Interview

Interviewing my 8-year daughter, Tae, opened my eyes to her world of technology and digital literacies. She was very excited to participate in the interview.With Tae's age, her Internet usage has never really been monitored. I didn't figure she was knowledgeable enough to stumble upon any sites she shouldn't. Much to my surprise, she is very tech savvy and I'm naive.

During the interview, I learned:

• Tae uses the Internet to explore her interests. She often learns websites from TV shows associated with them. However, she current favorite sites are the Eagle cam on Outdoorchannel and Google Earth. She uses Google Earth to look at volcanoes and research places she hears people talk about - A good example of this is her looking up Botswana, Africa because she heard family talking about my nephew's wife being from there.
• Being 8, Tae does not use Facebook (although she informed me that her friends do). Knowing that, I was surprised to learn that she is still exposed to social media. Two sites she mentioned had "chat" features. We had a long discussion about online safety and I now have usernames and passwords for those sites.
• At school, Tae uses both regular and online programs to enhance reading. According to Tae, they "make her brain better." She said that she enjoyed doing TechSteps and anything that had to do with the Smartboard.
• At home, beyond Internet usage, I discovered that Tae uses MS Word to "write songs and stories" and Paint to draw pictures.
• Additionally, she explained that she'd much rather use the laptop instead of her desktop. With the laptop, she can lay on her bed or watch tv too.

Overall the interview was fun and enlightening for both of us.

Weekly Reading #4

Illuminated text has the potential to support student learning in school. The mental imagery associated with the illuminated text can reinforce verbal representations of words through nonverbal cues.

"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" talks about how low-ability readers have difficulty with comprehension because they are so focused on decoding the words and some student can read words fluently but lack the ability to create mental images that relate to the text. The illuminated text activity can offer connections between words and images."Research on mental imagery demonstrates that comprehension of text is enhanced when students are prompted or taught to use mental imagery."

Additionally, illuminated text can hold student interest and motivate struggling readers. "Illustrations frequently sere an affective or motivational function for students. Peeck's (1987) review of the affective-motivational effects of illustrations shows many positive outcomes. Specifically, pictures can make reading a text more enjoyable, result in positive attitudes toward reading in general and toward illustrated text in particular, and can influence the time readers are willing to spend on a text."

Media Ecology Case Study: Tae

With school being out, I racked my brain wondering where I would find an 8-18 year old student. Then I realized I have one in my house! My daughter turned 8 on June 4th and completed second grade. She was in a first/second grade split classroom this year. Her teacher was very open to technology and used the computer lab and smartboard often. I recall a few months into school this year, I asked Tae what she had been learning in school. She replied, "Mrs. Wills, hasn't made us do any work yet. We play a lot on the smartboard and get to use the computers. We googled spiders!" I smiled to myself that she did not even realize she was doing "school work" because she was enjoying herself so much.

Taegan is a very digitally versed child. She got her first iPod when she was still in utero. I used it to play music to her. When I bought my first laptop, it came with a netbook. Tae was four and picked up using the netbook faster than her father. She used that until she filled it full of parmesan cheese. She has her own desktop computer now that she got for Christmas 2 years ago (no more parmesan cheese incidents).

When I asked Tae if she was willing to let me interview her for my homework, she was very excited. She has asked me to interview her now about every hour or two...for days. She wanted to know what kind of questions I'd be asking. I told her I would ask about places she used technology like computers, her favorite things to do on the computer, websites she visited, etc. I think we'll both learn a lot.

Weekly Reading #3

1. What findings in the Media Ecologies: Quantitative Perspectives surprised you the most? How does the finding change the way you think about young people, technology and learning?

While I realize we live in a digital age, I was surprised by the drastically fast growth of teens with mobile phones and using the Internet. "The Pew, Kaiser, and USC studies each report on the incre prevalence of new media - notably the Internet and mobile phones." Pew reported a 73 percent in 2000 to a 95 percent in 2007 growth for Internet usage and a 45 percent in 2004 to 71 percent in 2007 increase for mobile phone ownership. I was really surprised at the growth of mobile phone ownership.

