Melanie: Digital Natives Quiz

I was really surprised with my performance on this quiz. I guess you would call me a digital immigrant because I was not familiar with many of the terms. I only knew the basics: IM, blog, etc. I wasn't familiar with Modding or Smart Mobs. I'm certainly not the best at technology! Like I said, I know the basics, and it gets me by. But, in my opinion, that lack of knowledge is a major problem. Today's society relies heavily on technology, and it's important to be familiar with many of these sources, as you can use them for your personal convenience and in your professional life. I don't think I have what Tompkins calls "emergent" digital literacy. The little knowledge that I do have of technology was obtained from my peers and teachers. My parents have seldom knowledge of technology. And, actually, my mom just learned out to type and send out emails last summer. I hope to greatly expand my knowledge of technology so I can utilize diverse sources in my classroom. I would like to provide emergent digital literacy for my students, as I realize the benefits that Tompkins describes of emergent literacy. It is crucial to have a strong foundational knowledge before acquiring skills that lie higher on a spectrum. 

Emergent Digital Literacy - Lindsey

In comparison with the rest of my family, I have never thought myself to be completely digitally literate. My parents both work for IBM, and my older brother knew he wanted to spend his life working with computers starting at age 12. I was comfortable with what I thought were the basics, things like the internet, instant messaging, and word processing, yet at the same time I was watching my family changing settings, taking the actual processor apart, and discussing things like RAM, gigs, and other technical jargon. When, this summer, I tried to clear the hard drive on my laptop this idea was reinforced when the process did not work for me. I called my brother who told me that he had been warned by our mother that I would probably be calling because I tried to wipe the hard drive by myself. I have always just taken for granted that I was not the most technologically literate member of my family, and I never would be (fortunately I never had the desire to be).
I felt sure before taking the quiz that this premise would be reinforced. However, I knew three of the answers confidently, one mostly, and two not at all. This made me realize that I am probably at the average level of digital literacy. Classes such as TE 401 are helping me to expand on my digital knowledge, and the fact that I have figured out not all literacy formats are technical and boring has made me want to expand on my knowledge (e.g. the methods of digital storytelling we learned about in class).
Tompkins talks about emergent literacy as it relates to children as the ability for learning literacy before they actually begin to read and write. I feel that I was provided with an adequate environment to learn these digital literacies, and those that I am not yet familiar with I believe I have the knowledge and capabilities to learn about them with relative ease. I have helped to teach older friends of my family the literacies I am familiar with already, and I know that I would have an easier time learning a new literacy than some of them, and this supports my aforementioned conclusion.

Digital Native or Immigrant?

Prior to taking the quiz and reading the information on the website I believed I was a digital native. I grew up with the internet, AIM, MTV, and computer/game console games. I have three siblings and we all shared a computer up until I was in Middle School when we were required to have laptops. My school was trying to go digital and thought it was important for the students to have the necessary skills to thrive in an ever-changing digitalized world.

After taking the quiz I learned that I knew four out of the six terms they asked. I had absolutely no idea what modding or smart mobs were. I'm still having trouble with the definitions they provided, and I don't think I completely understand what they are. This makes me feel like I am not as up to date on the new technology or their terms as I thought I was, therefore I'm a digital native but not an expert. I learn new things every day, but I would not consider myself an expert in the field.

According to Tompkins, emergent literacy is, "Children's early reading and writing development before conventional reading and writing" (pg.509). In the case of emergent digital literacy I believe I had all of the necessary tools to make me digital literate before going into the "real world". In school we had typing classes and I received top marks. I know the only reason I was such a fast and accurate typer is because I was on AIM constantly talking to my friends and teaching my self the basics of typing. I was always computer literate and I was the one to show my mom how to use the computer and check/send e-mail. Without having these experiences at home I believe I would have been a lot more frustrated at school during computer time because I would not have known what I was doing. Luckily, in my school we had computer lessons and students who were not familiar with computers were taught how to use them. I was also exposed to various other forms of technology I did not use at home such as powerpoint and excel and I'm grateful I am so literate in regards to those two programs because I use them a lot in many of my classes. 

