My Literacy and Technology Post Test

I must admit...I had a bit of brain freeze! But the terminology is a bit more technical since the days of the pretest. And to think...I know and have used all of it in this class!

Wiki-Wiki

Wikis are designed to be collaboratively authored. Authors of a wiki can link you, their reader, to places that they want you to go, moving you as the reader from one place to another at the click of your mouse. These links can connect you internally by navigating you through the wiki itself or externally to other sites. Like blogs, users can add comments but with wikis users can actually change the content of any other user of that same wiki. The great thing is that there is a log of all of the changes made so that the original document remains the same.

I think Writer's Workshop would be a great way to use wiki's in the classroom. Before my student's complete their final draft and podcast their writings, they go through the editing process by exchanging, editing and rating eachother's work. Wiki's would be a great place for students to access and work collaboratively in the editing process. The teacher can controll access to all parts of the wiki in order to monitor how often a student logs in and also monitor what changes have been made to the original. Each student can also compare the new changes and comments other's have made to their work to their original composition. This allows them to reflect back and change any previous errors made.

One great site I explored was http://www.wikispaces.com . This site is very user friendly and is preferred by many teachers because it allows the teacher much control over the access and editing of the documents. Although I have not personalized it or used it in the classroom yet, I did create my own in only 5 minutes!

Webquests and Trackstar

Webquests are created to challenge students to explore the internet for information. They include links on a particular topic and provide suggestions for research. They are also inquiry based. Check out my track I created on trackstar. I created this around election time because my Middle school held a mock election and voted. I posted it through email and a couple of my colleagues used it in homeroom and said that the students loved how interactive and easy it was to navigate! Check it out!

http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/ts/viewTrack.do?number=365941

Fun with Bubbleplay and Overstream

Both Bubbleplay and Overstream allow you to add captions and text to videos. I can see how this would be a useful tool with emergent readers and struggling readers in the upper grades. At times it's hard to get them motivated to read material on their level because the material is not on their maturity level. Using these sites can help you create material for such readers to get them more motivated to read.

Bubbleplay allows you to add speech and thought bubbles to any online video. I think it's great for drawing student's attention to specific features of a video clip. Students can even add captions, using their language skills to comment on the video clip or add their reflections on a particular topic they learned focusing on comprehension, reading and writing. What a great way to reach out to all of your diverse learners!

I found Overstream to be more userfriendly. I was able to add captions to a video clip from the Alvin and the chipmunks movie. I added captions to what I thought would be the most predictable parts and the easiest to understand from those cooky but loveable chipmunks! Have fun and have a very "Merry Chipmunks Christmas."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfRits-ILuU

Recognition

My principal Dr. Daye sends out a weekly newsletter every Monday and much to my surprise this week, my name and my class was in it! We were recognized for our podcasting. Since my email to my colleagues pleading for them to comment on my students podcasts, the word has spread and we have received much recognition and words of encouragement. I am so proud of my students hardwork and am very greatful to have learned and utilized this new form of literacy with my students. Below is the section of Hairston Middle Schools weekly newsletter, "The Daily Delivery" in which my principal had great things to say about our use of technology in the classroom.

In the House – Congratulations to Ms. Tanya Rodriguez and her 8th grade students. Ms. Rodriguez has used podcasting to excite her students about writing and reading. Thanks to all faculty and staff who have had the opportunity to listen to the casts and reply to the students. I can only imagine that they feel bigger than the world. If you have not visited the site yet, see Ms. Rodriguez’s email to the family, and do so. That is precisely the type of activity that we should endeavor to engage this cyber generation; they love it, and they learn while they’re loving. What a match?

Check Us Out!!

So my class has been ever so excited about getting their writing finished and are overcome with accomplishment. We have been publishing our work on Gabcast and they keep asking, "when are people going to comment on our work?" Please go check out or even subscribe to my 8th graders podcasts. Here's the link...comment, comment, comment! :)

http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&id=24986

Using Digital Photography, Photobucket and Captioning

I recently put my digital camera to the test. My students took pictures of eachother in each of their centers. Putting a camera in their hands allowed them to take ownership of their learning experience and really gave them a lot of confidence.

For my digital photography project I wanted to proceed with the project idea I mentioned in my blog on Digital Photography. Along with posting the pictures in each center so that students new and old have a reminder of what the READ 180 classroom should look like, I decided to create a slideshow using photobucket. Through the website I found a new gadget that allowed me to REMIX the old slideshow. The REMIX" has capabilities like adding funny faces, mustaches, and glasses! I opted out of those options for this project. What I found most useful were the thought bubbles and captions.

I completed this project before I read and researched captioning and how teachers encorporate it into their photos and videos. They do this as an innovative way to draw their students into reading by adding captions to videos and photos of interest to them. I added the captions and thought bubbles myself, but when I use digital photography and digital video again, I would allow my students to come up with their own captions. This would give them the opportunity to reflect on their experiences. Watching videos gives them the opportunity to build background knowledge and adding captioning to videos allows them to take what they already know and have learned and build on their newly acquired knowledge by adding their language through captions in these videos.

