are locked into say a basal reading program. I was part of a team that worked this summer to unpack the Common Core Standards. We were able to try to put back in some Project Based learning but not to the extent I would like. Hopefully, as we work through the process of alignment and coming up with how to teach, I can help lead us toward a more student centered approach.

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    3. I also agree with Project Based Learning.I teach Design Technology in the middle level. It is a wonderful format for Project Based Learning. I am the only tech ed teacher 6-12, which the schedule doesn't allow for much collaboration with other content teachers. Collaboration with other content area teachers would bring a richness to the learning experiences for students. This seems to be a problem in many small schools in Vermont.

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  5. One way I am striving to provide students with digital learning experiences is to move my learning center from a traditional library model to one known as a "learning commons". What this will mean is to have a flexible (physical space as well as scheduling )learning space with wireless access to support portable digital devices. My role as librarian would be to facilitate the infrastructure, but he space would be "owned" by the school community - individuals, small groups, or whole classes with their teachers. Some plans in the works this summer include a presentation space with up to date av equipment, a space with a monitor to highlight student produced book trailers, cafe style seating and more focused display spaces. A virtual library website allows patrons to access information, digital video streaming, e-books as well as 24/7 access to the library catalog and it's features.

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  6. One way I plan to learn about what it means to be literate in the digital world is to take a close look at the Classroom Scenarios on the VT technology grade expectations site. Though I have only looked at one related to health education, I like how it lists student and teacher standards as well as connecting to content standards.

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    1. Krystal, the VT Tech GEs are also really awesome because the people who created them tied to them directly to P21, an organization who's mission/goal is to define, support, and encourage the tech/digital literacy skills in education. And the P21 group uses language that AASL uses and that ISTE uses. You might be saying, 1. who are these orgs and 2. who cares!? :) Well, I guess I mention this because tech skills don't live in isolation nor get taught that way. And as I mentioned below, the CC seem to have been written a smidge in isolation, a detriment when these other orgs are out there, working together, using the same language to ensure we have measurable and trackable tech skills and goals.

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  7. I loved the Civil Rights Road Trip site that was linked to in the presentation. I think it was a great example of the interdisciplinary nature of literacy in that it was social studies linked with language arts, and also that students were reading, writing, listening, and viewing related to the same topic. I think a major benefit in using technology to foster literacy is that there are opportunities for engagement with audio, video, published text, text written by peers, etc., right at students’ fingertips. It’s not just reading a section of text and writing a response to it. I really liked the assignments that students had as homework. They seemed like they would provoke deeper thinking and engagement on the topic. I think having students read each other's reflections and respond to them would be powerful as well. The site seemed to demonstrate some of the shift that Sarah Brown Wessling talked about in her video from just doing tasks to learning. Krystal’s link to the Project Based Learning article was also really helpful. I am thinking about the project that I want to create for this course and these two resources gave me a lot of ideas.

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  8. I'm fortunate, I teach literacy which I love and I have many students who love to read and to discuss books! I would like to use technology to further these book discussions. I'm thinking perhaps students can use blogs to discuss and to review books that they are reading. It might be fun and a great learning tool.

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    1. Our middle school teachers are using Blogs as a tool for book review and response to literature. They have both a classroom blog created by the teacher where he posts questions and students are authors where they reply and comment, and each student has their own blog where they do "free range writing" about books, poetry and any stories they might want to write.

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  9. I watched the video of the first page of the slideshow- The Big Picture. Sarah Brown has some inspiring words about the Common Core and I plan to show this to my team. She relates a personal story about her grandfather teaching her to water ski to taking risks as a teacher and learner. The first year she works hard and learns how to get up and is content with being pulled by the boat. Her grandfather explains she isn't skiing until she goes out beyond the wake. This to me is where I want to head as a teacher in this digital world; beyond the wake. We need to be right there in it beside our students encouraging them to be risk takers- To be readers, writers and thinkers together.

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  10. I was very glad to see some excellent examples of student work using technology. The student psa's and the civil rights site are impressive. I totally understand the importance of incorporating digital media into my teaching, I'm just not always sure how to do it! Nancy's comment about using the technology rung true with me. Nancy, I will follow your Tweets if I can figure out how do do it! It's funny but I think I'm at a disadvantage that I don't have any teens living at home!
    As a reading teacher I was glad to see the Online Reading Comprehension Assessment Project and plan to read it to get some ideas. Of course we need to teach reading comp. that way and yet I hadn't thought of it! Funny thing though...I printed it to read in hard copy!
    Matt, I am curious about what else you wanted to say in response to Nancy.

