Team A / Week 2 : Pro-Tech!

Tyler's Link

Brian Used this page/ literature in the slide

Technology as a learning tool, not just as the latest and greatest shiny new toy.

Here is what I will be doing for my group: Submitting our presentation.

picture

social networking and technology 

Increase of literacy skills in tech

"However, recent research has not been able to lend support to these theories of memory interference, and, in fact, it has shown just the opposite to be the case, text messaging may actually be positively associated with children and adult literacy (Plester et al., 2008, 2009). There have been two broad theories to explain these findings. First, Plester et al. (2009) suggested that texting can allow people access to a form of written language which is not constrained by standard grammer and spelling or produced for the purposes of formal learning practice in school, but rather as a means of easy communication with frieds. Crystal (2008) and Leake (2008) further hypothesized that this freeing from conventional constraints and the additional necessity of brevity to fall within the character limit allows children and adults to use reading and writing in a much more playful way. "

" Although there is no evidence that the use of such acronyms and abbreviations in professions and career fields have caused a deterioration of the English language, yet some have argued that the use of textese and textisms may result in diminishing an individual's use of the English language. On the contrary, according to Plesteret. al (2008), text messaging positively affects the English literacy of students who tend to use more complex sentence structures, increased vocabulary, and increased awareness of correct use of language mechanics. Furthermore, that better spelling and writing were more evident among students who used textisms"

"For instance, in her classroom, Sullivan uses photos licensed under creative commons, an alternative to copyright that allows varying degrees of sharing, as a jumping-off point to start a conversation with her students. "It gives them a mental image to connect to," she says, "a familiar, relatable scene so we can discuss what we see in the photo as a class and build the vocabulary." Then the students can transition into a writing exercise, says Sullivan. Sullivan also uses audio recorders to have student-teachers read sets of vocabulary words, then she creates matching PowerPoint presentations with the words and burns them onto DVDs for the students to take home and listen to"

"One of the additional things he discussed in this talk was that we often say, "These kids do not read," but he quickly dismisses this as a fallacy. In fact, Crystal goes further to say that kids that text read more than what we did as children because they have more access to writing. Simply put, they do not read and write the same things that we did. Looking at my own situation, I have actually read more "books" in the last little while than I ever have, as I carry around a huge book collection all the time on my iPhone and/or iPad. The ease of access makes it a lot easier for me to read whether it is blogs, books, or yes, text messages and tweets."

"Technology can be a tremendous benefit to differentiating instruction and supporting learners' success with literacy tasks in career training. Used strategically, technology tools can support individualized needs while supporting instruction of a shared, core curriculum. Students with LD will most likely not be prepared to use many mainstream tools as learning supports, however, as "far too few" K-12 students with LD are using technology in the classroom.4 They will need explicit instruction and guided practice to become proficient."

Empirical research exploring the use of text messaging in formal educational settings is still emerging; therefore, studies from diverse disciplines were examined. The domains of communication and media studies and information technology address the first question investigating how young adults use text messaging. The majority of research into adult use of text messaging to interact with adolescents and young adults comes from the fields of health and wellness and medical journals were primarily utilized. Finally, because there are so few studies on the use of text messaging in education, popular media, professional and practitioner magazines, and books were the sources of real-world applications of text messaging in schools. E-mail is the preferred mode of communication for school or work, but when teenagers want something that is fast, immediate, and can be done anywhere - texting is preferred (Lev-Ram, 2006). For teenagers, the cell phone is almost always with the person, so it is constantly accessible. Being small and silent, the cell phone is easily transported and used furtively under the supervision of authority, as compared to e- mail, which requires a computer (Thurlow, 2003). Many teenagers have reported that they share a computer with family members or that it is in a common area of the home so instant messaging and e- mail can be observed (Faulkner & Culwin, 2005). In addition, because the phone displays both text and sender, the user can choose when and if to respond to a message and has time to compose an appropriate response. Teen and Young Adult Text Messaging Content Multiple studies in various countries have been conducted on the content of young adults' text messages, with similar results across studies. Many text messages have to do with coordination of events and maintaining relationships. Often a text will be sent to see if the receiver is available for phoning on a land- line, an instant message chat, or a face-to-face meeting (Grinter & E