The Ups & Downs of Lit &Tech

Is it really over? Well, this class is, but for many of us it will be the beginning of using web2.0 tools in the classrooms and moving forward into the light. I will be honest with all of you when I say that this class was not easy. I've had breakdowns, meltdowns, and sometimes felt like giving in to technical woes. But, we kept on and persevered, and in the end we are all better because of it.
This class was a whirlwind of a class. The information surrounding us, infiltrating my dreams (I watched Inception)seemed overwhelming at times, but the more literate I became, the more I was able to push through it all.
I am truly so excited to bring what I have learned in this class with me to mine. I can't wait to offer my students some of the opportunities I had. My two favorites are Prezi & Glogster! I just love the capabilities and and presentation formats. I know my students will create great things with these web2.0 tools and understand what they've learned that much more because of these tools.
I left this class with an enormous amount of information to share with my colleagues that I know they will use and experiment with. I feel that much more excited about having a smart board where I can illustrate how to use these tools for my students, collaborate during class, and use as a presentation tool to introduce web2.0 tools.
Literacy is not just reading & writing anymore. There is a whole world out there ready to be tackled and that world is on the web!

Some Blogs I have responded to:
Canaan Bump -"Let's not Talk, Let's Tweet"
Kayleigh Willard -"Rubistar to the Rescue"
Kimberly Driscoll -on her overall use of applications and widgets to design her blog
Concepcion- "First Webex Experience and Week 1"

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

In September of every year, I create a newsletter for parents. It includes a welcome back letter from me where I get a chance to introduce myself, goes over the curriculum, class expectations, etc. I like to provide the parents with important information about the year, but also use the newsletter as a way of showing my personality. It allows the parents to get a sense of what their children's year will be like.

In the past, I have used Microsoft publisher to create my newsletter, but I think Glogster is a great tool to use the way my group did. I would also like to use my new website to communicate with parents. My blog would also be a great way for parents to stay informed and provide feedback.

Glogster is fun to use because you can create a visual that really fits your personally. It's also very easy to add text, images, and video. You can add a lot to the glog without creating pages upon pages. Best of all, Glogster is interactive.

I think it was a little difficult to collaborate on a class newsletter when everyone in a group is teaching a different grade and academic. Our audiences are different which would make for a very different newsletter. I think that as a group, we tried our best to stay focused on how we are going to use and implement technology in our classrooms, which was our common goal.

The class newsletter I will create for September will be more specific to 7th and 8th grade English, but I think the level of technology explanation and information will be consistent with what I did with my group.

Gathering Student Data

Click here to take survey

SurveyMonkey is a site my district uses so I decided to experiment with it for this blog. I have given a similar survey to my students in the past to begin discussing stereotypes. I use this survey to begin our thematic unit on The Outsiders by S. E Hinton. I have always wanted to gather the data to present to the students as part of our discussions. I can't believe that an easy tool was here for me all along. I survey parents and students in the beginning of the year about their reading habits, likes, and dislikes. I am so excited to use SurveyMonkey in September. It was very easy to use and I love all of the options that are available. I can show real data!!!

When the Internet Can't be Trusted

It is true that some students just aren't mature enough to handle the Internet, some teachers as well for that matter. Enforcing acceptable use policies in districts is necessary. The world -wide web can be a dangerous place and it is up to the adults to monitor the safety of our children.
According to the AUP, districts and teachers have to get on board as far as monitoring student behavior. My district currently does have a "smart" system that does track Internet usage in our building. Yes, we do run into filter problems. I could be researching something and the page won't upload due to "blocked content". I can assure you that it wasn't. Funny how almost nothing on YouTube ever catches our district's filter.
We have had students in our building use the Internet inappropriately and consequences like suspension and inability to use the computers were enforced. It's sad to see this happen, especially when I have to send a student to the table when students are working on the computers. There is also the experience I had where a student wrote something inappropriate on my blog. I immediately tracked down the student in the building and the district was able to confirm my suspicions; he received 5 days of in- school suspension. But, teachers are at fault also. I walked into a class once to see students watching Southpark and a teacher sitting at the desk reading. It wasn't school appropriate and should not have occurred under a teacher's watch. There have been many instances of students, looking at inappropriate content online.
Along with the availability of technology to students must come financial backing. Teachers must be educated on AUP, and districts must hold their teachers accountable. I think parents also need to educate themselves and monitor their children's use with free web-based resources like k9web protection.

