Week 13 Analysis of educational “affordances” on glogster

Assignment

• Create a glogster, explore how to use it in the educational context (particularly ELA), and analyze its educational “affordances” in a T-Chart. 

Week 11 Affordance of Educational Technology

This article discusses how the affordances of media sharing Web 2.0 technology and the application “VoiceThread” can be evaluated for its pedagogical value. Before this article I had no idea what the term “affordances” meant. Now, I understand that the term “affordances;” describe the uses and importance of the technology being used. The chart used in the article made it clear to me what the term “affordances” meant. For example The features of the technology: The ability to zoom in and out of a specific artefact itself; The affordance was: Concentrate or focus learner attention on specific aspects of the artefact. The affordance is the uses which educators might find valuable. One issue discussed in this article is that social software affordances do not, by themselves, guarantee that effective learning will occur. This also plays a role in the traditional classroom. Students are not guaranteed effective learning from just showing up to class, reading, and memorizing from textbooks. They have to recognize and identify how to apply this knowledge to the real world. I believe that online learning opens numerous doors for the learner. It gives you more opportunities to apply your knowledge in a variety of ways. You can discuss and receive feedback with your peers through multiple ways of digital media. This opens the doors for all types of learners.

Here is my link for my voice thread. 

Voice Thread

Keystone Project

Here are the links to my Final Keystone Assignment

Final Keystone Assignment

Jeopardy Template
(Goes along with the lesson)

Implementation Report

Reflection on New Literacies and Teacher interview

Week 9 Identify and justify criteria and principles that provide a sound basis for making decisions...

Assignment #1

I found this article very interesting, because it relates to this class. We are learning about new literacies and blogging too. I am a perfect example of how teaching about new technology and digital literacies can have a positive effect. Before this class I knew little about technology resources and other media and digital tools. I have not only learned different tools and resources, but also how to search for new technology and resource. At first, I had trouble just posting on my blog and navigating from one blog to another. Now, I can easily post new post or navigate from my blog to other students’ profiles as well. Some assignments I find very difficult understanding what to do. Being able to look on other student’s blogs is very helpful. I find that students put more effort into their work, because it is on display. Students can connect and discuss their ideas and opinions with one another. I also find myself becoming more creative and thinking outside the box when I can connect and compare to other students work. Blogging is another way students can express themselves through their work. I couldn’t believe that some teachers do not integrate technology inside their classroom even after they went to training sessions and seminars. I find it very silly for teachers to only stick to their old teaching ways. I believe that a great teacher understands the importance of change. The way students learn today is not going to be the same in the future. We live in a digital age and it is important to educate our students for the future. Teachers should integrate technology and other resources that students’ can relate to. Students learn best when they are motivated and willing to learn. 

Digital Storytelling video

Here is the link to my story!
I'm sure everyone knows the 12 days of Christmas song...I created this digital storytelling video for children to follow along with the song. I think it will be a fun activity for children during the holidays.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAf1pcGhQsU&feature=youtu.be

UDL BOOK BUILDER

RAINBOW OF FEELINGS 

Here is the link to my book. 

http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=74602&page=1 

The book I created “Rainbow of Feelings,” is a book for children to demonstrate their emotions and feelings through colors. The ELA teacher that I have been working with explained to me that many of her students have trouble expressing their correct emotions. I also work in an environment where students have emotional and physical disabilities in which it is not always easy to understand how they are feeling. Many times when the students get upset about  an issue they have trouble expressing what they are feeling and why. I think this book or similar pictures could really help students out by expressing their emotions. We have a similar chart at work with  different "smiley faces" that students can point to and use to express their feelings. I noticed that this method tends to calm the students down, allowing them to then tell us RA's what problems they are having and why. I believe that this book will help students express their true feelings in ways teachers can understand. The UDL Book Builder program is a great resource for teachers to create books that go along hand and hand with their activities and lessons. Teachers can also create books to fit each individual student and incorporate what they need to work on individually. 

Week 7 Introduction to the range of new literacies (IV)

Week 7 Introduction to the range of new literacies (IV)

 

Assignment #1 

  The article “Theories and Practices of Multimodal Education: The Instructional Dynamics of Picture Books and Primary Classrooms” describes multimodal education in terms of theories and practices. The article consists of two main sections: section one describes and outlines multimodal aspects of texts and sociocognitive aspects of literacy learning. The second section discusses “an on going research project in which elementary school teachers collaborated with us to design and teach literacy curricula that uses children’s picture books with highly visual and interactive textual elements”. Section one discusses the shift that has occurred in reading today, due to the demands of digital media and visual texts. Teachers and students have modified from traditional print-based education to multimodal education. Print itself can take many forms through visual design, graphics, and images that require new ways of coding and decoding these text-relations. Bezemer and Kress (2008) define mode as a “socially and culturally shaped resource for meaning making.” Print is an example of a “mode” of communication. Font is also a “mode” of communication, because the way it is signified and represented. Reader’s sociocognitive processes of making meaning out of text are constantly informed by and altered through the use of digital media and multiple modes of representation. For example, the color of a word can be interpreted differently from one reader’s to another’s.

             Section two discusses a research study that examined children’s engagement with interactive and visual texts. The purpose of the study was to use multimodal texts in early literacy instruction, beyond using current theories of reading to engage with new forms of texts. This article explains the importance of educators and teachers to add new roles and techniques to their traditional teaching styles, because we live in a digital age. Larson and Marsh (2005) explained that,“teachers need to adopt three additional roles in order to facilitate children’s navigation of complex, multimodal, electronic worlds” (teacher as resource manage, teacher as constructor of knowledge, and teacher as design consultant). I think this is very important for teachers to understand, because these activities are the foundation of new literacies. 


            Assignment #2

 Ok, apparently my computer is too old to download second life... so I downloaded it on my friends computer.