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    1. I'm fortunate to work with U32 middle school teachers, JB Hilferty, Social Studies, and Maggie Eaton,Language Arts, who designed those units on the PSA's and Civil Rights. They weren't technology experts but they knew what questions and content that students needed to have and working together they blossomed in using the Google Tools to provide student centered learning experiences.

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    2. I was so impressed to see what JB and Maggie had been able to help kids to achieve! I watched Zoe's book trailer (recognizing her little brother, a student at my school!) and was startled to be reminded of how many digital tools kids use in the production of things like this. (Google Docs: storyboard; Aviary: audio; WeVideo: editing, Flip Camera: video, and YouTube: publication.) Elementary schools have been behind in diving into technologies due to financial constraints, but, except for the Flip Video, these are all Web 2.0 tools- free! And I have Flip Videos at both of my schools. So doable with so little!

      But I got more from this post than that. I was intrigued to learn the CC states that 4th graders should be reading 50% literature, 50% informational text, and as I read down through the NYT article past the part about using the Times as a tool in this endeavor (too high reading level for fourth graders, and most 6th graders), I liked the list of many activities towards the end, and will share this article with my teachers.

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  11. Common Core leave some wide open gaps to be filled with tech enhancements. The language no where states how or what or when technology has to be used. Instead there are mentions of incorporating general "tech" skills and or 21st Century skills in a few sections (as pointed out in the slide show to at least 3 specific standards) As a Library Media Specialist, I find this both encouraging and disheartening. Encouraging because it gives my teachers and me room to define these things and incorporate them where they fit best. Disheartening because yet again another set of standards came out, NOT connecting to an already defined set of skills. Why did the CC not look toward Partner for 21st Century learning and stick those standards into the CC? They are still not limiting or overly defined...

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  12. As an elementary teacher in Vermont I have to say the idea of integrating content areas and learning the process skills through the relevant content is not news. Nor, frankly, is increased non-fiction emphasis in reading and writing in the Common Core. What is lacking at my school and in my classroom is the inclusion of more technology tools to strengthen the experience and instruction. It is interesting to actually look at the SBAC (likely version of the common core testing for Vermont)drafts of "performance tasks". These clearly expect that students are technologically literate in a way I am not sure many are. For instance, one sixth grade Language Arts pilot task asks students to read an article, watch a video, perform a (simulated) internet search and then write and give a speech to record it digitally. In another, fourth graders are asked to create a digital presentation using something similar to powerpoint having read and analysed a few of the sources given including video and internet sources with hyperlinks. Testing should not drive what we are doing, but it is clear from these tasks that the expectation of digital literacy is already here. http://www.smarterbalanced.org/?s=performance+ is the website with some of these presentations if you are interested.

    As a parent of a high school student I wonder how often teachers work across disciplines - there are some interdisciplinary courses for sure, but I think the idea that literacy is everyone's responsibility and that teaching students to "read" includes skills beyond decoding and comprehending a text in isolation and does not end in elementary school or with literature classes is not always considered. An excellent example is visual literacy - I myself enjoy inforgraphics but have a horrible time creating them because none of my previous experiences have prepared me for that. I need to rely on my more visually ept colleagues and continually be exposed to excellent examples in order to understand how to create them. I have no evidence my son is being exposed to that now.

    Ms Wessling says that the bridge from tasks to learning and questions to catalysts is gentle failure. How comfortable are we with that? Would it be possible for me to write a PD&E goal for my portfolio this year which includes planning for a certain amount of failure as I try new things? Could I try to measure the number of times things don't work well as a measure of my willingness to get "outside the wake?" I am only partially tongue in cheek about this.

