Tech Play 4 - Information Literacy

While content objects are relevant for today’s students, I have decided to cover options on Informational Literacy.  As a former high school English teacher, it is very important for my students to understand the implications of Aristotle’s triangle and whether sources are credible or not when doing research and using these schools at a college level.  Even state tests are beginning to test students over sources via charts, graphs, or ads.  It is clearly evident that it is necessary for students to understand, dissect, absorb, and apply this information.

In order to teach Informational Literacy, the teacher must be fully knowledgeable themselves in each of the four domains.  I first used a simple google search to find teaching tools for informational literacy.  Must options that appeared were in teaching critical thinking of the texts.  I then switched my google search to the Rhetorical Triangle + Advertisements.  I think using Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logs with a variety of print or video ads would be a lesson worth having students participate in.  Students must be able to decipher what the author’s purpose was in creating the ad (critical literacy), who it was created by (information ethics), and what form the ad was in (media literacy).  I would then have the students use research skills to find their own ad to present to the class with their analysis. Overall, this lesson could be used to answer all sections of the graphic. Please note, I did not find one website that addresses all areas of informational literacy.  It would be my job, as the teacher, to put different lessons together in order to address all sections. This activity would take them through a complete lesson based on TPACK.  The class would be using technology to find their own sources, pedagogy to evaluate the sources, and content over the rhetorical triangle.  

My next google search was lessons on informational literacy.  The first listed website was from Indiana University.  This has handouts and lessons used to teach researching and evaluating sources for students. The worksheets can be used via access of the internet by students (media literacy) or in downloadable and printable pdf handouts if the teacher were to use them as supplements with their content they were teaching.  Research skills and informational ethics are two sections of the NFIL graphic that this website would address.  The teacher would need to have a supplemental lesson for their students on media literacy, if using this website for printables, which would address how to go about looking for specific sources on the internet or in databases (differences between them) to fulfill media literacy.  I feel that this lesson could transform my teaching by showing them the relevancy of the skills needed; if it is important enough for a college to spend time on it, it must be important enough for us to learn (pedagogy).  My students could apply this website/printables to any number of research projects depending on the unit: background of a writing’s time period, author biography, current events to showcase their content and knowledge.

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University is a source that I have had on my teaching website for many years.  It is critical for students to know how to correctly cite and quote information they find for their papers.  Although it only fits the research skills section of the Informational Literacy diagram, I feel that is still necessary for students to have knowledge of using MLA formatting for undergraduate work.  Easybib.com is another website for this same purpose.  It can go through the sections needed using MLA in a paper and address how to cite information using a Works Cited and in-text citations.  Easybib allows students to use technology to come up with an MLA citation by just copying and pasting the URL.  While this does not impact their content or knowledge, it does just what a calculator has done for math: make the task easier and more efficient so all students can learn the process.  Students would need a lesson on cheating and plagiarizing in order to address the Information Ethics in the NFIL graphic.  My pedagogy would be teaching students the skills needed to create an MLA Works Cited entry.  Most of the time I use the original source, a class novel, and have the students find a secondary source or review of the novel in order to create a citation.  They would have to use technology in this respect and be able to identity the type of media they were using for the review (Media Literacy).

The same google search for lessons on informational literacy led me to a page that was a class lesson for third grade students on analyzing text.  It mentioned using the Big 6 for teaching informational technology or modifying to three steps for elementary students.  I then when to thebig6.org and found a wealth of information. The website gives six clear steps to use when solving any problem or dissecting information - something that is applicable across all content areas.  I browsed through the instructional materials tab where I found where it had big 6 teacher centered handouts.  As the teacher, you could analyze the pedagogy you used to teach a particular lesson to see how well it covered all six areas: task definition, information seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis, and evaluation.  It also gave links to sample lessons depending on grade level/content where this approach had been successful.  While this was not a student-centered handout, it did give the teacher valuable information on how they could transform their current lessons to make them relevant for including informational technology goals. When using this site with a lesson, all four NFIL sections would be addresses as you analyzed the problem, looked at solutions, and evaluated your answers.  This idea would thoroughly allow teachers to overlap all three sections of TPACK: technology, pedagogy, and content.