Much like children who need parents to read to them every day and constantly speak and interact with them in order for them to become more literate, children need exposure to technology to function in this now digital based world. In class we are exploring multiple ways to use technology including Wiki, powerpoint, and scrapbooks, and I believe this would be a great project to use in the classroom with any subject to get students more familiar with the various digital tools that are available. It is very important to have access to these tools in the classroom so students can become digital natives and up to speed with a technology driven world. 

1.5 Generation Digital

In talking about immigration, the term 1.5 generation describes a person who immigrated as a young child and therefore functions well in the second country but has had experiences with the first. I feel that this term describes me well - in taking the digital literacy quiz, I noticed that I easily defined some terms and could intuit the meanings of others, but there were two I had never even heard: modding and smart mobs. My lack of interest in computer gaming likely explains my cluelessness about the first term, although I was able to identify World of Warcraft as a "massive multiplayer online game" even before reading the definition. The idea of "smart mobs" intrigues me; I suppose in a limited sense, I've used them for groupwork via the use of e-mail attachments and e-mailed link, especially combined with things like Track Changes. I'd be curious to see other examples of this, though.

Why do I feel that I might have some digital immigrant qualities? My family never had cable and still has dial-up internet with one phone line, so I didn't grow up on MTV or IM - I didn't begin IMing until well into college. While I played some video games when I was young, by high school I had decided that I had no time for them. The article "Digital Natives in the Classroom" lists these as defining experiences of my generation. On the other hand, I began using facebook early in its existence, I currently have three blogs and two e-mail addresses, I love Wikipedia and Google, and I prefer using Microsoft Review Toolbar to hard-copy editing.

In my own assessment, emergent doesn't describe my digital literacy - if phonemic awareness and decoding skills correspond to comfortability navigating a digital interfacing, I'm not still "sounding out" the digital world, even if I'm working in a second language.

Discussion in the Classroom - Lindsey

Unfortunately, I have not yet been given a school placement, so I am not able to discuss or analyze the methods my CT does or does not use in his/her classroom. Also, the only discussion based course I am taking at MSU this semester is TE 401. I do have a history course, but it is a lecture large enough that trying to ask questions and have a response centered discussion (as McGee states is ideal for learning) would not be feasible for the professor since he has so much material to cover. He does make an effort to at least recognize all of his students, but it would be virtually impossible for him to learn all of our names by the end of the semester.
As far as TE is concerned, I think that both of our instructors are doing a good job of facilitating discussions in a way that provides we the students with the opportunity to expand on one word answers, and that also tests our knowledge of the readings and material we are supposed to be learning. Our discussions can be a little more directed towards the instructor than might be ideal, but I think that this is due, at least in part, to the set up of the classroom. Because we are all oriented to face the front of the room instead of each other, it makes more sense to direct our comments and responses to the instructor. In the math section I really like the way that each week several students are asked to write their method of solving a problem on the board and to subsequently demonstrate her method to the rest of the class. It gives the rest of us the opportunity to go outside the box of our own solutions, and to recognize various methods that could help us to solve other problems at a future point. I believe that both instructors provide adequate scaffolding and the appropriate amount of facilitating to promote an environment of response centered learning.

Communication in my classroom-Meghan

I'm currently in a second grade classroom that is mainly comprised of African American children, there are a few Latino children and a few Caucasian children as well. When I entered the classroom the students were engaged in a math lesson. My teacher introduced me to the class and immediately sat me down next to a student and asked me to, "keep him focused on the activity". They had completed a daily math activity and were going over the answers together. I came in right at the end and observed the teacher getting the students answers to the last question. She wrote all of their answers on the board and in the end they went over what they thought to be the correct answer. I was very impressed that the teacher had little to do with the lesson and allowed the students to explain their reasoning behind their answers and in the end they came up with the answer to the question as a whole.  They did a few more math activities and then switched over to their English lesson for the day. 

