This course has taken me by surprise. I wasn't really that sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed the material. I have to admit that at times, I had no idea what the authors were talking about (mainly with video games), but I learned a lot! One of the biggest things I learned is by having students use blogs or "fan fiction" ish websites, they can write in a new way. Students may be able to express themselves with more confidence than they would by speaking aloud. It's exciting that technology has become such an integral part of our world- especially in education! What I've loved about having this class this semester is that it has fit in SO well with my other classes. In my Trends and Issues class, we are constantly discussing the pros and cons of technology in the classroom. This class helped me gain more insight on that issue. I've learned that video games can help students with problem-solving in real time action as opposed to simply learning about the content. But I've also learned that students need things in moderation- and that includes video games.
I am teaching fifth grade in a title 1 school next year and because of that, the school receives incredible funding from the state. When I went to visit, there were about 4-5 iPads and MacBooks per classroom. I want to incorporate and weave technology into all that I can next year. Having the technology, I will use web 2.0 tools whenever possible. I've learned that using some of these tools (Glogster, Wordle, etc) enable students to be creative and think in entirely new ways. I am not an artistic person myself, but I always love creating new projects using technology. The world is moving into a technological state and these students need to be able to use and thrive use technology in order to experience not only academic success, but success in their careers as well. Going back to day one in this class, as Millennials, we need to show the world that we are the smartest generation yet. We need to use this technology to explore worlds that were not possible before this. However, I do not want students to lose the desire to sit down read a book or play outside. Technology should not replace these learning experiences, only enhance them!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Text Set #4
The Three Branches of Government
Congress for Kids
http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_threebranches.htm
This is a great website for students to explore the three branches of government and the constitution! They may read all about the government and how bills are passed in detail. Very user-friendly and kid-friendly. Grades 3-5
Ben's Guide: Branches of Government
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/branches.html
This is a simple, yet informative website. What I like most is the visual that is on the homepage. This would be great to print out and display in the classroom. Grades 3-5
Three Branches of Govenment
http://government.pppst.com/3branches.html
This is a helpful website for teachers! It offers free PowerPoints for teachers and government games for students. It also includes some lesson plans, templates, and clipart! Grades 3-5
3 Branches of Government
http://www.wartgames.com/themes/government/3branches.html
What a fun website! There are activities and games for students pertaining to the three branches. They can play games that detail with all three branches or solely play games that involve a particular branch. Grades 3-5
Branches of Government Game http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/government/branches_government.htm
This is an interactive website that requires students to drag responsibilities over from a box into the right branch of government. Highly recommend this website! Grades 3-5
Branches of the Government
http://www.texaslre.org/branches_game/branches_game.html
This is another great interactive website! The branches are split up into tree branches and the students must drag leaves that contain facts on them to the correct branch. Highly recommend this as well! Grades 3-5
The Three Branches of Government
http://www.slideshare.net/judgea/the-three-branches-of-government
This is a PowerPoint made by a student on the three branches of government. It is very informative, however I would use it as an example and have students create their own PowerPoint! Grades 4-5
SMART Exchange: Branches of Government
http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html?q=%20branches%20of%20government
This is a great tool for teachers with a smart board in their classroom. There is a MULTITUDE of PowerPoint presentations to choose from to introduce/review the 3 branches. They are interactive as well! Grades 3-5
White House Grounds View
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white-house/interactive-tour
This is a great website to take students on a virtual field trip to the White House! Students can watch videos, look at pictures, layouts, or take an interactive tour! Grades 3-5
Three Branches of Government
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110221/
This website simply allows students to explore all three branches of government. It is simply and informative! Grades 3-5
3 Branches of Government
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5M50xBz1cU
This video on YouTube is great to discuss the 3 branches! It is School House Rock video and it is catchy! Grades 3-5
BrainPOP: Branches of Government
http://www.brainpop.com/
socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw
/branchesofgovernment/
We all love BrainPOP! This a great video to introduce or review the three branches of government. Tim and Moby give definitions and the visuals are great. Highly recommend this! Grades 3-5
BrainPOP: Presidental Power
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/presidentialpower/
This BrainPOP is perfect to discuss what the president's duties are. Once again, this would be a great video to give a summary over what the president does and the powers he/she has. Grades 3-5
Branches of Government (Government in Action!) by John Hamilton
http://www.amazon.com/Branches-Government-Action-John-Hamilton/dp/1591976448
This is an engaging book that discusses how government got started and how everything runs now. There are great pictures as well as a glossary for students. Grades 3-5
The Three Branches of Government
http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/education/the-3-branches-of-government-4504165
This is pretty neat- it is a flip book that students can flip through online that scrolls through the branches of government and the constitution. Very visually appealing! Grades 4-5
New Literacies Glossary
Primary Discourses (p. 3)- How we learn to be and act within our face to face interactions throughout our lives.
Secondary Discourses (p.3)- Discourses recruited through outsides groups (friends, school, clubs, etc.).
Encoded texts (p. 5)- Texts that have been rendered in a form that allows them to be retrieved, worked with, and made available independently of the physical presence of another person.
Web 2.0 (p. 16)
Role-Playing (p. 67)- an episodic and participatory story-creation system that includes a set of quantified
rules that assist a group of players and a gamemaster in determining how their fictional
characters’ spontaneous interactions are resolved (2001, 5; original emphases).
Secondary Authors (p. 68)- Authors
who construct specific fictional situations within a pre-established imaginary world. The secondary author takes the work of the primary author and uses it to create a certain situation.
Primary Authorship (p. 71)- The primary author develops a world and a set of rules.
Agency (p. 72)- Agency describes the capabilities one has in terms of taking action within a space
of possibility (Anstey 2005).
Authority (p. 72)- Authority refers to the ability to enforce and judge the
results of those actions.
Textual Agency (p.73)- how much control one has over the actual text in question, such as the text of the book or the shot sequence of the movie.
Psychological Agency (p. 73)- Psychological agency describes how much control individuals feel that they have (Mateas 2003).
Narrative authority (p. 73)- refers to who makes decisions about the way the text or story actually turns out.
Psychological authority (p. 73) has to do with the way that the text establishes its fictional authority over the reader, and the degree to which the reader buys in to the story (Bal 1998).
