New Literacy: What IS It?

http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/130613/

New literacies are basically new forms of literacy, created by advancing technology, which increase the many ways in which we can communicate with one another. As technology moves forward, our literacies broaden and change to reflect these new forms of communication.

In order to communicate effectively, we have to have at least a superficial knowledge of these new technologies. We should have at least a high level understanding of what a blog is, how Twitter and facebook and text messaging work. If we want to prepare our students to function effectively in the world outside of school, we need to find ways to teach them these new literacies.

NETS for Students are a set of standards which essentially measure the skills that students now need in order to learn and function successful in an increasingly digital environment.

NETS for Teachers, then, are a set of standards which measure the skills that teachers need in order to teach successfully in the same technologically advanced environment.

In many ways, teachers can learn these new technologies right alongside their students. One particularly effective approach might be for a teacher to create and manage a classroom blog. The teacher could regularly post about upcoming assignments, tests, and field trips so that students can read the blog from home and be aware of upcoming events. The teacher could also invite each student to write "guest posts" for the blog, which other students in the class could comment on, thus allowing for meaningful class discussion outside of the classroom. In this way, a single blog would allow an entire class of students to connect with one another as well as their teacher, without even being physically present in the classroom.

Do you think a classroom blog is an effective way of teaching new literacies?

Blogging in Schools

http://mcblogsintheclassroom.wordpress.com/

As blogging and social media become more and more mainstream, teachers across the country continue to make decisions about which particular aspects of social media they may want to embrace and include in their curriculum. Many classrooms in Connecticut are already using blogs to help keep students and parents abreast of upcoming projects and assignments. But can blogs also serve as a platform for the students themselves?

Richardson's text does a nice job of outlining the various purposes of integrating blogs into a school environment, but in my mind the most compelling reason for me to consider asking my students to post and comment on blogs is the collaborative spaces that these blogs become. I've been blogging for several years now, and I currently maintain a book review blog. I have experienced firsthand the sense of community that comes from sharing your writing and receiving thoughtful responses to your work. There is a certain back and forth that exists between bloggers that can be truly motivational. I think this sense of community can be a great way to develop and maintain students' interest in writing, while teaching them to be acutely aware of their audience. It will show students that their writing is important, and not just to their teacher.

Richardson also makes the point that the use of blogs in the classroom can help students to understand new literacies, which will be essential to them as technology continues to advance. With that in mind, I can't help but think that to choose not to expose my students to the world of blogging and social media would be to do them a great disservice.

Richardson makes note of a few blogs in particular which are successfully integrating technology into the classroom. I was especially intrigued by Mr. C's Classroom Blog, which chronicles this teacher's experiences teaching in a fifth grade classroom. His blog serves a variety of purposes, among them that it allows parents and taxpayers to view, at any time, what his class has been learning and working on, and it creates a connection between, as he says, his students and the world at large.

If you are a teacher, to what extent do you use blogs with your students?

Intro to The Avid Reader

Hi!

My name is Kim Maule. I'm a graduate student at the University of Saint Joseph. I'm taking this course about integrating technology as a part of my Masters of Education.

My undergraduate degree is in English, and I have always been an avid reader. In my spare time I run a book review blog, so at any given time I always have a book or three with me.

The Avid Reader

I am also an aspiring author. Last November, I participated in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, a yearly endeavor in which participants attempt to write a first draft of a novel (30,000 words) in just 30 days. This was the first year that I participated, and although I only managed to write 8,000 words, the experience definitely reinforced my love of writing and I feel more motivated than ever to continue to work on my novel. (That, or scrap it set it lovingly aside to start fresh on a new story!)

I currently live in Farmington with my husband Nick, our Miniature Pinscher Dunkin and our cats Jasper, Smokey and Simba.

My husband and I both love to travel, and we had a destination wedding in our favorite travel destination, Walt Disney World!