B&M 5
Meaning making now comes in multiple modes, not just the written word. Now we have photography and movies that dominate all else with action packed stories and ideas. We know that writing is not simply writing down what we say. Written expression is a different art. With media having advanced so much we have many different ways of expressing our thoughts and ideas. Language has also changed with out acronyms and short phrasing while texting and emailing.
Question: How are going to change our teaching styles in the new age of technology and how are we going to want our students respond to this change? What are our new parameters and how do we assess them?
B&M 6
Using media to teach language, receptive and expressive. Using media has been found to improve reading and vocabulary word usage and meaning. It is thought that we all use dual decoding. We take in verbal and non verbal cues to create meaning in the environment around us. When watching a movie or video that is telling a story our minds can take in the words of the story and the images portrayed. It was found that for Ell learners (English as a second language) that using this method greatly improved their vocabulary since they received the information that their minds could respond to in more that one aspect. This is especially helpful with low language learners and those that are at risk. We know that using more than one teaching method helps to gather more students in the (teaching net) and reach more students at the same time. Using things like children's television shows also creates synergy. You can watch Dora the Explorer and have meanings and information be repeated to you by watching the show again, going out in the community like Wal-Mart and seeing the character popularized. These repetitive images and ideas will promote remembering and therefore learning.
Question: Can we create learning environments with media or is it for entertainment only and therefore we are creating nonlearning environments ultimately.
S&H 8
Dual coding can broaden or breadth and depth of a subject. We now have multimedia to promote learning.
Videos
- Have been found to show better learning in ELL learners
- Content matters
- Videos can be good for receptive learning
- Can be used in whole classroom settings when there is a great diversity of students such as race, language, at risk children and special needs children
- Promotes better expressive language when used with videos as apposed to static imagery
- Not a lot studies done on computer software programs
- when used with oral language students assessed better than oral language alone
V&F 5,6,8
The purpose of these chapters was to give us an idea of how technology can help improve us as teachers and educators. Today everyone must be proficient in technology to be considered literate. We cannot only be readers and writers anymore. Kids where taught to use pod casts and decipher things such as commercials. Why we are drawn to things, what makes something attractive in imagery and wording. Children where also taught to satisfy their whims using email and looking up information at the speed of email and internet.
Question: Is it possible to teach someone to use information communication in a meaningful way vs. a non meaningful way?
Digital Storytellling
Digital storytelling article shows us the benefits of scaffolding teaching using technology. Technology can minimize the digital divide and promote diverse teaching. You are showing children to take and give meaning in multiple ways to make the greater independent thinkers.
Teaching is in a constant state of change. I think as culture changes, so does the way we go about teaching. This includes the use of technology. I think we need to continually think of new ways to integrate technology into our teaching that is based off of good pedagogy. As teachers we can use our PASS (for now) as our parameters for the use of technology. I think the way we integrate it is limited by us.
ReplyDeleteThe use of media in the classroom and school can be established to create a learning environment not just entertainment. I don’t think they have to be mutually exclusive. It is all about how it is set up to scaffold students’ learning. Here is a link to my school’s daily TV broadcast, http://www.hubbardtv.com/ . This is a great example of using media to reinforce what has been taught in the classroom.
Media that helps a student learn a new topic of reinforce what was taught in the classroom is great! I think it is up to us as teachers to do our homework about the best ones available. I haven’t found one piece of media that is fully comprehensive and a tool I use for everything, but I don’t do that with any of the resources I use in the classroom either. I have used https://jr.brainpop.com/ , http://www.mobymax.com/ , http://www.spellingcity.com/ , and many more.
We teach students audience, point of view, etc. regarding writing and reading. This can also be applied to the use of technology communication. We need to teach students who they are writing for. As teachers we need to help them organize their thoughts in a logical way and use that as a springboard for technology.
Cathy, I agree that we really have to continuously adapt our curriculum and the way we teach to ensure that we are preparing students for real-world experiences and that we are relating to them and the experiences they encounter on a daily basis. They have to see how what they are learning applies to them and their lives if we want them to learn, and using media and technology is a great way to do that. Plus, it helps us to reach all students and gives students another way to express themselves and create outputs.
DeleteAgreed. One of the things that we have been using is book trailers. People make trailers like you would for a movie about a book. You show them and they are dramatic with lots of sound and it moves kids into wanting to read that book. It reaches them in ways that we have a hard time getting to by just talking about something. Without media in the classroom this would not have been an option. I can also say that technology is such a blessing in a spec ed class. Those students who before could not communicate can use a hand held communicator and tell us things that before they couldn't convey. We also use computers and ipad apps to help teach children things in a fun and exciting way.
DeleteI agree with all of you. Children get so excited when they have the opportunity to use technology in the classroom. It has a way of getting even the most reluctant learners interested in the task at hand. Technology is now so interwoven into the lives and experiences of young children that their learning would truly benefit from its use in the classroom- as long as it is done in a purposeful way.
DeleteI agree with Cathy. I think it is our responsibility as teachers to incorporate technology into our lessons so that our learning environments reflect the current culture and situations students will experience outside of the classroom. I also think that students need to encouraged and expected to use technology as tool to express themselves and create outputs. I also agree with Cathy's statement that teachers are the limiting factor when incorporating technology. Utilizing rubrics can help establish expectations for teachers and students and make assessing easier.
ReplyDeleteI think there will always be teachers who take advantage of situations and use media inappropriately, but this isn't new. I think we can all probably think of a teacher in our past who showed way too many videos/movies instead of teaching. I think most teachers, however, are responsible enough to ensure that technology is used to enhance teaching and learning. I think the more ways we can engage students and reach them through means that interest them, the more they will learn in the end.