During student teaching, I surveyed my students on their usage of technology. The results were inline with the book; however, I thought it was just the location of the school and the subject I was teaching factoring into that. Knowing that the average teen has available access to technology changes the way I would think about using technology in lessons. Whereas before, I may shy away from some types of technology fearing that students may not have access.

2. What are the benefits to a genre-based approach to understanding youth engagement with digital media over a categorical-based approach?

A genre-based emphasizes modes of participation with media, not categories of individuals. Through using the genre-based approach, we move away from the assumption that individuals maintain the same identity across the types of medias they use. It is important to realize that individuals adjust there identities depending on the situation they are in.

3. What aspects of Michelle's (Box 1.2) computer use at home have implications for computer use at school?

Michelle's computer usage at home is limited by what her mother deems appropriate. Her mother monitors all aspects of Michelle's computer usage. However, Michelle has an advantage over other students by having access to a computer and Internet. This exposure can help her in school by building her confidence in technology usage. However, by overly limiting Michelle's activities online, her mother may unintentionally be making Michelle curious. This could lead to inattention during school if she chooses to explore the Internet in a way her mother doesn't allow at home.

I did find it interesting that her mother is so strict about Internet usage, yet she was able to download music from Limewire.

4. As you read about Clarissa (Box 1.3) consider the affordances of digital technologies that help Clarissa shape her identity and the role they play in literacy engagement. Do you think there are positive implications for these affordance in school-based literacy instruction? If so, what are they. If not, what are your concerns?

With appropriate usage, collaboration among students through online communities could be beneficial. Such activities can help shape student identity in a positive way. Often times, students may not speak out in regular classroom settings for fear of failure.

5. In the section titled Messing Around we read about the sophisticated and creative technology practices young people are developing on their own outside of school. Do you think it is important for teachers to know about and understand these practices? Why?

Teachers definitely should stay abreast of the latest trends and technology. Not only will it give them a new way to engage their students, they can maintain student interest and motivation.

6. Should schools support students' in "geeking out"? What are the educational and ethical implications of "geeking out"?

As technology is ever-expanding, it is important to modify the way students reach out to students. In order to keep students engaged and motivated, it is important to support students in "geeking out". However, this can present a challenge. Teachers must learn new technology and be willing to implement into their classrooms. Additionally, it would be important to establish guidelines.

7. The young people studied for this book lived in urban settings in California or New York City. Do you think young people in West Virginia behave in similar ways and develop the same kinds of digital literacies? Provide examples from your own experiences with young people in West Vriginia.
Where technology is available, young people seem to flock to it. From examples provided in the text, students in WV behave in similar ways and develop digital literacies like students in other areas. In my time at both middle and high schools, I've seen extensive use of Facebook, twitter and texting. I am constantly amazed at student ability. One day in the office, I watched as a girl pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and typed, sent a text without ever looking at the phone.

Illuminated Text (Final Draft)

SUCCESS!
Uh, maybe.

So, I figured out how to embed both the music and fonts in my presentation. It looks great on the laptop I did the presentation on. On my other laptop, it looks good, sounds good, but plays at break-neck speed. Hopefully, it's not so fast for everyone.

Click here to view my Illuminated Text on AuthorStream.

Illuminated Text

I could work on this for years and never be satisfied. You can download my rough draft here from Google docs.

I am working on uploading it to AuthorStream; however, it changed all my fonts!

Update: After coming to work this morning and looking at my powerpoint, I realized that it's only working with sound and the right text on my computer at home. Aaaaargh!

Multimodal Literacies

As digital technologies have expanded, so has the nature of literacy. Literacy has changed from relating to traditional printed and written texts to include a plethora of mutlimodal styles including online pamphlets, magazines, books, etc. Educators and students are using more digital forums to communicate. Multimodal reading and writing benefits students in multiple ways. It offers teachers a new way to engage students. Through using technologies familiar to students, the instruction becomes meaningful to them.

“An Arts-Integrated Unit: Learning 21st Century Literacies While the Teachers Are on Break,” intrigued me. Since my certification lies outside of "core" subjects, it would be interesting to work "core" subject lessons into the classroom where students could learn on multiple levels.

Integrating multimodal reading and writing into schools is a challenging proposition. Resistance from other teachers and lack of student enthusiasm are challenges that I identify with.

 

Here is a Youtube video about Multimodal Literacies.