This is why I am SO glad I took this class:

Internet Literacy

Approaching the unavoidable: Literacy instruction and the Internet 

by Jacquelynn A. Malloy  & Linda B. Gambrell (probably the BEST researcher ever!!)

We talked a lot this semester, especially in Dr. Berta's class, about media literacy and technology literacy. Even since I was in elementary school, the internet has become more prevalent in instruction. Outside of school, kids spend hours online on facebook, instant messaging, and google searching any topic that interests them. I find it funny how many students claim that they don't read at all outside of school, but spend hours on the internet. Kids often don't think of using the internet as reading even though it is. This article brings up some great ideas for teaching students different aspects of internet literacy. It is also important to teach students how to figure out if a website is valid. I think that a lot of older teachers view internet literacy as something that needs to be kept out of the classroom and doesn't have as much importance as "educational literacy". I think that there is no way to stop technology from advancing and students now have grown up without knowing what life was like without the internet and computers, so teachers should embrace it and use it to create new ways to teach! 

Morning Message!!

From Morning Message to Digital Morning Message: Moving from the tried and true to the new  by Linda D. Labbo 

Although teaching early childhood is not my dream job, I do have some experience working in primary age classrooms. Almost every classroom I am in has used a Morning Message in the beginning of the day. Traditionally, a Morning Message, is a whole group writing assignment where the teacher leads the group in writing an authentic piece about the going-ons in the school for the day. Usually it is done with different students coming up to the blackboard. This articles tells about how the Morning Message can be done using a digital program such as KidPix or Powerpoint. Students can use these programs to illustrate the morning message, or use the reading application to hear the morning message read aloud. It also helps students get used to using a computer to type, write and express their thoughts. 

Blogs and Internet Projects!!

Collaborative Literacy Projects: Blogs and Internet Projects by Erica Boling, Jill Castek, Lisa Zawilinski, Karen Barton, Theresa Nierlich 

This article also offers many great real life ways to incorprate technology and literacy together. It offers ideas that teachers have used in all different grade levels and subjects. One activity that really intrigued me was instituted by a third grade teacher. She had a "blog host", a teddy bear named Jefferson Bear, who, each week posed questions for the students to answer in their blogs. Some questions required internet research, such as "What should be done about endangered species?" and others were prosocial questions such as "What should I do about a girl who is being mean to me in class?". Jefferson Bear then took the time to respond to individual student blog posts. I love this idea, and even at a middle school level, it is a great way to get students communicating with each other and using the internet to research. 

Stories About Struggling Readers and Technology by Rebecca Anderson and Ernest Balajthy

This article presented 3 real life vignettes about how various educators used technology to help struggling readers. I really liked that these ideas were actually used and put in practice so that educators reading the journal can use them in their classrooms. 

The third story about Mark, a literacy teacher who is called for help with a tutoring program. The program received funding to purchase computers, a library, and other technology devices. Mark was contacted by the head of the program, because although they had access to this technology, they felt that it was not being used to best benefit the students. This is a usual case where owning the technology does not guarantee improvements in achievement. It is so important for teachers to take classes like the ones we are teaching, so that when technology is made available, it can be used to actually improve the achievement of students. 

Digital Storytelling

This website is a great resource for digital storytelling. I had never used iMovie to create a digital story until this class, but now that I have, I have so many ideas how it can be used in class. I can see teaching students, as young as elementary school, how to create their own digital stories. I created my story about my family so that I can share it with my future students. I think that this is a great way for students to share about their families with the rest of the class. 

When I am home in New York, I tutor a young boy who has severe learning disabilities. He struggles with reading as well as written expression. Although he can't write well, he loves technology. This summer, when I am working with him, I want to help him create and tell stories using imovie. I am sure he would be highly motivated by this and enjoy telling his story without the struggle of using pen on paper.

ipod touch!!

When my younger brother bought a new mac laptop for college, he had the opportunity to get a free ipod. I am SO lucky to have the best little brother ever, because he gave it to me because he knew I had broken my old ipod.  After a few months of playing around with it, I got bored of it-- it seemed difficult to use and was too big for me to jog with it. Now, after reading this article, and seeing the presentation in class, I have found so many new uses for the ipod touch! I really enjoyed the section about how to integrate them in the math classroom (the subject I want to teach)! I think that using an ipod touch as a graphing calculator is a great idea-- graphing calculators are SO expensive and required for upper level math classes. If the money spent on the calculators was spent on ipod touches instead, students could use the graphing calculator application as well as applications for other classes. Graphing calculators are the same price or more expensive that ipod touches. What high schooler wouldn't rather get a new ipod instead of a calculator??!