Group items tagged

The article, Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century, is arguing the point that the types of literacies are expanding every day, and people need to be kept up on them. The authors, Barbara Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne Flannigan, state that to be a fully functioning member of society, you must acquire and understand a new literacy; a digital one. They also state, "Today, we still seek better communication methods, only now we have myriad more choices, along with new tools and strategies and greater knowledge of effective communication". Technologies will not just be used to communicate though anymore, it is being to "create, to manipulate, to design, to self-actualize". In the New Literacy and Education paragraphs, it is stated that classrooms today are less advanced for the students who are being put in them. Almost all of these students are digitally literate, but teachers are presenting ideas in the ways they always have. Maybe, it is not just the classrooms that need remodeling, but the teachers need to attend workshops and become more accustomed to dealing with these new types of literacies. Schools who are looking to hire teachers need to look at what background the interviewees have, or require a pre-requisite for computer literacy. The authors also state that today, students are "digitally savvy". They don't believe that teachers should be re-typing overheads into PowerPoint's. There are so many different technological ways to teach things to students. It just isn't the same anymore to just use a whiteboard and an overhead projector. "As an example, now teachers can do a PowerPoint presentation with streaming video, instant Internet access, and real-time audio-video interaction, and they can do it with relative speed and ease".

Barbara Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne Flannigan in their article "Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century" state the reason the definition of literacy has gradually changed through time, will always be changed, and that the history behind why it has changed leads to the definition itself. They assert that through the technological advancements the thought processes in the humans mind have drastically changed; and in order for literacy to keep up with this rapidly changing "E-generation" Jones-Kavalier and Flannigan express that our minds need to be open to this change. They state that "vision combined with practical, recognizable goals and incentives that encourage people to embrace new digital and visual literacy skills individually and collectively" will allow there to actually be a change universally.

This article discusses how literate once meant a person's ability to read and write. Now that technology is rapidly changing, our society is learning to adjust to it. Now, literacy has a new definition. According to the authors, "Literacy includes the ability to read and interpret media (text, sound, images), to reproduce data and images through digital manipulation, and to evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from digital environments." Older generations are having a more difficult time adjusting to it than the teenage generation. Learning technology is starting to seem like learning a new language. Although, it's a priority for society to learn to acclimate to these changes in order to learn and communicate effectively.

In The Future of Thinking, Cathy N. Davidson and David Theo Goldberg question the typical learning practices that we've grown accustomed to today. Before delving into the chapter I planned on writing about, I read a bit of the books introduction and overview, titled The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age. One particular line that stuck me was "How do laptops change the way we learn? And how should they change the way we teach?"(2). Their main focus here was to discuss how technology, and our sources of information has changed drastically, but that our education system hasn't.

In the article Myspace, Facebook promote Literacy, Debra Lau Whelan talks about how social networking sites can help you gain more than just friends. Social networking sites offer e-safety, "Staying safe, keeping personal information safe, protecting yourself and your belongings, making sure that we don't participate in bullying or other antisocial behavior, and helping out other people who might be affected by these issues, is a key part of digital citizenship." Responsibility becomes a central role on these sites because their safety is at risk. Kids are able to control childish behaviors or prevent themselves from making rash decisions by using safe tactics on the internet. These sites broaden horizons for the users, letting them talk to people they may not have talked to otherwise, creating a variety and diverse web culture, driving away from cliques on school playgrounds. "Collaboration, discovery, and becoming a team player are all encouraged because these sites promote working, thinking, and acting together." Social networking sites allow users to create groups online to help find other people with the same interest as you. This allows communication on a topic that many people all over the world share a common interest in. Diversity brings new ideas and helps these users see things in a different point of view. These teens are not trapped in just with their classroom but they can't interact with people all over the world. Teens messing around on the computer on social networking sites is not just leisure time wasted, "Being able to quickly adapt to new technologies, services, and environments is already regarded as a highly valuable skill by employers, and can facilitate both formal and informal learning," Computer skills are adapted from using these sites, making it easier for teens to perform computer tasks in the future at work. This article gave me a new outlook on Facebook and social networking sites. I always thought that these sites w

Professors at Harvard university discuss their opinion on whether they think laptops in the classroom is a better learning utility or if it is just distracting the student and others in the classroom.

In "The New Writing Pedagogy" the authors, Angela Pascopella and Will Richardson, discuss how technology and the Web are creating a new emphasis on student's writing process. This is creating teachers to no longer fear upcoming technology, but embrace them within the classroom. Due to this teachers are using "Web-based social networking tools like blogs and wikis, YouTube and Facebook as digital spaces, multimedia texts, global audiences and linked conversations among passionate readers." Furthermore, "The New Writing Pedagogy" has many comments and quotes from professors and teachers of all levels that comment on how they are adapting to "this new pedagogy" and how we are the creators of it.

This is a very interesting and informative article. I was interested in how texting can affect a students literacy level and this piece answered all my questions. Research has been done to prove that texting does not negate students' literacy levels. Professors all over the world accept the new form of communication and are willing to use it in the classroom

In the article "Identity Management: Multiple Presentations of Self in Facebook", by Joan Morris DiMicco and David R. Millen, the authors primarily address the concept of social networking becoming increasingly popular. They wanted to study how people maintain their self-presentation while also maintaining social relationships in heterogeneous networks. Otherwise known as maintaining a professional and social persona in one network.

