World of Digital Storytelling

I used all clip art in my video to emphasis the meaning in each slide. Sometimes everyday pictures are not enough. Also it is very hard to find a picture exactly like you want. 

"Through creating electronic personal narratives, students become active creators, rather than passive consumers, of multimedia."

Digital story telling is a great way to get students more into their work. Also it can connect to a lot of different learning styles. If you have students making a digital story then they are working with sound, sight, and it is hands on.

Here is an example of a digital story:

Native American WebQuest

Native American WebQuest

What justifies the promotion of one group’s cultures and political values over another?  

	Beginning	Developing	Accomplished	Score
Overall Aesthetics (This refers to the WebQuest page itself, not the external resources linked to it.)
Overall Visual Appeal	0 points There are few or no graphic elements. No variation in layout or typography. OR Color is garish and/or typographic variations are overused and legibility suffers. Background interferes with the readability.	2 points Graphic elements sometimes, but not always, contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships. There is some variation in type size, color, and layout.	4 points Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships. Differences in type size and/or color are used well and consistently.  See Fine Points Checklist.	0. Pictures are not used. Background has nothing to do with Indians.
Navigation & Flow	0 points Getting through the lesson is confusing and unconventional. Pages can't be found easily and/or the way back isn't clear.	2 points There are a few places where the learner can get lost and not know where to go next.	4 points Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them.	4. There is a step by step list of what to do.
Mechanical Aspects	0 points There are more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	1 point There are some broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	2 points No mechanical problems noted.  See Fine Points Checklist.	2. All the links work.
Introduction
Motivational Effectiveness of Introduction	0 points The introduction is purely factual, with no appeal to relevance or social importance OR The scenario posed is transparently bogus and doesn't respect the media literacy of today's learners.	1 point The introduction relates somewhat to the learner's interests and/or describes a compelling question or problem.	2 points The introduction draws the reader into the lesson by relating to the learner's interests or goals and/or engagingly describing a compelling question or problem.	1. The Intro does state the problem but not in an interesting manner.
Cognitive Effectiveness of the Introduction	0 points The introduction doesn't prepare the reader for what is to come, or build on what the learner already knows.	1 point The introduction makes some reference to learner's prior knowledge and previews to some extent what the lesson is about.	2 points The introduction builds on learner's prior knowledge and effectively prepares the learner by foreshadowing what the lesson is about.	2. By reading the Intro, it is easy to know what you are going to learn about.
Task (The task is the end result of student efforts... not the steps involved in getting there.)
Connection of Task to Standards	0 points The task is not related to standards.	2 point The task is referenced to standards but is not clearly connected to what students must know and be able to do to achieve proficiency of those standards.	4 points The task is referenced to standards and is clearly connected to what students must know and be able to do to achieve proficiency of those standards.	4. Covers each point down below.
Cognitive Level of the Task	0 points Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions.	3 points Task is doable but is limited in its significance to students' lives. The task requires analysis of information and/or putting together information from several sources.	6 points Task is doable and engaging, and elicits thinking that goes beyond rote comprehension. The task requires synthesis of multiple sources of information, and/or taking a position, and/or going beyond the data given and making a generalization or creative product. See WebQuest Taskonomy.	3
Process (The process is the step-by-step description of how students will accomplish the task.)
Clarity of Process	0 points Process is not clearly stated. Students would not know exactly what they were supposed to do just from reading this.	2 points Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused.	4 points Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.	4. The steps are very easy to follow
Scaffolding of Process	0 points The process lacks strategies and organizational tools needed for students to gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Activities are of little significance to one another and/or to the accomplishment of the task.	3 points Strategies and organizational tools embedded in the process are insufficient to ensure that all students will gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Some of the activities do not relate specifically to the accomplishment of the task.	6 points The process provides students coming in at different entry levels with strategies and organizational tools to access and gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Activities are clearly related and designed to take the students from basic knowledge to higher level thinking. Checks for understanding are built in to assess whether students are getting it. See: Process Guides A Taxonomy of Information Patterns Language Arts Standards and Technology WebQuest Enhancement Tools Reception, Transformation & Production Scaffolds	6. Each task is directly related to the task.
Richness of Process	0 points Few steps, no separate roles assigned.	1 points Some separate tasks or roles assigned. More complex activities required.	2 points Different roles are assigned to help students understand different perspectives and/or share responsibility in accomplishing the task.	2. There are 3 different roles for the students to be.
Resources (Note: you should evaluate all resources linked to the page, even if they are in sections other than the Process block. Also note that books, video and other off-line resources can and should be used where appropriate.)
Relevance & Quantity of Resources	0 points Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task. OR There are too many resources for learners to look at in a reasonable time.	2 point There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new.	4 points There is a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Every resource carries its weight.	4. The resourses are helpful with the task.
Quality of Resources	0 points Links are mundane. They lead to information that could be found in a classroom encyclopedia.	2 points Some links carry information not ordinarily found in a classroom.	4 points Links make excellent use of the Web's timeliness  and colorfulness. Varied resources provide enough meaningful information for students to think deeply.	2. Some links go to information that can be found in the classroom.
Evaluation
Clarity of Evaluation Criteria	0 points Criteria for success are not described.	3 points Criteria for success are at least partially described.	6 points Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors. The evaluation instrument clearly measures what students must know and be able to do to accomplish the task. See Creating a Rubric.	6. The evaluation shows exactly what the students will be graded on.
Total Score				40/50

