Chapter 4- Reflection
Leveraging the development of English
TPACK within the deictic nature of literacy
The chapter gave an example of a research project for preservice English education programs at the University of Minnesota. It sounds as though there class runs similar this graduate class. It involves strongly integrating the technology piece into your class.
Technology has to be integrated into the curriculum and into what you are teaching. It gives technology more meaning and is easier to learn. The chapter stated that separate and unrelated technology courses were insufficient. Technology needs to be taught simultaneously.
The chapter used two examples of classroom teachers to show the use and effectiveness of technology. Laura, one of the teachers, used technology as a resource for herself and not much for student use. Nell, the second of the teachers, used technology more freely in her classroom. The more she learned, the higher her expectations and ease in the classroom. Her approach was much more student oriented.
The term “new literacies” has come about because of technology and its impact. Technology is constantly evolving and teachers need to be kept up to date with integrating technology into their English language arts curriculums. It is hard for some educators to accept different and emerging forms of electronic reading and writing. Sometimes it is hard to keep up!
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Meg and Maggie-
ReplyDeleteGreat job as usual.
Maggie- I appreciate your advice on having older children work with my younger kindergartners on the computer. Sounds like lots of fun and a good educational experience for your "older kids" and the "little ones." My school is k-2 so having older children working with my kindergartners is a little more difficult. Maybe this is something I can look into for future years. I guess my biggest concern for my students is to have a lab that is fully functioning, with programs and passwords that work consistently. Nothing is more frustrating than getting down to the lab and not having computers work for my children. I am trying to get better about fielding questions and fixing problems though :)
I also liked your concern about the privacy and safety issues concerning technology. This is something I am not very educated in, so I am curious to see what your sites offer for information.
Meg- Thanks for thinking of me. I will look up the Education World site. I am curious how blogging works with younger children. I am thinking they need to be pretty good readers and writers and have lots of computer access. I could be wrong. It is a new thought and definitely the way the world is going for my "little darlings." Kind of scary for me!!
I liked your "marvelous" site. It was pretty marvelous if I do say so myself. I liked looking up the books under the cyberbooks portion and seeing lessons and ideas for each one.
Both of you have a very professional demeanor when presenting and obvious computer comfort and knowledge. I am getting there. Thanks for a great presentation and websites.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that some of the links that I provided are helpful to you. Honestly, I admire teachers of young kids. When I listen to you talk, I realize how much more there is to teaching kindergarten. It's not just play-doh and finger painting! I also admire how you are facing your fears and becoming more adept at technology. Good for you! I'm glad to have you in my "group" this semester.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I have to thank you for your kind words. It is obvious that you care a great deal about your students and you are pushing yourself to improve the opportunities you can offer them. That is one of the reasons that I am so happy to know that my Sophia will be with you next year. I know that technology isn't your favorite thing, but you work so hard to find its most appropriate and beneficial use for your students and don't just use it for technology sake.
As for the "buddy program," I hope that you are able to work something out with a nearby school. Having one-to-one support has made the use of technology SO much easier for the kindergarten kids in my building. Just having someone there to help them log in and navigate back to the home page if they click off has been a big help. Margaret, the kindergarten teacher, has said that the kids look forward to the buddy computer time so much that they ask about it everyday. We are new to the collaboration and are just working on basic letter and reading skills as well as mouse control, but I think we will get there. Good Luck!