Again, the teacher asked me to sit with the student and to keep him "on task". He seemed to be engaged in the activities, but once in a while he would start to look out the door or fiddle with something on his desk and I would have to remind him to pay attention. The teacher did a great job of making sure that the students were on the same page as she was. If her back was turned to the class while she was writing on the board she would ask the student I was sitting with, "[child's name] are you with me?" to which he would respond "yes", or "yes Mrs. Petersen". The children were practicing phonograms by writing a letter on a piece of paper and then saying the sounds that correspond with that particular letter. For example, Mrs. Petersen wrote the letter "a" on the board and the children copied it on to a piece of paper and then said as a class "ay, eh, and ah". They did this for all of the letters in the alphabet; the students really seemed to know what they were doing. Some students raised their hands and gave words the used the different sounds for each letter. After this lesson I was able to talk with the teacher for about five minutes. She let me know that she used Spalding's method of phonograms to teach the English language to the students and that they have already shown vast improvement. She also let me know that the student that she sat me down with had been struggling with paying attention during class and staying on task. He was in the special education classroom last year, but they moved him out of it this year, and so far he is doing well. This student obviously needs some sort of academic scaffolding to help him succeed in the classroom. From what I have seen it seems that the teacher is providing encouraging words and trying to keep the student on task. She really seems to know how to work with this student to make sure that he is comfortable and on the same level as his classmates. 

The students also had a vocabulary lesson and then moved on to reading. The teacher had the students read along to a book that was on CD after they finished reading the teacher asked the students questions about the text in the reading. She said go to page 36 and to tell her what they see that is different about the text. One student raised their hand and mentioned something about the picture, to which the teacher responded that had to do with the illustration; she would like to know about the text. A few students mention punctuation and then one student mentioned that a word looked like it was written sloppy. The teacher asked the students what they thought it meant and none of them really knew, she then told them that it was in italics and then asked if anyone knew what that meant. She discussed this for a little while with the students and then began to ask them questions that dealt with the themes of the story. They talked about friendship and being a "good" or "loyal" friend and then related that to the story. The students did the majority of the talking and they were mainly talking to one another rather than the teacher. In our class last week we talked about the difference between a discussion and recitation and I believe the students were involved in a discussion because the teacher was not quizzing what the students remember about the story, but she was asking questions that related to the stories theme and that involved the "students' interests" and allowed them to, "share their own personal experiences and knowledge" (Triplett p.68). The teacher seems to know how to use a sort of motivational scaffolding to get the children interested and to keep them on task. She tries to relate to the students by having them share their own personal experiences to learn about the lesson. I am very interested to see if my CT always uses discussion when teaching a lesson to her children or if she sometimes has a recitation type lesson planned. 

A Lack of Classroom Talk

I'm currently in a kindergarten placement, and I suspect that many of my students speak Spanish, Spanglish, or African American English Vernacular as at least one of their available speech varieties. I haven't confirmed this because there was a substitute teacher in the classroom during my first observation and . . . the students didn't talk. I didn't see any real discussions or conversations, and most of the speech that I did see was repetition, choral response, or singing. While these activities have their place - choral response, for instance, can be implemented to avoid some of the pitfalls of recitation, such as that a teacher can't tell if her whole class understands something or that students choose to tune out - it doesn't provide a rich environment for ELLs to learn English or for young children to develop their language skills. It certainly doesn't promote critical literacy or a classroom community.

Of course, I expect to see a different environment next week when the teacher returns. One of the problems with the class I observed was that the students weren't really asked questions that would encourage more than one-word answers. Obviously, kindergartners are still learning conversation/discussion skills, and they need scaffolding to do any kind of discussion work.

One factor I noticed that I expect could help the classroom teacher scaffold is that from her brief visit to the classroom to get a student for a literacy assessment, she speaks Spanish. My guess is that her fluency is high, but I know that she knows at least enough to give classroom instructions in Spanish. Because directions can be the linguistically most complex part of an activity, this could considerably reduce student anxiety and increase students' ability to participate in projects.