• illustrate the spread of the Native American population into the various regions of North America determine settlement patterns based on natural resources. 
• explain how Native American groups adapted to geographic factors of a given region. 
• compare and contrast the cultures of the different Native American groups (e.g., source of food, clothing, shelter and products used). 
• make historical inferences by analyzing artifacts and illustrations. 
• analyze the Native American interactions with others (e.g., other Native American groups, explorers and settlers).

WebQuest About WebQuest

Your Role


    ___Efficiency Expert   ___Affiliator    _O_Altitudinist__Technophile

Your Impressions

WebQuest	Strengths	Weaknesses
Grow School Greens	The students are learning a lot of information that they can take with them. There is a lot more to this project than just building a garden. There is different things that can be debatable in this project like where, how, and why should they put in a garden.	There are not enough roles for all the children in a class. The garden could not be planted depending on where the school is. There is no way to be creative.
Where is My Hero?	It is a good project to prove that heroes do not have to superheroes.	Too many worksheets are used. Children will not remember the information about the person they read. There is nothing to analyze. Students can not take a stand on this topic to debate.
Underground Railroad	There are different ways to let your ideas be heard. Even if a child gets a role he or she does not agree on they still have to research and find out why the person was the way they were. Also children are using the internet to research each role and other information that ties into the role. Letting the child act out their person is a great way to let them be creative. They have to make the class believe they are who they say they are. When a child gets involved in a project by acting or debating their side they are more likely to remember what they learned than they arefrom just memorizing it from a worksheet they did in class.
Ice Cream	The children can be as creative as they want when they are coming up with a new ice cream flavor.	This is very narrow minded. The children do not learn anything other than how to make ice cream and work together. There is nothing that could be debatable other than the flavor of the ice cream. No technology is used.
Ancient Egypt	The students can make the brochure look anyway they want too. While yes, they are assigned what to write about there are so many subtopics they could choose from.	The website looks sloppy and not as put together as the other ones. There are no sides to take on this project. The students are just finding the information and putting it in a brochure. They are not actually learning and remembering the information.

Best: Grow School Greens, Where is my Hero?  - The website had a nice layout, lots of links and visuals. They used groups in everything they did. There was somethings that was debatable in the project. It could be a short project or broken into different sections

Worst: Ancient Egypt, Ice Cream - The websites were either too boring or too loud. Both projects took more time than necessary to learn about the subject. There was nothing the students had to debate or take a stand on.

Can Kids Learn From Video Games?

In both of the videos below they are arguing against the common judgement of video games. The first video is from a guy who has designed video games and the second is from a scientist who does research on the topic.


In the video Are Video Games Making Your Kids Smarter? they make a couple claims:

• Kids who play video games have awesome multitasking skills which helps the brain
• Kids are constantly learning during video games
• Overall IQ has been increasing since video games has become popular (Coincidence? I think not.)

The video Your Brain on Video Games also makes claims about video games:

• Video games in reasonable dosages can have positive impacts
• People who play action packed video games has better eye sight
• They also have better attention spans and can switch between tasks swiftly and effectively

The video Big Thinkers: Katie Salen on Learning with Games is not like the other two videos. She talks about how it is important for kids to be able to take risks and fail but be ok with it. To me that is what 21st learning is all about. How are we going to get better if we don't try and fail?