Sources (Click on words to go to provided link)

Rhetorical Triangle

Indiana University

OWL at Purdue MLA

The Big 6

Sample Lesson Applications of Big 6

Week 5, Tech Play 3 - Creativity Tools

Creativity tools are essential in today’s modern classroom.  Not only do students desire to use them daily in school, but they also afford the highest levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: evaluating and creating.  Social media is ever present not just daily, nor hourly, but is available to students every second they are awake.  Creativity tools are not something that will fade away; moreover, teachers must become aware of how learning has changed and apply their content and pedagogical practices in such a way as to reach this technology-based age group. These tools allow students to apply their content and prove to the teacher the knowledge they have learned through synthesis and application. Traditional methods of teaching can do the same thing; however, they do not allow the learning to be student-centered and inquiry-based, which is what a creativity tool can accomplish.

I tested iMovie, Animoto, YouTube, and Skype this week.  As a person with many apple devices, I found iMovie much more enjoyable to work in than Animoto.  My iCloud connected automatically, and I was able to incorporate pictures and videos from previous years without having to place them on a flash drive or access them from a third party.  Even though there are not a lot of directions, the app is user friendly and is used with common sense, which is why most people who have apple products use apple apps as well.  Animoto is a very similar concept as iMovie.  Both allows the user to incorporate pictures or videos and give options for sound effects.  The use of either product in my classroom would depend on the school district and what type of technology was available: iPads or Chromebooks.  Both accomplish the same goals; having more knowledge and hands-on experience with Apple products, I would feel more confident using iMovie in my classroom.  This does not mean that there is no value in Animoto; in fact, I feel it would be easier for younger students to create and produce a project with it.

Personally, using Skype would be my preference to connect with others.  It is easy to contact someone who is out of cell phone signal strength but may have internet access.  I can see using this in a classroom with having a classroom virtual pen pal.  Both classes could read a novel and then interact with each other over discussion questions via Skype.  This could also allow students to connect with professionals or experts in a particular subject area as a supplement to basic book content knowledge.  Seeing the application of the knowledge first hand in a virtual field trip format can inspire and show relevancy to students.

YouTube was interesting to research and tech play.  My husband and I both have used YouTube for our may diy projects and find many answers to things which we are not masters: car mechanics, installing a shower, moving a shed across our property.  Professionally, I have used YouTube in my classroom to show clips from tv shows that show certain literary devices: Tim Taylor and Al Borland to show examples of Foils for characterization purposes. However, I had not given much thought on YouTube usage for my students.  After thinking through the TPACK model and its application with certain creativity tools, I realized YouTube could help connect my parents to their children’s’ works in my class and could allow students to review others work. 

Traditionally when teaching Shakespeare, I would read the script in a read-aloud format in the classroom and then supplement the reading with a professional video of the Act that had been read.  I would review specific concepts and then test them with traditional paper and pencil.  I could do the same thing through creativity tools.  Students could form groups to rewrite the script in different time periods or settings, then film the reenactment.  They could place the videos together in iMovie and then upload them to a closed YouTube channel where we could watch them as a class.  I could grade the project which not only tests their knowledge but their application of the content through technology.  Parents could then login to the channel and view their child’s creation.  Students could also review others work and see different interpretations of the same material.  This allows the student to control their learning and provide them with options in displaying their knowledge.

Eportfolio Updated

Per Week 4 requirements of ETEC-524, I have updated my eportfolio.

Eportfolio Link:

https://sally-woolley.squarespace.com/

Tech Play 2 : ePortfolio Tool Q&A

Week 3 – Blog post 2

Schools today use many forms of assessments including portfolios, research papers, and tests.  While many believe all can be used for analyzing a student’s knowledge, only a few can be used to show depth and growth of knowledge throughout a large amount of time.

Traditionally, each year a new group of students appear on a teacher’s role.  The teacher reviews previous standardized data from state testing groups to determine a child’s weakness and to curtail a general focus in their teaching.  Schools then use daily quizzes, tests, and six-week benchmarks to analyze more date and determine if those weak skills are improving or if a skill needs to be retaught.  While this method is useful for data collecting, it does not help the student in overall growth based on a serious of years.  Yes, STAAR data can be collected from when a child is 8 to 16; however, it does not consider the year that their teacher was on maternity leave, nor the year when the student lost their home from Hurricane Harvey.  Student’s scores are affected by much more than just classroom skills and knowledge, which is why the use of a portfolio is necessary for a student to maximize their growth.  The idea of a portfolio, allowing the student to collect their own papers, and reflecting on whether or not they reached a certain objective, allows them to be hands-on  with their learning.  This approach is much more appealing to a self-motivated student, one that can give honest feedback and understand the need to acknowledge where their weaknesses are in order to grow in a specific area. 