Melanie's discoveries in field

 Let me give you some background information about my classroom and CT to help you get a better interpretation of the environment that I will describe. First of all, I feel very lucky because my CT is very knowledgeable in literacy, and she was recently a literacy instructor (or coach? I forgot).  I’ve already learned a lot from her from one field placement. Also, I’m in a 2^nd grade class, so you can determine whether or not you think my CT’s strategies are appropriate. I’m not going to discuss the interaction that I witnessed during the collaborative book discussion because the music teacher was the reader. Instead, I’m going to describe the students’ engagement while they (as a class) were going over one of their morning worksheets. This worksheet tasked students to read a sentence that had a blank spot for an adjective. They then chose the most appropriate adjective from a box, and completed the sentence. The last portion of the assignment asked students to pick two of the mentioned adjectives, and to include it in a sentence that described their first day of school. My CT told me she values collaborative learning, and this was prevalent in her lesson with the students. She asked some students to share a sentence that they created, and some students struggled. If they struggled, she didn’t help them-the other students did. She turned the question to the students and asked, “student x isn’t happy with his sentence. What can he do to improve it?” There were plenty of great discussions and ideas from her prompts.  The students were eager to share their ideas, and the students who wanted to improve their sentences were very receptive to their peers’ ideas. Although Triplett’s article describes the value and benefits of class reading, I saw similar advantages in this class activity. When improving each other’s sentences, the students gained an impressive comprehension of the adjectives. Together, they produced sophisticated (for their age) sentences, and shared their individual experiences. For example, one student wanted to change his sentence that included that vocabulary work ‘excited.’ Together, the class came up with this sentence: “I forgot my glasses on the bookshelf because I was so excited for my first day of school. I groaned when I got to school without them.” The students demonstrated exactly what Triplett valued in a learning environment: proficient comprehension skills, diversity, and collaborative learning.

There are students in my class who need particular types of scaffolding. One student requires emotional, social, and academic scaffolding. This struggling child is very shy, and the CT goes out of her way to make her feel comfortable and confident. This situation goes well with the study that was done in Triplett’s article (exploring the emotions of struggling readers). During a spelling activity, the CT always checked up on this child. But, she didn’t want the student to feel targeted, so she paid attention to others, too. The CT praises this child, and encourages her to share her ideas in class discussions. This student read one of her sentences to the class about her first day of school, and although she was still timid, I could tell that she appreciated the special attention from her CT. In fact, this student later volunteered to share her knowledge with the class. This surprised me because she was incredibly reserved during most activities. This is a great example of Triplett’s claim: quality personal relationships and support greatly enhance students’ learning. 

Diversity in the Classroom-Melanie

I would learn about the diversity in the classroom and get to know my students from multiple perspectives by encouraging my students to bring their individuality and unique culture into the classroom. I particularly like Wheeler & Swords article, as it discusses the incorporation of varied dialects into the classroom. Language is a strong representation of culture, and I want my students to take pride in their cultural ties/beliefs. I'll encourage them to share and elaborate upon their individuality through culture-based activities, a diverse book collection, and by sharing my own roots as well. I think including a great range of books is especially important to obtain diversity in the classroom. I want to read books that cause students to recognize or question other's culture. These books will certainly include different dialects, and to enhance the language of certain groups, I think it'd be great to have a guest speaker (who partakes in a certain dialect) to share this book with the students.  I also don't want students to believe that there is a such thing as "standard english," because in my opinion, that term is offensive (it makes other dialects sound like sub-categories/inferior). I want my students to take pride in who they are, where they're from, and what they value. I plan to create an accepting classroom environment as the first step in establishing this notion. 

Diversity in the Classroom - Lindsey

I believe that it is extremely important to learn about the diversity present in any classroom I am a part of. I include race, culture, religion, languages spoken, family backgrounds and more in my understanding of diversity. Many or all of these factors can influence the way a child thinks and functions in his/her daily life, both in and out of school. It will make connecting or relating with students easier if I know more about where they are coming from, their beliefs, and what is most important to them.
I grew up in a very mono-cultural area for the most part. My high school was mostly white, middle class, and Christian. There were some divorces, but not too many. Most of the racial diversity came from several Lost Boys of Sudan, some adopted African-Americans and Asians, and a few Asian families. I do not recall any Hispanic students and there were very few multiple language speakers. I can remember about five practicing Jewish families. All of this resulted in very little classroom diversity, but I do remember teachers incorporating as much of it into their classrooms as they could. In fourth grade my teacher, Mrs. Peterson, had each student prepare a presentation about a holiday tradition that his/her family practiced. She videotaped each person, and showed the tape at parent-teacher conferences after the holiday break. She recognized that even though there were not many major cultural differences, it was important to recognize the differences that were there. I would like to use a similar idea for my own future classrooms\, and expand on it with other activities that incorporate other cultural differences. She helped to validate the fact that being different is ok.
In a classroom where there is more diversity, it is even more important to validate differences. It can be easy for students of a minority religion, race, etc. to feel isolated and alone. As teachers, it is part of our job to make our classroom a safe and comfortable learning and social environment. We cannot do that part of our job properly if we do not make the effort to learn about each of our students, and to incorporate each student and his/her background into the classroom environment and curriculum. This would help to create an ideologically ‘progressive’ classroom, in which the, “…learning is placed at the center of the educational process” (page 6).