I plan on using this slideshow at the beginning of next year at open house or the first week of school as a neat way of inviting parents and new students into the READ 180 classroom. My current students loved seeing themselves and the pictures are a constant reminder of what their READ 180 community should look like and really encouraged them to take ownership of their learning environment.

http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/tlr2611/?action=view&current=b4a21015.pbr

Digital Photography

One of the websites I read on digital photography was the Wacona Elementay School page on using digital cameras in the classroom. It had lots of ideas and lessons. One idea I got while reading was to take pictures of my students (6-8 grades) in each of our READ 180 centers (modeled independent reading, instructional software, whole-group and small group) and post them throughout the year in the room. I am constantly getting new students and it would be a nice reminder and visual of what students in each center SHOULD look like and be doing. Then at the beginning of next year I can use those pictures to create a slide show for open house to show parents and new students what a READ 180 classroom is and looks like.

Need some ideas on how to use Digital Photography in YOUR classroom? Check out this website!
http://www.wacona.com/digicam/digicam.html

RSS...What's it all about?

I really liked the definition for RSS on the MPR website. I must say I was very much in the dark about this before I began my Technology and Literacy course. For those who are just as much in the dark as I am, I really found MPR's definition of Rss's Feeds to be direct, relatable and in terms that even the technologically challenged could understand. Here's the link to that site:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/about/site/rss/

I already had an idea of what RSS feeds were, but this site painted an even better picture for me. " A convenient way to get content from your favorite programs. The feed contains headlines, summaries and links to full stories."

I think RSS is a great system that will allow me as a reading teacher to scan information frequently from blogs, podcasts and other websites. It gives me the ability to search through and only choose content that I find useful. I can grow and learn from other teachers experiences and knowledge. This really allows you to bring the world to your fingertips without much work at all!

In my research I found a really neat quote about RSS and "literacy". One blogger, Chris Heuer , suggests that RSS could be "the fourth "R" in our conception of literacy , noting that RSS-based social media literacy 'enables any individual to step into the conversational flow—to not only follow what other people are communicating, but ensure what the individual has to communicate is heard by other people who care about the topic."

Success with Podcasting in READ 180!

I spent a lot of time reflecting and thinking on how my students could use podcasting. We recently started our writing section of our workshop on Disasters and without fail, just like every other time I mentioned "writing" the ENTIRE class smacked their gums and a wave of "AH, Man's" flooded the room. My 8th grade boys despise writing the most.

This past week I gave a mini lesson on podcasting, Gabcast and how we could record our writing, book responses and reviews right from MY cell phone. "Cell phone? Did I say cell phone???" Now I had their attention! I reminded them of how proud they had been of themselves after we went through the writing and editing process and published last workshops expository paragraphs on Immigration and its effects on their neighborhoods. One of my students in particular suprised himself the most.

As I was reminding them of this very moment, it was his eyes that lit up. I went out on a limb and I asked my 8th grade, 200+ lb, football player if he would record his previous writing and be our first "episode". Luckily, he agreed.

He reviewed his writing, rereading and practicing in his best fluency (mind you these are all level 1's, 2's and low 3's in reading). He then picked up my cell phone, dialed the gabcast number, entered our user name and then recorded his paragraph. It all took less than five minutes!

I reminded the class that when we published our work before, only the class was able to benefit from it. Now, not only can the world appreciate their hard work, but they can comment on it as well. They loved this "new" form of literacy! Seconds later I heard, "Can I podcast too? Can I publish my paragraph?" What a motivational tool!

I plan to continue podcasting as my classes tackle writing narrative paragraphs on their experiences with extreme weather! I can't wait! New channel coming soon! Until then...listen to our first episode.

Gabcast! Expository Paragraphs #2 - Expository Writing on Immigration in Greensboro, NC

Why Podcast??

Before my research and readings on podcasts, I must admit that I thought podcasts were videos. Apparently they can be in this form, but they are called Vodcasts. The definition I read stated that the word podcast derived from the words ipod and broadcast. Podcasts are audio recordings that are available on the internet and are usually made in a serial fashion and can be listened to like your favorite sitcom.

When I realized that a podcast was an audio file I began asking myself what the difference was between a podcast a music file on sites such as itunes that you can search for and download. With podcasts you can subscribe to them as you would to the very blog you are reading! You can also have the podcasts come to you through RSS feeds allowing you to be updated frequently on works such as blog entries, news headlines, audio and video files. This way, work can be published once and then be sent and viewed by many different programs. OK, enough on RSS....

I researched ways that other teachers used podcasts and found some pretty interesting stuff! Not only are students utilizing podcasts as a new way of applying newly learned information, but teachers are also using it as a management tool.

So why podcast?

