Parker,+Michael+Stephen

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


 * New literacy is the ability to comprehend and utilize media, specifically the new frontier of digital technology. Before this conference, I did not know much beyond web 2.0 tools. As the world changes from printed text, we have to adapt and be fluent in new literacy. **

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?


 * I learned a great deal about affective use of Web 2.0 Tools and Project Based Inquiry. I knew a few useful web tools before coming here, but I think I downloaded over twenty apps based on the presenters’ suggestions. I plan to have a good time exploring these tools. Also, I have had experience with PBL, but I like the added PBI aspect and the responsibility that is put on the student to be metacognitive and build new literacies on their own. **

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


 * New technology necessitates new literacies. We must continue to adapt to understand or be left behind. **

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


 * New literacies make me think about how I can make a lesson more dynamic and engaging for my students so that they will be hungry to learn. Now when exploring a novel, the students don’t have to rely just on their imaginations and my descriptions. They can go online and explore more into the culture and influences that affect the book. When we read //Things Fall Apart//, the students can research the colonization, religion, art, music, and other aspects to create an immersive experience. **

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?


 * Teachers become more of a guide and mentor, showing how to critically think and make sure of the validity of sources. Information is out there, good and bad. People on the Internet do not have to go through publishers and editors. My job is to equip students with the tools and sense they need to be successful. I cannot just expect the students to see me as the oracle of knowledge that I am. **

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.


 * I think the main benefits of these new literacies is that it teaches students how to self-sufficient and self-directed. They also teach students global awareness, like not everyone can just turn on the faucet to get water but walk miles and miles. Showing students the things they think are problems don’t amount to as much as they think can be quite eye opening. **

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?


 * I got a chance to see the potential – potential successes and failures. I had great insights into were my students may struggle and need help and where they may struggle and just need to figure it out for themselves. **

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 found out I have almost no footprint, which made me happy. The biggest thing to remember is that whatever you put out there, is out there for anybody and everybody and can quickly be right-clicked and saved. Guard your privacy. **

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


 * I want to know more effective ways to use apps, which apps are tested and the best, and what grants and ways are available to secure technology for student and teacher use. **