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."