Article Review
I found this article to be very interesting not only because
we are learning about the new literacies in this class, but we are blogging as
a class as well. This was a great method of conducting research which proved to
answer the questions it set out to seek. However, I was not that surprised by
the results found throughout the research. For instance, the research found out
that the use of blogs did not improve or seem to have an advantage to the
students’ reading performances.
However, I was very surprised at a couple of the results
found within the research. The retention rate was a very high percentage
throughout this process. I thought it was great that the results showed that
even though the majors among students were diverse and that they were sharing
information within blogs, the closer they became and were more willing to share
personal information to each other using social media, etc.
I was also surprised to find that when reading this article,
it said that the research showed that the instructors that were teaching the
classes have had training with the integration of technology inside their
classroom, but they still were teaching the way that they were before the
training. Is this a glimpse into what is happening to schools around the
country or even the world? Schools give professional workshops to teachers for
them to provide the new styles of teaching that they have learned about in the
workshop. However, it seems that the teachers are not putting in the time and
effort to try out this new style of teaching and just stay with what they are
familiar with. Does anyone else see this occurring? And if so, do you think
that this trend will end anytime in the near future?
Draft of Keystone
Project
- Subject: ELA with the use
of www.starfall.com
- Grade level: 3 in a
self-contained classroom
- Standards addressed:
Common Core ELA or related, and ISTE technology standards
ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS:
- 3.RL.1 – ask and answer
questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text at the basis.
- 3.RL.3 – Describe characters
in a story.
- 3.RIT.1 – ask and answer
questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis.
- 3.RIT.7 – Use information
gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate
understanding of the text.
- 3.W.6 – With guidance and
support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing as
well as to interact and collaborate with others.
ISTE TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS
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1.
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Creativity and Innovation
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Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct
knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
Students:
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a.
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apply existing knowledge to
generate new ideas, products, or processes.
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b.
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create original works as a means of
personal or group expression.
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c.
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use models and simulations to
explore complex systems and issues.
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d.
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identify trends and forecast
possibilities.
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- Intended results of the proposed
technology integration:
For the teacher to become familiar with the
starfall website and show how it can be used in everyday ELA teaching through
reinforcement and engagement throughout the activities.
For the students to engage in the
integration of technology and language arts to learn through the participation
of a computer program.
- Support and format of
training needed for the effective implementation of the selected
technology in their classrooms:
Each student must have their own
computer with internet access throughout the activity.
- Requirements: Computer Lab
with Internet access for each student.
- Evaluation plan (what is
your plan to make sure that your training meets the goals, needs, and
objectives):
My plan to make sure that the
training provided meets the goals, needs and objective of the teachers and
students is to first show the teachers how to navigate and use the Starfall
website. Through this website, I will lead them to the section, It’s Fun To Read, which will then show
the All About Me part of the website.
The students must create an avatar to complete this part of
the objective. Throughout the creation, the students are asked a series of
questions that they must answer, each pertaining to a certain part of their
avatar. The questions are as follows:
Are you a boy or girl?
How
old are you?
What does
your hair look like?
What color is your hair?
What color is your skin?
What do your eyes look like?
Throughout the questions, the students are fulfilling the
standards listed above in the common core curriculum. After the students create
their avatar, they will have to create a pet with certain characteristics that
the students choose themselves given from a list. For example, a student can
have a pet dinosaur, that skateboards, eats pizza, that chases a chicken. While
all of these choices are being made, the students are engaged with the
animations that appear by each choice that they make. This makes the students
want to read the question to see what comes next, enhancing their ELA skills.
After each phase of the All
About Me section is completed, another game appears. The next one is
called, Where Do I Sleep? Followed by
Which is My Toy. All throughout these
activities, the students still see their custom made avatar along with their
custom made pet throughout the activities. This makes the students want to keep
going and read each question carefully and want to keep participating in the
activity. When they have completed the activity on their own, they will then
practice using their social skills and tell a friend and the teacher about
their avatar, pet, bed and toy. I hope that I get to see some amazing results
and to see the students have fun throughout the process of using the Starfall
website.