Eagle Eyes

So, my blog, my chance to voice my answer from yesterday's class. For some reason, I cannot get my mic to work during whole class discussions on Webex; it is very disheartening.
Anyway, the animal that came to mind when Dr. S asked us to compare an animal to assessment was the eagle. I chose the eagle because I imagine assessment as ongoing, always happening, and assessment doesn't require much attention. I feel that a good teacher is always assessing, always watching, listening, and hovering from near and afar. For example, I will direct my physical attention to one partnership, but am truly paying attention to another nearby. I joke with my kids that I am always watching, always listening. I think being engaged with your student's learning at all times is a part of authentic assessment. Are the kids participating? Are they engaged? Do they look like they are having difficulty?
I know we haven't talked about this yet, but I do think body language is to be assessed. It's the difference between "she doesn't get it and is about to give up if I don't intercede" or

"he's exploring, let me give him another minute before continuing the class".


There are so many ways you can assess. You can assess through e-portfolios, standardized test, projects, oral, visual, etc. But assessment has to lend itself to differentiated instruction. I think teachers must offer a variety of assessments on topics so all kids have an opportunity to showcase what they have learned.

Mindmapping; not a head game

Mindmeister: a great Web2.0 tool to help students organize their thoughts.



Mindmeister starts you off with a tutorial of how to create a mindmap, technically a brainstorm or graphic organizer. What's so great about the site is that students can organize links and images as well as their thoughts. The site also allows you to research information and images using your preferred search engine right there while you are mapping. It allows collaboration amongst students and the history would allow me to assess student's contributions to the project.

I chose to create a web of experiences that the poet Langston Hughes had throughout his life. When reading poetry, it is helpful to have insight into the author's life in order to better interpret and evaluate the literature. The main four experiences are the most influential in his life and the two ovals around the image are the outcomes of those experiences. In class, we would discuss how those outcomes might translate into his writing. It is helpful to create a mind-map like this to study an author.

I would like to give my students an option of a clean slate or a pre-labeled map. Some students will find it more difficult to brainstorm navigating this site while others will flourish at the opportunity. This is a great tool that lends itself to differentiated instruction. Some students will require more structure while others need least restriction when getting their thoughts down.

I do think that reluctant students will prefer paper and pen, although technology could act as a great motivator. While I may encourage students to experiment with new technologies, it will require patience knowing not all students will become accustomed to technology so easily, while others may.

The New & Improved Kuri's Class

Okay, I just finished setting up my website to begin some serious construction. The reason why it took me so long is because I was overwhelmed by the options. I also wanted to create something authentic that I could use next year to serve my students. I knew I had to create something that showcased the best of this class, but in a way that would make sense to me. Last year, I used a website under TeacherWeb. I was never crazy about it, but I liked the options to blog and send out text mail to students and parents. Teacher web served me well last year, but now that my eyes are open and the smog has cleared, I need a site that is more advanced. I then created a website with Googlesites, and found it very challenging to edit. I also opened up an account with Ning and I wasn't too happy with my options there. After reaching out to Dr. S, I went with pbworks and feel that this wiki is a great place for me to build my site. Mrs. Kuri's class has finally graduated to a WEB 2.0 site. I think my new website will serve all of my needs as I continue to learn and prepare my students for the future.

Making the Grade

Engrade is a great tool for documenting and keeping track of students' grades. The software is very easy to use as it walks you through setting up your class. There are many things I like about the site. I like that you can easily input assignments into the calendar, and students as well as parents can access a monthly view of what is due or what it to come. In the calendar, students can access assignment descriptions and any attachments that the teacher uploaded. I think it's a necessary feature because students often lose important handouts. Parents often feel that they can't help or stay on top of their child, because they don't know what is due or have access to material. I also like the convenience of email or writing in comments for individual students directly on the site. This allows a convenient opportunity for students or parents to ask questions or give feedback about a particular activity, project, or grade. The individual comments for each student allows the teacher to give personal feedback to a student. It's also nice to communicate with parents and students all in one place. My district email right now is not connected to home access, which I believe is a negative aspect of the software we currently use. Home access to grades and assignments is an effective and, in today's world, necessary means of communication. Parents can keep track of their child's success. I found Engrade to be user friendly and the help topics guided me through the process. Keeping track of student grades by hand is just not effective or time efficient anymore. There are teachers who still do their own math because they don't trust technology. Parents and students can log-in anytime to check grades, keeping themselves informed and holding students accountable for their own learning as well. Teachers are providing constant updates to parents, improving the communication between home and school.
The one thing I felt was lacking was the ability to add links and video to the assignment descriptions. The text they allow you to provide is very simple and didn't allow access to the internet. This is why I feel websites are necessary. Teacher websites can include extension activities, links or tutorials that would help him/her be successful independently. I think that teacher websites and an online grading system are two necessary elements of a 2.o classroom.