    Finally just the way we have to respect the skills the students bring to school in terms of literacy and build from there, we must respect the skills that most teachers bring to their integration of technology. While some may not be in "the digital world" many of them have deep knowledge of planning projects, integrating content and responding to a myriad of learning needs and styles. We can start there and provide technology which is useful to their own lives and watch as they think of ways to integrate it authentically. I think specifically of digital cameras years ago. Even Luddites saw the advantages, used it for their families and then easily brought them to their classrooms. Same with email. Maybe, just maybe, the Common Core can be an occasion for teachers to collaborate across districts and states in a way that "creates a sense of urgency and fights isolation" as Wessling asserts.

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    1. I wholeheartedly agree with your response, MaryAnn. I understand trying to use a technology that I am not too familiar with and having to rely on colleagues to help me do anything in a time efficient manner. I also agree with your comment about being able to experience "gentle failure" as we move forward. Don't I also have to raise everyone's reading score and gather infinite points of data on everyone? What really happens if you failed to meet one of your professional development goals?

      I especially liked your comment that "we must respect the skills that most teachers bring to their integration of technology". Isn't that what we do with students; take them from what they know to gain knowledge at their own pace and with attention to their learning style? I do not use a lot of technology in my personal life but I can send an email and text my sons. That doesn't make me more resistent to using technology at school, just less adept. I need more time and practice. I have embraced the technology of the times over the decades. Back in the late 1980s through the 1990s, my colleague always videotaped National Geographic Explorer. Every Friday afternoon, we used this relatively new technology called video to experience cultures around the world and enhance our students' global awareness. Use of video to teach more about our world and global connections; it was state of the art for the time.

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  13. I work with families within our community. One of my daily challenges is communicating with a student's support group. The traditional "home phone" no longer exists for most families. This is consistent with the message of change within both resource clips. Therefore, I have been working with families to understand which form of communication works best for them. Is it a WEB page, a tweet, or a text? A lot depends on the families access to technology.

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  14. Kids and adults need to be digitally literate. There is so much information being barraged at us on the internet. I find that students who struggle with understanding how to use the computer to access what they need end up getting of task and find fun games to play or images to look at instead of finding pertinent information to evaluate and use to create projects with groups or individually. It is important to teach students how to be digitally literate if we are expecting them to successfully demonstrate what they have and are learning. Just as I am learning about Google tools and how to use them in a way that is useful for me in my classroom or in my personal life.

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    1. I agree with you, Claire. An unexpected challenge I'm finding in taking this course is that I'm continually distracted by all the "bells and whistles" that accompany what I'm trying to read/learn/do. It reminds me of textbooks with overly colorful formats and waaaay too much stuff in the margins. It's hard to focus on the main topic with all the distractions. For example, in reading this blog post, I clicked on a slide show that brought me to a video clip. I watched that, then realized I was off task. So, I went further into the slide show and saw some interesting student work. That encouraged me to click a link and suddenly I was watching a funny video about a Skrillux (or something like that). But, wait, I'm supposed to be doing my homework!!! I'm not a classroom teacher, but I feel for teachers who have to work hard to keep students on task despite all these really fun distractions.

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  15. 1. In thinking about my own literacy in the digital world I think about how I have to create opportunities to “embrace the literacy of [different] disciplines” (Sara Weston, from the slide show video on slide 2). I can do this through integration of curriculum and collaboration with colleagues and the world wide community. By taking my own “intellectual risks” I can better understand and keep up with the changes to literacy in the digital world.

    2. Glynda made an interesting point about digital literacy by suggesting that as educators we have a job to “stretch [students] understanding of function” in terms of technology and digital tools. Giving consideration to the increased/enhanced emphasis on reading informational text, discourse and writing in the common core particularly in primary grades incorporating more digital literacy seems a logical next step. Using digital tools to provide students with the opportunity to experience a variety of media sources including text, video, and audio allows them to discriminate, accumulate and infer information in different ways. As educators we have to make sure we are modeling and demonstrating how to access and think critically about our resources as well as provide them with opportunities to view, listen, read and interact independently. This shift must be gradual and scaffolded in order to ensure students feel confident and competent as digital citizens. We need to demonstrate the functions of tools and model effective uses of a range of media in order for them to discriminate the appropriate functions of tools as digital citizens. By creating authentic learning experiences where we ask students to transfer their skills to real contexts we are providing them opportunities to see a variety of functions for different digital tools. Specifically, using the sharing features of Google Tools provides a means for collaboration and communication and learning through visual and auditory means. Podcasts, blogs and other social media also offers a platform for finding experts in fields and gathering ideas for authentic experiences and problems for students to investigate.

