Literacy and technology

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cat-sidh/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

After a really interesting conversation in my literacy class we were trying to come up with a collaborative definition for literacy. We asked questions like what components make up literacy? And when is literacy met? I have realized how broad a question this is because in all actuality there could me a million and one definitions for literacy. Reading, writing, speaking, listening and communication are some components to name a few but then what about the use of technology in this definition. With technology expanding day to day pretty soon we may be adding the use of computers to our literacy definition.

I find it amazing that books can even be found online and I know that the brain does not process reading from a book the same as reading on computers. I was wondering what your beliefs were. Do you think that having all of these books available online is hindering or enhancing the idea of literacy. I love to pick up a good book and it is scary to think that books are being replaced by a computer screen.

Thoughts...?

Pick up a book!

I am currently taking TE 448 which is a class based on diverse adolescent literature. I know many college of education majors at Michigan State have taken it and have absolutely loved it so I can not wait to really get into that class. Currently, I am reading Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. This book is about a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution but is written in the form of a graphic novel. It is absolutely amazing and I have learned so much through a children's book. If you get a change I would highly recommend it! This would for sure be for middle school or even high school ages (if used in the classroom) but I think it is important for everyone to have this knowledge.

Check it out!

Unable to Access

After looking around the internet at different blogs I found a great website honoring the 2009 edublog winners. I was surprised to see that there are top edublogs that people have voted on making our lives much much easier to find and follow blogs. The following blog was the top blog offering free technology to teachers.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

You should really check it out!

A post that I found interesting on the blog was discussing how teachers in may schools are frustrated with the amount of control administrators had on the technology they were able to access. Because teachers were unable to update browsers they were unable to access new and improved technology. I was wondering if anyone has talked to teachers that have had this problem. We are learning about all of this technology but what happens when we are unable to access it.

Just a thought! And don't forget to check out the site!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjoselibrary/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

In the classroom

I am currently placed in a third grade classroom and once a week I go in to help, teach, and gain experience. I was looking around at the technology they have been given and was pleased to note that they have about eight computers in the back of the class. These computers are utilized during their literacy center time and they have the opportunity to learn literacy through games and quizzes. Overall this is entirely their favorite center and they usually run with joy to the back of the classroom when it is their turn. I also noticed that they usually struggle with working together but when they share computers this is not the case. Like many third graders they seem to struggle with the teamwork attitude but since I have been working in this classroom I have never seen a fight or even a flair of a temper. The students are required to work two to a computer and they tend to do quite well with this.

Earlier on in the week I also watched The Buried Life on MTV and the show is about four guys who want to accomplish 100 things on a list before they die. This episode was especially striking because after they completed their task they wanted to do something for someone else. They found a teacher in a small town who wanted something simple. He wanted a computer for the classroom. Now with all of these technological advances it seems that these days everyone has a computer but this reminded me that computers aren't a commodity. In school districts that are suffering it makes sense that computers would be left out of the classroom but in reality this will only hinder students from a world that is completely engrossed in technology. I know that for many of the students I work with, the school day is the only time they have access to a computer. This is crucial. Students need to learn how to read, write, do math, and in 2010 it seems as if they also need to be able to type. Just food for thought. It made me appreciate things a lot more and it was great to see this classroom get their very first computer!

This week in technology...

I felt like this was a big week for my technology advancement. I now have my own website and although it looks incredibly bare right now there will be much more to come! I am excited to have a professional place on the web, where I could send possible employers, and in this economy I could use all the help I can get. I am planning on posting lesson plans, my resume and bits and pieces about me that capture the essence of who I am as a teacher. I already feel as if this class will help me in so many ways because I'm not as tech savvy as I would like to be.

As for other assignments in the class I have learned what Delicious is. This is actually a really helpful website that bookmarks all of my favorite websites. I will be able to access this on any computer, which is great when I don't have my handy dandy mac by my side. Next on to twitter. I'm not quite sure about twitter quite yet and I'm not sure why but I have yet to make a tweet. So tonight is my night and I will be tweeting for the first time. I know many of my classmates have caught on to this idea of 140 characters or less (that may or may not be the correct number) so I am stepping into the tweeting world.

For classes to come I am looking forward to get my website up and running and to learn much more about all of these technological options.

I leave you with two websites:

This is my webpage http://sarahpylarteaching.weebly.com/

And this is my twitter http://twitter.com/mspylar

now on to twitter!

Oh Technology...

So as I begin my technological journey everything thing in the world wide web seems to be against me. I am an avid facebook user and stalker but other than that my background includes surfing the web and checking my mail. Of course, when I aim to become more technology savvy the internet is playing games with my computer and is in major disarray. I have finally secured internet for the time being so I am rapidly typing this post. This isn't the first time I have developed a love hate relationship with my computer and whatever seems to be the source of my tech problem, but I am hoping this class will help me become more patient with all of this craziness.

Mostly, I am incredibly interested to find out what ways technology can be used in the classroom. At this point in time, technology seems to be making everyone's lives easier and maybe it can do the same for students. In all of our teaching classes the one concept that seems to be reiterated over an over is the idea that all students learn differently. I hope by the end of this class I will look at this broad field as a teaching and learning tool. Currently I am already learning a great deal and will continue to do so as technology changes and evolves. So far I am thinking that this will be an overall great teaching aid.

So for now I will encase myself with a professional twitter, a blog, and whatever this class will bring. My optimism will hopefully create a better relationship with my computer and everything it entails. I am excited to see what great concepts this class will bring to my teaching and learning and hopefully my internet will hang in there!