Web 2.0 and Beyond in the Classroom

Behold, my Web 2.0 showcase! It was my first time using the drawing feature of Google Docs, so that took a little getting used to. I envision this being used by media specialists when collaborating with their fellow educators in creating lesson plans integrating technology with course content. I wanted to choose tools that would be useful across a variety of subjects. The criteria I used combines Bloom's revised taxonomy and the ISTE NETS, focusing on the aspects that I feel are most integral. Many of these resources could be used in more ways than I have described here (which was another reason why I chose them), but these were the first aspects that came to my mind when thinking about how they would be utilized in the classroom. I also wanted to focus on tools that could be used to help students educate each other.



My understanding of the SAMR framework is that it is organized based upon the extent to which the technology is integrated into and utilized in the task at hand.  The TPACK framework concerns the intersections of technological knowledge, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge, and how they ideally can be combined together to make an effective teacher. The TPACK framework just reinforced for me how important it is to use technology to deliver content in the classroom. The SAMR framework made me think about how important it is that we use technology as more than just a gimmick or plain substitution for something we're already doing - we need to use it to transform what we teach, how we teach, and how the students learn and create.

A teacher looking to infuse their curriculum with technology needs to consider many things. Some of these include:

• Is this a tool students/teachers will be able to access at school (consider internet filters, pay sites, lack of technical support)?
• Is this tool being used to redefine the course content and allow students to do innovative things or is it just a veneer for things the students could do without the technology?
• Does the technology allow the student to display multiple 21st century skills?
• Are the students more engaged with these uses of technology in the classroom than they would be without them?
• Does the use of these tools support Common Core/ISTE/AASL standards?

Who Owns the Learning?

I already linked to my book talk in the "What We're Reading" wiki, but I wanted to add it to my blog, too. Here it is!

Developing Digital Citizens

The following is my action plan and accompanying presentation concerning digital citizenship in a high school. I chose my old high school, Pendleton Heights, since I am currently a public librarian and not teaching. Please note that it has been 10 years since I was in high school, so they are probably actually teaching more than just how to avoid plagiarism at this point (I hope). This was also my first time using Prezi, and I absolutely love it!

Developing Digital Citizens

My Prezi presentation:

The Digital Divide

Check out our class's VoiceThread conversation about the new Digital Divide!

 

 It was really interesting for me listening to everyone's takes on what is important to remember about the digital divide and how this affects their teaching.  I'm not sure, but I think I'm the only person in class who hasn't actually taught in a classroom (other than one-off sessions...yet!). Since my only point of reference so far is from a public/community college library, I'm just sort of soaking in the different points of view of everyone who has actually been in the trenches, so to speak.

New Literacies

New Literacies on Google Docs

Module 2: Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

The Education of Digital Natives by htrefun on GoAnimate

I am very much a digital native.  Even though I am at the older end of the digital natives, nearly all of the descriptions and uses of technology described in our readings ring true. I am on some sort of electronic device for most of my waking hours, have multiple devices that I use daily, am an early adopter of almost all current popular social media sites, have a number of online-only friends, rarely make telephone calls, and produce a podcast with my husband. I was heartbroken when I found out Google Reader was going away because that is how I start and end every day (I have since switched to Feedly). For most of these tools, I use them for personal and professional reasons.  My colleagues at the library are constantly amazed that I can pick up any device and figure it out within minutes (and annoyed that I customize the appearance to my liking at every workstation I use). So most of the information in the readings wasn’t really new to me, though I was fascinated by the physical changes this produces as outlined on the Digital Natives Map.

That being said, I see the digital divide in action every day at the library. Prensky (2006) states that, “technology changes very quickly and the Natives are programmed to – and want to – keep up with it,” while “to Digital Immigrants, some of these new norms and behaviors (…) will seem really strange” or “forever remain out of reach and impossible to master” for them. (p. 51) When I am teaching a teenager how to use a database to find information or how to download library books on their tablet, the whole process tends to go much more smoothly than when I am teaching a retiree the same things. I even find it difficult to describe some things to digital immigrants that are just so second nature to me and a part of my thought patterns. I really think a large part of the difficulty for digital immigrants stems from not just the digital language barrier, but from a sort of fear, sometimes because they are afraid to make an irreparable mistake. Digital natives, on the other hand, know that there’s almost nothing you can do on a device that can’t be undone and so feel free to play around and experiment with any new tool that comes along and mold it to their needs. It seems to me that one of the most important things a teacher can do now for students is teach them how to use that innate playfulness to educate themselves.  

Digital Natives Map: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/extras/digital_native.html

Prensky, M. (2006). The emerging online life of a digital native. "Don't bother me Mom, I'm learning!": how computer and video games are preparing your kids for twenty-first century success and how you can help! (pp. 40-51). St. Paul, Minn.: Paragon House.

About the Author

Hello, fellow W531 classmates and instructor!

My name is Hayley and I am a public librarian in Noblesville, Indiana. In my free time, I like to garden, play the ukulele, and make up stories about my fluffy white dog with my husband. 

I'm heading back to school to get my teaching certificate to be a K-12 media specialist. In my current position, I serve as a reference/innovative technology librarian, which is just a fancy way of saying I answer questions and run the library's Facebook and Twitter pages, along with the database/downloadable section of our website and my department's wiki page. 

I'm excited to learn about how I can apply these technologies I've been using as library publicity to educational settings.