INTENSE video game! by Shellnort

I grew up hearing how video games were the devil from most adults. "They make you stupid." is the most common thing I heard. I have never been much of a gamer probably because of how much I heard about games being bad for you from people. Another common thing I heard growing up is that video games were for nerds who couldn't play sports. I don't think these people have ever played a game because there is a lot of skill that you need to play one. 

From watching these videos I learned that the ideas I had about videos game aren't true or right. Parents tell their kids all the time, "Don't watch too much TV, it hurts your eyes". They don't say that it healthy dosages it can help, then again they probably don't know. Not many people research things they say to make sure they know what they are talking about. We just believe what we read and watch.

How many times have you heard that video games make you stupid? I know I have. Did you know that you are constantly learning when you play video games? It makes sense considering that you are always leveling up and the game is constantly getting harder for the player.

Lets admit it we have all heard about how bad action and violent games are for our kids. Violent games will only make you violent if you have already seen it somewhere else (like at home). People who play action games have better eye sight and can multitask better.

When I learned all this it blew my mind. Who knew how beneficial video games could be?

Below is a school that is taking something kids love (video games) and having them learn from it.

"A novel public school in New York City has taken the video game as its model for how to teach. Students use video games and design them as part of their classes. As Quest to Learn is wrapping up its first year, those behind the program say game-based learning is integral to 21st century literacy."

What WIkipedia Means for 21st Century Teaching and Learning

Participatory culture: in other words a culture in which private persons (the public) do not act as consumers only, but also as contributors or producers.

Wikipedia is all about everyday people getting involved. If you know a subject really well why not share it so everyone can learn the information?

"Wikipedia empowers students to take seriously what they have learned in other classes, to see their own research as having potential value in a larger enterprise, and to take greater responsibility over the accuracy of what they have produced. Much as young people become more critical consumers of media when they have engaged in production activities, young people ask better questions about the nature of scholarship and research when they contribute to Wikipedia." (Jenkins, 2007)

Global warming - the battle of the elements by Hjortur Smarason

Step One:
"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are more than 90% certain that it is primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation."
I found this statement might be bias because we do not know who the scientist are that were picked for the survey. They could have picked only scientists that shared the same views as them. Also the other 10%'s view was not mentioned at all.

"Global warming has been detected in a number of natural systems."

"A number" is not a specific amount. It doesn't say whether it's the majority or minority.

Step Two:

"Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25 °C per decade against 0.13 °C per decade). Ocean temperatures increase more slowly than land temperatures because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean loses more heat by evaporation."

I found this statement first in Wikipedia then in the Journal of Physics.

"Satellite readings of temperatures in the lower troposphere (an area scientists predict would immediately reflect any global warming) show no warming since readings 23 years ago. These readings are accurate to within 0.01 C, and are consistent with data from weather balloons."
This statement from American Policy Roundtable disagrees with the statement from the Journal of Physics.

Considering the statement from Wikipedia can be found all over in journals I feel like it is reliable.

Step Three:

When an article and its editors are subject to General Sanctions means they are to limit or remove user privileges.

Step Four:

Q. Doesn't water vapor cause 98% of the greenhouse effect?
A.  Water vapor is indeed a major greenhouse gas, contributing about 36% to 70% (not 98%) of the total greenhouse effect. But water vapour has a very short atmospheric lifetime (about 10 days), compared with decades to centuries for greenhouse gases like CO2 or nitrous oxide. As a result it is very nearly in a dynamic equilibrium in the atmosphere, which globally maintains a nearly constant relative humidity. Rising temperatures caused by the long-lived greenhouse gases therefore will increase the absolute amount of water vapour in the atmosphere, amplifying the greenhouse effect. This is an example of a positive feedback. Thus, while water vapour does not act as driver of climate change, it does amplify existing trends.

This question and answer is found in the Wikipedia Global Warming talk page.

The statement below is from The Reality of Climate Change and agrees with the above statement from Wikipedia.

Naturally occurring water vapor (clouds) make up as much as 95% of all greenhouse gases.


Step Five:

In Long-term impact of carbon dioxide emissions section of the talk page Enescot gives his view on why it should be added to the Wikipedia article of global warming. He not only gives his personal reason why but he backs it up with scientific facts. In the classroom this could be shown to students before they write a paper. It will show them that while yes their opinion matters sometimes they need facts to back it up. Also they could be assigned to look up a topic and try to add information on to a Wikipedia page.


Step Six:

NewsAndEventsGuy seems to know what he is talking about. The way he argues his points makes me believe he has studied a lot on Global Warming.
Enescot on the other hand does not make me feel that way. The only information he has on his page is that he is currently doing edits on global warming.