Diversity in the Classroom by Meghan

It is extremely important for me as a teacher to learn about the diversity in my classroom. Every student comes from a unique background that defines who they are as a person. In order to understand my students I need to show an interest in their lives. When I was in elementary school my teacher had every student make a family tree and present it to the class. We could draw pictures or paste photographs on to a board with a description of each family member underneath. I loved this project, my family was very important to me and I was proud to share who they were with the rest of my class. I was also very interested in my classmates families as well. I think this was a great idea for my teacher to get to know each student and for the class to get to know on another as well. Another idea would be to have the students pick someone that is very important to them and write a story or poem describing that person. This may be a better alternative tot he family tree because some students may not have the best family environment and they may not be willing to share things about some family members. It is our responsibility as a teacher to decide which activity is more appropriate for our students. During class last week we discussed writing a "where I'm from" poem. I really like this idea because it allows the students creative side shine while allowing them to write about something that they are interested in and familiar with. this activity also allows the teacher to gain insight about that student and helps the class to learn more about that student as well.

I was fortunate enough to go to a very diverse school that supported and catered to each student's background. In December we learned about each holiday that is celebrated during the month from parents who volunteered to talk to the students. the parents had the opportunity to decorate the room, bring in food, and teach us about various activities that helped us to learn more about the holiday. Everyone had a lot of fun during these activities and also learned a lot not only about different religions but about their classmates as well. It is important to show students that you as a teacher are interested in who they are and where they come from. Activities like these really show that you care and that you are interested in their lives. In the Gibbson reading from last week he stresses the fact that, "Second language learners are not a homogenous group, but are as varied in terms of their background, experiences, language, expectations, values, culture, and socioeconomic status as any other group of students." All students are different and as a teacher it is my duty to realize and learn what makes each student unique so I can better understand them individually. 

Poeming Myself

This is a poem I wrote about myself a year ago for Diversity in Children's Literature. I thought I'd share it now because I found it to be a great exercise for reflection and an excellent method for getting to know my classmates.

Breathing

I can’t tell you about me
Unless I tell you about her.
I may not use all English either
Spanish is a better seasoning.

You’re looking at us, ask away.
We’re used to it –
The questions that is.
Yes, we’re twins.
Of course we like it.
Well, we’ve never known anything else.
Do you like breathing?

The Sutton girls.
The twins.
The Sutton twins.
ErinandMegan.

You say you can’t tell the difference.
We even have the same Spanish accent?

Yes, we share a lot.
No, we don’t feel each other’s pain.
But the one thing we always share
And never share at the same time
Is the air we breathe.

You breathe that too.

French, British, and German by ancestry.
Fascinated by all that is
Latino, Chicano, Hispanic,
Mexicano, chileno, guatemalteco,
I’ll call it what you like;
Since I will never be inside
I’m not sure I can choose the name for myself,
Any more than I can choose what kind of air to breathe.

Gringa.
Güerita.
Norteamericana.
Estadounidense.

Call me what you like;
I know I need sunblock
Like you need air.
No matter how perfectly I
Hablo español contigo
You will always know that.

A Michigander through and through
Longing to visit Quito, Santiago, Buenos Aires
To return to Guanajuato
Without leaving the trees, the grass, the lakes –
H.O.M.E.S. for me,
Smelling of fish and rain and fragrant home-made muffins
I ate them with my nose before I saw them come out of the oven.

A Protestant,
But not a protestante,
Enthralled with la basilica de
Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato.
Air in wide open spaces
Somehow seems holier.

A middle class white, yearning
Not to breathe free
But to appreciate her free breath.

Erin's Discovery of Diversity

More than a year ago, I worked as a Broad Summer Teaching Fellow in Detroit Public Schools, and I realized how important it is to learn about my students as early as possible. Because many of the students already knew each other and my mentor teacher, we didn't do the kind of getting-to-know-you activities that would have helped me (and them). Throughout the summer, I began to pick up on things about my students that would have been nice to know much sooner - for instance, that one was helping his younger sister with her homework (a different kind of literacy building) and loved spelling, or that many were what Lenski calls "students exposed to two languages simultaneously." I would call these students the "Spanglish generation" because they may speak only Spanish or a blend of Spanish and English at home, have often learned to read in English (and in many cases feel that they cannot read in Spanish even though many of the literacy skills transfer), and live in the Mexicantown area of Detroit or come from migrant families that move in Chicano communities. Knowing that my students belonged to this unique language community would have informed my teaching, and I could have helped them distinguish between colloquial speech (in their case, Spanglish) and "Standard English."

