Module 3 Blog Post 3
Leveraging Tools, Texts, and Talk in My Teaching:
After reading these articles I have concluded that designing classroom activities across spaces creates interaction, communication and critical thinking. These spaces create an opportunity for hands-on real-world learning. Through play-based film making, reading, real world conversations and much more, students can learn. “The context, not the tool, is what is important when making decisions about utilizing new technology within learning environments.” (Philip & Garcia, 2013)
According to Aguilera (2017) more than bits and bytes digital technologies are made by people, organizations, and institutions that can shape our experience of the world in powerful (and sometimes hidden) ways. Not everything we see on the internet is true. Our youth are greatly impacted by what they see not only on the internet but in commercials and even on video games. We have to teach our students that there is much more to life and in the world than what we hear or see on digital literacies. By helping students deeper understanding of the world beyond the screen, we can empower students to participate in broader debates that might shape the future of digital technologies in an open democracy, (Aguilera, 2017).
Incorporating film into the curriculum can be beneficial in many ways. A good starting point is to screen a film adaptation of a novel or play that you have already read in class. (Hernandez, 2017). I remember doing this type of assignment in college during my Shakespeare course. Hernandez (2017) stated that by putting film on equal footing with novels, we model acceptance of diverse forms of storytelling for our learning communities. Depending on the age of the students and academic levels this would be an amazing way to test for understanding.
One assignment that could be incorporated using analog and digital learning experiences is planting a garden. According to Garcia (2017) Digital literacies often primarily heighten the analog demands we have in our learning goals. Students would be able to research the different types of seeds, plants and vegetables. They will then have to look up what is needed to plant a garden. As a class they can all go out and plant the garden, water it daily and watch the plants grow. They can observe the growth and take data on how well they are growing or the difference in the growth of certain plants. We are fortunate at my school to be provided an area to grow a garden. Although my students are too young to do research, we can watch videos and listen to songs on how plants grow. They can also be involved in the hands-on portion and help water it. Lastly, we can observe it daily and see if there are any changes. We have an opportunity to optimize students use of digital tools by returning our pedagogical scrutiny to real time moments of discovery and human interaction (Garcia, 2017).
In order to be successful in this assignment all students would have to be provided with the proper materials to do research. Unless students were able to take home their technological devices then all work would have to be done in school given the appropriate amount of time. Students would also have to have background knowledge in the supplies needed and how to measure and take data appropriately.
Aguilera, E. (2017). MORE THAN BITS AND BYTES. Literacy Today, 35(3), 12-13. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?
Hernandez, M. (2017). REFRAMING THE MEDIUM. Literacy Today, 35(3), 16-17. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?
Garcia, A. (2017). NONDIGITAL SKILLS. Literacy Today, 35(3), 24-25. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?
Philip, T., & Garcia, A. (2013). The Importance of Still Teaching the iGeneration: New Technologies and the Centrality of Pedagogy. Harvard Educational Review, 83(2), 300–319.
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a garden!! It's a great example of applying concepts to real world problems and situations. Literacy is the base of everything. I think students of all ages can gain valuable knowledge through a project like this one. Is this a project that has already been done in your school? Were students "buying-in" or truly interested? I think I would have some students who would be very excited to participate, but not all. It's difficult to catch the interest of all your students. I know my school has a "greenhouse gardening club". But, I'd love to hear more about your school's garden if this is already in action!
Fortunately, our 3 preschool classes each have a small area to use to plant a garden. It is not very big, but we can fit some vegetables and plants. Students love to help water it and pick the vegetables once they are fully grown. We have even eaten some of them during food exploration.
DeleteHi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. You made a lot of great points, and picked out very important information. I do have to agree with Jenna, the gardening idea is a great idea. Children can learn so much things especially in literacy. They can pick up new vocabulary words, they can start understanding the sound of each word, and make connection between words and the pictures. I also really like the engagement that you bring to the assignment. Children learn through us, so you adding that piece to the activity great! My 3UPK students did something like this for the garden unit, and it is so cute. Have you don something like this before? Do you think that this is something that once you do it the other teachers would follow? Also, I am curious about budget do you pay for everything or does management (business) pitch in to help? I hope you and your kiddos have fun!
Hi Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your gardening idea! I think that hands on learning is so important for students as well as implementing digital experiences. Your idea is a perfect combination of both of those things. This year my Kindergarteners learned about composting and made their own classroom composting bin. They had so much fun working together to make it, but I was missing the technology/digital portion of it. Thank you for sharing!
Lindsey, this is so neat! I would love more information on your classroom composting bin!
DeleteHi Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteI think the gardening idea is great and I love that students can have hands on experience! One way you might be able to incorporate another digital aspect is to take a daily picture of something growing. You could plant a seed in a grow bag on the window or perhaps growing grass in a cup. They both germinate and sprout fast (which is sometimes best for little learners). You can take pictures of the process along the way. I know this might not be feasible if they don't have access to 1:1 technology, but just an idea. I love grass in a cup because they can then snip the grass to work on cutting skills! I also think doing a KWL chart could help gain interest in things they might want to know about plants and then you can research together. I love doing a unit on plants! It is so neat to see how many wonderful experiences we can offer to our students!
I saw an idea online about growing grass in cups and having the students pictures on the cups making it look like hair. Every time they cut it, they would be getting a haircut. Unfortunately, there is very little window space to keep the cups in the sun, and little hands would be very curious!
DeleteYes, that is exactly what I was thinking! That is a bummer, but I completely understand those sneaky, curious hands! It was a bit tricky with window space when I did it as well, I had to put the cups in a bin and take it outside each day... too much! I think it is so awesome that you have access to a small garden area though!
DeleteI loved your idea for a gardening unit. We recently finished a unit on worms. We had a bin that came with the unit that was used as a habitat for the worms. Over the weeks, we watched the worms turn the food scraps, newspaper strips, and dirt change over time and turn it all into compost. That naturally led into seeds. Yesterday we placed soaked lima bean seeds in a sandwich bag with a wet paper towel and taped them to our window to watch the seeds germinate. We also dissected seeds and watched a video about the parts of a seed. I told the students I was going to bring in a pepper on Monday and we will plant the seeds.
ReplyDeleteI bet the students loved all these ideas especially watching the worms turn the scraps into compost how interesting. I love all the great ideas everyone has been sharing in their discussions and posts! I have been writing them down to try and incorporate into my classroom one day!
DeleteJennifer, I love the idea of researching and planning a garden with students. My district has a farm but it is not close to the middle school I work in. I was just talking to a coworker about building some gardening beds in our courtyard so that students can grow vegetables. Things like lettuce and radishes grow quickly and it's fun to have them try new things. Heidi, we do a unit every year with terrariums and the earth worms ALWAYS die. I am wondering how you were successful in keeping yours alive so that the students could observe them. I thought that the classroom was too warm and so I was spritzing them with water and I moved them to the opposite side of the room from the heat vent but that didn't help either! We also germinated lima beans and it was so exciting for the students to watch them grow each day.
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