Chapter 8 - Authors and Audiences

This is a very neat chapter. Children learn from a young age about author's purpose. In 4th grade we discuss who the author is, what they want them to learn or want from their writing. We started having them draw pictures this year to help them come up with their words for their writing. It has helped tremendously. I do agree with statement regarding instruction and their findings of "explicit vocabulary, modeling a reasoning process, and reading and writing with a variety of media genres and forms in a respectful environment that valued multiple interpretations really made a difference." When a student knows what is expected and can see a model they are more willing to work to reach that goal. If a teacher just tells them what to do with no guidance then the results will be unsuccessful.
I liked the idea of children listening and meeting authors via technology. Many children do not have the option to meet or speak with an author. This would be a good opportunity to for a student to learn why an author wrote a particular book and the meaning behind it.
We are currently teaching inference and the tv sort activity will be a fun way to check for comprehension.
Having the learning targets in the back of the book will help integrate technology skills into lessons.

Connecting Culture and Classroom (Chapter 3)

This chapter starts out by having explaining how a teacher had her students make a video of a public service announcement. I remember as a child my aunt taking a college class and having to make a video of a public service announcement. My brother and I were the "stars." It was so much fun. This is the type of learning students will remember. The text states that when teachers experiment with technology they may "create plans that are overly ambitious, complex and time consuming." The text is stating that is because the teacher may be result of their lack of experience. I do agree with this to an extent, but as I stated in my last blog, technology usage can also be dependent on the type of students you have in a classroom too.

With the access to technology and students capabilities it is so much easier for students to engage in different types of cultural settings. Some students do not have much experience outside of their typical living experience/culture. These students can use the internet to research different cultures and see pictures to help them visualize what those different cultures are like.

Reading through the part of the chapter regarding homelessness, along with other parts of the book, it has made me envious to the technology other schools have access to. During this section it also made think about the type of cultural background these students are growing up in. For example, in my classroom I have 4 "homeless" children and this would not be a realistic lesson for my classroom. I realize this is just an example of what can be done with technology and there are tons of different ways to spin this lesson and topics to use based on cultural background. It also makes me think of how amazing it would be to have access to technology such as flip cameras, or even cameras for that matter, that allow students to take pictures of their findings. This would be a neat process for students when creating their powerpoints to be able to add the pictures that they took themselves to that lesson.

I like the activity at the end of this chapter that involves the five steps of access, analysis, composition, reflection, and taking action. This may be something neat to try in our writers workshop. It may take more time, but the students may enjoy this process before writing.

Making Media (Chapter 5 blog due November 5th)

In my opinion technology is very important with today's society. Children are so much more willing to play a game on the computer, watch a movie, or use some type of digital technology. They are also learning how to use this technology at such a young age. The problem with them using so much technology is that your typical teaching does not typically work because their minds are so used to moving at a fast pace.

I think that with as much as children are on the internet communicating it is very important that they learn how to communicate. When a person communicates faces to face both people can tell by tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions what the other person is feeling. When communication is done through text those feelings can easily be misinterpreted. I do agree with Hobbs and Moore that teaching this skill takes time and that it would be best to create partnerships between teachers within and outside of the school. We assume that most children have access to some type of technology, however in my classroom I have students that do not have access to any technology unless they go to a library and even then several of their parents do not have a car to take them there. I have several students that may have internet at home, but their parents do not allow them to use their smartphone or their computer.

There are several different options within the text such as playing with remix and parody as well as screencasting. These options sound like something the students would have a lot of fun using, however in a classroom setting such as mine and the requirements we have these option are not an option. We do use technology in the sense of creating powerpoints, writing, practicing their new state assessment, benchmark testing on the computer with our new math series, and practicing math fluency.

 In the section "Balancing Play and Learning," the text discusses how "pairing inquiry based learning, students are actively involved in formulating questions, investigating widely, and then building new understandings." I do agree with this statement, but I also think this is a skill that needs to be taught. If students are being taught this skill starting in kindergarten then by the time they get to 3rd grade and up we can focus more on the instruction and media access versus teaching technology lessons.

Overall I agree with the authors in this chapter that integrating technology will have students be more engaged. There are so many programs available on the world wide web that allow students to learn. We use our computers every day in my classroom, however it is typically to make powerpoints, use word, practice their new state testing, benchmark testing, researching items, etc. There is very little time in our day to incorporate technology in other activities. My goal is by the end of the year to try and have my students create some type of video to teach a lesson to the class. I think that using technology in a classroom setting is also dependent on the classroom. Not all classroom settings are going to be able to use technology equally.

Blog 2

I found the quiz questions very interesting and then the results even more interesting. The results fit me perfectly, which I did not think was going to happen based on the way some of the questions were worded and how I answered. The results came back showing I am a "techie." Then it shows I am also a professor and a trendsetter. I am the "technology" person at my school and love technology.

In my opinion technology is integrated into the classroom because it is so prevalent in today's society. Children are using all different types of technology these days. They are playing video games, completing assignments online, playing games on a computer, watch educational videos, read books digitally, buy things online amongst many other things. Because of these things children's minds are not 'wired' to sit in a classroom for seven hours on any given day. They need interaction, movement, and something fast paced. Way too often children are not focused on a teacher standing in the front of the room teaching, but can stay completely focused on watching a video. We are in a technologically focused world now and need to adjust our habits to that.

Teachers also integrate culture and 'real-world' into lessons because it helps engage the student onto the topic being discussed. Most of the time when a child sees relevance or may know something about they are more prone to pay attention to what is being discussed.

Another reason teachers integrate technology is because there is such a wide variety of media available. It allows children to be creative and choose what works for them. They can present what they make without it costing a lot of money to purchase materials.

Media Literacy

 Media Literacy is very important in today's society. Media literacy is the ability to decipher that author's intent. When viewing or reading technology a student must be able to determine if the author is trying to persuade them into something, inform them or to entertain them. It is also very important that students are aware of safe websites to view and areas to not go to. They need to know websites that have factual information for doing research and then websites to stay away from.Students need to learn to decode the inner message within their form of technology.

For the most part students are very involved with some type of technology. Because of this student's brains are very fast paced.Teachers are noticing students losing focus in a classroom setting, but can be very engaged if technology is involved. 

Media literacy is very important in a classroom setting. Teachers also play a very important role in the sense that they have to teach students the proper way to use technology. They also need to show them resources that are available. Students are very smart when it comes to technology, but they don't necessarily know the educational value of technology. Technology can be used in a classroom and the student may not even realize they are learning.

Chapter 7

In chapter 7 we discussed online safety and security. I believe today's society is wanting to blame the internet for children's behavior. Atleast once a month it seems you hear on the news about someone being bullied or stalked on myspace or facebook. My biggest issue with that is with both of those social networking sites a person can block people from sending them messages or contacting them. They can also block their page from everyone except their friends and they can make their friends only people they know. I am a firm believer that social network bullying can be stopped if the person chooses to stop it. There are so many ways to protect children today from online predators, some parents just need to be made aware of how to do this.

Digital Storytelling Project

I have now completed my digital storytelling project and can tell I over thought the whole process. I had a lot of fun putting it together, although I do hate to hear my recorded voice. I think that this project will be a neat idea for students to use in a classroom for different subjects. I think it will turn a research topic into a creative project.