6816 - Weekly Reading #7

"As technology has become incorporated into teaching and learning, much research has focused on the efficacy of its use, and its ability to improve learning outcomes" (Adlington & Harvey, 2010).

I chose this quote because I have been able to see the technology within classrooms grow.  I went from being in a classroom with just a couple computers, to seeing computer labs in schools that are used daily, and to seeing SmartBoards in almost every classroom.  It is amazing how technology has just taken over and has become such a great way to teach our youth.


Retrieved from : http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/03/the-frontier-of-classroom-technology

I chose this image because it goes along with my quote that I chose.  We went from writing on stones with other smaller stones, up to typing on iPhones and SmartPhones.  I think that this goes well with the article because it describes how we can have technology rich projects in our classrooms because of the amazing technology that we have available to us now.


1.How might your citizen journalism project resemble a technology rich project?

I feel that my citizen journalism project resembles a technology rich project because the students are required to interview people in the community or around their school to find out about bullying.  They are also using a digital media to inform people about how bad bullying is, and they are going to try to protest to stop bullying in their school, community and in the entire area in which they live.  I feel that this is technology rich because this is being done with technology projects and they are using a problem that many people deal with.



2. What did you learn about successful implementation of technology rich projects?

I learned that one must be very prepared.  You need to make sure that you are organized and ready for any questions that may come your way.  Also, there needs to be specific directions for the students to do the correct things in which way you want it done.  Data needs to be collected and organized as well.  Using cooperative groups may help, as well as having some individual tasks.  The technology used needs to be safe and effective.  The students also need to be motivated.

6809 - Weekly Reading #7

Article from Weekly Reading #7:

Summary:

In this article, the authors talk about how literacies have changed into so many different aspects.  They claim that there are so many ways to "read" and "write" using new age literacies such as visual literacy, computer literacy, emotional literacy, game literacy, game design literacy and many more.  They focus on the game The Sims and how their players are actually learning new age literacies while playing this game.  Another thing that is discussed is the fact that some may not see The Sims as an actual game, considering there is no end or winner to the game.  Little do the players know, but because they are giving the characters jobs, modeling the houses, furnishing the houses, and making families - they are using new age literacies.

Description:

I feel that I learned form this article that games are not horrible for students to play.  These games are actually great for the students to be playing considering all of the new age literacies mentioned above.  I feel that I have learned that not only do these students, and the person I interviewed, play these games constantly and want to play them in school, they are learning so many new things from it and they are gaining so much empowerment over the new age literacies.

Quote:

"Some people claim The Sims is not a game, since it has no clear win state. They treat it as ‘sandbox’ or ‘doll house’. Further, players of The Sims are not always treated as serious gamers in the way that Halo or World of Warcraft players are. For example, people say that The Sims is like playing with dolls (Schiesel, 2006), though no one seems to say that playing Rise of Nations (Big Huge Games, 2003), say, is like playing with toy soldiers" (Hayes & Gee, 2010).

I chose this quote because I used to play The Sims.  I used to think of it as playing dolls or Barbies.  I also never thought of myself as a gamer.  This hit home with me because I know that if I was the one to be interviewed between the ages 8 and 18 that I would have stated that this was one of my favorite games to play on the computer.  I never really thought of it as related to reading and writing in schools; however, after reading the article, I feel that maybe I would change my mind.

Source:

Hayes, E. R. & Gee, J. P. (2010). No Selling The Genie Lamp: a game literacy practice in The Sims. Retrieved from: http://www.wwwords.co.uk/pdf/validate.asp?j=elea&vol=7&issue=1&year=2010&article=6_Hayes_ELEA_7_1_web

Article of My Choice:

Summary:

This article was chosen because it starts out with a synopsis about a teacher using a game - had the children playing the game - and then as a class they would write down different ways to play the game; therefore, using writing as a critical technique.  This article justifies that playing games can support reading and writing in schools - it just depends on how to go about it.  The person I interviewed said that he felt that they couldn't play games that he wanted to in schools because they weren't "educational" enough.  This article gives ways to use the games in an educational way.

Description:

I learned in this article how the person I interviewed could have ways of getting around the games he wants to play not being educational.  The teachers these days need to make the students motivated and what better way then to make what they are interested in as educational as they can.  Anything can be made into a lesson worth learning as long as a teacher can make it happen.

Quote:

"Because schools haven't adapted to the world their students know and live in, they simply get bored in the classroom. They tune out. You can get engagement, even among apathetic students, simply because games are constructed in a way so players want to finish the level. Games offer players the chance to make decisions, get feedback, level up and become heroes. That's how education should be organized. You learn more and more, you apply that knowledge, and you'll get a great job" (Visscher, 2006).

