Blog Entry #8

 Social Media

    My perspective on using social media in my classroom is a blend of both positive and cautious viewpoints. Working with younger students makes me wary of the unpredictability that comes with social media platforms and the potential challenges in maintaining appropriateness. Nonetheless, I recognize the value of providing students with a real-world context for communication and collaboration, enabling them to channel their existing interests. However, it's essential to address the concerns tied to privacy and misuse.

    The integration of digital tools, including social media, into the teaching and learning process will necessitate adjustments in classroom management. Prioritizing lessons on digital citizenship becomes vital, equipping students with skills to navigate online platforms responsibly. Implementing a monitoring system is crucial for ensuring student safety. I find the idea of staggered device access appealing, as it aids monitoring efforts. While my school is yet to invest in security programs like GoGuardian, the prospect of such tools is promising.

    Collaborative productivity tools hold great potential for classroom enhancement. My thoughts are drawn to how these tools could benefit third-grade students. Take Google Docs, for instance, which could be employed for group projects. This platform facilitates collaborative writing, editing, and formatting, encouraging task division, idea sharing, and collective project creation. Classroom blogging emerges as another innovative approach. By setting up a blog via platforms like Kidblog or Edublogs, students can compose articles, express thoughts, and offer feedback. This approach hones writing skills while promoting collaborative and communicative abilities.

    This course has changed my thinking when it comes to new literacies. Before, I thought of students as more of an expert on technology than me. I hadn't considered the benefits and necessity of teaching students how to specifically use technology on a wider scale. I am definitely more comfortable with integrating more digital tools into my classroom. I am looking forward to implementing some of the ideas I got this semester. I am most excited to experiment with podcasts for students. 

Blog Entry #7

 Multimedia Presentations

Source: https://blog.skillsuccess.com/how-to-make-a-professional-looking-multimedia-presentation/

    I have had many positive experiences with multimedia presentations. In high school, I remember creating presentations that included music, pictures, and animations. What struck me the most was how these multimedia elements brought the subject matter to life. Instead of merely reading dry texts or listening to lectures, I was actively immersed in the learning process. Reflecting on those experiences, I have come to realize that multimedia presentations not only enriched my learning but also nurtured essential skills. As I navigated through the creation process, I honed my critical thinking, problem-solving, and time-management abilities. Here is one short presentation I made for an undergrad class about close reading. 

    There are many different possibilities for using multimedia as a teaching tool and as an assessment tool. As a teaching tool, multimedia presentations can enhance instruction by incorporating engaging visuals, interactive elements, and audio to cater to various learning styles. Teachers can use multimedia to present concepts in a more memorable way, fostering deeper understanding for students. Offering multiple options for students to learn from makes the concept more accessible to them. As an assessment tool, multimedia allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills creatively. They can create videos, podcasts, digital stories, or interactive presentations to showcase their understanding of a topic. Multimedia assessments enable students to express themselves beyond traditional written assignments, empowering them to tap into their creativity and critical thinking.

    However, there are some concerns associated with creating and using multimedia presentations as an assessment. Assessing multimedia projects can be time-consuming and challenging. Grading criteria must be well-defined, focusing on both content and technical aspects to ensure a fair evaluation. Teachers may need to provide clear guidelines and examples to help students understand expectations and produce high-quality work. Also, some students may face technical difficulties or lack familiarity with specific software or tools, holding them back from creating multimedia presentations. Appropriate support and training may be necessary to ensure all students can use multimedia tools effectively.

Blog Entry #6

 Supporting Apps

    Out of the apps that I reviewed, several stood out to me as good choices to implement in a third-grade classroom. One of the apps was Storybird. I loved how easy the platform is to use. There is preloaded art on the website. Students will have a blast picking their base illustrations. I can see a few different activities that this website could support. Some students may have a story already in their head, and find illustrations to match it. Other students may want to write a story based on illustrations they find. There are many creative options on this website. I didn't note any distracting features. I think that students will be engaged in creating their stories and motivated to use fresh images.

    Another website that I liked was StoryPlanner. I loved how many options this website provided. This website provides guidance for story structure, story summaries, and the story world. This website would be most helpful for older students, but there were still elements I found usable by elementary students. I liked how it sorted the templates by time to complete, ease of use, and development stage. This makes it very easy to look through and pick which template you need. I haven't seen a website like this before, and I think that students that need extra guidance would really like it. 

    Lastly, I really enjoyed the noredink website. This was a new website for me. I can see myself using it with my third-grade students. I like that it covers grammar and writing. One thing I did not like is that you need a premium account to access all assignments. Still, this looks like a fun way to have students practice grammar rules and do fun writing prompts. I liked that I could select specific grammar rules and have students practice questions with them. I could see using this website as a writing center. 

    These apps stood out to me for several reasons. They all had distinct and engaging features. I could realistically see my third-graders asking to use these websites. I thought the interfaces were simple enough for students to navigate independently. I did not see any features that I deemed distracting from work. Out of the three websites, Storybird will probably be the one they enjoy most, because most students enjoy looking at art, and the art on this website is fantastic. 