Cultural Authority (p. 73) - How much value we assign to the text, and to the notion of the author as the final arbiter of meaning within it (Foucault 1977).
Physical Authority (p.73)- The authority that a traditional text has simply by being a text, as it is hand- ed down over time and becomes an authoritative resource.
Fanfiction (p.116)- denotes texts written by fans about their favorite
media and pop cultural icons. Such texts often extend the plotline of the original
series (e.g., characters from Star Trek discover a new planet), explore relationships
between characters (e.g., Shaggy and Velma from Scooby Doo fall in love), and/or
expand the timeline of the media by developing prequels and/or sequels of sorts (e.g.,
a journal detailing the many regrets of Darth Vader before his death); however, these
are just a few examples of the many creative contributions such fan texts make to
the pop cultural imaginary.Affinity Spaces (p.13)- to be and feel connected to other people and to celebrate a fandom: to participate in an affinity, to make shared meanings, to brighten the day, share a laugh, share one’s passion for a product or a character, and so on in an online space.
Memes (p.199)- Memes are contagious patterns of “cultural information” that get passed from mind to mind and directly generate and shape the mindsets and significant forms of behavior and actions of a social group. Memes include such things as popular tunes, catch- phrases, clothing fashions, architectural styles, ways of doing things, icons, jingles, and the like.
All definitions came straight from:
Knobel, M. and Lankshear, C. (eds) (2007). A New Literacies Sampler. New York: Peter Lang.
Media Presentation
This is a video that I created to share with my class on the first day! I feel as if this is a great way to introduce technology into the classroom and start the year off right. Students will also get a great visual of a snapshot of my life! I'd also like them to do something like this in the first few weeks of school so everyone can learn about their classmates.
"New Literacies"
What was this chapter about/what does it tell us about teaching students?
In this chapter, Cynthia Lewis discusses how writing in this new digital era requires thinking on practicing tools. New literacies aren't "new" unless they involve both new technologies and "ethos stuff." As she writes, "Big L literacies are connected with identities, patterns, and ways of being in the world rather than solely with the acts of reading and writing. The three dimensions of practice I’ll discuss—agency, performativity, and circulation—are salient across the forms and cases of new literacies discussed in this volume" (p. 230). In particular, circulation is what I want to focus on. Memes can circulate, change, and reproduce as something new. We must have a deep understanding of why they change and how they are interconnected to pop culture. Lewis discusses how she was fearful of this book- fearful of the literacies that are talked about in this book. She states that maybe we should not be incorporating these new literacies into the classroom. Then again, the world is changing and technology is a large part of it. Should we be using these new literacies in the classroom to prepare students for the future and workplace? She concludes with, "The question is whether we want to make school literacy more engaging for students and more meaningful to their present and future lives in a digitally mediated world" (p. 236). This tells us that as teachers, we need to be making decisions on where we want our lessons to go and how we want our students to learn.
Does this apply to all content areas?
Yes! This applies to teachers everywhere in every classroom!
In this chapter, Cynthia Lewis discusses how writing in this new digital era requires thinking on practicing tools. New literacies aren't "new" unless they involve both new technologies and "ethos stuff." As she writes, "Big L literacies are connected with identities, patterns, and ways of being in the world rather than solely with the acts of reading and writing. The three dimensions of practice I’ll discuss—agency, performativity, and circulation—are salient across the forms and cases of new literacies discussed in this volume" (p. 230). In particular, circulation is what I want to focus on. Memes can circulate, change, and reproduce as something new. We must have a deep understanding of why they change and how they are interconnected to pop culture. Lewis discusses how she was fearful of this book- fearful of the literacies that are talked about in this book. She states that maybe we should not be incorporating these new literacies into the classroom. Then again, the world is changing and technology is a large part of it. Should we be using these new literacies in the classroom to prepare students for the future and workplace? She concludes with, "The question is whether we want to make school literacy more engaging for students and more meaningful to their present and future lives in a digitally mediated world" (p. 236). This tells us that as teachers, we need to be making decisions on where we want our lessons to go and how we want our students to learn.
Does this apply to all content areas?
Yes! This applies to teachers everywhere in every classroom!
"Memes, Affinities, and Cultural Production"
What was this chapter about/What does this tell us about teaching students?
In this chapter, Knobel and Lankshear discuss memes, which are "contagious patterns of “cultural information” that get passed from mind to mind and directly generate and shape the mindsets and significant forms of behavior and actions of a social group" (p. 199). For instance, a meme could be a popular song, a fashion styles, etc. Memes are often catchy propaganda. There are three types of means; fidelity, fecundity, and longevity. Fidelity is the quality of the meme, fecundity refers to the rate at which the meme is copied, and longevity is the key ingredient. The longer a meme is copied and passed down, the "better" its innovation. The researchers looked at online meme pools for a study and found that there are no particularly different characteristics from online memes to normal memes. They found that humor was a key component in the memes and also cross-references to pop-culture. Memes are also successful because they rely on the human mind. They state, "A “big L” conception of new Literacies recognizes that everyday life is often amplified through the participation of and interaction with people one may never meet and, moreover, that in online spaces this interaction and participation may occur in ways never before possible." As teacher, it is crucial that we help students understand why memes are occurring and why they are popular. Students need to learn to evaluate and analyze their culture around them.
Does this chapter apply to all content areas?
Yes! All students should learn to evaluate their culture around them!
In this chapter, Knobel and Lankshear discuss memes, which are "contagious patterns of “cultural information” that get passed from mind to mind and directly generate and shape the mindsets and significant forms of behavior and actions of a social group" (p. 199). For instance, a meme could be a popular song, a fashion styles, etc. Memes are often catchy propaganda. There are three types of means; fidelity, fecundity, and longevity. Fidelity is the quality of the meme, fecundity refers to the rate at which the meme is copied, and longevity is the key ingredient. The longer a meme is copied and passed down, the "better" its innovation. The researchers looked at online meme pools for a study and found that there are no particularly different characteristics from online memes to normal memes. They found that humor was a key component in the memes and also cross-references to pop-culture. Memes are also successful because they rely on the human mind. They state, "A “big L” conception of new Literacies recognizes that everyday life is often amplified through the participation of and interaction with people one may never meet and, moreover, that in online spaces this interaction and participation may occur in ways never before possible." As teacher, it is crucial that we help students understand why memes are occurring and why they are popular. Students need to learn to evaluate and analyze their culture around them.