I chose this quote because it had to much passion.  Students are literally bored out of their minds when they are in classrooms that use no technology, no engagement, and no motivation.  Students need that motivation and that engagement to get involved with learning.  I feel that this quote really supports that belief.

Source:
Vesscher, M. (2006). Reading, Writing, and Video Gaming. Retrieved from: http://www.alternet.org/story/41587/reading,_writing_and_video_gaming

6816 - Authentic Research

1. Identify resources student will use to create their print texts, people to interview, phenomenon to observe that would enable your student to become a citizen Journalist.

-They could use - Blogs, Newspaper Articles, Facebook Pages, Magazines, Google, Movies, YouTube Videos, Books

-They could interview - Teachers, Principals, Guidance Counselors, People that have been bullied (that are willing to talk about their experiences)

2. Identify lesson plans or resources that you would use to design a Citizen Journalism project.
 

- I would have them read the same article we read Transforming Students Into Citizen Journalists

- I would have them view How To Tell A Story

- I would have them view How To Create A Great Documentary 

- I would create lessons that encourage the students to want to stop bullying

- I would show a movie/movie clip/short video on bullying

3. Identify the media tools student will use to create their final product.

- They could use - PowerPoint, Photo Story, Blogs

4. In a blog posting describe your citizen journalism project and link to resources you will use to design your project.

I want to develop a project about bullying.  It is a huge issue all around the world, and somehow it needs stopped.  I would like my students to create Citizen Journalism projects on how they would stop bullying.  The worst part of the bullying in the 21st century is - Cyber Bullying.  It is a horrible part of bullying because anyone will say and do things online and through social media much easier than in person.  This type of bullying, along with every type of bullying, must come to an end. I would like them to search online for articles on bullying.  Also, I want them to view Anti-Bullying Blogs - as well as Anti-Bullying videos, movies, or magazine articles.  I want them to interview people to help them really see the affects.  Then I would have them create a digital story on how they would stop bullying or why bullying is bad.

6816 - Rethinking the Research Paper

Reading #1:

"Even when students get to select their own research topics, they are frequently not invested in the research. Too regularly the students’ finished research papers are simply rewordings of facts and statements they have found in various sources. This can cause students to feel disconnected from the process and unable to see research as an opportunity to make a contribution with their own ideas and findings" (Herrmann, 2012).

I chose this quote because it made me giggle.  This is exactly how I felt when I had to write research papers in my undergrad.   I have never been a fan of writing, reading, or researching.  I am more of a math/science person.  I like to do things and be hands on.  However, it is inevitable, I will have to read, write, and research my whole life.  So, while reading this article, I realized that I can incorporate so many research projects that would be so much more engaging than anything I could imagine.  Our students have so many questions that they want to know more about - they do not realize that when they are using Google, Bing, or Yahoo, to answer the questions they have - they are actually conducting research.  So, if our questions are meaningful to our students - they will want to do the work.

Retrieved from: http://educationalstar.com/writing-research-papers-very-easily/

I chose this image because it comes from a website that helps one through a research paper.  This also made me giggle - as did the quote I chose - because I have seen this face on myself an many of my peers when we have to write, read, and research something that we do not understand or even care about.  Therefore, we should make research projects engaging for our students - making them motivating.

Source:

Herrmann, B. (2012, Fall). Writing as an Exploration: Rethinking the Research Paper. Wisconsin English Journal, 54(2), 49-51. Retrieved June 25, 2013, from http://journals.library.wisc.edu/index.php/wej/article/viewFile/538/579



Reading #2:

1. What is the difference between writing a report and "doing research"?

According to the article - the author says that when students have a "report" all they think about is the way that the paper needs structured, the grammatical correctness, and must have an answer to the question.  However, the research process is rarely looked upon.  When "doing research" one should be looking everywhere they have access to - magazines, newspapers, internet sources, books, etc.  They need to realize the research portion of the paper.

2. How might doing authentic research better prepare students for the 21st century work place? Give specific examples from the "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" reading.

In "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", they discuss research in the workplace.  By students doing authentic research - this will better prepare them not only for the work place - but it will help them to become better researchers in general in the 21st century.  Also, authentic research pertains to what the students actually want to know, as opposed to a teacher given assignment.

3.Why might Constructivist type type learning better prepare students for the 21st century work place than Behavioral approaches?