Stating what you have learned about a subject (ex. Technology) and providing examples through creating artifacts, creates the most relevant and meaningful learning to academic or professional goals.  For example, in undergraduate classes, many classes are prerequisites required by all students.  Taking Geology 101 as a science credit and answering questions that professors have identified with important things to know (identifying layers in a rock), and being graded based on the answer’s logic, accuracy, breadth, and precision (using a multiple-choice assessment), only gives one a concrete grade.  Yes, one may know that information (as proven by the test score), but does it transfer any meaning to an ultimate degree in English Literature?  No, of course not.   Having someone ask a question, allowing the student to research information, and then present their knowledge in a concise way, shows the teacher that the student has a complete grasp on the content.  Then the teacher can take it one step further and have the student share the relevancy in their content field and application as a teacher.  This is the complete process in which a student not only understands their knowledge but applies it a practical way.

My personal preference is a combination of both types of assessments: research papers/essays and portfolios.  When I was in college, a website called Pick-A-Prof had just been launched.  Every semester, I would put in professors’ names of the classes I had registered for and would add/drop them from my schedule based on student reviews on how the professor gave assessments.  I always chose professors that required papers or essays as test grades, specifically final exams.  I am not one that can just memorize material for a test; I must learn it, and to do so, I find researching and writing creates more depth in my learning.  I feel a portfolio creates this same feeling but allows a more practical approach at this point in my life.  I can reflect on what little knowledge in the beginning over technology practices, and literally see the growth through my collection in an eportfolio.

The purpose in a physical portfolio and eportfolios are vastly different; while both share with the world created works by the student, eportfolios allow others to interact and the student to reflect and add to their story. Physical portfolios can show what a students has created but does not require a reflection in the learning process.  For example, I could share certain pieces of artwork that are needed for an Art interview, a sample lesson that I have created, or produce a work that shows a company’s vision that I am interviewing for. While this provides my understanding of the job, it does not show the complete depth of my knowledge unless I am given time to explain what I have brought in and the purpose behind it.  An eportfolio allows me to share different types of knowledge through media.  That same photocopied lesson could have been videotaped and posted in my eportfolio allowing the interview to become a flipped interview.  The interviewer would have had previous access to my website and could ask follow up questions to my teaching practices.  How was I able to address the two students that didn’t understand the lesson?  What changes did I make in that lesson the following year to make it more effective?

After reviewing the blogging platform and websites, it easy to see their similarities and differences.  Both are used as mediums to connect the creator’s ideas with another group.  Bloggers tend to stay in packs; most people only visit blogging websites that have a specific interest to them.  This is done on a more personal level.  Even though some people have a blog for their business, it is not the only thing that you find when looking their business up.  For Matilda Jane, a girl’s clothing company, you would find their website first with a link to their blog.  Blogs as an additional asset to feel connected on a more personal level with a client, but a website is used to sell an item or get an overview of a specific brand.

In order to showcase the entire person, a website is the best tool to use for an eportfolio.  Like blogs, you can connect to outside links, post pictures and videos, and tags to search by.  However, websites allow you to organize your information based on what you deem to be important and not by your last entry.  Creating a tab for sample lessons, teaching philosophy, resumes, etc., allows the person interested in your talents to view everything in an easy to use way; no scrolling through four months of blog posts to find a key word in necessary.

In a classroom setting, I would use a wiki for my students eportfolios.  There are many reasons not to have them start with a website, but the main one is ease of use.  Wikis are very easy to manage and move around in.  Most teachers do not have the luxury of using precious class time to learn a new technology tool and have the student create and post a product to prove their knowledge and share their journey.  By taking out teaching of the technology, more focus can be placed on the content and the growth part of the journey.  While websites look more professional, they are maintained by one person and are a one-way form of sharing information to someone.  Wikis allow and encourage collaboration, have an easy platform very similar to user-friendly Microsoft Word (when in the edit field), and are cost effective because most are free.  Not only would classes be working collaboratively, they could share their information and review their peers findings with positive critiquing forcing students to answer questions/applications they may have not thought of. Although using technology is one of the TEKS required for an English class, it is not the main standard to be met.  Producing a paper/ product and show casing it through the use of a technological platform provides the teacher with content based knowledge and allows a fluid conversation between those that visit the site and those that created it.

