Final Projects

The new literacies perspective deals with the expanding definition that has developed over the past 10 years. Today, reading, reading instruction, and more broadly conceived notions of literacy and literacy instruction are being defined by change in even more profound ways as new technologies require new literacies to effectively exploit their potentials. Literacy is no longer contained within reading, writing, listening and speaking. It involves navigating the high speed technological highway that has left its mark on the way we (more specifically, adolescents) communicate. This is a new age of sharing information in linked environments, finding content online instead of in books, and actively consuming information as opposed to passively accepting it. We also have a slue of social networks that kids are bombarded with at a very young age, and if we are to keep the safe in their learning, we need to teach them how to navigate these technologies appropriately. This new perspective requires teacher to “jump in” with both feet in terms of incorporating these technologies and literacies into the classroom. If we want our students to graduate from our classrooms (and our schools) with the right kind of skill base in order to succeed in this fast paced world of digital literacies, we as teachers need to become masters ourselves. Ignoring the fact that the times (they are a changing) will only set your class and your students up for falling behind. As a teacher, finding proven and effective ways to link these new literacies with the content that is required in an ELA classroom is a new challenge that didn’t always exist. However, there are a plethora of resources for a teacher to use in their classroom as a way to bridge this gap. Harnessing the power of these new literacies that students are already engaged in, and giving them an educational purpose is a practice that I will need to be familiar with if I want to keep my students engaged, motivated, and learning.

In terms of interactive with people about final projects – it was a little confusing with all of the different screens up and trying to communicate with everyone within the three hours. I didn’t feel like I could walk away from the computer or work on anything else while engaged with everyone. I think it was also too short of a span to really dig deep into everyone’s project for too long of a time. Overall though, it was a positive experience and it was nice to be able to ask questions and get feedback.

Using Vyvew for Discussion

Using Vyvew to discuss the readings had its pros and cons. The pros were that it was a user friendly space that took only a few minutes to become familiar with. It allowed for chatting, drawing, posting notes, typing, and for audio conference calls (which is what Marleah, Greg and I used). I think that it was hard for the three of us to communicate in that we ended up with a lot of dead air and awkward pauses. It wasn't because we didn't have anything to say, but more because we didn't want to cut each other off from talking. There was also an echo when each one of us spoke into our respective microphones, which contributed to the confusion of when to cut in and speak. Overall, I think it was beneficial in that we experienced a new way of communicating. During our session, we discussed the effectiveness of using technology in the classroom. The times are changing in terms of what is effective instruction for students, and teachers need to keep up with those changes if they are to going to make a difference in the classroom. We questioned the willingness of teachers to dapple in these kinds of technologies and step out of their comfort zone in order to introduce new classroom activities that involve the Internet and computers (to name a couple). We proposed that sooner or later, teachers will have to accept the fact that students are learning differently because of the technologies they are growing up with, and take into account those changes when designing their classroom practices.