It's already Wednesday

I am so sorry for this very late post! This week really flew by. I am really excited for class tonight. I spent a significant amount of time on the Reading Revolution site this week and I am eagerly anticipating learning more about it.

The readings about social networking made me think a bit more about the use of such sites in the classroom. I tend to agree with that, yes, social networking sites can be appropriate to use. I understood the opposing argument, but I think that students need to learn how to use social networking sites appropriately. To say that bad things can happen when socializing is true, but isn't it more effective for students to learn the dangers, how to best protect themselves, and what to do if something negative does happen while using a social networking site? If we never let children do anything that had a possible negative outcome, we wouldn't let them do much.

I also think that it would be beneficial for students to learn what is appropriate to post and what is not. It is important to know that what you write and post WILL be seen by others. (This could be a good lesson to be learned before going to college and posting a bunch of pictures on the internet that you MAY not want future employers to look at. :0) )

Research Article #2

This artilce:

Staples, A., Pugach, M., & Himes. D. (2005). Rethinking the technology integration challenge: Cases from three urban schools. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 37 (3), 285-311.

was fairly long, so I am going to try to be as concise as possible when summarizing. I chose it because , as I have mentioned time and time again, all of my experience is in urban settings with a limited amount of technology available. In this case the researchers observed the outcome for three different schools in their efforts to infuse technology into their curriculum. They were looking to answer the following questions:
- How do schools use fiscal and human resources to support technology use?
- How does the existing culture or ecosystem of the school impact technology implementation?
- What factors mediate decisions regarding technology integration in schools?
Qualitative data was collected to conduct the three case studies.

First of all, each school was given 32,000 dollars to hire a 1/2 time technolgy specialist. The school also received support from a university-employed instructional technology specialist once a week. These specialists were provided with an opportunity to network once a month. Each school used these funds in different ways within the parameters of these expectations.

Case #1- Rosa Parks This school believes in project-based learning. The principal defined the role of the principal by setting the expectation that each teacher would use technology to support these projects.

Case #2- Central Elementary The computer lab became a place to do project rather than a drop off point. All teachers varied in their technology usage.

Case #3- Again, the computer lab became a place to do projects, not a drop off place where students work was unconnected to classroom learning. This school focused on developing online report cards. They didn't focus on tying technology in with curriculum in a lasting way.

Conclusions-
* Factors in technology integration-
1. Alignment with school's curriculum and mission
2. Teacher leadership
3. Public/private roles for technology recognition

Considering this article was 27 pages or something like that, I am obviously paring down the information quite a bit. I do feel that the conclusions that these researchers came to would be useful to a school that was trying to integrate technology into their curriculum. These factors could be identified in their individual school and adjustments could be made to make the integration more successful and long-lasting.

Research Article #1

I decided to search google scholar for an article that examined the relationship between technology and improved literacy. The article that I found to read is dated (probably because this issue was studied when computers were being used more often in classrooms as part of instruction). It was written in 1999, but I feel that the conclusions of this article are still valid today. We have more technology available now then when these authors addressed categorically the writing process using word processing, electronic literacy environments, and electronic portfolios. However, our new technology can still be used to engage students in meaningful instruction, as Fisher, Bean, and Flood concluded 10 years ago.

According to the authors the research suggests that using computers in the writing process:

1. Helps children to focus on content rather than mechanics
2. Encourages the production of more and better developed essays
3. Reduces the drudgery of editing

The authors review of the research regarding electronic literacy environments found:

1. Increased specialized vocabulary and coherence
2. Wide ranging possibilities for communication and expression
3. Improved mechanics of writing

They also reviewed the research regarding electronic portfolios and found:

1. They encourage students to align their work with performance standards
2. They Provide an opportunity for students to share literacy development with others
3. Their use leads to an increase in knowledge of technology
4. They improved literacy overall

Fisher, D., Lapp, D., & Flood, J. (1999). Technology and literacy: Is there a positive relationship? The California Reader, 32(4), 35-38.

This article would have been helpful to me when I was in the classroom, because, as I stated before, there was virtually no technology available in the schools where I worked. This article would provide a rationale for spending a portion of the budget to improve available technology.

Blogging

I have decided that I will go ahead and discuss a couple of ideas that I have for blogging this week. I don't know a lot about blogging. I have never really followed anyone's blog before. I read the short articles regarding blogging and decided that there are some factors to consider before jumping right in to having students post publicly on a blog (especially younger students). First of all, the words are public for all to see. Second of all, students would need to have screen names and passwords, a possible logistical nightmare. However, these are not insurmountable obstacles.

The first idea that I have could be used with a variety of age levels, although it would need some tweeking depending on the age level of the students. Many teachers have their students keep a reading log. Instead of a reading log, students could keep a reading blog. This way other students in the class could see what their peers were reading, read their classmates' responses to the books, and comment themselves about their own reading. This would give students a motivating purpose for both writing and reading. Students as young as kindergarten could participate by keeping a class reading log. Parents could be invited to view the blog and comment on the class's reading.

Blogging could also be a closing activity for the school day. The teacher or a student could lead a whole class write summarizing the activities of the day and potentially highlighting upcoming events. This could be viewed by parents, community members, and other teachers and school leaders for information. It could possibly do away with the weekly or monthly newsletter depending on the population of students that you are working with and their parents' access to the internet.

This class "newsletter" of sorts could build a partnership with another school in another area. Another class could follow a similar method and could follow each and comment on the learning that is happening in the classroom.

These are probably not THE most creative ideas, but they are things that I can see myself actually doing regularly as they are manageable and beneficial.