Weekly Reading 10: Response to Keynote Speaker

What is the main argument being made by the speaker?

I believe Yong Zhao’s main argument is that it is not enough to reform education; we need to know what the end goal is.  What are we trying to create?  As Yong Zhao (2012) stated, “If  you chose the wrong goal to measure yourself, if you chose the wrong objective to go after, no matter how good,  how efficient you are, you are not going to get where you want to go” (ISTE Videos, 2012). 

 

Do you agree or disagree with his argument?

I completely agree with Mr. Yong Zhao.  Education is changing.  We know that our students need to be 21^st century thinkers and creators that can compete in a global society.  However, as educators, we are lost on what exactly this goal is and how to measure student success at it.  Even as the United States recognizes that educational reform is crucial, as a country, we are still concerned with who’s on top but, as Zhao stated, “To the top of what” (ISTE Videos, 2012)?  Instead of focusing on the process, we are concerned of only measuring the end result.

 

Make connections between the ideas presented in this Keynote and concepts explored in this course. 

“Test scores may just be like the giant stone heads . . . they look beautiful, they look nice, they’re seductive but they don’t really lead to real education, what we need (ISTE Videos, 2012).  Too often we look at test scores, and other means of assessments, as an evaluation or judgement of a child’s work.  However, assessments can be so much more powerful.  As Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams (2001) stated, there is an “important relationship between instruction and assessment” (Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams, 2001, pg. 1).  When used to inform and drive instruction, assessment can help teach students to become critical consumers of their work and the work of others.  “Students learn to assess texts rhetorically-their own texts and the texts of others, as they compose and after they do so. In this way, assessments of student work become part of instruction” (Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams, 2001, pg 2).

According to Yong Zaho (2012), China did not celebrate when the PISA results showed that they had topped the worldwide list in math, science, and reading testing because they had a different goal in mind.  They are facing an economic transition from ship labor to innovation and they do not believe their current education system can help them make this transition.  In actuality, according to Yong Zaho’s (2012) research, there is a negative correclation between PISA scores and entrepreneur scores (ISTE Videos, 2012).  Yet even though, American students do much more poorly in math, they actually have more confidence than Chinese students.  “Asian countries look at the lack of confidence as a problem because confidence underpins creativity and entrepreneurship, underpins the drive to be innovative,” (ISTE Videos, 2012) a skill needed to meet the demands of their changing economy.  Like China, America is experiencing "fundamental changes in the economy, jobs, and businesses (that) have reshaped industry and the nature of work” (NCTE, 2009, pg. 15).  It is great that our students feel confident in their abilities but this confidence must transfer to technology as well.  Multimodal instruction fills this need because it “is comprised of multiple modes or communicative forms (i.e., digital, visual, spatial, musical, etc.) within various sign systems that carry meanings recognized and understood by a social collective (Sanders & Albers, n.d., pg 8). 

“Now some literacy experts want the federal tests known as the nation’s report card to include a digital reading component” (Rich, 2008, para. 61), however, is this truly what we need in educational reform? In Yong Zhao’s speech (2012), he states, “If you want to compete over one thing, over test scores I can bet you, like me, I did, in those impoverished classrooms, I can do this but that is reducing a 10,000 dollar education to a 10 dollar education” (ISTE Videos, 2012).  Does the gap between test scores matter?  What are we trying to measuring and are our current evaluations measuring this task?  What does the future require?  Rather than focusing on standards-based test scores, we should be focusing on how to best help “people to critically evaluate and cultivate best practices” (Greenhow & Gleason, 2012, pg 463) in regards to preparing our students for entrepreneurial minded careers.  