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  16. I find it interesting that many of my students are technophobes. I suppose that much of that is because technology in my building has been sketchy at best for too many years. As I become less of a technophobe I am hoping to bring my students along with me. I am also hoping it will be an exciting journey rather than a roller coaster ride (I really dislike roller coasters!).
    I plan to add a blog to my New England Voices class this year. I want students to talk about the books they are reading and to really put some thought into it. I also want to incorporate Google Groups for class discussion about the issues that are brought forward in the work we are doing---whether it is writing commentaries or trying to understand what makes New England different (and the same) as the rest of the country.

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  17. The digital shift has changed the common core and in order to re-align this it will change the way we teach and will change the learner!! When we change the process, we will then in return, change the task. Hopefully this will then move the shift to focus on the learning that is happening! Because of the digital world on how our kids are taught and the opportunities they have today...we as educators have to keep up or will be left in the dark, which in return will have direct effect on how/what we teach and fail big time!!! When we do this our kids are the ones that will suffer, not necessarily the teacher. So as technology changes, it will change education, which in return will change learning!! We as educators should be used to adjusting to changes, because in order to be successful you must adapt to changes all the time!!!! Change in this aspect can be a good thing.

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  18. There is a line of text on the 11th slide:

    "Students don't tend to write unless they have to. Blogs give students power to have voice in a way that traditional academic writing does not"

    This articulates an idea that I want to grab onto as I start my year with 5th/6th graders. At this age students are really transitioning into that adolescent age where it can be more and more of a struggle to engage them in "traditional academic" anything. I think there are all kinds of wonderful ideas, technology-based and not, that move away from traditional ideas of academics and teaching that really tap into ways that this age student can remain engaged. I want to think a lot about blogging as one of these wonderful tools that can encourage these students to continue to be engaged in literacy and encourage specifically their digital literacy. We think about and plan genre studies, author studies, character studies - how about a blog study? The teacher gathers a collection of powerful and interesting blogs. Students read them and begin to create a collection of ideas that make a good blog good. And maybe this turns into a rubric for their own blog writing. The opportunities are endless. And again, what a great way to give adolescents a "voice" that they may not have found or engaged in with traditional academic writing.

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  19. I find myself in an interesting position as I walk through the hallways. I am not a classroom teacher, though considered faculty (I am the school nurse). Many doors are open so you can observe the class, I find it interesting as we must discuss the individuality of the students, their learning style and the teaching style. I think the web casts showed a teacher who was able to engage her class (I have been in her room) then I think of the American history class that meets at the end of the day-they are mostly the Vo Tech kids who have been up and active in their learning for most of the day. This class often has their "notebooks" open and the teacher's style is to teach through technology-many students struggle in this class. I would venture to say their style of learning is different than the other American history classes. I feel technology is extremely important-how do we engage each student? Perhaps it needs to start earlier in their school career (and it now is), those students in the 8th grade health class may not struggle when they get to American history. I don't know the answer, but the hallways are an interesting place to observe classes and learn about what is going on.

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  20. The digital age is upon us and children's levels of literacy will vary depending on access. Access to the physical machines, internet and access to teachers who have taken the time to learn how to integrate technology into well planned meaningful Units of study. Lessons that are in line with the Common Core. I think there is a difference between reading/writing literacy and the type of reading/writing that happens in digital environments. There is also a difference between social and academic digital literacy. Using facebook, twitter, texting is natural for digital natives but as teachers(digital natives or immigrants) we can use these tools to teach academic learning. As a teacher my job is to create opportunities for students to learn these academic digital skills and then learn how to use them to critical thinking about problems and ideas. Computers are simply a tool to help us develop and expand our ideas. The most valuable aspect of integrating digital literacy into our content is that it opens up opportunity for collaboration outside the 4 walls of the classroom. In a way it knocks down the classroom walls and school walls in a way we have never seen before. We live in a very exciting time. The digital highway is here and I'm glad on not sitting on the side of the road.. Even though I might be driving in the slow lane with caution blinkers on!