Stephen is Serious!

Okay, I just finished watching Stephen Downes's Personal Learning Environment and my head is still spinning. I was okay and following along (with much effort) in the beginning and then he lost me once he started to explain the 6 attributes the environment must include. It sounded like he was speaking a different language. It was foreign to me. I heard words in reference to the computer that I have never heard of like aggregators, scaffolding, interface, recommender systems, and repositories. Stephen's PLE was nothing like the 7th grade PLE that I understood pretty well. I will try my best to discuss what I was able to gather and take with me. The PLE is basically learning through a community. Learning through a community has no limits where traditional learning does. Real learning can only happen through collaboration with your peers and exploring on our own. A fact would be simple, where as a fact in a network with associated information is complex. Stephen says that the way to evaluate one's learning is by observing their performance. The more they contribute and participate, the more they are learning. According to Stephen, they are becoming engaged, and more comfortable in the particular environment (field of study). The PLE in a way lends itself to the Constructivist theory, "social support for student achievement". It allows all of the 5E's to flourish. Reference my blog for more information on Constructivism. The PLE is a wonderful learning tool that allows a student to explore content in a world with no limits.


Reading his "Nine Rules for Good Technology" was a completely different experience. It was completely relatable. He made real world connections that I could understand. When he spoke to Rule #2- Good Technology is Always On, he supported this rule with an example of using an overhead projector. I cannot tell you how many times there was a problem with my projector or how many times I left my classroom to help a colleague in need. It was real examples like those that allowed me to understand what good technology was.
My friend and I were having a conversation about the MAC. She was telling me how much easier it is to use than a PC and in the back of my head, I was thinking "good technology". I agreed with a lot of what the article stated, like Rule # 6-Good Technology Doesn't Require Parts; CD Roms and separate applications are used from PCs, phones, and navigations. You would hope that everything was already installed and ready to go, but most of the time it isn't. I also like the article because I think that now I won't waste my time on bad technology. School districts often by programs and software for us to try, but now I know if it's not good technology, I'll just move on.

Contructivism- A.K.A Good Teaching

The "theory" Constructivism sounds like good teaching to me. Why do we have to create a new term for what good teaching is supposed to be? Any teacher who has taken a class, read an article, or attended a workshop in the past 8 years would know that standing in front of a class and lecturing for 45 minutes is not good teaching. The teachers who continue to do this are doing it because they simply don't care or don't have the capacity to teach well. I'm sorry if my candidness is offensive, but based on my experiences, it is true.

Constructivist theory suggests that students learn building on what they've learned or experienced prior. The same way we are learning Web2.0. We are able to learn what twitter is by building on what we know of a blog. We come to understand tools like Google Docs because of our experiences with Microsoft Word. How long have we been using KWL charts? A long time.
Constructivism supports that students need to be engaged, challenged, and encouraged to explore. Yes! Of course they should. Who wants a classroom of students yawning, and what teacher likes to hear themselves talk for hours?

The 5E's are great. They are what Constructivism believe is a good model for teaching.

• Engage
• Explore
• Explain
• Elaborate
• Evaluate

We should all aim for the 5E's when we are creating lesson plans for effective teaching. Could we have kept with terms we already knew?

• anticipatory sets
• immersion
• sharing
• applying
• assessment

I do like specifically the reference to "knowing vs. understanding". The article Teaching for Understanding discusses the difference between knowing a fact and understanding the importance of knowing it. I like this idea because what we learn should have real value to the world we live in. If we don't bother to see the larger picture, then what good it is to learn it. I will try to create lesson plans and monitor students learning with this in mind. I believe it is a good standard to have in the classroom to ensure authentic teaching is being achieved.

Get Ready, SHIFT!

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Glorious Google!