Does this chapter apply to all content areas?
Yes! All students should learn to evaluate their culture around them!
Monday, June 25, 2012
"Looking from the Inside Out: Academic Blogging as New Literacy"
What was this chapter about/What does it tell us about teaching students?
Davies and Merchant discuss blogging! They want to explore how we view blogging as a way of interactive text. Blogging has become a social practice. Their popularity is booming and it is extremely user-friendly. Basically, blogs are online journals that include updates often and short posts. Blogs can be used to share recipes, stories, travel stories, criticize, share obsessions, etc. Graphic design also plays a big role in blogging. This is extremely important in the semantics of the blog! Color, layout, images, and sound all contribute to the mood and meaning given from the author. Individuals develop blogger identities and often reveal very intimate details about their lives. Individuals develop online relationships where those in their social network will visit often. This chapter tells us that there are so many new interactive texts out there now. Students may feel free to share what is on their mind more openly if they have a blog. They may create a blogger identity and share important and personal things. However, once something is on the internet, it's out there for the world to see. So I think we need to be careful about how we go about using blogs in the classroom and extremely careful about privacy settings, etc. Blogging could be a great way for teachers to integrate technology and writing into the classroom!
Does this chapter apply to all content areas?
Somewhat, yes. As students grow older, blogging could be a great way to share ideas and find connections. In elementary school, online blogging could be dangerous and too mature, but there may be a way to have them simply role-play or have them use microsoft word to practice their typing skills and share their thoughts on an idea.
Davies and Merchant discuss blogging! They want to explore how we view blogging as a way of interactive text. Blogging has become a social practice. Their popularity is booming and it is extremely user-friendly. Basically, blogs are online journals that include updates often and short posts. Blogs can be used to share recipes, stories, travel stories, criticize, share obsessions, etc. Graphic design also plays a big role in blogging. This is extremely important in the semantics of the blog! Color, layout, images, and sound all contribute to the mood and meaning given from the author. Individuals develop blogger identities and often reveal very intimate details about their lives. Individuals develop online relationships where those in their social network will visit often. This chapter tells us that there are so many new interactive texts out there now. Students may feel free to share what is on their mind more openly if they have a blog. They may create a blogger identity and share important and personal things. However, once something is on the internet, it's out there for the world to see. So I think we need to be careful about how we go about using blogs in the classroom and extremely careful about privacy settings, etc. Blogging could be a great way for teachers to integrate technology and writing into the classroom!
Does this chapter apply to all content areas?
Somewhat, yes. As students grow older, blogging could be a great way to share ideas and find connections. In elementary school, online blogging could be dangerous and too mature, but there may be a way to have them simply role-play or have them use microsoft word to practice their typing skills and share their thoughts on an idea.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tech Review #4 Storyline Online
Storyline Online is a great website for readers! Actors from the Screen Actors Guild Foundation read stories as you click on them. There are about 30 stories and as you scroll over them, it shows the actor or actress who will read the story aloud. As they are reading the story, the book is shown and the voice becomes a voice over. There is also a quick video of them talking in the beginning. After the book is over, you may click on related activities or even order the real book. This would be a great website to recommend to parents, especially if the parents might not have enough time to read a story that night. It is not required to sign up or pay. I'd recommend this website for students up to age 10, unless older students just want to hear the stories! This could even be used in the classroom if the book pertains to the lesson. The voices are so enthusiastic and engaging. It's always great to find websites that encourage and promote reading!
Text Set #3
The Ecosystem
Marine Ecosystem Illustrations
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/multimedia/marine-ecosystem-illustrations-grades-3-5/?ar_a=1
This is a great website for students to view pictures of different ecosystems. There are many different links to click on such as, marine ecosystem, coral reef ecosystem, deep sea ecosystem, arctic ecosystem, mangrove ecosystem, etc. NatGeo also offers external links and references for more information! Grades 3-5
Analyzing an Ecosystem
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/lsps07.sci.life.oate.ecosystem/
Students are invited to analyze an ecosystem in an interactive way. Once in the activity, students must look for abiotic components, biotic components, producers, consumers, etc. It is great! Students can also click on many different ecosystems to explore! Highly recommend! Grades 3-5
The Tree of Life
http://sciencenetlinks.com/tools/the-tree-of-life/
This is an interactive website that allows students to classify animals by the correct classification system. They may explore relationships between species and create a cladogram just like a scientist would! Grades 4-5
EcoKids
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/kids_home.cfm
This is a great website for students to play games and refresh their memory on ecosystems and all they entail! There are facts of the day, activities, homework help, contests, and even a link for students to take action. It could be a fun project with to do as a class! Grades 3-5
Exploring Ecosystems
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/exploring_ecosystems/index.html
This is a website that allows students to explore three different types of ecosystems: the everglades, the desert, and the arctic coastal plane. Once they click on the one they want, they may move through slides on that ecosystem. The language is in kid language and very beneficial. Each slide has pictures and vital information. Grades 4-5
BrainPOP: Ecosystems
http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/ecosystems/preview.weml
Who Eats What?