"Obviously, publishers create products specifically for the adoptions in those three key states. They then sell the same product to everybody else, because basals are very expensive to produce -- a K-8 reading program can cost as much as $60 million. Publishers hope to recoup the costs of a big program from the sudden gush of money in a big adoption state, then turn a profit on the subsequent trickle from the "open territories." (Ansary, 2004)


How is it fair that publishers only write their textbooks for bigger states? Shouldn't they not pick favorites? Textbooks should show all facts not just the facts the key states want.


Wikipedia does not just tell the facts the key states want. Then again how could they? Wikipedia is a non profit organization. What does that mean? That means all the big states with all their money has no say on what Wikipedia. Also who writes the textbooks? Do we really know? Now if you would get on Wikipedia you can see who writes the page. Now they might have funny user names but you can click on them and see if they really know what they are talking about and usually they do. Another good point is how many of us have seen an error in a textbook? Either a spelling one or a grammatical error. Why spend so much money on a textbook that has errors in it?



"You don't learn stuff from textbooks," one student wrote. "You just memorize for a test, then forget it." (Ruff, 2005) I for one can agree with this wholeheartedly. After you read the text book so much you can even remember what page the information is on for your test. Once the test is over however you have to move on and read more. Not many students can remember everything they read. Although if it is hands-on and fun they are more likely to remember something about what they learned even years later.

Reference List:


Ansary, T. (2004, 11 10). A textbook example of what's wrong with education. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/textbook-publishing-controversy


Jenkins, H. (2007, June 26). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab.html


Ruff, G. (2005, 2 8). No books, no problem: Teaching without a text. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/textbook-publishing-controversy

Teacher of the Year & Media Literacy

 I should be Teacher of the Year because of the way I view teaching. Learning should be fun! Students should be up out of their boring old seats if you want them to learn. The different teasers I have on my magazine "Educational fun with insects, nature art, and active outdoor games", "A trip around the room using math?!", Technology is a sure bet to get any child's attention!!", Science experiments are highly recommended!" and lastly "Is spelling really that awful? Spelling games that will make every child want to spell!!" proves my thoughts about learning being active. 

When you think of math being taught you get a picture in your mind of a classroom with a teacher in the front of the room by the chalkboard with equations and students in their desk coping down the notes. What if you could take them around the world? With today's technology you can do just that without ever leaving the classroom. The students would have to buy tickets and hotel rooms, find out where they are going with longitude and latitude, and you could tie in other subjects as well. What's the weather normally like in that country? What's the culture? Do they do any unusual sports? What do they eat? Learning could be so much more fun with just a little imagination!

In my magazine I feel like I am using plain folk and association as my tools of persuasion. Plain folk is pretty obvious because I am not a celebrity or a world known teacher. With association I tried to get the children's attention by talking about things they would be interested in. Everyone is interested in ways to make learning more fun.

"From video games to social networks, incorporating what students are doing online into the school curriculum holds great, and perhaps the only, promise for keeping students engaged in learning." (David, 2009) This statement says it all! Technology these days is so important. Not just in schools but life in general. We have to teach children these skills early in life so they can use it once they get in the "real world".

Reference List:

David, J. L. (2009). What research says about … / teaching media literacy. Educational Leadership, 66(6), 84-86. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx

Magazine Cover Deconstructing

Strong,
muscular,
manly,
tall,
serious,
intimidating

When looking at this magazine cover I feel like this would be someone I would go out of my way to avoid.











Fitness nuts paid for this magazine considering the title is Muscle and Fitness. They want the viewer to see how they could look if they would work out.  This magazine is more for the older generation of guys because for one it shows that even if you are older you can still workout and look good. The text on this magazine is all about how you can work out either by getting "20 inch arms in 3 big moves" or  how to "Get lean in less time".

The subtext is all about what we get from this cover by just looking at it.

• Arnold likes to work out
• Arnold is healthy
• It is easy to be fit and healthy
• Fire goes hand and hand with manliness
• Guys with muscles wear sunglasses
• You can be famous by being fit

This magazine uses two tools of persuasion: celebrities and testimonials. Everyone knows who Arnold is. They have seen him at one time or another. People like to do the same thing celebrities do. Also by showing Arnold on the cover and putting an article "The Man, the Movie & the Workout it shows us that he actually does these workouts and that they work. If they didn't work then he wouldn't be so muscular.

