Weekly Reading #6

Quote

• "As our relationship with the technical world evolves, it is our responsibility as educators to find authentic ways to shape learning that encompasses this form of digital literacy because reading and writing is at the center of this practice" (Carey). 

Explanation of Quote

• I chose this quote because it is important for educators to realize that they have a responsibility.  At times educators get caught in traditional methods and sometimes feel that their responsibility is to preserve "the lecture style classroom" or preserve "using actual dictionaries and encyclopedias, not the Internet or computers."  However, it is important to realize that as the technical world evolves our responsibility is to shape learning that encompasses this form of digital literacy.

Extra Resource

• No more print dictionaries: a ‘sad day’ or a ‘day of liberation’?
• Reference: http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/no-more-print-dictionaries

Explanation of Extra Resource

• This made me consider the usefulness of things like dictionaries, an encyclopedia set, etc.  I think it is fair to say that equally reliable sources (and actually more up to date) are available on the computer.  Is doing away with the print form of a dictionary a "sad day" or just an evolution?  I think it is more of just an evolution.  I am actually reminded of a veteran English teacher that I work with.  I was in working on something in another teacher's room and asked how to spell a word, he jokingly said there are dictionaries on the book case in his room. My immediate reaction was, "I'll just look it up on my laptop right beside of me."   Of course there are doubters as publishing companies publish fewer and fewer dictionaries, but technology is evolving.  The way we learn and find information is evolving.  Sorry, thick and heavy dictionaries; we don't need you anymore.  

Questions

1. How can instant messaging support reading and writing in school?  As the article states, "Online discussion groups can act as an alternative to class discussions, which would allow for a greater number of shared ideas and opinions, which could also serve as an assessment tool.  An effective reading and writing curriculum allows for maximum opportunities for critical reflection and analysis.  It is imperative that we do not overlook IM as an appropriate and meaningful technological tool for the purpose of thoughtful examination in the academic setting." I have participated in online discussions and I think it is a valuable IM-ing experience in the education setting.  Every student required to come up with a response.  The teacher can also see responses to student responses.  I have also done assignments through a recorded chat room session; also a very neat experience.  No one can sit quietly in the corner of the classroom.  IM cause all student to become active members of class discussions.
    
2. How did your attitudes and beliefs about the value of instant message as a result of reading the research on Instant messaging as a literacy practice?  It just reassured me that Instant messaging can be a proper literacy practice.  As stated previously, educators have a responsibility to adapt to the ongoing technological advances because they DO involve reading and writing.  

Article Citation

Carey, J. (n.d.). Instant Messaging: A Literacy Event. Retrieved June 30, 2013, from Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6DFAmexYq7vYWdXV2RacF9EVXc/edit

Assignment #4 Media Ecology Case Study Continued

Hanging Out: 

• My young person's favorite thing to do on the computer is "Connect with friends on Facebook, Instagram, and Twittter (posts, photos, etc.)." These social media sites obviously facilitate social interaction between my cousin and her friends.
• My young person asks for help from her friends with these sites if she cannot figure something out on her own.  So not only is social interaction facilitated through the site, but in person or on the phone if she can not figure out everything with the sites.

Messing Around: 

• My young person said that she "figures things out" if she does not know how to do it.  If she still cannot figure it out, she ask a friend.
• She also admitted to "googling" answers in school.  At some point as a students, the idea of "googling" an answer had to come to her so she "messed around" and figured out it was a valid solution.

Geeking Out:

• I know this partially because she mentioned "posting pics" in her interview, but mainly because I am friends with her on some of the social media networks that she is active in, but this young person is very good at editing and doing photograph collages.  She will put words and different photos together; she'll change the lighting and make the photo look neat.  It seems to be something she enjoys.  She primarily does these collages and edits of friend photographs.

Schooling: 

• Her schooling experience with technology seems pretty typical.  She writes papers in word.  She creates an occasional PowerPoint.  She wishes she could submit things online and create YouTube videos in school.  

Weekly Reading #5

Quote:
"With Peter and Patty in mind, it is clear that digital reading not only demands a different set of skills than printed texts do, but also it carries a different set of assumptions and epistemological framings based on how a text is designed and produced" (Rowsell & Burke, 2009).