http://www.amazon.com/Chains-Lets-Read---Find-Out-Science-Stage/dp/0064451305/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340063880&sr=1-1&keywords=Life+Sciences+-+Ecology+-+Ecosystems
This is a great book to show students how to food chains and food webs work. The pictures are great and it gets students thinking about how ecosystem work and the circle of life! Grades 2-3
The War in Your Backyard: Life in an Ecosystem
http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Your-Backyard-Ecosystem/dp/1410919706/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340063880&sr=1-2&keywords=Life+Sciences+-+Ecology+-+Ecosystems
This book is designed to help students think about the ecosystems in their own backyard. This is extremely relevant and engaging (great for evaluations :)) and the students will learn facts about all the animals and insects in their own backyards! Grades 3-5
Population Ecology
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/population-ecology.html
This is an interactive website to show students what happens when an oak tree sheds acorns and the affects it has on the ecosystem. Students can click on each insect/animal and discover how it is affected. Students can also click on different seasons to see how the ecosystem changes. Grades 4-5
Ecosystems
http://www.neok12.com/Ecosystems.htm
This is a great resource for teachers when teaching an ecosystem unit! There is a multitude of videos, links, activities, and definitions available to help students learn. There are also PowerPoint slides and pre-made quizzes. Great website! Grades 4-6
American Deserts: Ecosytem
http://www.desertusa.com/life.html
If you are studying the desert ecosystem as part of your ecosystem unit, this is the best website! Students can view pictures, click on different deserts in the United States, view how animals are classified, watch videos, and scroll through different pictures. Grades 4-6
http://www.pbs.org/earthonedge/ecosystems/
This website is perfect for all students studying ecosystems. They may click on whichever ecosystem they are interested in studying and they may also discover how to get involved. This would be a great thing to go through as a class. Grades 4-6
Blue Planet Biomes
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm
This website shows all the biomes in the world. Students may look at the map and use the key to discover where the biomes are located. They may then click on the different biomes and read up on information pertaining to that biome and view pictures. Grades 4-5
Bimoe in a Baggie
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/biomeinabaggie.html
This is such a fun website! Teachers may use this help students create their own biome in a bag! All of the materials and instructions are listed, as well as past results. Great website for an experiment with the students! Grades 3-5
Endangered Ecosystems
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/form_wildcats.htm
This is an important website for students to see because it shows some ecosystems that are currently endangered. Students can see the effects of what happens when an ecosystem in endangered and they may "join research teams" in Costa Rice and Mexico to learn about ecosystems. Very cool website! Grades 3-5
"Blurring and Breaking through the Boundaries of Narrative, Literacy, and Identity in Adolescent Fan Fiction"
What was this chapter about/What does it tell us about teaching students?
In this chapter, Angela Thomas discusses two girls who met online to create fan fiction. The girls balance one another out because one is a better writer and one had better viewpoints. The use a range of literary techniques and reference the media, other print sources, and personal experiences. The girls not only use narrative writing, but they include multimodal texts including avatars, visual signatures, icons, mood music, mini movie trailers, etc. The girls, like other fan fiction writers, use their background experiences in creating their characters. They include poetry and create identities for themselves. Jandalf explains, "roleplaying brings a whole different depth, especially when you’re playing a character that directly reflects yourself. Besides which, getting into character can lessen your limitations and emotional defenses that you usually have over your own self. If I was talking to someone about my hopes and dreams, I probably wouldn’t reveal much more than what I’d like to see in the next year of my life" (p. 158). The girls become more free through writing and dialoging on fan fiction sites. This site helps us to learn to incorporate pop culture, somehow, into our curriculum. Students learn how to role-play and express themselves in an entirely new way. Students can collaborate and build off one another's skills! They can also work through problems/emotions through a fan fiction character.
Does this apply to all content areas?
In some ways, yes. I feel as if allowing students to take on the role of another character is extremely important. Learning how to empathize and share emotions is an extremely important lesson to learn. I am not sure that students in the elementary grades are mature enough to do this through something like fan fiction, but giving them a situation where they must place themselves in someone else's shoes could be very beneficial.
In this chapter, Angela Thomas discusses two girls who met online to create fan fiction. The girls balance one another out because one is a better writer and one had better viewpoints. The use a range of literary techniques and reference the media, other print sources, and personal experiences. The girls not only use narrative writing, but they include multimodal texts including avatars, visual signatures, icons, mood music, mini movie trailers, etc. The girls, like other fan fiction writers, use their background experiences in creating their characters. They include poetry and create identities for themselves. Jandalf explains, "roleplaying brings a whole different depth, especially when you’re playing a character that directly reflects yourself. Besides which, getting into character can lessen your limitations and emotional defenses that you usually have over your own self. If I was talking to someone about my hopes and dreams, I probably wouldn’t reveal much more than what I’d like to see in the next year of my life" (p. 158). The girls become more free through writing and dialoging on fan fiction sites. This site helps us to learn to incorporate pop culture, somehow, into our curriculum. Students learn how to role-play and express themselves in an entirely new way. Students can collaborate and build off one another's skills! They can also work through problems/emotions through a fan fiction character.
Does this apply to all content areas?
In some ways, yes. I feel as if allowing students to take on the role of another character is extremely important. Learning how to empathize and share emotions is an extremely important lesson to learn. I am not sure that students in the elementary grades are mature enough to do this through something like fan fiction, but giving them a situation where they must place themselves in someone else's shoes could be very beneficial.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Tech Review #3
PBS KIDS PLAY! Home Edition
This is a great website for students to play on. What I love is that it is geared towards keeping students' brains in use during the summer. Once you enter the website, you have a lot of free range to click on different options. There are shows to watch online and simple games. OR you can click on, "Play (award winning school readiness program)," "PBS Parents," "PBS Teachers," or "PBS Lab." If you click on "Play," students are able to play games that are aligned to the state standards. It also keeps progress of how the students are doing/coming along. This would be great for teachers during the school year or before to the school year to note where students are coming in at. You do, however, need a username for this. If you click on "Parents" or "Teachers," you will find a plethora of resources and activities to do with your students/child. My favorite it the "Tech Lab!" It gives ideas to parents for activities to do around the house and little things they can do with their child that will recall higher order thinking. There are simple ideas like, "let your child help set the table and have him/her count..." Little things, but helpful always! This website would be great for students grades K-4. The site could absolutely be used in school- there are many online/offline activities given. The site is fairly interactive, including games and videos. I like how user friendly it is! I especially like how after an activity idea, it suggests "take it further." Overall, I'd recommend this as a site to give parents, especially over the summer! Sunday, June 17, 2012
Digital Design: English Language Learners and Reader Reviews in Online Fiction
What was the chapter about/What does it tell us about teaching students?
In this chapter, Black discusses feedback that one particular ELL author (Nanako) receives on her Fan Fiction sit and how readers/this author "co-design the writing/reading space through their interactions" (p. 116). She also sheds insight on how these fan sites are based on both pop culture and school-based literacies. Black collected field notes and interviews over a two year span on Fanfiction.net. Black found that the community did not judge the site as being valuable based on solely grammar, but also entertainment (pop culture content, anime, stories, etc.). Black mentions how this pressure on ELL students to learn English is tough because they are not provided with enough opportunities to engage in online literacies and develop digital fluency. ELL students also need to be well aware of pop culture in order to become fluent readers, and ultimately develop great reading fluency. Educators should be engaging students with material that is relevant to students' lives. This is what will help increase their motivation and desire to learn.
