Justice,+Megan+Nicole

Cool Tools Reflection and Application
On Tuesday, I attended several Cool Tools sessions that gave me a great deal of insight into the latest Web 2.0 tools to use in the classroom. Of the round-robin sessions, I was exposed to iRubric, Similarsites.com, and Information Fluency Wizards like 21cif.com. Of the sites from this first session, I found iRubric to be the only one I hadn’t heard of (21cif was a focus of one of the sessions I attended at ISTE, and one of the features of Google searches allows you to search for similar sites within search results). I’m grateful to find a resource I can use to create professional-looking rubrics—a replacement for Rubistar is definitely welcomed! I also attended sessions about Google Docs and Forms, Tricider, Symbaloo, Livebinders, Blabberize, Edmodo, Prezi, SlideRocket, and a few more. SlideRocket was interesting because it provides an alternative to Prezi, and I definitely plan to try that resource in my classroom.

Also on Tuesday, I attended a focused session of Google Docs/Forms. One of the ideas that I discovered from a table-mate during the session was how to grade using Google Forms, because I enjoy making quizzes and surveys using Google Forms, but grading them was always cumbersome. She showed me a video that contains IF formulas to enter into cells in the spreadsheet generated by Google Forms.

Wednesday, I attended a focused ELA session with Dr. Beach, where we discussed teaching argument using online role-playing and Diigo, among other things. One of the big topics I was stressing about for next year was how to teach students to make an effective argument, and I definitely welcomed this strategy I could try. I’ve also been a member of the English Companion Ning since 2010; ever since, I wanted to use a ning in my classroom, but was scared away by the cost. By doing some research during the session, I discovered that Pearson has partnered with Ning to provide K-12 and Higher Ed memberships for free (the only minor setback is that a ning created can only have 150 users at a time). Next year, I definitely would like to develop a ning to use in my classroom to use for communication and to develop argumentative writing skills. I also am planning to begin implementation of an English department-wide use of Diigo by the end of next year.

The English II course that I teach is heavily research-based: in an effort to help my students develop their research skills before beginning work on the Graduation Project in English III and IV, they complete a research project of varying parameters for each unit. I first want students to complete a project NOT using Diigo to teach them the research process. That’s usually my Sumerian/Mesopotamian unit, so they’ll understand what I mean by the research process (most of the time, it’s the first time they’ve worked through a research project metacognitively). After Sumeria/Mesopotamia, we move to the Greek Drama unit. That’s where I’ll introduce Diigo. I already have an educator account with Diigo, so I’ll add my students to it so we can get to the meat of the assignment quickly. Students will learn how to bookmark sources and how to annotate sources with sticky notes on Diigo. This will all take place before we start writing note cards. At the Greek Drama project’s completion, we will have an in-depth discussion of the use of Diigo to help us with research.

Closing Reflection
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?

The concept of new literacies sprouted from the prevalence of the Internet in our daily lives. It focuses on authentic research and writing skill development, understanding online ethics, and learning about and using online environments to facilitate learning. I originally labeled this term "digital literacy" or "digital fluency," so that's the only aspect that has really changed for me.

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 was familiar with the concept of new literacies and what it entails, but I was struggling to think of "new things in new ways" for this upcoming year. I definitely learned a great deal more about PBI and how it can help develop new ideas and new ways to teach students.

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

When I was in elementary school (1995-2000), we learned to type on typewriters and used Apple IIs or PCs with Windows 95 occasionally to play games (oh, how outdated technology existed in schools even then!). In elementary school now, children are using iPads in the classroom and are Skyping with classrooms halfway across the world. Technology has not only drastically changed the way we live our lives, but it has changed the way we teach and learn. In the old sense of the word, literacy meant the ability to read and write. Our younger students are learning this through application because they have a specific, real-world need to learn, while I learned to read, more or less, so I could read a book. The quick development of technology has forced us to change the way we approach the definition of literacy because there's a much more //real// need to understand these concepts and instant, now-natural methods--and they're not going anywhere. The definition of new literacies will also need to be relatively fluid: as technology continues to change, so will our definition of new literacies, even though the basic principles may remain the same.

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).

To make the educational system adequately prepare students for the world after high school, we need to change the way we teach our students. Instead of giving students information, we need to teach students how to find the information for themselves. Instead of frontloading literature units with lectures and worksheets providing all the information students will need to understand the novel, we need to give students the chance to find information for themselves (and not even necessarily the same information you were going to provide before reading the novel). A new way to look at reading a novel would be to begin with a question and have students need to do research and to read the novel to answer the question most effectively.

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?

We can't do "old things in old ways" or even "old things in new ways." Common Core is not a slight re-envisioning of the Standard Course of Study. It's completely new, and it requires doing "new things in new ways" to revolutionize the way we instruct our 21st century students.

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.

New literacies are incredibly important and we need to teach our students to be responsible using technology instead of avoiding it.

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?

Above all, it showed me that I am still a new teacher. I hate using this as an excuse, but I've only taught for a year, and it takes me what seems like an eternity to develop and solidify a creative idea for a lesson. Here, I had to do it in three days. I often felt like I was dragging down my dyad who all have a few years under their belts because I was having to create materials for our plan for the first time on a topic I've never taught before. It taught me that I can do it, but it was VERY stressful to begin with.

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 am planning to apply to become a Google Certified Teacher in the 2013-2014 school year, so I want to take this next year to develop and strengthen my online presence. I understand privacy settings very well, but I keep my personal and professional online personas separate. I have locked personal Facebook and Twitter accounts and a professional Twitter account. I definitely want to have a much larger presence on Twitter, so I plan to use my professional account more seriously. I am planning to create and develop a new class website using Google Sites and have my students use it throughout the year. I also would like to create a LinkedIn account. I'm late in the game to that social networking professional community but I would like to use that to further develop my online identity. I've got a year, so let's see how this goes!

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

More about facilitating digital literacy development in PD activities, please!