Why this quote?
It is important for the educator to realize that reading online requires and demands a different set of skills that reading printed text.  Different assumptions can be made depending on how a text is designed and produced.  Just because is literate with one text or site online doesn't mean that that student will be literate with all sites on line.  Digital media adds new layers like complex visuals.

Extra Resource:
Muffy's Wardrobe
This is a great PBS game that young students could play in which the student chooses an "activity" for Muffy.  Based on the activity, the student has to select the wardrobe.  If the student chooses something that does not make sense (i,e. a fishing vest for ballet), Muffy will let the student know that they do not quite have it.  I chose this link because it reminded me of Webkinz.  The level is a little lower (more kindergarten), but it is a very interactive and multimodal tool for young student to learn that different activities require different attire.

Questions:

1. What did you learn about how reading of digital texts differs from the reading of print texts?

"...the reading path of printed texts is well established, and although you can certainly move around a text, the trajectory is linear. With digital texts, however, the reading path is “to-be-constructed” by the reader (or by the image or nature of the multimodal text; Kress, 2003). When reading online, you do not know where you will end up at the end of the reading event."  I never considered this before, digital texts are not as linear as printed texts.  There may be a link to explore further, there may be a video or image in between paragraphs, there may be an unrelated pop-up or ad.  


2. Do agree the the reading of digital texts are complex?

Absolutely.  As stated before, digital texts are not as linear a printed text.  You do not read from top to bottom.  There are often thinks to click and interactivity for the reader of digital texts.  It is not just reading until you get to the end.

3. Do you think that reading digital texts has value for reading in school?

Yes, especially since the Internet and digital texts are becoming a bigger part of our society.  Not that reading novels is completely frivolous (it is something I enjoy; it increases vocabulary and intellect), but a person will rarely be given a task in the real world such as, "Read and summarize A Tale of Two Cities by next week."  However, every business has a website; often job hunts begin online.  Submitting resumes online or providing a digital portfolio is becoming standard.  

4. How might a teacher connect Peter's online reading skills with academic reading? How might this improve Peter's academic reading?

Peter is able to discuss the nuances of each character at length.  Character analysis is a skill that student need when reading in their English/Language arts classes.  When Peter discussed the plot of the Naruto TV series and videogame, he demonstrated a deep understanding of characterization and sense of story.  The teacher could have Peter create some sort of diagram like a character web to show the connections between characters of the Naruto TV series.  Peter could then take this knowledge and create a character web from a printed text.  The connections between something Peter like outside of school and school would be very beneficial.   

Reference
Rowsell, J., & Burke, A. (2009, October). Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(2), pp. 106-118. doi:10.1598/JAAL.53.2.2

Analyzing the Interview

I interviewed my 18 yr old cousin who is a senior in high school (well she just graduated a couple of weeks ago).

• Hanging Out: The young person spends a lot of time on social networking sites like facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  In fact, that is what she mostly uses her computer and smart phone for.  Interacting with her friends on the Internet is very important to her.
• Messing Around: I know that these social networking sites involve things that not everyone know how to do: Creating an sharing a photo or photo album.  Sharing another post or video.  Tagging other friends to posts.  Sending private messages.  Editing photos before posting. My cousin is what you could say VERY ACTIVE on the these sites and knows how to do things that I don't even know how to do.
• Geeking Out:  From viewing her Facebook and Instagram, she like editing photos.  She sometimes combines multiple photos in a collage and adds a song lyic or quote and changes the lighting and effect of the photo.
• Schooling: The young person mention "looking up answers," creating PowerPoints, and typing papers (in Microsoft Word- I'm assuming).  I think that my cousin would benefit from networking in school, whether it be through a blog, edmodo, etc.  She enjoys social networking so much outside of school.  She mentioned she wished she could make YouTube videos and submit things online.  My cousing would benefit from sharing presentations with the teacher and class online.  

google doc

Interview with Student

1. Do you have a computer /iPod/MPC playerWii/ ect....?
   Yes.  My family has a laptop, Wii, and computer.  I have an IPhone 4.

1. What kinds of things do you use the computer for?
   Facebook, Instagram, twitter, email, writing papers, look up stuff for school, look up videos on youtube.
    
2. What is your favorite thing to do on the computer?
   Connect with friends on Facebook, Instagram, and Twittter (posts, photos, etc.).
     