Can this chapter be applied to all content areas?
Absolutely. All students need to be engaged! This is the duty of the teacher to bring in content that is relevant to the students' lives. This does not necessarily mean that Kindergarteners should be on the internet learning about pop culture, but it does mean that we need to find ways to engage ALL students at all ages.
In this chapter, Black discusses feedback that one particular ELL author (Nanako) receives on her Fan Fiction sit and how readers/this author "co-design the writing/reading space through their interactions" (p. 116). She also sheds insight on how these fan sites are based on both pop culture and school-based literacies. Black collected field notes and interviews over a two year span on Fanfiction.net. Black found that the community did not judge the site as being valuable based on solely grammar, but also entertainment (pop culture content, anime, stories, etc.). Black mentions how this pressure on ELL students to learn English is tough because they are not provided with enough opportunities to engage in online literacies and develop digital fluency. ELL students also need to be well aware of pop culture in order to become fluent readers, and ultimately develop great reading fluency. Educators should be engaging students with material that is relevant to students' lives. This is what will help increase their motivation and desire to learn.
Can this chapter be applied to all content areas?
Absolutely. All students need to be engaged! This is the duty of the teacher to bring in content that is relevant to the students' lives. This does not necessarily mean that Kindergarteners should be on the internet learning about pop culture, but it does mean that we need to find ways to engage ALL students at all ages.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Text Set #2
World War II
World War II Resources
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/world-war-2/teacher-resources/6680.html
This is a great website for teachers to use during a unit on WWII. It offers printables from the Nazi takeover to Pearl Harbor to the Holocaust. There are also activities given alongside popular WWII fictional books like the Diary of Anne Frank, Number the Stars, etc. There are also many interactive online activities for the students to do in class! Grades 5-8
BrainPOP: WWII
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/worldwarii/
BrainPOP WWII is a GREAT video/introduction to the war. There are two separate videos, one pertaining to the causes of WWII and one pertaining to what happened during the way. Very educational and it is in kid-language. Grades 5-6
World War II Remembered
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwii/timeline_kids.htm
This website allows students to create a timeline of WWII using technology. This is a create way to incorporate computer skills into the classroom! Students may add photos, videos, texts, etc. Highly recommend! Grades 5-6
World War II
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/history/contents_worldwarii.htm
This website provides many online, interactive activities surrounding WWII. It also provides printables, for instance my favorite is one that asks, "If you could go back in time to WWII and talk to anybody, who would it be and what would you ask them?" Great questions to get the students thinking in new ways! Grades 5-6
Inside WWII
http://www.history.com/interactives/inside-wwii-interactive
History.com provides the viewer with an interactive map of the world. The students can click on an area and discover what it was like during the time period of WWII. Once they choose a topic, students may read about it, view pictures, and even click on extra links for videos, etc. Grades 5-8
World War II
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/
This website offers information on EVERYTHING from WWII. Students can click on whatever they like and information pops up! Great website for a review or to have available as a constant resource while talking about WWII. Grades 5-8
The Second World War
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WW.htm
Spartacus Education gives an extensive timeline throughout WWII. It is amazing. You may click on each event and there you will find details and photos! Great site! Grades 5-8
World War II
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WW.htm
Spartacus Education gives an extensive timeline throughout WWII. It is amazing. You may click on each event and there you will find details and photos! Great site! Grades 5-8
World War II
http://www.neok12.com/World-War-II.htm
This is a kid-friendly website because it allows students to create presentations/posters based on a variety of available resources and pictures. There are also many WWII videos and clip made available through the website. Students can also play games and complete online activities pertaining to WWII. Grades 5-8
Remembering Pearl Harbor
This is a kid-friendly website because it allows students to create presentations/posters based on a variety of available resources and pictures. There are also many WWII videos and clip made available through the website. Students can also play games and complete online activities pertaining to WWII. Grades 5-8
Remembering Pearl Harbor
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/multimedia/interactive/pearl-harbor/?ar_a=1
This website contains an interactive attack map from Pearl Harbor. You can hear narration by what sounds like a radio voice while the map shows when/where attacks took place! Grades 5-8
The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students
http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/
This site provides students with maps, historical photographs, artifacts, audio clips, and text discussing the Holocaust. Everything is organized by theme, so you may click on any part of the war and links, texts, pictures, and personal stories will come up! Extremely enlightening and engaging. Grades 6-8
The Holocaust: A Tragic Legacy
http://library.thinkquest.org/12663/
On this website, students may listen to Holocaust survivor stories, view a timeline, take a virtual tour of a camp, and even add a thought to the "virtual remembrance" wall. I would love to have my students do this! Grades 6-8
Children of World War II
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/
This is a WONDERFUL website! Students virtually act as children living in the WWII time period. They may explore areas such as "food and shopping," "daily life," "air raids," etc. Once they click on an area, they may explore mini areas. For instance in "daily life," students may view "the wartime kitchen," "listening to the radio," "writing letters," or "friends and neighbors." They may view pictures, hear sounds, or read writings. It is phenomenal. Grades 5-7
BrainPOP: Holocaust
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/holocaust/preview.weml
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/holocaust/preview.weml
This BrainPOP video is a great way to introduce the Holocaust in kid language. It is sensitive and the children will understand what they are saying. It might be better for younger students (5th grade). This would be a great introduction or a great review! Grades 5-7
Number the Stars
http://www.amazon.com/Number-Stars-Lois-Lowry/dp/0440227534
This is an amazing book to go along with a social studies unit on World War II. It is great because the students may see what living in this time period would be like for a child of their age. This would be great to read in reading class during the WWII unit. Amazing read! Grades 5-8
This is an amazing book to go along with a social studies unit on World War II. It is great because the students may see what living in this time period would be like for a child of their age. This would be great to read in reading class during the WWII unit. Amazing read! Grades 5-8
Diary of Anne Frank
http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Young-Everymans-Library-Cloth/dp/0307594009/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339618193&sr=1-1&keywords=diary+of+anne+frank
This is the story of a young Jewish girl who hid from Nazis for two years in Amsterdam. This another book that would allow the students to relate to a girl of their age. I would also recommend reading this book in reading class throughout a unit on WWII. Grades 5-8
Pleasure, Learning, Video Games, and Life: The Projective Stance
What was the chapter about/What does it tell us about teaching students?