Where do I start? I first opened a Gmail account, maybe three years ago, and it has since been email bliss. Google docs is a great tool to use collaboratively. Group 7 used this tool to compile a list of resources for our Tool Kit. After using gchat, we found that google wave was a more effective tool to keep all group members informed on any and all conversations. Google wave keeps conversations open and ongoing so there is never a need to fill someone in. Google calendar is also a great collaborative tool to schedule meetings. The librarian in my school uses this to schedule book talks in our english classes. Another google tool that was new to me was iGoogle. I knew it existed, but had no idea how valuable it would prove to be. I think this was my favorite application because I could have so many of my favorite tools in one place, like twitter and blogger, right at my fingertips. I feel that my iGoogle page is, in a way, my digital signature.
I'm happy to have experimented more with google tools. Next year, I was planning to have all of my students create gmail accounts. I thought it would be great to communicate with them, and it would make the printing and emailing of docs much simpler. After exploring all of these other google tools, I am so excited to know there are so many more uses I could integrate into my classes. I hope for students to use blogger, sidewiki, docs, email, and wave to help them be part of 21st century literacy.

The Windy Road...

Okay, here are where things get tricky. Nets for Students, Nets for Teachers, along with NYS standards for ELA, and the Core Curriculum? This seems like a daunting feat! Maybe we could get on the same page here. How nice would it be if national standards were developed for this country that included Technology. How many separate standards can we identify without losing our minds? There are so many aspects of a teacher's job. We do so many things in a day. We teach, plan, meet, collaborate, defend our teaching, mediate with students and parents, mediate with teachers, create, participate, organize, assess, and looming over our heads is the pressure to follow curriculum and meet standards. I haven't even mentioned state assessments until now. How can we be expected to reach all of these goals in our 39min segments of teaching. Yes, I agree that technology needs to be integrated and implemented in our classrooms. I guess my grievances would be with the state and government. Okay, I can't get into that too much either right now because the focus of this blog is Educational Technology Standards for Students. I am ready to try my best to meet these standards. I think that more professional development in the schools need to be established in order to achieve these standards. I also think that the state should combine all standards for teaching and learning. There shouldn't be different categories of standards. If we all want the same outcome for our students, then standards need to be streamlined to achieve this. The challenges in working with youth is difficult enough, let's make the road less difficult to travel.

Generation Digital

I have to say that I have been quite inspired by this week's Net Generation Readings. Some of the videos that I found moving were Welcome to my PLE, A Vision of K12 Students Today, and Discover Information Literacy. They have all impacted my view somehow on the use of technology. I have to admit I was a bit of a traditionalist before taking this class on literacy and technology. I joked with my students about playing too many video games or spending too much time on Facebook. I didn't see the value of social networking or gaming. I didn't see how these could be a useful collaboration tool or problem solving activity. I also felt that too much technology resulted in "data smog", not realizing that technology literacy was the solution to feeling overwhelmed and boggled down by information. Through reading about 21Century Literacy, I feel as though I was lifted through the clouds and now see with much clarity. As a teacher of six years, I now feel compelled to present 21st century literacy to my 7th & 8th graders so they can see past the clouds or feelings of confusion. These videos also allowed me to gain a student's perspective on how they feel about technology. It gave me insight into their wants, habits, and needs. Most of them are online. Now I know how to work with this generation of students. I'm learning how I can use their world to teach and engage them. I want my students to have opportunities to explore the way Dr. S has encouraged us to. I truly feel enlightened by these readings. I not only see past the smog, but I see the various colors of the rainbow.

Literacy has a Whole New Meaning

Literacy- how to read and write.
Computer Literacy- how to navigate your way through and around a computer.
Information Literacy- how to synthesize and organize information.
Integration Literacy- how to implement technology in the classroom.

21st Century Literacy- The Future of Literacy

21st century literacy combines all the above definitions into one complete and loaded term. 21st century literacy is the ability to read and navigate through a plethora of digital images, texts, and applications. It's your way around a computer, in a computer, and how to circumvent the world through your fingertips.

Last night my three year old nephew was upstairs "sleeping" and the adults were outside on the deck hanging out. My brother 'n' law's cell phone rang and it was my nephew calling from his bedroom asking that his father come up and turn the light off. I immediately thought of this class and how relevant it is to our society and the future of children, like my nephew. We didn't grow up the way he is and therefore, we cannot expect the same system to work. What we consider literacy has now changed so much that we cannot teach it as the same term. My nephew like many other children these days has the ability to navigate learning games on the computer, like nickjr. Why shouldn't we as educators give them the opportunities to blog, twitter, research, and create using available technologies. This class has really opened my eyes to this reality.

Look at What I Can DO...

