Smith,+Jessica+Marie-+Reflection

Jessica M. Smith Reflection July 17, 2012 NLI

1. Now that you’ve had this #|professional development experience, how are you defining “new literacies?” How do you think your definition has changed or evolved this week? Since attending the New Literacies Institute for the past week I am defining new literacies as the the way that teachers are going to have to start teaching in order to prepare our students for today. New literacies are the tools that are used today for students to write, type, text, any form of expression. For years students used chalk, pencils, and pens. In today’s society we have to prepare students to be able to do more than just write something on paper. They need to be literate of the new literacies that are already here. My definition has evolved this week because I feel more confident to transfer this information to my school. Prior to the institute I was only sure of the fact that I know what it means to be literate. Literacy is changing and evolving and I after this week I feel that I can do more research on my own to prepare my students to reach these new levels of 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? We learned about so many new literacies this week but I will chose a few that stood out for me. I have learned about more ways to use Wikispaces. I have used wikispaces in prior conferences and workshops but this was the first time I actually had the opportunity to make changes and edit and add things to the wikispaces. This has made a huge difference for me because now that I am more knowledgable I can transfer this information to my own students. I am not 100% sure if I will use Wikispaces in my classroom but I am thinking of ways to incorporate it with my content. The main reason I do not want to use wikispaces is because I do not want the students to have numerous websites to check before getting what they need. I also will have to keep my school systems website updated daily. So if I use wikispaces I will have to update two sites. This week at NLI truly gave me a chance to just used this site. The next huge new literacy tool that I will use in the fall is YOUTUBE and and animoto.com. I have used videos from youtube to show my students different content. However I had not made my own video and uploaded it prior to NLI. I feel much more confident in my ability to use youtube and other video sharing sites to help my students. I know I will be able to show my students how to make their own videos and upload them. This week has contributed to my literacy of these tools.

The new literacies are prompted by technology because it is all about using computers and new applications on computers. New literacies are blogging, instant messaging, having classes online, discussion boards, and anything else that involves learning online. They affect one another because they go hand in hand. It is not all about technology or having the newest and latest technology but is about being able to use the technology to teach new literacies where the students are. New literacies and technology used properly keep students engaged and they are ready for what is to come in the future.
 * 1) In what ways are the new literacies prompted by technology? How do they affect one another?

4. How do new literacies affect the way we think about academic]] content? Describe an examples of how some specific academic content is affected by changes in the ways we reading write and thinking (i.e. new literacies). Just this week the NLI has changed the way I think about my new academic content that I have to teach. I have not taught Social Studies and since I will have to teach it this school year I found many tools that will allow me to get the students engaged and have them forming their own questions. One of the presenters said they did “A Picture a Day” in their class to engage the students to think about location. This will be a great way to introduce geography to my students. I know too many students that have no idea where states and countries are located. Social Studies is changing from new literacies because now students can see the locations of these places and see more about their cultures rather than just reading about them. Students have more tools with new literacies to do comparisons of countries and how things are similar and different in our country and other countries.

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? New Literacies affect the way I think about my teaching practices. I have been doing a lot of the work. I have been guiding and asking the questions. I believe the PBI format will help my students learn more than ever. New literacies has also reminded me of the lack of resources that we have and that will affect my teaching practices also. There are things that I learned about this week at NLI that I would like to incorporate but I know I will have to sign up for the computer lab and it gets filled quickly. The new literacies affect the development of my approaches to teaching because I am more conscious of how these tools will help the students. The same way I wasn't sure about using these tools because I had not used them but now that I have I want to give the students the same opportunity and then I will be able to see their creativity and how far they can stretch their imagination.

6. During the week, you learning 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.

My students and I skyped to the White House to the Director of the PEace Corps. So seeing the global literacies has only encouraged me more to connect with other teachers in other countries. I see the benefits in teaching the students humility, empathy, and learning about a brand new culture. So many of my students have not been outside of our county that I know being able to interact with people from other places this will make a difference in their life. Project based inquiry seems to be an awesome idea. I love the idea of students forming their own questions and answering their questions.


 * 1) 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 studio work and the video digging deeper session helped me with thinking about the creative process in my classroom. Allowing students to work in groups and giving them time to think out a plan will help them be more creative. However as we all know some students do not work well in groups and that can be an option in your classroom if you like. I believe I will begin with group videos and then after doing it once or twice I will give them the option of working alone. I do want the students to work creatively with other people.


 * 1) 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 plan to make my own page. I want to be able to be found. I want to be able to help other new teachers with lesson plans. My name is very common: Jessica Smith. So it is easy to difficult to find anything about me. I will do more research about how to use tags and labels to be able to find the work I do produce.


 * 1) If you had one more day in the Institute, what would you like to learn more about and why?

If I had one more day at the NLI I would have loved to just use more literacies. Getting the experience with the tools was the most beneficial process for me. I do not get those opportunities during the school year. Being able to use these tools and make examples of my expectations and being able to collaborate with other teachers from school to help with interdisciplinary activities was the best part. I would have enjoyed that the most.