Blog Entry #5

 Digital Graphic Organizers

    I tried out several graphic organizer websites, including Popplet and StoryboardThat, before settling on those for my sample GOs. I think my third grade students would find Popplet and StoryboardThat easy to use. I liked the simplicity of Popplet and how once I started with one box, it was easy to create another. I also liked that there weren't any distracting features on the website. StoryboardThat is a good choice if there is enough time for students to explore the options. I think some of my third graders would be overwhelmed by how many customization options there are. If I used this website in my classroom I would make sure they have a specific directive to help them narrow down the features. 

    Some activities that I could implement using digital graphic organizers are brainstorming, note-taking, and group work. Before writing time, I can encourage students to use a graphic organizer to help them organize their thoughts and ideas by brainstorming. This is something I typically have students do with paper and pencil. I think that some students would continue to prefer doing it with paper and pencil while other students may be more inclined to use a digital option. After a lesson, I could include time for students to create a GO based on the topic we learned. This could help with their comprehension of the lesson while letting them visually categorize the new information. When I implement digital graphic organizers I will start with individual work and build up to group work. I think that digital graphic organizers can help facilitate collaborative activities, with all students working on the same GO together. A lot of websites are making it possible for students to edit the same document at the same time, like Google Draw. 

    Two concerns I have about using digital graphic organizers are the learning curve and distractions. Like I stated before, some students may still prefer using paper and pencil to make their GOs. They may feel like they have more control. It is still important to teach them to use the digital option, but it may take them longer to feel comfortable using the new websites. The other concern I had is with distractions. Any tools that you use to make digital graphic organizers need to be looked at for distracting features. Distracting features may make the creation of the graphic organizer take much longer than necessary. 

Blog Entry #4

 Digital Audio Tools

Blog Entry #3

 Visual Literacy

Image from: https://www.fineart.pub/american-landscape-painters/

Blog Entry #2

 Digital Reading

            I was happy to see so many resources for finding free children’s e-books. The first website I explored was Amazon. I use Amazon a lot to download e-books for myself. I purchased a Kindle last year and find myself alternating between enjoying print books and e-books. I downloaded the book Feeling in Colors by Diane Alber. I liked how easy it was to purchase and download the book. The next website I explored was FreeBooksy. A children’s book that they recommended to get for free was Pepe the Key West Rooster by Victoria Scudder. The link redirected me to Amazon, and I purchased it there. Next, I explored OneHundredFreeBooks. It was very easy to navigate to the children’s section. They recommended The Flying Tree by Ingo Blum and sent me to Amazon to purchase it. Next, I looked at Freebook Sifter. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the lack of book covers, making it difficult for children to choose books on this website. Also, the Children's eBooks section didn't provide appropriate options for younger children. One of the books listed was about addiction. I was able to find an appropriate book in the subcategory Early Learning, where they recommended The Great Rainbow Chase by Mark Rusk. I was sent to Amazon to download it. I would not recommend this website based on the inappropriate book found under the children’s category. The last website I explored was BookBub. I like that the books can be filtered by price and by retailer. I selected the book Marky the Magnificent Fairy: A Disability Story of Courage, Kindness and Acceptance by Cynthia Kern Obrien and bought it through Amazon.

When I opened each book in my Kindle app on my iPad, I noticed that the interface was very simple and easy to navigate. The e-books were not interactive. I liked the simplicity, but there wasn’t anything interactive about it that I think kids would like more compared to a print book. Marky the Magnificent Fairy: A Disability Story of Courage, Kindness and Acceptance was only formatted to show one page at a time, instead of the usual two page spread. I think this choice disrupted the story and made the illustrations hard to view.

I think digital reading in the classroom can be a valuable resource when implemented correctly, considering the student’s interests and skills. I have used digital reading in my third-grade classroom for the past two years. One of my students’ favorite websites was ‘EPIC!’. They loved all the story options, and they enjoyed that the story could be read to them. Some students still opted for a print book during reading time, but a lot of students looked forward to reading on their Chromebooks.

For my reading instruction we use Wonders, which comes with a digital component. Each week, we explore a new featured story as a class, analyzing it throughout the week. I liked the online component because it offered to read the text to the students and offered fun vocabulary and grammar games that I could assign to them. However, I received feedback from students expressing a preference for me to read the story aloud rather than relying on the computer. Although flattered, I was curious why they enjoyed being read to on EPIC! but not during our Wonders sessions. I also noticed that when I requested them to refer to the text throughout the week, students reached for their printed copies of the Wonders textbook instead of accessing the digital version on their Chromebooks.  As a result, I began reading the story aloud to them while still utilizing the Wonders online component for vocabulary and grammar games. This adjustment met their preferences while incorporating the benefits of the digital text.

As I work to implement digital reading in my classroom, I will continue to consider student preferences as well as using digital texts that enhance the reading experience. Next year I am teaching Kindergarten. It will be very important that they learn how to read and use print books, but I also want to introduce them to digital texts. While many students may already have some familiarity with digital texts, I will demonstrate how to transfer strategies from print reading to digital reading.