As stated in the article "Constructivist type of learning is transferable to situations in the real world. Students learn to think through issues that do not have prescribed responses or preset solutions" (Gordon). Also, " Behavioral approaches, with step-by-step directions, do not accommodate the complex thinking processes required for doing research" (Gordon).

4. How does authentic research su pport new media literacies?

Authentic Research supports new media literacies by increasing the motivation and interests of our students.  Also, it supports the way students look up information by allowing them to participate in the new literacies that they are living among.  The students need to be guided into the 21st century in the right way; therefore, they need to use authentic research as opposed to research that may not interest them.

Source:

Gordon, C. (2013). "Students As Authentic Researchers: A New Prescription for the High School Research Assignment" Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume21999/vol2gordon

6809 - Weekly Reading #6

"I can recall my first IM experience. I felt anxious and rushed, unable to keep up with the lightening fast keyboard skills of my sister-in-law. The fast paced dialogue would flash upon the screen instantly. I would compose one answer mentally and then the next question would be staring at me waiting for a reply. After ten minutes I had given up and picked up the phone to continue the conversation in a way that I was comfortable. For me, the technology did not seem invisible, but rather a hurdle to my own means of authentic dialogue" (Carey).

I chose this quote because I can remember my first IM experience. I absolutely loved it! I remember hearing everyone talking about it at school, and when I got home, I asked my sister to help me create a screen name. It was another world for me. I can recall so many conversations, emoticons, fonts, colors, icons, and abbreviated words. I also remember talking to boys that I never would talk to in person because it felt so much easier being behind a screen. That was one thing that IMing was good for – conversations that were difficult in person. Which I know kids now-a-days use texting as their wall when it comes to talking to someone they normally wouldn’t talk to.

Retrieved from http://thewellwrittenwoman.com/acronyms-a-k-a-nerd-brainteasers/#.UctSmjtJ51E

I chose this image because at first - no one knew what these letters meant.  I know that when I would see letters that I was unsure of - I would just ask the person.  I wasn't very shy about it.  However, these words are still used today.  It fascinates me that people just automatically know what the person means.  It is literally a brand new language.

1. How can instant messaging support reading and writing in school?

It can really help students understand the new age of literacy.  It lets them know that there are so many ways of communicating in school, out of school, in the work place, and just about anywhere one goes.  Also, in the reading it states that it engages students in "decoding, encoding, interpretation, analysis, multi modalities, intertextual reading and writing, lateral reading, collaborative discourse, and multitasking" (Carey).

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?

I honestly have always thought that instant messaging was just a way to communicate with friends.  But when reading this article, I realized that it does help our students - it also helped me and my generation of peers.  I am actually impressed with all of the complexities in this article dealing with instant messaging. 

Source:

Carey, J. (n.d.). Instant Messaging: A Literacy Event. Retrieved June 25, 2013, from Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6DFAmexYq7vYWdXV2RacF9EVXc/edit

6816 - Weekly Reading #5

1.What does the term "discursive practices" mean?

• According to an online definition it means - the words, signs, symbols and ideas that are used to represent material practices. Retrieved from http://www.thebicyclingguitarist.net/studies/geog_glossary.htm#D

2.What does "discourse" mean?

• It is written or spoken communication. 

3.What is the "rock" and what is the "hard place"?

• "The rock is the current conceptions of information literacy that represent information literacy as a skill or competency that is confined to information access and use, and associated with tools such as text or technology. The hard place refers to attempts to translate this conception from the formal learning regimes of education and academic libraries to other sectors where learning is less structured or systematized, but is just as important" (Lloyd, 2011).

4.What are the differences between the skills prescribed for information searching in academic and workplace settings?

• Academic settings normally have "particular rules, regulations, and curriculum that are underpinned by an instrumental rationality."  Workplace settings; however, are defined "as messy, complex, and distributed through a range of practices that entwine to contribute to the collective performance of work" (Lloyd, 2011).

5. How do academic notions of information literacy undermine workplace notions information literacy?

• Academic notions still try to attempt in translating the librarians' thoughts of the operational lists and standards in education.  Whereas the workplace focuses on researchers.

6. How are information needs identified in work place setting like nursing and emergency workers?

• When it comes to nurses - they need to be able to communicate an decipher what the other nurses, doctors, and patients are saying.  Also, it is a team effort - therefore, information needs are entirely important.  Emergency workers are also important in this same sense - the team effort and knowing the information needed.

7. Why do issues of plagiarism not resonate in workplace settings?

• Plagiarism does not resonate in the workplace setting because "this type of knowledge is considered to be a collective possession and disseminated and circulated throughout the workplace, by storytelling, and extended through the distributed networks of professional practice" (Lloyd, 2011).