What's not being told on this cover is the background behind the workouts. Do they take hours to do? How often do they have to be done? Also do you need equipment to do the workouts? Can common everyday people do them? Did he use steroids? Is he on a certain type of diet? The big question is are there side effects? Can you get seriously injured doing these workouts? Lastly this magazine is excluding all people who are not physically able to do these workouts.

Funny,
trust worthy,
down to earth,
rich,
friendly,
relaxed

Looking at this magazine cover I feel like this is a type of a guy I could walk up and talk too.

MI Theory and Technology

"Our emotions open and close the doors to our ability to learn new information and perform specific tasks. We are emotional about things for which we have a passion." (Carlson-Pickering, 1999)

If students enjoy the subject they are more likely to do well. Also if a student doesn't like a certain subject but it is being taught in a fun way then they will have a greater chance of doing better.

"Additionally, we are most motivated to learn when we are involved in activities for which we posses some talent."(Carlson-Pickering, 1999) The MI theory supports the relationship between emotions and learning by proving the statement above. If a student is a hands-on learner then they will enjoy and learn better with activities that are hands-on.

"... if you are exposed to new ideas that are presented to you through a minimum of three different intelligences, you will have a better chance of remembering the information." (Carlson-Pickering, 1999)

So teachers should just review the topic for the verbal learners, show a power-point for the visual learner, then give a worksheet for the hands-on learner? No. Teachers just skim the surface when they do that.

"If a teacher weaves together several teaching strategies to present information about one topic, then we can say that his triple coding the educational experience. As an example, let’s take a look at a class learning about simple machines. The teacher may introduce the topic first, by showing a demonstration (using a simple machine) on how a simple machine can perform work. Next, he may introduce new terminology to the class via vocabulary words, reading in the content area, or through similar (verbal) activities. A third method of introducing the topic might include showing the students how to create a mind-map of their chapter on “Simple Machines.” (Carlson-Pickering, 1999)

Above is a perfect example of how to teach to children with multiple intelligences.


My least favorite subject is math and my strongest MI is interpersonal. Interpersonal means I like to work in groups and learn from other people. Using the internet I would be able to get on websites and be showed how to do problems I don't understand.

My Picasso head (above) represents me having a interpersonal MI. The pictures shows me being in the middle of the group with everyone talking.

I believe there are different learning styles and that they can help you.

"...knowledge of one's learning styles can be used to increase self-awareness about their strengths and weaknesses as learners." (Clark, 2012)



Reference List:
Carlson-Pickering, J. (1999). Teachers in technology initiative. Retrieved from http://www.21learn.org/archive/teachers-in-technology-initiative/


Clark, D. (2012, March 6). Learning Styles & Preferences. Retrieved from http://nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles.html

Reading and Writing Differently

In the article, Reading and Writing Differently, the educators disagree that digital media and texting has a negative impact on children's abilities to read and write. They argue that new media and texting is just a different way to read and write.

Multiliteracies is the change in communication due to new technologies.

Micah Morris on the Computer by Matthew T. Radar

Benefits of new media and texting include:

• "Building classroom connections with students’ (different) extracurricular reading and writing will prepare them to understand, evaluate, organize and produce multimodal texts. Teachers can and should create these connections." ("Reading and writing," 2008)

• "Students who composed blogs in an American literature class created various identities for themselves. This self-transformation helped them develop new ideas about the books they read as well as new ways of communicating ideas to their classmates." ("Reading and writing," 2008)

 

• "Students’ reading achievement is significantly increased in classrooms—elementary, secondary, and post-secondary— where explicit reading instruction, cooperative learning, and mixed-method approaches (both variation in group size and in media employed) are used." ("Reading and writing," 2008)

This comic strip shows that even though people text in short hand it doesn't mean they will write papers like that. Also by using a comic strip a teacher could have the children of her class address big problems by making them simple with a twist of humor.
"Create activities that allow students to apply literacy skills to real world problems and knowledge building, including opportunities to publish their work to a global audience." ("Reading and writing," 2008)

Reference List:

(2008). Reading and writing differently. National Council of Teachers of English, 15-21. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CC/0182-nov08/CC0182Reading.pdf

Wordle!

This Wordle represents my Poll Everywhere answers.

This Wordle represents the "I have a dream" speech by Martin Luther King.