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  21. I also agree on the balance. Going back to the last "think about it"...Students are digital natives and teachers are digital immigrants. Balance takes on a new meaning when there are aspects that students do not fully understand because formal reading/writing might not be part of their wiring. This argument reminds me of how different generations view over discipline. As things continue to change, best instructional practices will always need to change. You need to stay flexible to change and possibilities for new innovations. One aspect that is getting thrown in that I see, what do you throw way because of time? No one wants to say..."Just throw that concept out!"...but that is what we are left with as teachers. Time is everything. As an art teacher, I look to possibly use a blog to help critique other student works or historical pieces, self reflective narratives at the end of a unit, or comic strip style exercise that mixes in literacy along with visual illustrations. I will not throw away traditionally structured writing (pencil/paper)exercises but rather combine short reflective exercises using technology. There needs to be a balance. If there is no written word, where would the human race end up 25 years from now. I find it works best for me as a unified arts teacher to allow for multiple styles of expressing ones versatility in choice. Innovators need to be able to rely on multiple techniques learned over their years of schooling when faced with challenges in the future.

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  22. As a special educator working with students in an inclusive middle school, my role allows me to support teachers to create curriculum, lessons, activities that are accessible to all students, even those with significant cognitive delays. Technology has played an important role for those students. The process and production of technology based work has in many cases given students a product that they can share with classmates. The technology allows them to participate with peers for learning activities. Through the use of internet sources for images, software and other technology tools, students of all abilities can participate in learning at their own levels. For example, an eighth boy created a Powerpoint. His topic in this social studies project was to research and create a project about George Washington. He selected the slides and music with support. He participated in the saving, planning, and creation of his Powerpoint. With the help of his augmentative communication device he was able to narrate each slide himself with the help of the SLP. His classroom presentation gave his peers and this student an opportunity to be a genuine participant in his own learning that had previously been unavailable without technology. Literacy for this student included speaking, listening, presenting before an audience, and using digital resources to learn new information.

    In the general education classroom there are many students who struggle to access typical literacy skills. As Glynda Hull points out so well, we need to meet these students where they are at with their own literacy practices. We as teachers need to respect their literacy abilities. The use of online resources for speaking, listening, dictation, images from photos and video, give all students access to literate practices. While the Common core describes the literacy practices for various grade levels, there are many innovative ways to bring skills and knowledge to all students with technology.

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  23. When I came into this class I had knowledge and skills using a small amount of technology in the classroom, most of which I learned from students themselves. This suggests that at least some, if not most, of my students had a higher level of digital literacy than I had. I have learned much in this course about what it means to be literate in a digital world, and I have to believe that I will be a better teacher for this. I knew there was much that I didn’t know about literacy in the digital world; this experience has opened my eyes to the enormous amount there is for me to learn! My learning curve in the last week has been as steep as when I went to France for a year to complete my degree in French. I thought I was pretty proficient in the language before I went, but I had no idea how much more there was for me to learn about this language and the people who speak it. So I dove in head first, just as I am diving into the digital world head first now. It is fascinating, it is engaging, it is intimidating and it is somewhat painful. I don’t like not being good at something. But I have a pretty high threshhold for discomfort, so I am ready to work outside of my comfort zone to acquire as much knowledge and skill as I can with respect to using the google tools and other technology in the classroom. We become literate in a language by immersing ourselves in it, being open to taking risks and making mistakes and not giving up. Blogs, lit trips, project based learning are all great ideas. Likewise, I can learn what it means to be literate in the digital world by immersing myself in it, taking some risks and sticking with it. I have taken some big first steps. Students in my school do not learn technology in a vacuum, and the Common Core standards suggest that they use technology for learning content area skills. There is no Technology Skills class, so it is up to the classroom teacher to examine those technology skills embedded in the Common Core standards and be open to learning how to use them and teach them to students within the context of literacy in the content areas. We have had students practice their writing skills with paper and pencil because that is what they have to do on the NECAPS and we wanted to mimic the testing environment as closely as possible to ensure testing success. But all that is going away and students will be expected to demonstrate their content literacy using digital tools to a certain extent. This is a place where we can make more of a shift from paper and pencil to computer, even more than we already have. We are in the process now of wrapping our minds around the Common Core standards and examining how we can address them in our classes.
    Embedded in that process then is examining the technology standards and how we can become proficient in their use ourselves and then use them as we help students shift to this new literacy that is here to stay: digital literacy. Another step is getting enough hardware, the computers themselves, so it is not such a struggle to just get them to our classrooms so students can use them! This will be huge step to facilitate leveraging technology for student learning.