Resources

Alvermann, D., Hagood, M., and Williams, K.  (2001, June).  Image, language, and sound:  Making meaning with popular culture texts.  Reading Online, 4(11).  Available: http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=/newliteracies/action/alvermann/index.html

Greenhow, C. & Gleason, B.  (2012).  Twitteracy: Tweeting as a new literacy practice.  The Educational Forum, 76, 463-477.  http://www.kdp.org/publications/theeducationalforum/pdf/TEF764_Greenhow_Gleason%20%282%29.pdf

ISTE Videos. (Producer). (2012, July 9).  ISTE 2012 Tuesday keynote featuring Yong Zhao.  [You Tube video].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKXeNKsjoMI

National Council of Teachers of English. (2009).  Literacy leaning in the 21^st century.  Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Magazine/CC0183_Brief_Literacy.pdf

Rich, M. (2008). Literacy debate: Online, r u really reading? New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Sanders, J. and Albers, P.  (n.d.)  Multimodal literacies: An introduction.  Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:ZnRBedCgj_IJ:https://secure.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/32142Intro_x.pdf+are+literacies+and+Discourses+used+interchanably&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjE9pBd2JmN_g_xuDVosAj01ImYkr6u-oyjriG0tREXG8fzwbyeuhcmDw0rrbTA1rug-bgizHwuiUlocJcQwdvcCiPOxZYWVExNgQ8BmulksyeRUcUX4LJmfxLlw7e8UTdG2TuT&sig=AHIEtbSZ7RHTNL_Rfe2bglUQRg9zzCD2JA

Week 9 Reading: Responding and Assessing Multimodal Texts

 

Quote:

"Assessment is an important component of learning to compose with rhetorical effectiveness" (Borton & Huot, pg. 1)

 

This quote surprised me because I have always thought of assessment as the end result rather than as an instructional tool.  However, this quote suggests that assessment should be an integral part of the learning process.  When used as this article suggests, assessment can help teach students to become critical consumers of their work and the work of others.  They learn to decipher what means can create effective messages or arguments.   With formative assessments, learning is more about the process rather than the end product. I took particular interest in this quote and article because it seemed to be reflective of 21st century learning and innovative skills. 

 

 

Link

 

 

Learning (B)logs

 

 

The learning blogs described on this site are similar to the progress journals discussed in our weekly article.  Like progress journals, learning blogs may be used to provide constructive feedback to guide student learning.  However, the digital nature of learning blogs makes student journals more readily available to teachers and peers, offers students a world-wide audience, and provides them with the ability to collaborate beyond the classroom (McIntosh, 2005).  Learning blogs also more readily allow students to express themselves in more multimodal ways than a traditional progress journal.

 



What should the assessments of multimodal text provide for students?

Assessment of multimodal text should be used as an instructional tool that helps "students learn to assess texts rhetorically - their own texts and the texts of others, as they compose and after they do so" (Borton & Huot, pg. 2).  They should also provide project expectations and focused feedback designed to help guide students in developing their ideas in order to establish effective communication with their intended audience (Borton & Huot). 

 

 

What are the benefits to using formative assessment when asking students to compose multimodal texts?

Formative assessment is an instructional evaluation that "provides feedback to students while they are still working on assignments or project" (Borton & Huot, pg. 2).  Using formative assessment in the classroom can help students to identify project expectations, increase understanding of the task at hand, and learn to evaluate texts critically (Borton & Huot).

 

How do you feel about collaboratively constructing rubrics or assessment criteria with students?

Honestly, I had never considered having students help construct assessments before, however, as with many activities my students have taken on, I am sure they would pleasantly surprise me with the quality of their ideas and suggestions.  In regards to student-centered learning, if Borton and Huot are correct in their assumption that "rhetorically - based understanding of composition should drive and inform teachers' approach to assessment," (Borton & Huot, pg. 2)  it only makes sense that students be involved in the assessment process as well.  Collaboratively creating assessments would be a great way to teach students to effectively judge a project or piece of work.  Discussing what makes a piece effective would help students develop an eye for detail that may translate to their own work.