Gee comments on how video games should simply be an extension of life- they externalize some of the the ways human beings operate in our real world situations. Gee argues that video games create a "projective stance," meaning that humans "see the world simultaneously as a project imposed on us and as a site into which we can actively project our desires, values, and goals" (p. 95). He also believes that there is a deep expertise in video game playing that calls to learners in school. Gee discusses what happens when you are playing a video game and the role the player takes. The player need to have additional skills when playing the game, not just simply knowing which buttons to push. They player needs to think like the character they are playing. He states that during a game, the player takes on " a stance that is rooted in the knowledge, values, and ways of seeing and being in the world of an authentic professional, an “expert" (p. 107). This can be applied to teaching because according to Gee, video games require a different kind of knowledge from students. They do not ask students to recite facts or answer multiple choice questions, rather instead they ask the student to survive in an unknown world, using what they already know about it. Students can experience these scenarios in an embodied way! If we could give students a "visual and embodied" experience of the content they are learning, they will build simulations in their head to creatively explore and test out actions. The students may fail, but they are in a predetermined environment that is safe. Through a video game-like simulation, students may actually feel first hand what it is like to experience what is happening. The learner becomes and stays engaged- which is what we know leads to the best type of learning!
Can this be applied to all content areas?
Yes, but it would be best for older, more mature grades. Students need to be responsible enough to handle the simulation correctly and think it through in the correct way!
Gee comments on how video games should simply be an extension of life- they externalize some of the the ways human beings operate in our real world situations. Gee argues that video games create a "projective stance," meaning that humans "see the world simultaneously as a project imposed on us and as a site into which we can actively project our desires, values, and goals" (p. 95). He also believes that there is a deep expertise in video game playing that calls to learners in school. Gee discusses what happens when you are playing a video game and the role the player takes. The player need to have additional skills when playing the game, not just simply knowing which buttons to push. They player needs to think like the character they are playing. He states that during a game, the player takes on " a stance that is rooted in the knowledge, values, and ways of seeing and being in the world of an authentic professional, an “expert" (p. 107). This can be applied to teaching because according to Gee, video games require a different kind of knowledge from students. They do not ask students to recite facts or answer multiple choice questions, rather instead they ask the student to survive in an unknown world, using what they already know about it. Students can experience these scenarios in an embodied way! If we could give students a "visual and embodied" experience of the content they are learning, they will build simulations in their head to creatively explore and test out actions. The students may fail, but they are in a predetermined environment that is safe. Through a video game-like simulation, students may actually feel first hand what it is like to experience what is happening. The learner becomes and stays engaged- which is what we know leads to the best type of learning!
Can this be applied to all content areas?
Yes, but it would be best for older, more mature grades. Students need to be responsible enough to handle the simulation correctly and think it through in the correct way!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Tech Review #2 Spelling City
I would like to introduce you all to Spelling City! It is a PHENOMENAL
website. The teacher can create usernames for all students which allows
the students to go home and practice their spelling words and
vocabulary. The teacher can get online and look at the activity from
each student. Students can practice their spelling and vocabulary by
playing a variety of games, taking practice tests, and doing many other
activities. There are many different sections that the students may
click on. They may click on "spelling test," "vocabulary test," "teach
me," "flash cards," and "play a game." Students also have the
opportunity to play a game against another student. This is fun for them
because it becomes slightly competitive and they are playing against
their friends! Students can listen to a real person pronounce each word
and there are also printable worksheets for extra practice. Teachers may
select their own words or choose from a list of words that Spelling
City has already created. They may also take their actual
spelling/vocabulary tests online weekly. This way, the teacher has the
grades and the students may keep track of their progress and students
gain computer skills. There is also a student grouping and
differentiation link that allows teachers to group students based on
ability level. Overall, this is a great website and resource because
students love it and as a teacher, so do I!
Agency and Authority in Role-Playing "Texts"
What was the chapter about/What does this chapter tell you about teaching students?
In this chapter, Jessica Hammer discusses role playing and the difficulties that secondary authors face while role-playing. She defines role playing using a definition by Mackay as, "an episodic and participatory story-creation system that includes a set of quantified rules that assist a group of players and a gamemaster in determining how their fictional characters’ spontaneous interactions are resolved" (p. 69). However, she adds that role-play must include narration, improvisation, and collaboration. She also notes that it is crucial for role-playing texts to include both agency and authority (agency, meaning the capability an individual has of taking action, and authority, meaning the ability to enforce/evaluate those actions). Going back to my first statement, secondary authors must also respond to the actions of the teritary authors (who write the text of the game play) in order to have full participation. Hammer discusses how authority functions differently in role-playing games versus traditional texts. In traditional texts, the author is able to explicitly state and point out the events of the story, but in role-playing, no one individual can state what is going to happen next. It's a mystery! Role-playing provides challenges to both authority and agency. This article also tells us in terms of teaching our students that the connecting of meaning through text and the reader changes in terms of traditional text versus role-playing. In traditional text, readers make connections after they have read. In role-play, readers themselves are constructing the meaning while they are reading it! This is important knowledge as an educator. Role-playing helps allow students to become "producers, rather than consumers, of narratives. Role-playing opens texts to a new kind of participation- one that can be either enabled by, or constrained by, the affordances of technology" (p. 90).
Can this chapter be applied in your content area?
I do not think the way Hammer talks about technology in this chapter would be useful in a K-5 classroom. However, the older students get, the more this might become a helpful tool in their learning!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Reading in a Technology World
What was this chapter about/What does this chapter tell you about teaching students?