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  24. The resources on slide 13 is a very comprehensive way to learn more about digital literacy and the Common Core. What is really exciting for me is to see my school students' work on this Think About. I responded to Krystal N. previously on how engaged a group of MS Health students were when I went into a classroom looking for a student. They were creating their own PSAs and not only did the student not want to leave, the teacher was not aware I was there. Why? because she was not standing up in the front of the class giving directions, but side by side working with a group.
    Even though I am not currently teaching in a classroom, I think it is important that all faculty become familiar with and advocate for the digital literacy being used in the classroom and the whole school community. If parents and students see all adults modeling and learning new digital literacy, it is much more effective as the norm.

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  25. I had an 'ah-ha' moment when Ms. Hull discussed the historical evolution of literacy, especially when she mentioned that at the start of the 20th century, literacy was defined as the ability to write your signature and the state-of-the-art tool was a pencil. When put in this perspective, the role of digital education totally falls into place for me. Although they have evolved at a supersonic speeds, digital tools are just the new generation of literacy skills. It's not a matter of if we incorporate them into education, but how. Ready or not teachers.......here it is. Like the typewriter, tape recorder and television, digital technology is the new tool and cyberspace is the new resource/frontier for learning. I only hope that we as educators will be mindful of how we integrate this new form of literacy into our teaching. Just because it is digital does not mean it is valuable - and vice versa.
    It's mind boggling to even try to imagine what the next generation in the evolution of literacy will look like!

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  26. Martha, I also likes that quote about the pencil and the signature! It was not very long ago at all that that WAS literacy!

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  27. I watched the video on the first slide which I think was a great overview of the Common Core and how it provides an opportunity to shift our thinking about teaching and learning in the 21st Century. I particularly liked finding communities to learn and collaborate with; using the Common Core as a "map for learning" and the shift from task to learning by providing "rich opportunities for open-ended learning". When I was a general education fourth grade teacher, I found that finding and exploring connections between disciplines was much easier than our current specialist model. Today it just takes more time and coordination to plan with my team to provide for the rich learning opportunities. I really liked the part about that our jobs as educators is primarily to help students become intellectual risk takers and that we must be willing to do it first and in their presence. I will have to think about what this means to me this year. I will am looking forward to revisiting and exploring this blog again.

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  28. I had not completely understood what digital literacy meant until viewing Glynda Hull's video. I was trapped into the literal meaning of literacy and thought of literacy as only reading and writing. (keep in mind that I am not a SS or LA teacher) This post really helped me to see that digital literacy means the use and inclusion of all sorts of technology as tools to educate and means by which students demonstrate their understanding. Formally, I was imagining that CC was pushing me to use online texts such as primary sources and other digitally printed materials. I was struggling to consider where I would find such sources that would match my curriculum. I've had an Ah-ha moment and feel like a whole world has been opened up to me. I can easily see how the CC Standards will apply to all of us and will push education to new 21st century learning.

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  29. Sarah Brown Wessling’s lecture really spoke to me. It didn’t matter that she basically just stood there and talked (delivery, not teaching?), what she said was pertinent to where we’re going, where we want our students to be able to go. She says that the definition of literacy has changed. Well being a librarian, off I trotted to my dictionaries. (And yes I have a bunch at home, but that’s another issue)
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PSCUpc7E9CZN_XQd_cu-bLwqqZFMMMI2nRz91TkEmQw/edit
    The starting thread stringing these together: reading and writing. Because I work with Pre-K through 6th grade, for me the bottom line is reading and writing. It doesn’t matter how it gets delivered, if they can’t read, they’re going nowhere. If they’re going to be knowledgeable and/or capable in any situation in life, they have to be able to read. But wait, in the past 60 years, the dictionary folks have expanded their definition to include capable and competent. Wessling says it’s not enough to read the book and take the test, students have to be able to synthesize it all. Critical thinking! Making connections! Which reminded me of Michael Wesch and his mantra: moving from being knowledgeable to knowledge-able. Here’s a YouTube video of a lecture he gave: http://librariesandtransliteracy.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/knowledgeable-to-knowledge-able/
    All these gadgets aren’t just a fancy new way of teaching the same old 3R’s, they are literally changing our world and how we relate to each other. Globally, not just within our social circle. So how can I learn more? That’s a no-brainer; pay attention to what the kids are asking, figure out how to do Groups, keep on taking classes and reading, and watching the fabulous lectures on the web, find cool new media that my students will like, figure out how I’m going to change from Delivery to Teaching, and and and. Wessling challenges us to be intellectual risk-takers, to be in control of our ride, to make our lives meaningful, and to help our students to do the same. I feel like I have a lot more work to do…