• Students can read/publish their original poetry/writing pieces


• Foreign language teachers are narrating passages that students can translate at home


• Teachers can record overviews/study guides


• Music students can record their compositions


• Teachers record lectures for students who are absent


• Elementary students are recording their messages to pen pals around the world

Digital Books

I recently created two digital books using a program called Tarheel Reader. Digital Books allow you to put text that is appropriately leveled to a particular children's reading ability and interest. You are able to search for or download colorful and interesting photography to match your text. This is such a powerful tool for reader's that you are having a difficult time matching to a book of their interest or ability. I could spend hours creating books on this website! You can also add speech as the books can be read aloud in a variety of voices. The only drawback I see is that I would not advocate for parents to use the program. It is entailed for teenagers and adults learning to read and the material in many of the books is catered to their interests and maturity level which may not be suitable for many of our younger students.

I am a middle school teacher and I teach reading to students who have lost all interest and desire to read. Fortunately for me, many of the books in my program are made for students at this age group, maturity and interest. This is done so as not to embarass them or bring down their morale even more by asking them to read elementary books true to their reading level. I can see how digital books would be a powerful tool for students like mine. I do not have much versatility with the program I work with, but can see how digital books would be beneficial especially for my BR and/orEnglish as a Second Language students.

Here are the two links to my Digital Books. Enjoy-I know I did!
http://tarheelreader.org/2008/10/26/a-to-z-sports/
http://tarheelreader.org/2008/10/26/tree-frogs/

Technology Lingo

The first day of class we were asked to list every word we could think of associated with technology. I don't remember how much time we had, but this is all I could come up with! Hopefully I will have an abundance of new words to add to the list at the end of the semester. My knowledge of technology and all it entails continues to grow and grow!

Computer
Internet
Webpage
Software
Word
Excel
Usb
Drive
Disk
Cd
Blog
Email
Myspace
Yahoo
hotmail
Facebook
Technology
Keyboard
Mouse
Mouse pad
Dell
Mac
Microsoft
Bookmarks
Server
Photobucket
Control panel
Format
Adobe
Photoshop
Flash drive

Threaded Discussions

My colleagues and I have created a threaded discussion, an electronic discussion in which the software visually groups the messages so that is easy for the user to access topics. We decided this would be a great way to communicate our struggles and successes. We are all READ 180 teachers that work all over Guilford County. Some schools have only one read 180 teacher and they feel "alone". We post our ideas, what's working, what's not and any questions we may have of eachother. It puts many of us at ease when we feel like we are the only ones experiencing such frustrations.

For example, I was struggling with "selling" the program and "showing" the students that they were successful. One of the teachers discussed a way that she posted her students successes that they achieved on the computer program. I created the success board today and my students really bought into it! Instant gratification!

The threaded discussions allow us to quickly post our thoughts and questions and in return get a quick response! We have quite a few discussion forums going on such as grading, motivation and classroom management.

Social Bookmarks - A real Time Saver!

I created my social bookmarks through FURL. I now have an icon on my computer called the "furl it" button. I can easily save a site I am viewing and am able to access it through any computer anywhere by pulling up my FURL site! Just recently I was at school and remembered researching a topic at home. I found a great website that had lessons and printables. I bookmarked it at home, but what good did that do me now at school? Now that I have FURL, I can bookmark any site and access it through the Furl website. I sound like a commercial, I know! But I can also share my sites and explore other teacher's favorites! I am pretty good at searching the web, but now I have easy access to a wealth of useful websites from friends, colleagues and other teachers around the world!

Try it! http://www.furl.net/

Here's my link: http://www.furl.net/member/tlr2611

SKYPE-N-IT!

So after playing around with Skype and Vyew I must say I became addicted. My best friend goes to school about an hour and a half away and I talked her into getting a mic and a webcam so that we could try it out. We doodled and chatted for a while and I must say it's a lot more fun than instant messenger. Using it in the classroom would be a lot more useful and resourceful, but I really am limited to what I do in the classroom being that I cannot go outside the READ 180 lesson plans and 90 minute model. Any suggestions?

For now I am having a great time learning the new software and using it with my friends and family all over the world. My mother is a small business owner and she does a lot of her business online and has customers and partners all over the country. I told her about Skype and Vyew and she has since tried it our for herself! I was also watching Oprah the other day and even SHE uses Skype on her show to get her viewers at home more involved. She has them react and respond live from home!

KWL

This is a KWL chart I created the first day of class using Inspiration. It still needs some tweeking but personalizing was THE most difficult and most FUN!

Time to Reflect...

You think you know, but you really have NO IDEA! That's pretty much how I feel at the current moment. Good thing is, that I'm not alone. Interacting with those in my Literacy and Technology class has allowed me to not only learn from my own mistakes with using this new form on literacy, but to learn from my peers and their new learnings as well.

Interacting on threaded discussions has opened my eyes to a new world of conversation that would be very beneficial to the students in my class who are reluctant to participate. Responding to postings allow those students to have a "security blanket" that they wouldn't have by sharing their thoughts and ideas in class. Making an entry anonymously also allows the student to respond and share, free of judgement and ridicule (although we would have established rules and expectations).