Digital Storytelling

My digital story is about The Black Panther Party.  The story is geared to JHS students.  The movie will be used as a part of the Civil Rights unit that is taught in ELA.  It will help the students get a clearer understanding about The Black Panther Party and what they were fighting for.

Article Reflections & Second Life

Theories and Practices of Multimodal Education: The Instructional Dynamics of Picture Books and Primary Classrooms

The article discussed the difference between the print text and multimodal text.  The article basically discusses how teachers need to use mulitmodal text to engage their students.  I agree I feel multimodal text is a need with today's generation.   We are teaching students who are digital natives therefore, they are use to visual stimulation.  Authors need to be able to change with the times. Therefore, authors need to start creating multimodal text.  I think multimodal text is a great way to keep the students engaged in their learning and print text or traditional text can be boring.  I personally like multimodal text I like the ability to engage in books that allow the students to go beyond reading.  I use multimodal text with my daughter on the iPad.  There are a few books that I have downloaded that allows my daughter to go beyond just reading the text.  She has the ability to do puzzles, play games and watch videos that goes beyond just reading the text.  At the end of the day she loves it and it keeps her engaged. 

Using the ADDIE Model to Design Second Life Activities for Online Learners

The article about using Second Life with the ADDIE model was very interesting. I am new to Second Life and I found the article to be very informative.  It actually help me understand Second Life.  Second Life gives the students the ability to walk and communicate in their own worlds.   Teachers have the ability to create content and have the students interact with the content.  Second Life also gives the students the ability to communicate on a variety of levels.  I believe using Second Life can enhance the learning environment tremendously. 

Second Life

ELA teachers can use Second Life in a variety of ways.  They can have students create avatars and give them a life they want.  Teachers can communicate with their students in a virtual world.  Students can create their own worlds and explore other worlds that interest them.  Teachers can create a variety of activities that students can interact with.  The possibilities for using Second lIfe is endless. 

Article Review

Middle School Science Teachers’ Confidence and Pedagogical Practice of New Literacies

The article was interesting but not surprising.   I had read many articles that had similar outcomes and I have spoken with teachers who also had the same sentiments.  I agree their are a lot of teachers who are willing to accept and integrate technology into their classrooms but they get discouraged because of the lack of technology.  These teachers are willing to use technology to help enhance their lessons with a Smartboard or laptop and would love to use more technology but are not able to fully embrace the new literacies. Without having technology and not just any technology but updated technology the teachers can not and will not be able to prepare 21st century learners. 

Social Networking Sites

The article was very interesting about using social networking sites in the classroom.  I remember when Twitter first became popular I had a hard time keeping my students off the site.  Therefore, I started thinking of ways to incorporate Twitter into my classroom.  I had that "if you can't beat them then join them" feeling.  I was tired of fighting with the students about "tweeting" in school. I started researching ways and lessons that dealt with Twitter.  We did do one lesson using Twitter and the news and it was very successful.  Therefore, I enjoyed this article.  I think if teachers incorporate Social Networking sites into their classroom they can see a difference in their learning and their students academic drive.   I think students would want to particiapate more and become more responsible for their learning.  Personally, I know students love being able to publish, communicate and collaborate using these Social Media sites.  My students love when we use sites such as Glogster and Blogger.  They enjoy being able to communicate and collaborate online. In  addition, I believe incorporating social networking into the academic environment woudl give people a different outlook of the social networking sites.   People would begin to see the value of the social networks instead of always looking at the negative.

UDL Book Builder

            

  

     My book "I Want" that was created using UDL Book Builder was created for a 3rd grade Special Needs class.   Before creating the book the teacher and I had a discussion about her students and their reading levels.  The class as a whole is reading below grade level and have learning disabilities.  Some of the students have an issue with verbalizing their needs and wants.  This conversation led me to my book idea.  I decided to call the book "I Want" and give different scenarios of things students might want to do.  I incorporated sound effects, speech from the coaches and a student response feature.   Once the ELA teacher viewed the book she was thrilled with it.   She used the book in a variety of ways.  The ELA teacher indicated that the she will use it mostly with her emergent readers. The book is great tool to help the students practice their reading.  She also indicated that the audio feature was great way for her non-readers to understand what the book was about.  She has a student that cannot read at all who is below a kindergarten level.   Therefore, the audio coach helps him understand what the book is about and keeps him interested.  She also like the response feature because she does have students that can write and recognize certain words.  Therefore, she was happy that the book was mulitmodal.  

     The book is not just meant for a special needs teacher.  As indicated in the description I believe the book can be used from the 1st to the 3rd grade.  With the variety of features  ELA teachers, the ELL teacher and the Speech teacher can use the book to help build their emergent readers.   Therefore, I believe the book is a book that appeals to a variety of learners and their differentiated needs. 

http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=73100&page=1

Edmodo

Edmodo Features

Small Groups:  is a great way to create classroom activities.  It's also a great way to organize differentiated classroom activities.  It allows you to create small groups within your larger group and assign the students a variety of different activities. 

Library:  The library feature allows you to create folders and upload pictures, links, video, worksheets and activities that you can share with your group.  It's a great way to organize resources for a particular lesson.  

Quizzes:  The quiz feature is great because it allows the students to use any device to access the quiz.  They can be in charge of their own learning.  As well the quiz feature allows to give instant feedback and create comments.  The quiz feature also gives you pie charts that gives the question breakdown.  This is a great because it allows you to see what skill you may need to review. 

Progress Report:  is just like having a digital gradebook, it allows you to track your students and their  badges.

Polls:  is a awesome feature.  It is a great and quick way to take a survey and gain students responses to a certain topic in addition students can only vote once and cannot change their  answers. 

    Edmodo can be a valuable tool in the ELA classroom.  ELA teachers have the opportunity to create a their own library of resources for the unit they are working on.  The library is always available and as long as the students have access to Edmodo they will always have access to the resources.   The quiz feature in Edmodo is also very valuable to the ELA classroom because the pie chart feature allows teachers to gauge whether or not the students understood a certain skill or if it needs to be reviewed again.  Edmodo offers a variety of features that can fit any classroom no matter what subject you teach. All the teachers have to do is cater the Edmodo program to fit their class and their needs.  

Technology and Adolescent Article

The article  New Media, New Literacies and the Adolescent Learner is a great article to explore.  The article is a research study about the relationship between new digital media and adolescent students' writing of poetry while using new media.  The article examines eight themes that emerged during the study, including the multimodal, multilinear and collaborative nature of the poems, the role of audience and identity in the creative process, and the shifting views of poetry the students experienced.