3. How did you learn to do that?
   I just figured it out myself.  If there is something I don't know how to do something, a friend will know how to do it.
   
4. What are some other things you use the computer for?
   I write papers for my English classes.  If I can't find an answer in my book for an assignment, I google it.
   
5. What is your favorite game? Why?
   Just Dance for the Wii because it makes me and my friends dance like idiots and laugh.
   
6. Do you know other people who do this?
   Other people my age.  My mom does it sometimes and it is hilarious.
   
7. How do you use the computer at school?
   I had a health teacher that would take us to the lab to research a part of the chapter we were on and then we would make a PowerPoint with pictures and stuff.  My English teacher would let us go to the lab a day to type papers.  We would take these really hard tests on the computer a couple times a year in reading and math classes when I was younger, but I didn't do that this year.
   
8. How would you like to use the computer at school?
   I would like to submit stuff online (like papers- like people in college do) because it is annoying and wastes paper to print it off; there are always problems with the printer at our school.  I would like to do something fun like create a YouTube video about a topic instead of writing a paper about it.
   
9. Do you think teachers would let you use the computer to do those things? Why? Why not?
   No, not really.  My English teacher likes "HARD COPIES" because I have asked about emailing stuff to her before and YouTube is blocked at our school.
   
10. Anything else you would like to tell me?
    No

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Weekly Reading #4

Quote:

“While computers, the Internet and electronic gadgetry were once perceived as the

playthings of young ‘nerds’ and ‘geeks’, this is no longer the case.” (Adlington & Hansford, 2008).

Image Source: http://tiger.towson.edu/~cwilli48/New_Folder/Billgate.jpg

Why I chose this quote:

I chose this quote because growing up in the early 90s, I remember computers being a geek thing and not applying to everybody.  I remember my brother, a computer nerd, trying to explain to me what the Internet was when I was in third grade.  I remember feeling like the Internet was only for those really intelligent computer nerds.  However, I now use the Internet on a daily basis and communicate through the Internet with hundreds of people for both education and leisure purposes.  I think it is important to realize that we are not talking about technology that just a few geeks use.  This is something that 90% of teens use on a daily or at least weekly basis!

Questions:

1. Why is it important for teachers to use digital media to support writing instruction in school?

• As the passage suggests, “The point of literacy education is to engender powerful communication dexterity in children that they may draw upon regardless of context, which can only occur as a result of embracing a wide range of texts and masteries as legitimate (Dowdall, 2006). Dissonance can be lessened, particularly for students who do not make the transitions between texts and contexts easily, by focusing on the aspects of texts that are assonant (Dowdall, 2006).”  It is important for teachers to use digital media because that is what students are using at home and that gap needs to be narrowed.

2. What are the differences between writing online and writing in school? 

• There is no one common digital language.  Writing online is more of an enjoyable activity for students.  Many times, students use online journals and blogging to express themselves. “Both texts provide opportunities to establish social identities, demonstrate social, cultural, technological, personal and linguistic masteries’required to position the author, draw on intertextual associations and elicit feedback from audiences (Dowdall, 2006, p. 161). But the school text focuses on endorsement of lingustic and cultural masteries and the locus of control is located away from the teenage author.”

3. How should teachers use digital spaces to support writing instruction in school?

• “Knobel and Lankshear(2006, p. 91) suggest that for effective powerful writing to take place using blogs, the focus should be on ‘genuine affinity spaces’ that will interest and challenge students into writing effective pieces for significant purposes.”  It is important that teachers don’t just “use it to say they used it.”  Effective powerful writing is the ultimate goal.

4. What are some of the challenges to using digital spaces for writing instruction in school?

• “One dilemma for teachers, then, is the pedagogical challenge of designing meaningful tasks that will ‘engage and enrage’ (Prensky, 2001) students. Out‐of‐school blogs may well be considered interesting, but in themselves do not, as Knobel and Lankshear put it,require ‘grammatically correct sentence rules’ (2006, p. 88).”  

5. The authors of the reading provided some excellent examples of how teachers used the social purposes of new texts to support learning in school. Please find another example (Lesson plan or student created product) that provides a good example of how a teacher kept true to the social purpose of a new digital text to support learning in the classroom. Please provide explanation for you example.