In this chapter, Jennifer Stone discusses her interest in popular websites and the affect it has on young people's learning. In order to study this, she created a survey of some of young people's favorite websites, composed a textual analysis of those sites, and looked at a few case studies pertaining to these sites. I particularly enjoyed when she listed eight websites and discussed their features. She wrote about their genres, their syntax, their vocab usage, their moral orientations, etc. What I found to be interesting was her sentence length evaluation and note of complex vocabulary. She noted that, "In fact, this comparison illustrates that young people actually are more likely to have access to complex texts—in terms of length, syntax, and vocabulary—online than they are in their classrooms " (p. 58). This hit home with me. Relating back to all our discussion on technology, this shows that technology may really be helping students. I have been a witness to this first hand when I have watched some of my struggling readers in class depict a text online with much more enthusiasm. However, we cannot forget that just because the text is online, does not mean the students is more engaged. They are engaged and encouraged to read that same, difficult text because they are more interested. SO, maybe this all roots back to student interest. As educators, we need to make finding texts of interest available to all (and particularly our struggling readers) a major priority. Stone also notes that we can no longer treat reading as being singlehandedly about print. We need to focus our attention on what is happening right now. She states, "It is time for those of us involved in school-based literacy education to start addressing texts such as popular websites and to understand how they are shaping students’ literate lives." Love this! We need to reach students on their level. Let's find them where they are, use the growing technology around us, and help create better readers.
Can this chapter be applied in your content area?
Absolutely! This chapter can be applied to all content areas of teaching, as it should be.
In this chapter, Jennifer Stone discusses her interest in popular websites and the affect it has on young people's learning. In order to study this, she created a survey of some of young people's favorite websites, composed a textual analysis of those sites, and looked at a few case studies pertaining to these sites. I particularly enjoyed when she listed eight websites and discussed their features. She wrote about their genres, their syntax, their vocab usage, their moral orientations, etc. What I found to be interesting was her sentence length evaluation and note of complex vocabulary. She noted that, "In fact, this comparison illustrates that young people actually are more likely to have access to complex texts—in terms of length, syntax, and vocabulary—online than they are in their classrooms " (p. 58). This hit home with me. Relating back to all our discussion on technology, this shows that technology may really be helping students. I have been a witness to this first hand when I have watched some of my struggling readers in class depict a text online with much more enthusiasm. However, we cannot forget that just because the text is online, does not mean the students is more engaged. They are engaged and encouraged to read that same, difficult text because they are more interested. SO, maybe this all roots back to student interest. As educators, we need to make finding texts of interest available to all (and particularly our struggling readers) a major priority. Stone also notes that we can no longer treat reading as being singlehandedly about print. We need to focus our attention on what is happening right now. She states, "It is time for those of us involved in school-based literacy education to start addressing texts such as popular websites and to understand how they are shaping students’ literate lives." Love this! We need to reach students on their level. Let's find them where they are, use the growing technology around us, and help create better readers.
Can this chapter be applied in your content area?
Absolutely! This chapter can be applied to all content areas of teaching, as it should be.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Text Set #1
The Solar System
Kids Astronomy http://www.kidsastronomy.com/our_sun.htm
This is a great website for students to explore each planet individually. Children may click on each planet and view a 3D rotation, fun facts, and important information about the planet. The website also dives into meteors, moons, comets, etc. Grades 3-5
Nasa Space Place http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/solar-system/
This is a PHENOMENAL website for students to learn about our solar system! They can play games, take quizzes, explore videos and pictures, and do activities (online and on paper). There are SO many games and interactive activities. I would highly recommend this website to anyone teaching a unit on the solar system! It is extremely engaging. Grades 2-5
Star Child: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html
In kid language, this website depicts what comprises the solar system. There is a giant glossary which I love. Students can engage in countless activities and matching games! The website also has information/activities pertaining to other solar systems, comets, asteroids, etc. Grades 3-6
Smart Exchange Solar System Matching Game
http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=1869cac7-e90c-44e6-8bc0-301111b76e25
This is a great tool for any teacher with a smart board! It is an interactive matching game where students can review what they have learned pertaining to the location/names of the planets. Grades 3-6
Our Solar System
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/solarsystem/activities.shtml
This is an engaging website that involves print out activities and interactive online activities. Some activities include: astronomy calendars, solar system books, activity books, models, and printable fill in the blank pages. Another great thing this website offers is that is has the activities available in foreign languages! ESL teachers would love this site! Grades K-3
Our Solar System
http://www.wartgames.com/themes/science/solarsystem.html
This website is full of games for students to play. This would be an incredible website for extra practice and review! Grades 1-5
Amazing Space: A Hubble Galaxy
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/
This website is full of information on our solar system and the graphics/pictures are incredible! You may click on "Tonight's Sky" and view how the sky will look or view amazing images taken from the Hubble. Students will be amazed by space and how beautiful it is! Grades 3-8
Space-Age Living: Building the International Space Station http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/spacestation/
This article discusses the who, what, when, where, why, and how's of building the space station. It includes facts, figures, pictures, view tours, and applications that allow you to track where the space station is located in the sky! Very neat! Grades 3-8
Astronaut Views of Earth from Space
http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/efs/
This website offers just what the title says! You may click on any city, landscape, time of year, weather, water, etc. and view how it looks from space! I think this would be very educational for the students to see a different point of view of earth and see how it looks from outer space! Grades 3-8
Your Weight on Other Worlds
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/index.html
This is just a cool website for students to assess how much gravity would affect how much they would weigh on other planets, moons, and stars. It describes the difference between mass and weight and why it changes! Grades 2-8
Brain POP: The Solar System
http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/space/solarsystem/
This is a GREAT kid-language video to introduce the solar system! It introduces all the planets and talks about everything in the big picture. This is on Brain POP Jr., but there is a normal Brain POP on all of the planets as well! Grades 1-3
The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System
http://www.amazon.com/Magic-School-Lost-Solar-System/dp/0590414291
This is a great book to introduce the students to the solar system! This would be a great read aloud and engage the students in how the system works! Plus, we all love Ms. Frizzle :) 2-5
My Place in Space
http://www.amazon.com/My-Place-Space-Robin-Hirst/dp/1741754046/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339113340&sr=1-1
This is such a phenomenal book to put the solar system in perspective for students. A bus driver asks Henry if he knows where he lives, so he starts with his street and expands slowly out to the universe. It is great and so are the pictures! I highly recommend it! Grades 2-4
Exploring Our Solar System
http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Solar-System-Sally-Ride/dp/0375812040/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339113500&sr=1-1
This is an engaging picture book! Students take a tour of the solar system. The book explains how each planet go to be, what it is like now, and if there is a possibility of life on it! Grades 4-8
The Planets in Our Solar System
http://www.amazon.com/Planets-System-Lets-Read---Find-Out-Science/dp/006445178X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339113609&sr=1-1
This book discusses each of the eight planets in detail and includes instructions on how to make your own mobile! The pictures are exciting and draw the reader in. I'd definitely recommend this for younger readers! Grades K-3
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Internet in the Classroom
This chapter discussed the history of the internet at Ridgeview School. The school was granted access to use the internet and laptops, yet they encountered many problems they did not previously think of. The students were coming across inappropriate websites, disengaging themselves from the classroom, and losing focus of the important things. I can imagine how frustrating that would be as a teacher to get so excited over the opportunity to have internet use in the classroom, but it turns out to be extremely disappointing. When I teach, I do get frustrated when the students are off task- hence why we give out ALL instructions before giving students some exciting activity. This is why we need to allow students to use laptops and grant them internet access, but there need to be limits. The students need to be old enough to understand how/when to use the internet and where to draw the line. Students should become well versed in "internet rules" before they are given a key to free range on the internet. It is a dangerous place and I can understand where students may be lost in that abyss, but this is why we need to ensure that students are of the appropriate age and understand rules about using the internet. It is SUCH a wonderful tool and opens our eyes to so much, but they need to understand that it is a privilege and it can be taken away unless used properly!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Technology Review # 1 BrainPOP!