Wordles is a great learning tool in the classroom. What I did in the wordle above is I added the whole speech into the Wordle text cloud. This now shows all the words Martin Luther King kept saying in his speech. In the classroom this could be used to analyze the speech by seeing what words were used. A child who hasn't heard the speech could figure out what the speech was about by looking for the biggest word in the wordle.

A wordle is a fun way to break a long and sometimes confusing speech or document into single words. The uses in the classroom could be endless.

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere is a way teachers can see where a class is as a whole. This allows students to be honest since no one will know what they send. Also on student blogs they could use Poll Everywhere to get people answers from all across the world.


Below is an example of a Poll Everywhere.


Click here to answer on the computer!

Are Digital Media Changing Language?

"Are instant messaging and text messaging killing language? To hear what the popular media say, a handful of OMGs (oh my god) and smiley faces, along with a paucity of capital letters and punctuation marks, might be bringing English to its knees" (Baron, 2009)

I disagree with this statement a 100%. It's a new century! Everything else is changing so why shouldn't the English language change? Texting lingo has been around for years so if it was going to destroy the English language wouldn't it have already? OMG first appears in a 1917 personal letter from Lord Fisher to Winston Churchhill (Allen, 2012). In 2010 LOL, OMG, and the first every symbol, ♥, was added to The Oxford English Dictionary (Lee, 2011). If dictionaries are accepting these abbreviations then why can't we?

This image shows that texting language is everywhere

OMG SRSLY? by Quinn Dombrowski


Real facts about texting:

• Texting helps students read 
• Texting boosts phonology 
• Students know when not to text 
• Texting is a fun way to play with words 
• Textisms have historical roots 
• Texting does not distract students ("Can't texting help,")

Reference List:

Allen, E. (2012, August 7). O.m.g it's so old! phrase loved by today's teenagers was first used 100 years ago in letter to Winston Churchill. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184777/O-M-G-old-Phrase-loved-todays-teenagers-used-100-years-ago-letter-Winston-Churchill-thought-LOL.html

Lee, A. (2011, March 24). Lol, omg, ♥ added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/24/lol-omg-oxford-english-dictionary_n_840229.html

Baron, N. S. (2009). Are digital media changing language?.Educational Leadership, 66(6), 42-46. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-Digital-Media-Changing-Language¢.asp
x

Can texting help with spelling?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/can-texting-help-spelling

The Joy of Blogging

I think the three main reasons why teachers should use Blogging as an instructional tool in school are:

1. Students learn to be better writers.

• "When their audience is the whole world, students are motivated to be the best writers they can" (Davis & McGrail, 2009, n.p.).

2. It's a way to get the child's point of view out there.

• "Anni's post provoked thought among several university students who had not thought about the need for water fountains on school grounds. Anni has planted an idea that may carry these conversations to others" (Davis & McGrail, 2009, n.p.).

3. Children get the chance to talk to and get the views of people all around the world.

• "Donna, a teacher in Australia, explained that water fountains are called "bubblers" in Australia and that each school has rows of bubblers outside for student use" (Davis & McGrail, 2009, n.p.).

I chose this picture because it shows how just one blog can connect so many people.
Models of Blogs by Robin Hamman

When children blog they are practicing reading, writing, and spellings skills. While this is not how a lot of us learned, this type of teaching is the new 21st century learning.

Miriam, a young girl, is the prime example of how blogging is an awesome way to learn. Miriam's blog, Miriam's Magical Moments, shows how much time and thought goes into a blog post. She has excellent writing skills. Also each post has a lot of history about the subject she writes about.

Blogging is a fun and new way for students to learn everyday skills. While a lot of us are iffy about the whole blogging thing for learning, I think you should try it before you decide.

Reference list:
Davis, A., & McGrail, E. (2009). The joy of blogging.Educational Leadership, 66(6), Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/The-Joy-of-Blogging.aspx

Introduction

Hello! My name is Sara Jones and I am from a small town in Preston County. I would like to teach first to third graders. Coming from a poor county with not much technology I have seen what a major disadvantage it gives you when you enter the "real world". 

"According to Cathy N. Davidson, co-director of the annual MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competitions, fully 65 percent of today's grade school kids may end up doing work that hasn't been invented yet" (Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade). 

If schools do not keep up with technology how can they prepare these children for future jobs? Technology is not just Facebook and texting. In the classroom teachers could use digital movies to study history or use Google Earth when teaching geography. Also when teachers use technology they have a better chance of reaching students of all learning styles.

Here is an awesome blog about if teachers should be demoted just because they don't use technology in the classroom.