• This is a great example of how a class worked together to create a photostory to help share and learn about slavery.  This goes beyond a presentation in class; it is a class presentation for the world.

Reference:

Adlington, R., & Hansford, D. (2008, July 6). Digital spaces and young people’s online authoring: Challenges for teachers. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from National Conference for Teachers of English and Literacy: http://www.englishliteracyconference.com.au/files/documents/AdlingtonHansford-Digital%20spaces.pdf

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Weekly Reading #3

Reflections:
1. What is the main argument presented in  this article?

• Multimodality and 21st century literacies are here and  importanct to literacy and language arts learning, and must be a part of curriculum. Not only must we embrace these aspects of language learning, but we must begin to play with them as students do daily.

2. Why is it imperative that teachers and educational policy makers recognize the role multimodality plays in redefining literacy in the 21st century?

• The world is changing and in light of the diverse student populations that we serve, we need bridge the gap between at home literacies, societal literacies, and school.  We need to prepare are students for life and literacy in the 21st century. Period.

3. What is the fundamental philosophical orientation of educators who engage in multimodal literacy instruction?

• Children (and adults) learn best when engaged in complex, socially constructed, personally relevant, creative composition and interpretation of texts that incorporate a variety of meaningful communicative modes or symbol systems. 

4. What is the rational for engaging children in learning through the arts promoted by educational philosophers like Maine Green and Elliot Eisner? Do you share this philosophical orientation? Why? Why not?

• Elliot Eisner (2003) has championed the arts as developing different forms of thinking, including an ability to see qualitative relationships within and among texts, an understanding that form and content are inextricably linked, an understanding that how something is expressed is only a part of what is meant, and the awareness that not everything knowable can be expressed through written language. The arts, argued Greene, leads to informed or critical talk by positioning learners as active viewers and perceivers while providing more precise and imaginative language to elucidate a deeper perception of the everyday world. 

5. Name three benefits of multimodal reading and writing for students? Be specific and use quotes from the text to support your claims.

• "In creating such texts, the textmaker considers how each of these elements interrelates and how this relationship will inform a viewer’s interpretation." --- Students benefit from thinking of how their words and representation will be interpreted by other viewers.
  
• "Design, the conceptual side of expression (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001) and separate from the actual product, refers to how people make use of the materials and resources that are available to them at a particular moment to create their representation."--- Another benefit is that students learn to make use of the materials and resources that are available to represent personal meaning of literacies.


• "...within multimodality inherently lies a critical perspective enacted when examining the textmaker’s choices regarding the materials used," --- Students learn to critically examine own work along with other work. For example, does the song make my point or does it take away from the presentation?

6. Give an example of how blogging supports the  four aspects of multimodal theory proposed by Kress and Jewitt.

• Materiality - When blogging we choose images, fonts, colors, etc. to represent a part of us.
• Framing - As in this blog posts, I decided to give each question a number and parts of the answers bullets to organize the information.
• Design - I use the options available in my text toolbar to create my blogposts.  I might bold or enlarge font that I want to stand out; while doing so, I always keep the viewer in mind: "How will the viewer perceive these font choices?"
• Production - I organize my information and posts. For example, Weekly Reading- I give my input on the reading first, include something personal second, and reference last.  I think of my viewers when organizing the information.

7. What can teachers learn about their students from their image productions? Why is this important?

• Teachers can learn about students' lives, interests, struggles, strengths, weaknesses, etc.  This is important because it can help teachers make culturally responsive decisions in classroom instruction for optimal learning.

8. According to this article, why should teachers use technology in their teaching?

• In order to become successful in the 21st century, our students need to be successful with more than just reading and writing. Technology in education is one way for teachers to provide students with 21st century for success in life (not just the classroom).

9. How does multimodal literacy relate to 21st century literacy?

• Through multimodal literacy, teachers and students create something significantly new, experiment with new technologies, and share innovative learning that moves well beyond the four walls of the classroom.

10. What project described intrigued you the most?

• The “DC Area Literary Map Podcast” interested me where Vasquez aimed to create a project that would (1) help teachers become more resourceful when choosing books for students; (2) move beyond the immediate needs of students; (3) be generative, ongoing, and sustainable  beyond the life of the course; and (4) be accessible to a larger  audience outside of the class. Teachers generated questions around a book that reflected a social issue, found other texts (music, visual, photos of statues, poems, among others) that might accompany this book, and then created a four-minute podcast that addressed their learning about the social issue.
• This interested me because I could imagine how valuable of an experience this could be for students to connect literacies and their own culture.  