This is a slide show of some of the new technologies/websites I have been encouraged to experiment with in my Literacy & Technology class. I used a new tool called Picasion, and I also saved screen shots for the first time. I had trouble with this at first, but with the help of my classmates and the teacher's lounge, I was able to take an image of all the sites I helped create or created myself. As I compiled all of these images, I realized how much I have learned about the internet in less than two weeks. I can't believe I'm blogging, tweeting, linking, embedding, and transferring. I'm changing files into pdf's and saving files as jpeg's. I'm discussing Web2.0, LoTi and bookmarking. I haven't stopped thinking of all the various ways I can use these new resources in my classroom and I look forward to exploring these with my students. I still have a long way to go but the truth is...the world wide web is becoming less and less scary.

Write here?!

I am writing a blog from my iGoogle page. This is so fun and I can imagine how useful and easy it would be to use with my classes. I like this classroom 2.0 stuff!

The Future of the Classroom

This video showed me what a 7th grade student can accomplish with the computer and Internet technology. This "digital native" not only explores technology, but embraces the opportunities to learn, research, and present information for her science class through "network learning". The student evaluates and synthesizes information and presents it on her website in an original and creative presentation using tools like Glogster. The teacher who created this opportunity is one who I believe is not afraid of student exploration. The science teacher who encouraged this use of technology must be comfortable with technology themselves but also with the unknown. There are some risks to allowing students unlimited access to the Internet, but I believe if this is the outcome, it is well worth it. I do believe that giving middle school students this level of freedom may take some time and training in order for both student and teacher to become familiar and comfortable.

The level of technology implementation is level 6- refinement. I believe this is true because the student has contact with real world experts in the field she is studying. This student is far beyond exploration; she reflects on her learning and then challenges her experience by researching further like she did with the poisonous and venomous animals. The technology is student based as she monitors her own learning every day when she checks the science agenda to see what it is she should complete next. She contacts local scientists to ask their impressions of her research. Her class also uses Skype to exchange information with professionals in the related fields.

This video clip makes me believe that anything is possible. It makes the use of technology in the classroom seem less daunting and most rewarding. I look forward to scheduling more time in the computer lab so students have an opportunity to experiment with some of these programs mentioned in this clip like Glogster and Google docs. I also look forward to assigning more projects using the Internet and guiding students through the use of the many tools that are available using my Smartboard.

It is evident in the video clip that the future of the classroom is changing. As a reflective professional, it is my obligation to ride the wave and continue to grow and learn so I can bring the best to my students.

Refinement- Technological Utopia?

This week, the concepts and ideas of LoTi (Levels of Technology Implementation) was introduced to our Technology and Literacy class as a core concept. It took me some time to really wrap my head around what the levels of technology means to me, my classroom, our students, and the future of teaching. I read, reviewed, and studied the various links to understand this model. Power points, rubrics, quizzes, screen casts, and blogs were all available to me to help my understanding of what LoTi means. Many times during the course of my readings, I thought back to my class and reflected on my levels of technology implementation in my classroom and in my district’s ELA curriculum.

According to the readings and resources, I would say the LoTi in my class is about a level 3 (infusion). Some students create projects at level 5 (expansion) but some don’t explore technology at all. Some of my students don’t have computers at home and some go to camps over the summer where they create applications for the iPhone. Every year, I admit, the use and implementation of technology does increase, as it should. While realizing this is true and seeing the benefit of technology use in the classroom by the students, are we supposed to transition into Class 2.0 completely? Besides the limitations of technology resources in many schools nationwide, do we really want to aim for “Computer Heaven”?

I don’t know why I am so apprehensive. I can’t help but to see a science fiction thriller resembling this day where technology is "unlimited to every student in the classroom". Do we need a teacher in the room if this is true? Will students know how to interact with their peers, socialize with adults, or share their thoughts and ideas verbally? One of the most technological savvy students I had last year (who we considered our in-house IT support) was the most socially inept 7^th grader amongst his peers. Why was this so? I know, I know ...there are several articles out there on the web for and against the use of technology. I struggle with teaching students literacy, how to read in the 7^th grade, express critical thinking, and feel confident to interpret literature the way they see it. I also see the obligation we have to adapt our work in a changing world. Can’t there be a balance? Can we have both; technology and traditional pen to paper, social networks and face to face interactions?

The tide is changing...

This is my blog. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with all of you and using this in the future with my students.

No one has since said it better!