Rubric

Career Webquest Rubric

Resources

Borton, S. & Huot, B.  (n.d.).  Chapter 8: Responding and assessing (from Crafting a Family Tradition).   Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6DFAmexYq7veC02bzZxTGVZT1k/edit

McIntosh, E.  (2005, Oct. 7).  Learning (b)logs: time to give students voice.  Retrieved from http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2005/10/learning_blogs_.html

Week 8 Reading (Image, Language, and Sound: Making Meaning with Popular Culture Texts

 

 

Quote

 

“The day that Grady, a ninth grader who dislike reading, explained to us that he spent his Thanksgiving vacation poring over a Pokemon training manual in order to get ahead in his gaming skills was the day we recognized the power of popular culture texts to influence adolescents’ perceptions of themselves as readers and of what reading can do for them” (Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams, 2001, para. 1).

 

I had to respond to this quote because I had a student just like Grady.  He hated to read and wouldn’t complete any classwork without extensive prodding.  However, when I found out he enjoyed Pokemon, I went to the Goodwill and bought every Pokemon text, manual, or comic I could find.  It was the only reading material he would self-select and actually read.  That year, he went up five reading levels when previously he had made no visible progress.   As we all know, the more we read the better we get.  Sure, I would have like for him to have broadened his interests but; if for this child, reading Pokemon was the only way I could encourage him to read, then so be it.  It was interesting for him and helped meet our goals of increasing his reading ability.    Now I call that a success!

What is your stance on using popular culture texts in school?

As you can tell from my quote response, I am all for it.  Popular culture texts get kids excited about reading and thus, increase their motivation to read.  Reading popular culture text also addresses many new literacies skills.  For example, when reading a video game manual, a child is not merely reading a popular culture text.  That text becomes an activity for reading for information as the child reads directions or analyzes visual images to learn a new combo attack, read a map, or access game inventories.   If a child is stuck at a boss, he or she can access an online walkthrough on a website such as GameFaqs and receive tips and assistance from other gamers.  Likewise, that child may serve as a mentor by answering questions from other gamers in discussion forums.

 

What are your concerns about using popular culture texts in school?

My largest concern with using popular culture text in the classroom is making sure the popular culture texts used  are “appropriate” material for the school setting.  While I love  many of the same shows and fan pages my students do, I do not believe “The Walking Dead” would be an appropriate popular culture tool to use with my 2^nd graders even though many of them are avid fans (an entirely different issue I won’t delve into here).   I think teachers have to be very careful to research the popular culture icons and materials they are considering before allowing their students to bring in or access such material (digital or print) in school. 

How can popular cultural texts support school-based writing?

Popular cultural texts can be used in the classroom to increase writing motivation.  One of the easiest ways to utilize popular culture texts for creative writing is to have students write about their favorite comic, graphic novel, cartoon, TV show, or video game characters.  Students could continue where their text, shows, or games left off, write stories about the supporting characters, or write “what if” stories.  Students could also make submissions to fan websites or post to discussion boards if these sites are deemed appropriate.  A safer school method may be to have students create their own fan pages on school-approved sites.  Then they could collaborate more safely with other students. 

Teachers could also find contact sources that students could email or blog to.  This seemed to be a great incentive tool for Ned in the article we read.  Ned, a sports enthusiast, even left a basketball game early so that he could respond to an email written by a close friend of his favorite rap group (Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams, 2001).  Being able to communicate effectively in digital formats is a  21^st century skill students need to develop and an activity such as this would be a great tool to use.

 

Related Image

 

 

 

I chose this picture because it illustrates how people relate to popular culture icons.  Students may find it easier to put themselves into the "shoes," clothes, and hopefully then the minds of characters as they become engrossed in the stories they follow, whether these stories are told in a comic, book, movie, or video game.  The end result is that when students find material relevant and relatable, they are more likely to be motivated to write. 

Resources

Alvermann, D., Hagood, M., and Williams, K.  (2001, June).  Image, language, and sound:  Making meaning with popular culture texts.  Reading Online, 4(11).  Available: http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=/newliteracies/action/alvermann/index.html

Loika, P.  (2011, July 22).  (Tinkerbell & Spiderman).  [Image].  Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/patloika/5977719524/
 

 

Week 8, Activity 2: Multimodal Learning Adventure Project

 

Choose Your Career Webquest

(Click above link to view site)

 

Oh no!  Your mom just cut off your allowance!  You need a job.  Your task is to decide on a career you might enjoy.