11. What challenges to integrating multimodal reading and writing into schools do you most identify with?

• Sometime  technological tools like PowerPoint can be frustrating.  I'll know what I want my transitions and animations to do, but making it happen takes time, research, and patience.  However, the more we familiarize ourselves with any program, the easier it will be to use.

12. Why is mulitmodal literacy essential in preparing students for work, play and democratic participation in the 21st century?

• As stated above, "Through multimodal literacy, teachers and students create something significantly new, experiment with new technologies, and share innovative learning that moves well beyond the four walls of the classroom."

13. Find an embed an image in your blog posting that relates to mulitmodal literacy.

Image Source: http://faculty.uoit.ca/hughes/Contexts/multimodal.gif

Source:
Sanders, Jennifer and Albers, Peggy. Multimodal Literacies: An Introduction. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:ZnRBedCgj_IJ:https://secure.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/32142Intro_x.pdf+are+literacies+and+Discourses+used+interchanably&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjE9pBd2JmN_g_xuDVosAj01ImYkr6u-oyjriG0tREXG8fzwbyeuhcmDw0rrbTA1rug-bgizHwuiUlocJcQwdvcCiPOxZYWVExNgQ8BmulksyeRUcUX4LJmfxLlw7e8UTdG2TuT&sig=AHIEtbSZ7RHTNL_Rfe2bglUQRg9zzCD2JA

Weekly Reading #2

How the Multigenre & Mulitmodal assignment related to each of the readings:

• Writing Outside of School - I used digital media.  This helped make me aware of my audience and how my story would be perceived.  
• Literacy Learning in the 21st Century - 21st century writers need to be able to: create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media. I created a story based on my analysis of different types of literature. 
• Reading and Writing Differently - "Visual culture and the proliferation of multimedia texts have changed literacy practices both inside and outside the classroom."  Writing has changed.  Creating digital stories is a literacy practice that is very accepted among the visual culture of today.
• Writing Now - We write differently now.  I practiced a new form of writing and expressing myself with my digital story.  
• Adolescent Literacy - The reality is that "Literacy encompasses reading, writing, and a variety of social and intellectual practices that call upon the voice as well as the eye and hand. It also extends to new media—including non-digitized multimedia, digitized  multimedia, and hypertext or hypermedia."  I could have written a paper about my favorites quotation, but people really "get" what I feel and think of with a digital story.  Literacy is beyond the print and "just reading and writing." 

Three ways the readings changed or reinforced my thinking about the role of digital technologies/media in teaching children adolescents to read and write:

1. It reinforced something that I know, but often forget.  Literacy goes way beyond how well a person can read and write. Sometimes we think of an illiterate person to be one that can't read or write, but people can be illiterate in other 21st century areas.
2. Reading and writing has changed!  The skills my grandmother was taught in school are different than the skills taught now.  This doesn't mean we haven't turned into some illiterate society.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.  We need to be literate in more areas than ever before.
3. Building on extracurricular writing and connecting school and home is very important! Research shows that learning about writing in students’ home cultures leads to significant improvements in schoolbased writing instruction. Teachers benefit from learning about the purposes, types, and languages of the writing their students do and observe outside the classroom.

Digital Technologies that support Reading in Writing in Math:

PBL

In this PBL, students are planning their Dream Vacation.  In the process, they use the internet to research distance and gas prices.  They will also research attractions, restaurants, etc.  They also become familiar with Excel.  The student will report all costs of the trip in an Excel Spreadsheet.

Sources:
National Council of Teachers of English. (2009). Writing Outside of School.

National Council of Teachers of English. (2009). Literacy Learning in the 21st Century.

National Council of Teachers of English. (2008). Reading and Writing Differently.

National Council of Teachers of English. (2008). Writing Now.

National Council of Teachers of English (2007). Adolescent Literacy.

Underwood, D. (2008). Dream vacation. Retrieved from http://wveis.k12.wv.us/teach21/public/project/Guide.cfm?upid=3326&tsele1=2&tsele2=108 

Textual Lineage