Vallery,+Elaine+Pope+-+Reflections

1. Now that you’ve had this professional experience, how are you defining “new literacies?” How do you think your definition has changed or evolved this week?

I define new literacies as the technology teachers have students use to complete an assignment. My definition did change because I didn’t really understand what was meant by the term “new literacies.”

2. Describe some new literacies that you learned about this week. What did you know about these topics before the week began and how has your experience this week contributed to your understanding of these new literacies?

The one I learned the most about is project-based inquiry. Teachers become the facilitator of learning rather than the dispenser of information. I knew that I had been encouraged to use project-based learning but felt that there was too much work involved and would not really fit with my objectives and meeting my goal on the post assessment at the end of the semester. I just didn’t think there was enough time to do it properly. My experience this week has shown me that there is still quite a bit of work involved upfront but that the learning experiences students will take away from using this more than outweigh my trepidations of using project-based inquiry. Also, I learned to think outside the box because this is something that can be tailored to the objectives in my curriculum and any time frame.

3. In what ways are the new literacies prompted by technology? How do they affect one another?

As you can see from my response to Question 1, I thought the new literacies were the different technology tools we were introduced to during the Institute. After reading this question, I’m now not sure I understand what the new literacies are after all.

4. How do new literacies affect the way we think about academic content? Describe an example of how some specific academic content is affected by changes in the ways we read, write, and think (i.e. new literacies).

I’m questioning myself now; however, I believe the new literacies affect academic content by having students go more in depth with their study of a subject. They learn how to read to make sure what they are looking at really addresses the subject they are studying. It encourages writing and critical thinking.

5. How do new literacies affect the way we think about our teaching practices? How do they affect the development of new teaching practices or approaches to teaching?

I think my teaching practices are centered mainly in the “Remember” level but with the implementation of things like project-based inquiry, I believe I can move my students from “Remember” to “Creating” with better results on the post-assessment and better student engagement. Also, I have high hopes that they’ll actually remember some of the material after the post-assessment J .

6. During the week, you learned about several conceptual/theoretical frameworks for understanding the new literacies including project-based inquiry, TPACK, Bloom’s Revised Cognitive Theory, online identity, and global literacies (i.e. cultural competence, cultural awareness, cosmopolitanism). Describe your personal perspective on new literacies as it is informed by these conceptual and theoretical ideas.

I’m so confused now about what exactly constitutes new literacies. My perspective on new literacies after studying these conceptual/theoretical frameworks is that they will help me make my curriculum more engaging and have more content depth.

7. How does the design process you learned about in your design studio work and the video digging deeper session support your understanding of the creative process?

The design process clarified things for me and made me finally understand that what I needed to do.

8. You learned this week about how to manage, and in some cases create, your online identity. What action steps will you take (are you taking) to manage and further extend your online identity?

I have not used Twitter but have used the educational version, Twidicate. I’m exploring better ways to use this tool for communicating online. I have a Facebook account. I resisted for years but finally wanted to get back in touch with friends I have talked to in years. I have a policy that I do not accept friend requests from students. I have a Wiki but have not really used it. That’s something else I want to investigate using. Another tool I plan to look closer at is a blog.

9. If you had one more day in the Institute, what would you like to learn about and why?

I would like to learn more about the “cool tools” we were shown. I would like the time to actually use them and then create lesson plans to implement them. I don’t think we can adequately create a lesson plan without knowing anything about the technology.