Many teachers and other school officials in the U.S. are starting to embrace the use of social media in the classroom. With the ever growing popularity of sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Myspace, educators feel that it is important to bridge the gap between the outside world of interactive social media and today's learning methods. Allowing social media and other websites in the classroom has its pros and cons, of course.

The chapter "The Computer and Active Learning" from the book The Vitrual Classroom by Starr Hiltz really grasps the use of computers in the classroom. "Whether in CIA or in the Virtual Classroom, the student is forced to actively participate" this is one of the main ideas to this book and especially this chapter. Students who use the computer to learn are actively participating by answering questions after they are on the computer. The chapter also develops the idea that computer education works, but teacher and student communication is important, "it appears to be effective only if there is also significant communication between teacher and student". The article holds computer to a high standard by defining computer use as "an active learning situation", instead of taking a quiz later on what a student learned, they get to take a quiz right after they read it online. They response as they go, making computer use active learning. It also develops the idea of the computer as a social process; "this social process of developing shared understanding through interaction is the "natural" way for people to learn". The author believes that responding to peers work creates a process of learning that is never seen in the classroom. All of the ideas are great examples of why technology in the classroom works, and can be used to our advantage as teachers.

In "using the technology of today, in the classroom of today" authors Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, Jennifer Groff, Jason Haas start to give basis to the argument that technologies such as videogames and social networking sites help shape learning. They focus on how they are learning outside of school but in completely different ways than teachers focus on. They argue, "Nearly all institutions- business, industry, medicine, science and government - have harnessed aspects of these technologies for decades. Games and simulations have been a key component of training doctors and military personnel, but even businesses like PricewaterhouseCoopers used a game about a mining company in outer space to teach its employees about derivatives. Although that may seem a bit "off the wall," the fact is major corporations, the Department of Defense, and the medical community would not use these tools if they were not highly effective" to illustrate how corporations use videogames so the educational system shouldn't reject it them as a learning tool. They point out how videogames can serve as a simulation for real life just as mining in outer space can teach about derivatives. Videogames are also a highly interactive learning environment. Instead of being told information, students are right in the middle of the action and the learning. They also discuss how social networking is a new way of collaborating with other about a wide variety of subjects including school work. The authors write, "Of course, educators have long been aware that learning is a social activity, where learners construct their understanding not just through interaction with the material, but also through collaboratively constructing new knowledge with their peers" but teachers reject the use of social networking as means of learning because of the other aspects included safety or privacy. But what teachers can learn from social sites is that "'knowledge cultures' assembled in these o

This article is very rich with information that has to do with how digital games, social networks, and simulations can be involved in classrooms. With the involvement of them is more than just entertainment that children or people actually learn stuff from them.

In the article, "Why Schools Should Learn To Use Online Services Like Facebook & YouTube Rather Than Banning Them," Mike Masnick argues that incorporating Facebook and other social networking sites, would be beneficial to both students and teachers. He says that by trying to fuse these social media sites with the teacher's curriculum, it will make education and school work more relevant to the students lives.

danah boyd is a lead researcher in social media. Her website has links to most of her scholarly articles

great resource for articles that research the web and social media.

Article by danah boyd from the journal First Monday. Abstract from the site: ""Are you my friend? Yes or no?" This question, while fundamentally odd, is a key component of social network sites. Participants must select who on the system they deem to be 'Friends.' Their choice is publicly displayed for all to see and becomes the backbone for networked participation. By examining what different participants groups do on social network sites, this paper investigates what Friendship means and how Friendship affects the culture of the sites. I will argue that Friendship helps people write community into being in social network sites."

The number of educators who now welcome social media into the classroom is growing. Some go so far as to say that the use of services such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are an integral part of a 21st century education. This represents a sea change for educators. Until recently, most schools banned students from using social media tools in the classroom. But progressive educators say this represents a major disconnect with the world that awaits them outside the school walls. It's not protecting them today so much as handicapping them tomorrow.

Gives ideas on why embracing social media is a good idea. Talks about how a growing number of teachers are starting to use networking sites in their classroom.

The article How Does Maintaining an Online Identity Affect Adolescent Identity Formation? By Lesley Cowie is all about social networking and the impact and influence it has on a person's identity. It discusses an identity transfer starting in the adolescent years because that is when kids are allowed to sign up for these social networks.

For those of you researching Facebook...interesting article

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1613,156178-252192,00.html here is a glazed donuts recipe, use a chocolate glaze and a voodoo cookie cutter, put a crazy design, fill the middle with red jam, and stick a pretzel stick through the heart!!

This article is about video games and the beneficial aspects of video games as teaching implements. This article also addresses the criticisms of video games as teaching implements (will kids become more violent/will kids get less school work done).

In Rethinking Education in The Age of Technology - The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America, Allan Collins and Richard Halverson jump straight into questioning whether schools are using new technologies to their advantage.

Social media should play a role in eliminating the problem of cyber bullying. Popular sites such as Facebook and MySpace have a big influence on teens and should be the ones promoting solutions to this issue. These social networks should create stricter penalties against digital bullies.