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  30. How can I learn more about what it means to be literate in a digital world? I like the idea of focusing on the term "authentic" to try and do this. How do people in all walks of life use technology to engage in literacy? What does it look like? Is their type of literacy used for work, social, civic, or intrinsic purposes? Once we investigate these questions, then we can think about what we need to do to help our students become similarly literate. Schools should not operate in a vacuum. Just as we want our sciences classes to reflect current science practices and our social studies classes to investigate current world issues, we want our literacy practices to reflect what is happening in the world today.

    Like the people highlighted in this blog entry, I think the CCSS are going to be helpful in leveraging technology for student learning. A few years ago I was doing some professional development about social studies informational text. I asked a group of teachers what types of text they used in their classrooms. Dishearteningly, it seemed like people had a hard time thinking past the answer "the textbook." I don't think this is the case any more, or if it is it won't be that way for long. I believe on a very simple level the demand for informational text will necessitate bringing text found through digital sources into classrooms.

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    1. I agree Sigrid, the CCSS while some think is a mandate from above can be looked at as a good thing that nudges along the reluctant educator to think more creatively about instruction, curriculum and using digital technologies.

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  31. Comment on The Big Picture Video:

    This talk really resonated with me; I just loved listening to this woman. As a school nurse I sit on the periphery of the educational process and feel as if I have so much to offer and so little opportunity. I am a school nurse because I believe that to be happy, sucessful adults, people need to be emotioanlly and physically healthy. The 'mission' of school nursing is to promote wellness and help each student meet their personal health potential -- in order to support their learning. It has always baffled me why we do not value the subject of Health as much as we value Science, French or Music. Do we want an accountant who abuses drugs? How about a brilliant doctor who dies at the age of 34 from obesity-related Diabetes complications? Or an accomplished singer who develops Emphysema from smoking? I believe that wellness should be integrated into the Common Core curriculum with the same value as other subjects. And who better to support that goal than your school nurse! Our current educational system defines wisdom too narrowly; it should also include the understanding that our health impacts every aspect of every life stage of our lives and the knowledge of how to maintain our individual optimum health
    status.

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    1. Good point Martha! For too many years our educational system has been answering to a test and what scores our students can attain instead of what does it really mean to learn and develop understanding and skills about life. I'm hoping the new Common Core can be seen as a way to be more creative but that's up to our administrators/curriculum directors and teachers to think more creatively about it.

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  32. Teachers in today's digital world need to be literate in digital tools and skills. If they're not, they need to quickly become users and teachers of the tools in this digital age. Students in school now have grown up in this ever changing technological and digital world, so it is part of their every day life. As many of the videos and articles have stated, students need to be not only literate in the paper, books, and writing skills world, but in the various ways our society communicates and operates with the digital tools that we now have. This is not only for teachers to teach keyboarding skills for 6 weeks and to do occasional research on the internet. Teachers now need to be literate with tools such as blogs, Google, Facebook, Glogster, Podcasts, video-editing software, iPads/iPods, Twitter etc. in order to create authentic engaging lessons for students with the new CCSS. I haven't implemented any of the new Common Core Standards, however, I have spent a lot of time reading them this summer. In thinking about literacy, so much of the new ELA standards are based around informational text. There are so many cool things that you could do around these literacy skills instead of just a book report or a research paper on an animal. Any of the tools we have learned about in this course could be used to engage students and peak their interest in reading to learn in the older grades, and learning to read in the younger grades. I'm excited to bring back what I've learned to start implementing this in our 5th grade ELA classes! It's really exciting to think about including students on VTAAP or with more differentiated needs with these tools as well!

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