With this statement my students will enter a learning adventure designed to expose students to various careers (a 2nd grade Next Gen standard).

 

Through their research, students will explain what their job responsibilities will be, what type of training they will need, and how much money they will make their first year working at their chosen career.  Students will also be responsible for responding to and reflecting on their peers' career research.

  

I created this web quest to addresses new literacies in several ways.  First, students must comprehend digital information on webpages in order to research their chosen career.  They must print out a Google doc to record their research on.  Next, students will use their research to create a digital presentation.  To create this presentation, students must download a Microsoft Power Point template, insert their career information, and find and insert an image representing their chosen career.  When their presentation is complete, the students must upload their power point slide into Google docs and then insert their presentation into their Kidblog posts.  Kidblog serves as a social media platform in which students will then respond and reflect on their peers’ presentations.

Upon completion of these tasks, student will have addressed the following 2nd grade WV Next Gen Standards:

 

Social Studies (WV Next Gen Standards)

SS.2.E.1 investigate various occupations & career    
      opportunities.

SS.2.G.5 utilize appropriate global information systems

 

Science (WV Content Standards)

SC.0.2.1.03 identify and discuss science careers in the 
       community.

 

Reading (WV Next Gen Standards)

RLA.0.2.1.05 describe a purpose for reading: (for
       information, for pleasure, to understand specific
       viewpoints, to follow directions

RLA.0.2.1.11 use literary and informational texts to 
      summarize

RLA.0.2.1.15 use reading skills and strategies to understand
      a variety of information resources to support literacy  
      learning (e.g., environmental print, written directions,
      signs, captions, electronic resources, labels)

RLA.0.2.3.03 access media tools to create a oral or visual 
      presentation

Math (WV Next Gen Standards)
M.2.MD.8 solve word problems involving dollar bills,
     quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢
     symbols appropriately 

WV 21st Century Technology Tools Objectives
21.C.O.PK-2.1.TT3 Student logs on to computer, starts and
      exits programs, find files.  Student uses file menu
      commands (e.g., New, Open, Close, Save, Save As, Print)
      saves computer files to diskette, hard drive, and server.  
21.C.O.PK-2.1.TT4 Student participates in a group to locate
      and create pictures, clip art, graphs, tables, and other
      appropriate objects and to insert into documents and
      presentations
21.C.O.PK-2.1.TT7 Student, working in a teacher-led whole
      group project, uses presentation software to illustrate c
      oncepts and communicate ideas.
21.C.O.PK-21.3.TT.1  Student identifies and practices the
      responsible use of technology systems and software

WV 21st Century Learning Skills Objectives
21.C.O.PK-2.1.LS1 Student uses text, people and electronic
     resources (e.g. interactive books, educational software, CD
     -Roms, elementary multimedia, encyclopedias, and search
     engines) to locate information for classroom assignments
     and is able to identify the author and purpose for each
     source located

 

 

 

Week 9: Final Project

For my final project, I created a Web Quest for my students.  Within this web quest, my students must research a career, create a slide using Microsoft Power Point about their career, share their power point in a blog posting (using Kidblog), and then comment on the work of their peers using three writing prompts.

 

Career Web Quest
(click above to view)

 

Kidblog Post Example

(To view this example, log in using Demo Student, DS1234)

Career Power Point Example

 

Upon student completion of this project, the following 2nd grade WV Next Gen Standards will be addressed:

Social Studies (WV Next Gen Standards)

SS.2.E.1 investigate various occupations & career opportunities
SS.2.G.5 utilize appropriate global information systems

Science (WV Content Standards)

SC.O.2.1.03 identify and discuss science careers in the community

Reading (WV Next Gen Standards)

RLA.O.2.1.05 describe a purpose for reading: (for information, for pleasure, to
      understand specific viewpoints, to follow directions.
RLA.O.2.1.11 use literary and informational texts to summarize
RLA.O.2.1.15 use reading skills and strategies to understand a variety of
      information resources to support literacy learning (e.g., environmental print,   
         written directions, signs, captions, electronic resources, labels).
RLA.O.2.3.03 access media tools to create an oral or visual presentation.