8. Are information literacy skills transferable across contexts and settings? Why or Why not?

• According to the author, no - information literacy skills are not transferable across contexts and settings.  This is due to not knowing the exact context in which things are being said.  It is also due to the application and the organization of the information, as well.

9. What is "practice theory"?

• Practice theory "emphasize(s) the analysis of ways of engaging with the world" (Lloyd, 2011).

10. How does the author of this article define information literacy?

• "Knowledge of information sources within an environment and an understanding of how these sources and the activities used to access them are constructed through discourse. Information literacy is constituted through the connections that exist between people, artifacts, texts and bodily experiences that enable individuals to develop both subjective and intersubjective positions. Information literacy is a way of knowing the many environments that constitute an individual being in the world. (Lloyd, 2010, p. 26)"

11. How do educators need to change their understanding of information literacy literacy in order to prepare student for the information literacy practices they will encounter in workplace settings?

• Educators need to realize that information literacy is everywhere.  Our students will need to learn how to understand these literacy practices to be better in the workplace.  Information literacy is a critical part of everyday life for these students.

12. What do the terms "ontological" and "epistemological" mean?

• I believe that ontological means being able to deal with the nature of oneself.  I believe that epistemological means the theory of knowledge - what one knows.

13. After reading this article, how useful is the traditional research paper we expect students to produce in school in preparing them for workplace settings? What are traditional research papers useful for? Should we still assign traditional research papers?

• I believe that the traditional research paper that we expect our students to write is not helping them prepare for the workplace setting.  I feel that it is an important part of basic instruction - the students do need to realize how to do a paper an understand the basic ways.  However, I feel that they should not be as drawn-out and on-going.  These students need to focus on the important basics - not the unimportant parts that will not help them in the workplace setting.

14. What is one of the biggest challenges to changing the way information literacy is conceptualized in school settings?

• The biggest challenge is the abundance of information that is shared and collaborative.  Students not only can help each other - but there is so much of the same information that they can be using.  I know that in schools teachers are rooting for individual assignments and work - and opposed to partnering up and working together.

15. What attributes of the 21st century make it essential that educators change their approaches toward information literacy?

• Students need to realize that the amount of information at their fingertips may not be 100% true.  We nee to train these students to triangulate information - check sources - an validate their information.  They need to know that there is a time and a place for certain information.

16. What changes can teachers make to their classroom activities to engage students in the information literacy practices they will encounter in 21st century workplace settings?

• I feel that I would do more research assignments that go along like our TrackStars - I would want to lead them through the evaluating process.  After they understand the evaluating process maybe have group/individual research projects to get them to use their knowledge of evaluating; however, using their knowledge of information literacy, as well.

Source:

Lloyd, A. (2011). Trapped between a Rock and a Hard Place: What Counts as Information
Literacy in the Workplace and How Is It Conceptualized? Library Trends, 60 (2) pp. 277-296

6816 - Final TrackStar & Questions

TrackStar: Should Students Have Math Homework

At first, I was very nervous about this project.  I had never even heard of TrackStar before, and it looked intimidating.  Also, once I was thinking about how I could prepare a sixth grade math research project - I thought that I was going to faint.  I had no idea what to do with this project.  Once I got my topic and a few websites - I realized that it was actually very amusing to do and it is an engaging project that my students could do either at home or in a computer lab as a whole class assignment.  I am actually very satisfied with this project and I realized that not everything is as scary as it seems!

• What are the strengths of your TrackStar in terms of promoting content learning and information literacy?

- I feel that the strengths in my TrackStar are the fact that I have multiple different strategies for my students to use by evaluating the websites.  I know that majority of the students would answer the question right away "NO! We shouldn't have homework!"  However, I almost agree with them.  Therefore, a lot of my websites I chose are bias towards the notion of why homework isn't the greatest thing.  However, I do have other points of view for those who believe homework does them justice.  I feel that the students would take a look at these websites and use them to their advantage - also, I feel that they will use the other links and videos provided to better understand the information. 

• How does your TrackStar differ from typical classroom research projects and how it better prepare students for research in the workplace.

- I feel that it differs to typical classroom projects considering it is a math class and there is not much research done in a math class.  However, I feel that it is an important question to ask the students and have them see others' opinions.  It is also different than other research projects because it not only shows them websites to use, not only explains in detail what to look at, but it also helps them to evaluate the webpages, as well.  It prepares them for the workplace because they need to be exposed to bias as well as other people's opinions.  It also helps them for when they need to do research in other settings.