You may access past participants' comments here and here.
This session will find us broadening the scope of our view of wikis. We will begin by taking a look at the benefits of wikis, and other Web 2.0 tools, for students, teachers, and the entire educational community. We'll view some screencasts and videos that give us students' perspectives, as well as hear from teachers from across the K-12 spectrum. Each and every one will be focused upon how Web 2.0 tools have changed the way they teach and learn.
And lastly, we'll end by discussing the fluid definition of the word, "literacy" and try to pin it down in a 21st century classroom---a classroom where the walls have come down and the world is flat. After reading your comments, it has become clear that there are lots of different interpretations out there.
Good luck and I look forward to reading your comments, insights, and reflections.
DF
PS-As always, there is a back-up copy of this presentation on Authorstream.com Just search for edc921.
8 comments:
Here is my addition to the chemistry page of wikidave. I added a link about chemical reactions.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Chemistry
Comments session 6
Students need to expand their conceptions and experiences with literacy. Since it is changing teachers need to stay current with all types of literacy. This will enable teachers to create educational experiences using (blogs and wikis) which will allow students to develop skills in the new definition of literacy.
I attended a series of workshops on science literacy. It stressed the ability to think and reason in a scientific way. The idea was to encourage students to understand the ways of science. By attending these workshops, I discovered that literacy goes beyond reading. Now I can see that literacy includes an understanding communication and utilization of web 2.0.
Here is my link to the phonemic awareness page of wikidave!
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Phonemic+Awareness
Here is my link to the wiki in the area of Technology Education. I have added a short tutorial on how to use Diigo.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Technology+Education
I enjoy literacy in so many forms, and I understand that we should be embracing the new facests of literacy and trying to give students guidance (even though they often know more than I do). I absolutely agree that evaluation of the material students are looking at will be a crucial higher level thinking skill they will need to master. However, I kind of feel like I am trying yet again to fit more into a jam packed day without letting something go. I know if I really sit down and work on integrating, new technologies should make things easier. I feel so stuck recently teaching to specific tests. We are given release items and are directed to "teach like this". It's really not leaving a lot of room for creativity. Another concern I have is of having kids lose interpersonal skills. Speaking and listening is a basic form of literacy. It's been a little frightening over the last few years, I have started having more 6 and 7 year old children who cannot hold coherent conversations. It almost seems as if they haven't had a lot of practice with two way conversations. They have difficulty forming complete sentences, and explaining their thoughts and opinions, yet they are often very adept on the computer or with video games, and I know they are bright kids. Maybe it's just the mom in me coming out because I'm so cautious with "screen time" at home. Either way, after starting this course, I do realize I have a lot of catching up to do if I am going to keep up with my students and my own children!
I definitely believe that the web 2.0 is influencing literacy in society. The web has helped to produce readers who are skilled at reading quickly and identifying key words they are searching for. I’ve observed the fact that students, when conducting searches, read only the bold font and what comes at the top of a page. As a teacher, I try to make sure that students read to the end of a page and have them evaluate a source for usefulness and authenticity. In fact, this is a principle skill. When we used textbooks, we didn’t have to teach kids to verify the source, we knew the authors were experienced in their fields. This is not true for the Internet where anyone can become an author. In the past, we needed to teach students how to use a table of contents; we didn’t have to teach them how to ignore the banners and ads on the sides of a page. So, the page itself has changed, shaping literacy. And, while we may try to get students to read the whole page; the fact is that most people peruse sites in much the same fashion. As a result, sites have changed their navigational structure so that there are frames helping readers to navigate. I believe that one of the reasons Google has enjoyed such success is because of its ease of use and visual simplicity. Web page editors try to write concisely because they know that the window for capturing an audience is brief. In essence, the reaction for the reader and the author becomes a which came first chicken or the egg type of relationship. Another example of the evolution of literacy is to look at writing. Acronyms have exploded replacing traditional writing with causal conversation and have thus become the “inventive spelling” of this generation. Will in turn, the written language change to include LOL as an accepted means of communication? One thing is for certain, both literacy and the internet are evolving and influencing one another.
I agree with what Mrs. Limoges says in her comments. There are just so many things to do during the day that adding one more thing could potentially be the straw that breaks the camel's back. On the other hand, there are so many new forms of literacy that are being required that students in the 21st Century know how to do, that it is a conflicting dilemma when deciding what to teach, since it is all valuable in some way.
It amazes me how much influence web 2.0 has had on all of us. When we watched that video, Did you know 3.0?, I sat in awe as all of the statistics, data, and information came across the screen. I can't believe the change that the world has experienced. When I watched the video on Literacy and how that has changed I was left with another impression that left me more informed about the shifts that have occurred since people started reading. I know this seems kind of common sense, but I think sometimes it are these evolutions that are difficult to fully understand. Theses different literacies that have been created just in the last few decades that have been in response to all of the changes in the way we live our lives. I feel like as educators we are still playing catch-up with all of these movements.
I added an entry to the high school English section of wikidave. I did a very short blurb about Orwell's Animal Farm. I can see how many hours that could go into creating a full wiki. This little one took me approximately 20 minutes after doing some basic searches and cutting and pasting. See what I did at http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/English.
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