Eportfolio Link:

https://sally-woolley.squarespace.com/

Tech Play 1

A blog is a space on the internet that many people use as an outlet.  Personally, I had a family blog, back in 2008, when blogs were all the rage.  I used it as a way to reach out to and keep faraway family, that might not use social media, up to date on my life.  During this time period, there were several other blogs that I visited on a regular basis.  Many of those blogs dealt with a passion the creator had, i.e. The Pioneer Woman.  Ree Drummond become a successful household name by creating a blog that included step-by-step instructions along with pictures to turn people’s cooking into easy-to-make meals.  She has successfully used her blogging platform to expand her empire from her small town including: a tv show, restaurant, and cookware in a big box store, to name a few, all while starting with a blog to connect with an audience that was interested in communicating about the same ideas.

The basics of blogging are the same across the board.  Start by creating a name, registering that domain name through a hosting (blogging) platform, define your blog’s purpose, and then make posts (or entries) regarding those interests.  You can categorize your posts enabling the user to search in a search bar if you choose to add it in your layout.  Customization is key in trying to stand out in this field.  You can start with the layout, font, type, and widgets to determine what will be most appealing to a visitor’s eye. Unless someone has your exact blog URL, it may or may not pop up on a search of the creator’s name (depending on the settings chosen by the user).  While this is to the benefit of the creator (keeping some items private, allowing only certain people to comment or even view the blog), it does not lead to an interactive discussion among people of the same interests.  People can leave comments, which the creator can respond to at a later date.  It does not alert the person leaving the response; therefore, it is a one-way use of information.  As mentioned earlier, I chose BlogSpot because of my previous experience with that platform.

A blog’s affordance is to connect people of similar interests.  This could be family members interested in keeping up with grandkids, a way for an adoptive family to keep the biological mother informed, to promote a certain type of cooking, or provide information on a home DIY project. It allows the learner to search for words that can help find an item easily.  If I was on a teacher’s blog, I might search for a KWL chart in a side-bar to find out if it was used successfully in the classroom and how the teacher implemented the strategy.  The time and date stamp can tell the learner when the item was posted (relevancy) and if others have commented after the entry to tell if it was useful for them. 

My initial thought in classroom application was to have small groups pick a character from a current novel and create a blog from that character’s perspective.  The TEKS covered would include the child’s knowledge and skills shown through:  relating the figurative language of a literary work to its historical and cultural setting (2C), analyze the way in which a work of fiction is shaped by the narrator's point of view (5C), media literacy (12), and Writing components (13).  By providing students with a rubric, assignment page, and example, I could expect results to display the components mentioned previously and several others.  Not only is the student using media to create the project, they are analyzing the character through review of text and applying that knowledge in a group discussion leading to the creation of a modern blog for their particular character.

This pedagogical approach of analyzing and applying is a way to get the students to interpret text and transform it into a modern time period. I have attended several workshops on low Staar scores.  Struggling students have a hard time finding concrete text to back their responses.  Students would find specific text to support their character’s views on issues, identify if their decision was made on direct or indirect characterization, and create a tie to modern day Hollywood with the choice of character and wardrobe in modern day society.  For example, if the character was a southern belle, the diction and views of the character to modern issues would create a different response than those of an immigrant during the 1800s. This answers the question of relevancy in today’s world along with working on TEKS that are challenging.

Giving the character a voice through a blogging medium allows the student to use technology to connect with other “characters” of the same novel.  These other characters could comment on blog posts in the retaining the same voice and style, allowing students to model their full knowledge of their character analysis.  Writing components from planning, writing, editing, and revising would be used along with a display of historical context and characterization.

One obstacle I see is that there is not an instant interaction regarding this medium.  Students would have to post and wait for a response from another group.  If students are not computer literate or had not created a blog before, this activity may be too time consuming to complete in the classroom.  By using a group, hopefully there would be enough technology knowledge to complete the task.  A blog would allow students to have characters from a novel agree/disagree on certain topics (points of view) and form new character relationships by thinking about the book in a different light.