How did I find out about these students? In art class they painted self-portraits including items that were important to them - this was a great activity to help the ELLs share about themselves. Also, near the end of the program we did self-story maps, partly to prepare students to write their own biography and partly to help them practice diagrams for the brainstorming process. I also spent time talking to them, finding out about their likes and dislikes, and watching their progress. Additionally, I had the unusual benefit of a mentor teacher who came from the same community as the students and knew some of them; in many cases, this kind of information could come from a past teacher, an administrator familiar with the children, or other staff such as custodians, cafeteria workers, or bilingual specialists. It's preferable that the person be from the same community to make sure that their information gives a full perspective; I found that in this way I could scaffold my own learning as I built my teaching skills.

Melanie's Definition of Literacy

To me, literacy is the art of properly utilizing and understanding the components/meaning of reading and writing. However, this is just my definition of literacy when considering the context of this course. My overall definition of literacy has certainly changed from the past. Before, I thought literacy was only relevant to the subject of language arts. But, now, I realize that literacy can occur in ANY subject. It's a broad term, which is why many people, myself included, cannot accepted one definition for this term. My ideal literacy learning environment would include a multitude of resources that clarify the definition of literacy itself. My definitions of reading and literacy actually overlap. And, in my opinion, many people have a skewed understanding of the essence of these terms. Thus, in my ideal literacy learning environment, I would like to incorporate techniques such as visual literacy, oral literacy, etc. I believe these methods, combine with my scaffolding, will help students attain a precise defintion of literacy itself. As a result, once they become literate individuals, they'll have the knowledge and ability to refine their literacy skills in the future. I'll also incorporate different activities that call for different forms of interaction in my classroom. For instance, Langer discussed the making meaning process. I want my students to partake in such activities to ensure that my students obtain a thorough understanding of the material that I present. Cambourne's article also touched on the necessity of stimulating interaction. I agree with his statement of transformation (learners are responsible for thier own learning). This reminds of of the video we watched in class, and how the students took control over the curriculum. This technique seemed to benefit her students immensely, and I am now inspired to take such a risk in my classroom. The last point that I noticed in our readings was Leland's notion of critical literacy. I think exposure to crictical literacy is crucial for students' understanding of themselves and their surroundings. Thus, I want to include activities and books that expose students to these issues. I believe that including all of strategies in a classroom will help students become active readers and better critical thinkers. Mastering these crafts will ultimately help them become better contributors to society. As a future educator, I'm honored to be a part of this crucial developmental process. 

Lindsey's Literacy Info

My definition of literacy before coming to MSU was simply the ability to read and write. I had never been asked to contemplate the topic before, and this was how we were taught to tell if a person was literate. Since my arrival at this university, this definition has undergone a serious transformation. I now believe that literacy includes not only the ability to read and write, but also to comprehend, interpret, and create print, speech, and ideas in such a way that it impacts their life and the lives of others. Our class discussion helped me to learn that this definition will not remain constant, and that it should not remain constant. By keeping my mind open to new additions or alterations to my definition, I am staying open minded and flexible. I have a definition from which to pull literacy standards for my students to achieve, but I will not force the standards to remain the same when other factors have changed. I will hopefully be able to convey these ideals to my students so that they too are willing to be flexible with their own definitions when they are judging themselves and their literacy abilities as it impacts their lives both inside and outside of the classroom.
I would like to create an environment in my classroom that is extremely conducive to literacy learning. I would like to have words and pictures posted on the walls that relate to what the class is studying (e.g. poetry and illustrations, a writing wall for ideas or questions about what the class is learning, etc.) so that students are exposed to new ideas and can reflect on them. I would also like to have a big classroom library that is accessibly organized for the students, and I want them to have ample time to read by themselves, with a friend, with a group of friends, or as a class. My students would have the opportunity to write and illustrate little books of their own about any subject they want (out of construction and printer paper) and share them with the class. This would help them understand not only the different factors necessary in making a book function, but it would also give them the chance to use their skills in ways they might not have done before. I would like to have all of my students comfortable enough to ask questions not only about classroom issues, but about real world issues they have learned about through some other method. The Leland article brought to light for me just how much young students can understand, relate to, and form opinions about if they are only given the opportunity. I have also used Cambourne’s ideas on the conditions of learning in creating my ideal literacy learning environment, because I believe that those are important ideals (e.g. immersing students in literacy around the classroom and having them use literacy in making their own books, etc). These are all ideals for me at this point, but I am hoping that knowing what I want will help me to eventually achieve them for my future classroom.