BrainPOP is an absolutely amazing website! There is BrainPOP BrainPOP Jr., and BrainPOP Educators. Therefore, this website would be great for any age student. BrainPOP is essentially a resource to help students understand difficult topics through the use of movies and Tim and Moby (the characters in the movies). Tim and Moby are both comical and the kids really enjoy the videos. The videos are a great way to introduce a new concept or to review a concept. There is every type of video you could imagine on here. They have science, social studies, english, math, engineering, health, arts, and music. You may search for a movie by standards, topic, or grade level. The great part about these movies is that throughout the movie, Tim and Moby stop to discuss new definitions and the definition appears on the screen. They also break down difficult concepts into simple terms. They "kid proof" everything. After the video, the teacher can click on interactive activities where the students answer review questions, play games, or even complete printable activities. BrainPOP also has supplemental lesson plans, experiments, and a Q&A page. The website is very user friendly, but you must subscribe to BrainPOP in order to use it. However, many schools sign up because this is just the greatest website! I also enjoy the movies because they can be cross curricular. They may take a social studies concept but incorporate math into the video. They also do this often with reading and writing. Tim and Moby also ask each other questions in the videos that the students are most likely thinking. This catches their attention and they stay engaged. Adult supervision is not required for this website because it is all about the kids. Everything is educational, but the students may not be able to login unless the teachers dishes out the username and password. I absolutely recommend this website for the elementary years and even older. I even learn something new from these videos all the time!
Monday, June 4, 2012
New Literacies
While reading this chapter, there were a few things that really stuck out to me. Lankshear and Knobel state that, "If we see literacy as “simply reading and writing”—whether in the sense of encoding and decoding print, as a tool, a set of skills, or a technology, or as some kind of psychological process—we cannot make sense of our literacy experience" (2). They could not be more right. The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension. We need to allow students to make sense of what they are reading by giving them the correct strategies and tools to help them succeed in this. They state that literacies call us to share and communicate meanings and to also allow others to share in that experience with us. I absolutely loved this. The chapter discuss "new technology stuff" and "new ethos stuff," which help us to understand what exactly new literacies are and how we got here. What I particularly found interesting was the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. We have changed so much since I was younger! I remember very well Web 1.0 and I am currently living in and experiencing the change to Web 2.0. I love how the web has become so interactive! In terms of teaching students, credibility is something that needs to be heavily discussed when researching on the web. However, I think it is great that the internet is becoming collaborative. This chapter can absolutely be applied in elementary education because this is the direction that the world is headed in. I love that I can "take" students across the globe via google earth and they can really feel like they are there. We get to use technology to help our students learn in new ways that no students have ever learned before!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
"The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation?"
In the video, "The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation," Mark Bauerlein and Neil Howe debate over if this rising generation is the dumbest generation or the greatest generation. Bauerlein states that high school and college years are crucial in brain development and thinking skills. Students will not have another time in their lives to devote to studying and fulfilling their intellectual desires. He claims that when we look at actual numbers, there is an intellectual decline in habits and achievements. Bauerlein believes that there has never been more of an opportunity for individuals to explore and satisfy these intellectual thoughts. This is due to an increase in libraries, colleges, museums, etc. However the big opportunity is the internet. Students can get any information they like with the click of a button. Instead of building knowledge foundation, it has become information retrieval.
On the debating side, Neil Howe states that this youth is the smartest generation yet. He claims that testing is outdated and it does not enable students to show off their true intellect. According to data from the report card, math scores have increased, as well as the number of students who apply to take the SAT. Children are actually watching less TV than they used to, however they spend more time watching video games. Howe claims that this is not making students dumber. Many businesses now are actually using video games to train employees. Howe states that reading scores may have dropped because students have less free time to read.
After watching this debate, I agree with viewpoints from both sides. In favor of the "dumbest generation", I do think that teachers in middle/high school need to place more emphasis on why school is important and how it is relevant to students' lives. There needs to become more of a purpose, and my fear is that standardized testing has pushed students to think that they are learning only to pass a test. I also believe that students have an amazing opportunity to learn whatever they wish, just at the touch of their fingertips. However, instead of "copy and pasting" information as Bauerlein states, teachers need to create ample opportunities for students to create and use the internet to foster that creativity. I agree with Howe that video games are not "making students dumber," but I do think it essential for parents to place a time limit on video game activity. The internet and video games are all part of a new generation. It is not making anyone dumber, but it may be restricting creativity. We should be using these resources to help us expand and satisfy student's desires to learn new information. I do not believe that reading scores have dropped due to less free time to read. I dedicate it to the fact that students are worn down on reading because it is pushed so hard in school and has taken on a negative connotation due to standardized testing. Students need to have a motivation to learn and see a purpose that is meaningful to them!
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