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In National Writing Project National Reading Initiative Keywords Project by Marcie Wolfe with the New York City Writing Project, there are many "keyword articles" that have to do with education. The keyword that is most applicable to my research project is assessment. In this article Wolfe compares what peoples views are about what the definition of reading assessment is. She describes it as "data, interpretation, and formal evaluation." She emphasizes on student work over time like a portfolio.

Sarah M. Butzins article, Integrating Technology into The Classroom: Lessons from The Project CHILD Experience, claims that Project CHILD helps students learn to be independent workers and how to work effectively in groups by developing skills to help themselves and each other when the teacher is unavailable. Butzin realizes that it is uncommon for teachers to want to learn how to implement technology into the classroom and curriculum, but by having three main teachers who each specialize in one subject- reading, math, and language arts- they are able to become experts in utilizing technology and software into their area of expertise.

The article "Using Instructional Technology in Transformed Learning Environments: An Evaluation of Project CHILD," by Sarah Butzin, claims that students are able to learn more and are more motivated when they are able to use technology and implement the Computers Helping Instruction and Learning Development (CHILD) project. Butzin studied the effects of technology by comparing two schools that were both technology-rich. One school implemented project CHILD and the other school implemented a more traditional design. According to the author, the CHILD method involves a cluster of three grades that are broken into smaller groups and remain with the same teachers throughout those three grades (K-2 and 3-5.) The more traditional learning style still involved the use of technology in day to day learning, but every year the students changed teachers and only worked within their grade level. The CHILD implementation makes it so that children can learn at their own pace and switch stations that include bookwork, one on one or small group time with the teacher, working with technology, and hands-on experience. Butzin claims that this style of learning showed positive outcomes for testing scores, classroom motivation, improvement in behavior, and increased parent involvement.

In Technology a Key Tool in Writing Instruction the author, Maya Prabhu, explains how a report done by the National Writing Project and College Board shows that "teachers play a critical role in driving the use of technology, to teach writing." For this report nine teachers, who were selected for various reasons, were observed by a writer for a day and then interviewed. Results showed that the use of such things like blogs, podcasts, and other software can actually increase students' engagement and improve their writing and thinking skills in all grade levels and in all subjects. These results help fuel the argument that more teaching needs to be done with technology in this new digital age. The NWP and College Board claims that there are ". . . three things [that need to] be done to meet the challenges of teaching and learning in the digital age at all levels of education." A child cannot learn or be impacted by technology if they do not have access, so therefore it is suggested that a child have one-on-one interactions with a computer or some time type of similar technology.

interesting student creations of multi modal texts

In the article; "Digital Literacies" a 12th grade project about digital literacy is described. Elizabeth Boeser decided to develop an online role-play scenario for her students. The role-play was centered on the sites that were blocked by the school. Students made online avatars and discussed the pros and cons of blocking certain sites from students. Posts were being discussed after and before school and showed that the use of Ning (the website) showed students a positive way to use the Internet for school. It allowed for instant sharing of ideas. The author then goes into the importance of online identity where students can work with students by replicating, adding, and engaging in information. The four important digital literacy's are also mentioned; multimodality, connectivity, hyper linking, and collaboration.

Kindergarten teacher Chris Gathers tells about his experiences integrating technology into the learning experience of his students. He first teaches the children how to use the mouse and eventually progresses to making simple art projects and writing on the computer. The kindergarten students gain independence and confidence in themselves and their use of technology

I found a short outline from presentation slides on The National Writing Project and it talks about the importance of using participatory media in schools. It has a lot of information about what teachers can do with the media along with some positive input from teachers themselves. It gives a few standards that need to be met by the teachers and then the response they are getting from incorporating those results.

In Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom by Shelly Cashman discusses how teachers are able to bring benefit students learning by the use of technology within the classroom. This book, analysis's every part of technology and gives the reader many definitions of terms and literacy's that are needed to use technology in the classroom. Cashman "explains the difference between computers, information, and integration literacy", as well as points out why 21st century skills are needed to be incorporated in k-12 curriculum. In the first chapter she points out how teachers themselves can improve their "professional development, productivity tools in the classroom, and integrate technology and digital media in their instrumental strategies, lessons, and student-based projects.

"Facebook vs. Twitter: battle of the social network stars" is an article written by Curt Tagtmeier, a reference librarian, about libraries using Facebook and Twitter to reach out to people. He started a project in May 2010 creating a Facebook page and a Twitter profile to make use of the popularity of social networking. This article gives reasons about both the sites and to why a library should pick between Facebook or Twitter in the battle of the social network stars. I found this article from the CSU Chico Library Database.

It is the second article when you get to project muse.

this video is a good example for the film project..Immigration-Dream Act.

Immigration stories. Nice model for film project