Literacy

Literacy, as I understand it currently, is ones ability to communicate thoughts through speaking and writing as well as comprehending what one hears or sees through reading and listening. My definition has changed dramatically throughout the years as I progressed through my teacher education courses. My previous understanding of literacy was very simple, just the ability to read, it sprouted out to include writing, and finally after our discussion last week it includes speaking and listening. I believe my definition of literacy will be ever-changing as I learn more about the subject. Literacy is one of the most valuable traits humans have acquired and it takes a lifetime to master, if not longer. In class we discussed how literacy is not just confined to the classroom, but it is everywhere throughout the world. Literacy is the reason people form relationships, conduct business, and communicate, without literacy the world would fall apart. 

My ideal literacy environment would be one of comfort and structure. I would like my students to be immersed into a world of literacy that is fun and engaging. I plan to use writing as much as possible in the classroom because it is an important form of expression. I want my students to feel comfortable expressing their ideas and thoughts and hopefully with practice they will become more confident in doing so. I would like my class to understand the idea of genre and to be comfortable with all forms of literature. To do so, I plan on having a well-stocked library of a variety of books. After reading the Leland article I understand the importance of critical literacy in the classroom. I would like my students to understand and appreciate that not everything will end in "happily ever after: and that sometimes life can be hard. I believe it is important to be honest with students because they are then more willing to trust you and in turn a better student-teacher relationship is developed. I hope by the time I become a teacher I have a better understanding of how to help students learn to read and understand the importance of reading and literature. I hope to have an environment where the students are comfortable with communicating with one another to help build their speaking and listening skills. In Cambourne's article he talks about the conditions of learning which discuss how children learn language, I hope to master these ideas so I can better understand how language is learned and in turn how to accurately teach these ideas. My ideal classroom environment for literacy may never happen, but I will do my best to make sure I help my students become successful in regards to their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. 

Reflections on Technology

I've been having some problems with blogger, especially with the timestamp they put on my post and the font size. I'm not sure how to resolve these things, and they don't affect the content of the post, but I've spent far more time trying to fix them than it's worth and finally decided to give up. Does anybody know how troubleshooting for blogger works? I try using the FAQs, the help groups, and the search help feature, but none seemed useful and I'm not sure how to report problems. I'm fairly certain this is a problem with blogger and not with me.

It occurred to me that I'm reasonably comfortable with technology as long as it works correctly; more than anything I need to learn how to deal with it when something goes wrong.

Defining Literacy

This has been budding and unfurling for years now. Currently, my definition of literacy is "the ability to flexibly interpret and create print and other forms of language in such a way that it impacts a person's everyday life and the lives of others." Much of this definition comes from the Leland article, after seeing how much critical literacy can change a classroom culture, and the Gibbons text, particularly the statement that "Today's children are entering a world in which they will need to be able to read and think critically, to live and work in intercultural contexts, to solve new kinds of problems, and to be flexible in ever changing work contexts; in short, to make informed decisions about their own lives and their role in a multicultural society."

How does this definition translate into a learning environment? Cambourne's conditions of learning - immersion, demonstration, engagement, expectations, responsibility, approximations, employment, and response - provide a framework. Ideally, my students would live in, work in, and attend school in environments where they are surrounded with print, with literate people, with uses for literacy, and with tools that can engage them as literate or pre-literate individuals (see my post on the paraphernalia of literacy). For example, they may hear oral storytelling in a religious setting, help a parent or older sibling cook from a recipe, read the cereal box during breakfast, and use sidewalk chalk to describe objectives for their neighborhood (either through pictures or words). These tasks are not what are traditionally thought of as "literacy" and they are far from the school environment, but they are crucial to a full, integrated perspective of literacy.