Media that can help students understand a concept better or interact with/apply content in new ways is extremely beneficial. I agree with Cathy in that there isn't going to be a magical source that will hit everything, but with a little research and sharing resources with colleagues, we can find appropriate sources. I am not familiar with elementary sources, but my son plays on brainpop.com and abcya.com.
I think that if assignments and assessments are created with purpose, there won't be any question about whether it is meaningful or not. Teaching about the purposes for writing and the various audiences and then establishing both before completing an assignment will also ensure that students understand appropriate usage and application.
Melissa- I agree that the key is using technology in a purposeful way, not using it as a way to entertain students. An important part of this is selecting appropriate digital tools that can help us meet learning objectives. Collaborating with other teachers and sharing tips on helpful web sites, apps, and programs will help to make digital learning meaningful.
DeleteMelissa,
ReplyDeleteI know a few teachers that probably use media as entertainment rather than for meeting an educational goal. A school I used to work at was so particular about what videos were presented to the class. You had to plan over a month in advance, and it had to be something that was in the school library. I think this type of thinking about media is archaic and needs to be adjusted for today's students.
Agreed. There is a definite problem with teachers who decide to show The Breakfast Club because they didn't want to lesson plan that day (at the high school level, but still, I kid you not), but most teachers want to be able to creatively incorporate video clips, show episodes, movies, etc. Teachers should be able to handle that. I like the system we have at our school, actually. You have to have it approved by the principal and fill out a form specifying the objectives that you're using the video to teach. It's super easy, but it holds teachers accountable. I think we need progressive perspectives like that.
DeleteHow are going to change our teaching styles in the new age of technology and how are we going to want our students respond to this change? What are our new parameters and how do we assess them?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very important question, and the case study of the nursery school in England illustrated how various modes of technology can be incorporated into the literacy curriculum, even at the pre-k level. I liked the idea of a class blog for the children to post pictures of their work. The blog provided an authentic, real medium of communication between the children and their families and friends.It was neat how the children's pictures of the field trip to the zoo were posted, along with their comments. This type of project really demonstrated how teachers can use technology to bridge real-life experiences with literacy learning.
One thing I was unsure about was using iPads for creating artwork. I think this is fine as a sort of supplemental fun activity, but it should not take the place of children's work with paint, pencils, crayons, paper, etc. Taking pictures of pretend farms at school, is fun as an activity specific to digital learning. However, it should not take the place of children actually playing together with the toys.
I think as Cathy pointed out, we as teachers need to integrate technology with learning. I do not think it is something that is done easily. Carefully planned lessons, learning centers, and projects that allow us to maximize everything that digital media has to offer, while using it as a way to meet our learning objectives is something we should strive to do in our classrooms. The teacher in the article who worked with her students to create the iMovie which was then uploaded to youtube was an excellent example of a teacher successfully integrating technology with learning.
This statement stood out to me from the V&F chapter: "childhood is not what it used to be and that curricula, school hierarchies and classrooms cannot, therefore, continue to be what they used to be." Children in todays classrooms will be expected to learn and use technologies which we cannot even begin to imagine when they are adults. It is our job to bring technology to the classroom in a way that ties it in as a part of all other learning. This is especially important for children who do not have access to technology in their homes. Limiting their exposure to technology in the classroom would be detrimental to their academic learning, and future careers.
I love that quote. I think that it's always been hard. In some ways, teaching often looks exactly the same as it has looked for a century. We've known for a long time about a lot of best practices, but it's a challenge to help them become commonplace. The most recent one is the appropriate incorporation of technology. We are resistant to change, but most of us are also open to education, I think. Still, it's a daily struggle to incorporate technology to enhance learning, rather than incorporate technology just for the sake of technology incorporation.
DeleteLindsay,
DeleteI do think that our use of technology is to support learning. It can't take the place of some things that occur naturally with children. Our use of technology needs to have a purpose and enrich student learning. I think this is an ongoing process for most teachers.
How are going to change our teaching styles in the new age of technology and how are we going to want our students respond to this change? What are our new parameters and how do we assess them?
ReplyDeleteWe must help our students become technologically literate beyond where they already are. Many of them do not have the experience with technology that we expect them to have, and others are experienced, but they do not understand how to use it for school or research purposes. We must also teach students to be critical thinkers with technology. Even at a young age, I think we can teach students not only how to use technology, but to figure out what tools are appropriate for what purposes and to analyze whether or not internet sources are valid and trustworthy.
Can we create learning environments with media or is it for entertainment only and therefore we are creating nonlearning environments ultimately?
I think we absolutely can create learning environments using popular media. With my older kids, I’ve had them analyze popular media for visual literacy standards and for rhetorical analysis. With younger kids, I think you are likely to get more educational shows, like Dora the Explorer. I think you can also use it to introduce topics, to make text connections, or to provide visual and auditory support for a concept (mostly in the case of an educational show).
Is it possible to teach someone to use information communication in a meaningful way vs. a non meaningful way?
Please let me know if I’m misinterpreting your question. I absolutely think that you can teach someone to use information communication meaningfully. It’s a more engaging mode of communication, so students are more likely to invest in communicating with technology. While they are not likely to write a traditionally academic piece of writing using technology, they can communicate the same ideas perhaps even more effectively. Even if I have my students Tweet a brief analysis about a book we’re reading, those 160 characters are going to be “meaningful” if they’re being thoughtful and are not struggling with the text too much. Sometimes the writing I receive through creative modes is of a higher quality than the traditional essays I assign!
Angela,
ReplyDeleteI think the point you made regarding students being willing to communicate using technology verses traditional methods is so true. We can engage students in the process of writing for various purposes, and this is often more engaging for them with the use of technology.