Math (WV Next Gen Standards)

M.2.MD.8  solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels,
      and pennies, using $ and ¢ symbols appropriately.

WV 21^st Century Technology Tools Objectives
21C.O.PK-2.1.TT3 Student logs on to computer, starts and exits programs, finds
        files.  Student uses file menu commands (e.g., New, Open, Close, Save, Save
             as, Print) and saves computer files to diskette, hard drive and server.
21C.O.PK-2.1.TT4  Student participates in a group to locate and create pictures,
        clip art, graphs, tables and other appropriate objects and to insert into
             documents and presentations.
21C.O.PK-2.1.TT7 Student, working in a teacher-led whole group project, uses
           presentation software to illustrate concepts and communicate ideas.
21C.O.PK-2.3.TT1 Student identifies and practices the responsible use of
        technology systems and software.

WV 21^st Century Learning Skills Objectives
21C.O.PK-2.1.LS1 Student uses text, people and electronic resources (e.g.    
       interactive books, educational software, CD-ROMs, elementary multimedia   
           encyclopedias and search engines) to locate information for classroom
           assignments and is able to identify the author and purpose for each
       source located.

Week 8, Activity 1: Case Study Generalizaton

Self –Directed Learners

In my experience, students in school are often reluctant to find solutions and work out problems for themselves.  I believe this is because they fear they will not get the “right’ answer and are afraid of being “wrong.” However, what I noticed in the multimodal, informal learning that the Appalachian students we interviewed are partaking in at home is that these same children are very much self-directed learners while outside of school.  For instance, in Johanna Carr’s interview, her student, when asks how she learned her favorite computer activity, stated, “I just figured it out, it wasn’t hard.”  Abigail Hayhurst’s interviewee suggested the same thing, when she replied, “I taught myself by just playing around with it.”  My own interviewee also taught herself about video blogging after stumbling across this technology.

When these students hit a roadblock and need assistance, they take initiative and are able to seek out and find resources to assist them.   During her interview, Sarah Cline found that her young person will ask a friend if she still can’t “figure it out.”  In the case of Sarah William’s study, her interviewee’s older cousin showed him how to play his favorite game Minecraft.

Currently, most of the students interviewed do not use technology in school to master critical thinking and initiative skills.  Instead, their teachers ask them to regurgitate information in the form of tests and research.   However, students who use multimodal technologies at home are developing project initiative and self-direction, both skills necessary in the 21^st century workplace.  If teachers use technology to focus on the process of learning as well as the outcome, we could better prepare our students for the demands of our global economy. 

Weekly Reading 7: Forms of Digital Literacy

No Selling the Genie Lamp: A Game Literacy Practice in The Sims

Summary

In game literacy, like all types of digital literacy, “written language never sits all by itself, cur off form oral language and action (Hayes & Gee, 2010, pg. 68) but rather “is integrated with different ways of using oral language; different ways of acting and interacting; different ways of knowing, valuing, and believing; and often, different ways of using various sorts of tools and technologies (Hayes & Gee, 2010, pg. 68).  This article studied the multidimensional literacy aspects of one such game, The Sims.  One dimension revolves around visual journaling.  Through the use of an “album” on The Sims, players may create stories by using annotated pictures.  Players often display pictures and stories of their Sims’s adventures.  Other players may then become support systems, collaborators, and teachers by posting feedback, guidance, and encouragement onto others’ albums.  Players of The Sims may take digital literacy aspects even further by creating discussion threads posing new Sims challenges.  When a person chooses to create such a challenge, the player becomes a “modder,” that is he/she creates a new simulation experience based off an existing idea.  This person also becomes an expert, mentor, and negotiator as people adapt their playing style to his or her new rules.   All of these examples require players to exhibit their depth of knowledge using higher order thinking skills (apply, analyze, evaluate, and create).  In a game such as The Sims, literacy becomes a “myriad of different and evolving practices, some of which are integrally involved with and, in turn, are transforming print literacy” (Hayes & Gee, 2010, pg. 76). 