I became aware of the importance of available print and of children viewing themselves as literate people when I read Other People's Words by Victoria Purcell-Gates, a book I recommend as worldview-shifting. I would argue that Purcell-Gates builds on Cambourne's suggestion that children need responsibility for their learn to imply that families and communities need responsibility for their own literacy learning, something that should be happening within a social action perspective on literacy.

Response to Goals

I noticed that two members of my group have goals that intertwine; Meghan wants to be a teacher "with a clear idea of what my strengths and weaknesses are in the classroom . . . I hope I am able to critique myself and in the process learn more about who I am as a teacher and what works and does not work for my students and me. "

Melanie explained that she wants to make sure "I'll consider the quality of their responses and modify my approach as needed . . . Lastly, I hope to learn more about discipline and how to properly utilize it in the classroom. One of my major weaknesses [is] not knowing how to be an authoritative figure."

This to me demonstrates a desire not only to self-assess, but to use those assessments in the classroom to build flexibility and better pedagogy. The fact that these goals have been articulated in such a way that they work together suggests to me that the best teachers may have trouble separating the two and that integrating them is going to become a part of all of our experiences in TE 401.

Meghan's Goals

TE 401 is another step toward my future as a teacher. In this class I plan to put as much effort into my work as possible. This class is designed with the idea of making education majors more comfortable with the idea of stepping into the real world to teach and inspire students. I plan on working as hard as I can to gain as much knowledge from this class as possible. 

One of my most important goals to accomplish when I am done with this course is to become more comfortable and versatile in the classroom especially with large groups of students. I hope to come out of this class feeling confident about creating and teaching lesson plans and with a clear idea of what my strengths and weaknesses are in the classroom. I hope I am able to force myself out of my comfort zone by working with a variety of different students that can challenge and question me as much as possible. I hope to better understand who I am as a teacher and as a person through my classroom experiences. I hope to leave this course with important learning experiences from my field time whether they are positive or negative. I hope the students I work with learn just as much from me as i will from them. I hope to learn and grow from the feedback I receive from my peers, professors, and my CT. I hope I am able to critique myself and in the process learn more about who I am as a teacher and what works and does not work for my students and me. 

One of my goals for the actual class is to be prepared for each time we meet. I bought a calendar so I could keep up with my assignments for this course and not fall behind on readings, which can sometimes be one of my weaknesses. I hope to turn some of weaknesses into my strengths. I hope to take thorough notes on our readings and during class so I gain as much information as I can because my notes are something that I am not only going to use for this specific class but for my future TE classes and my future classroom. I hope to stay organized so I can keep track of all of my notes, papers, and readings in hopes that when i need to reference something I can easily find that specific piece. I hope to broaden my knowledge of literacy and math so I am comfortable with those subjects. I hope to learn new strategies to keep students interested and engaged while learning. I hope to leave this course with positive experiences that will shape who I am in the future. 

Lindsey's Goals

My primary goals for TE 401 involve becoming more comfortable and familiar with my philosophies and methods. I have worked in a preschool/daycare situation for the last three summers, so I know I can handle management of a large group of kids, but I have not yet had the chance to put my teaching skills to the test in any situation other than a one on one (e.g. tutoring). I am excited to use our field time to find my teaching comfort zone, for math and literacy in particular this semester, and to work with my CT and his/her students. I believe that these experiences with help me to expand my knowledge of how students learn, practically rather than just in theory, and I look forward to using them to growing as a teacher.
I would also like to learn more about teaching students how to read and how to help them enjoy reading. I have always loved to read, and I have never needed encouragement in that area, but I do not remember how I was taught because I was so young (about three years old). I want to make reading just as pleasurable for my future students, and I know that there are a lot of factors involved in making that happen. I want to know what different approaches should be used with which different types of students and how successful they can be. I would like to watch and participate in the practical applications of what I have learned some of in theory, and hope to continue to learn this semester. In particular, I would like to know more about how to spot literacy and reading disabilities opposed to students not knowing the right strategy for them or simple slowness in information processing. My little brother was slow to read on his own, but he was never put into special programs and that worked out to his benefit eventually. He would have given up if that had happened. He now reads for pleasure on a regular basis. I want to do everything I can to avoid making mistakes, like that could have been, that could make my students give up on reading.