Quotation

“Essays require the writer to communicate to a fictional audience, or the assumed general rational reader, not someone already known, and thus, violate a cultural communicational norm for Athabaskians” (Hayes & Gee, 2010, pg. 68).

I chose this quote because it illustrates what I belief to be the main difference between print and digital writing.  In digital writing, audiences are generally pre-established.  If sending a friendly e-mail, your audience is a friend.  If sending a work memo, your audience may be your boss.  Working to solve a puzzle in a video game, may require chat messaging with a “gamer.”  When writing a traditional essay, the audience is usually broader.  In all honesty, most students will enter the workforce having to compose e-mails, business proposals, text messages, or postings on social media sites and will seldom, if ever, be asked to compose a traditional essay.  Thus, traditional school essay writing has lost its revelance to today's students.  They do not see the purpose behind it.  In today's world, each job task will require students to recognize the appropriate writing format per the audience being addressed.  Teaching 21^st century skills does not so much mean having to change the basic writing process but merely requires the teacher to concentrate the teaching focus on our students’ abilities to identify audience and the appropriate writing tool (often digital in nature) for the task at hand. 

 

 

Twitteracy: Tweeting as a New Literacy Practice

 

Summary

Twitter is a social media site often used to find and converse with friends, make new contacts, connect with public figures, share information, learn about current events, explore career opportunities, and social mobilization.  Through this study, it was found that Twitter usage increased student engagement, created an environment conducive of active learning, improved student and teacher relationships, and resulted in higher grades.  It was also found that student use of Twitter was linked to a number of educative goals including peer questioning and reflection. 

 

Quotation

“With more than 200 million active users posting more than 175 million tweets peer day, Twitter has experienced substantial growth in its six years.  Among Americans, 16 percent of teenagers (12-17) and one-third of young adults (18-29) use Twitter” (Greenhow & Gleason, 2012, pg. 465).

Wow!  This quote illustrates just how behind the times our current school system is.  Students are failing to see the relevance in school because we are not allowing them to use the digital tools of today.   As someone who has never tweeted, the thing that impressed me most is how Twitter is being used in current events and social change.  One study mentioned in the article showed a link between twitter discussions about democratic ideals in Tunisia and Egypt proceeded physical revolutionary events in these two counties.   Twitter has the potential of becoming a powerful digital tool in the classroom.  Not only does Twitter increase motivation by creating an active learning environment, it addresses so many 21^st century skills:  social skills, leadership skills, developing self-direction, creating global awareness, and developing civic, financial, economic, and business literacy to name a few.  It also brings the real world into the classroom, making learning relevant to students.    

Twitter usage in school as unlimited potential.  However, a huge hindrance to using twitter in the elementary classroom would be safety and liability issues.  Even though we teach our students not to give out personal information on the computer, students are still children who make mistakes.  Difficulties in supervising students’ Twitter accounts and posts would probably prevent me from being permitted to utilizing Twitter in the classroom.

 

Resources

Greenhow, C. & Gleason, B.  (2012).  Twitteracy: Tweeting as a new literacy practice.  The Educational Forum, 76, 463-477.  http://www.kdp.org/publications/theeducationalforum/pdf/TEF764_Greenhow_Gleason%20%282%29.pdf

Hayes, E. & Gee, J.  (2010).  No selling the genie lamp: a game literacy practice in The Sims.  E-Learning and Digital Media, 7(1),  67-78.  http://www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp?j=elea&aid=4000