The Digital Divide and the Knowledge Divide

Game-Like Learning

This is a response to a wonderful paper written by James Paul Gee, a renowned literary scholar in using video games and education. Click the link below to read the paper.

A Situated-Sociocultural Approach to Literacy and Technology

1) Throughout the chapter James provides background and context for the following argument, which he makes on page 180: 

"We cannot just move on to reading instruction of the 'decode and literallly comprehend' sort as if it doesn't matter that these children have missed out on early specialist-language learning." 

Considering his reasoning for this argument, do you agree or disagree? If you agree, what should be be doing differently to prepare students to become literate? If you disagree, explain why you disagree and why you think this approach works. Use information from the chapter to support your response.

If teaching decoding and literal comprehension were working, we wouldn't have so many schools that do not meet or exceed the standard. Gee contends that the acquisition of one's native language is not a matter of ability or skill. My school has over 57% English language learners with less than 40% of our students reading at a level considered "on grade level". We cannot simply put these students into a room just to teach coding and comprehension. We instead need to immerse these students in the general classroom and allow them to have conversations using the specialist language that James Gee is referring to in Chapter 8. Gee's argument is that we must take into account the learner as a whole when thinking about literacy. While these ELL students are being exposed to the specialist language of each content area, they spend part of their day in the ELL classroom where they are given specific language instruction. All of these elements work together to improve the learners literacy. When we look at building data alone, it is not just the ELL students who are struggling. Less than 40% of our students read at a level considered proficient. The link I have provided below is an article about my school district. In particular, the article talks about the struggles of the English Language Learner in the general classroom. The main struggle is academic vocabulary knowledge, which is the same as specialist-language. 

Why Des Moines Can be a Model for Urban Schools

Reading and writing are not the only components that go a long with being literate. Students need to be engaged in peer learning groups where they are able to receive specialist-language learning. These learning groups allow students not just to learn how to read, but to learn how to read in such a way that it creates what Gee calls a "trajectory" where a student is able to make sense of increasingly complex language. These groups should not just start after the 4th grade slump. In order to make it past this slump we must teach language with a vengeance Gee claims. To push the students past general knowledge and combine the manual with the learning!

2) Do you agree with Gee's argument that video games can be used to support learning and literacy. Cite specific examples from the chapter to support your response.

Video games can absolutely be used to support learning and literacy. Gee presents a compelling argument about the type of support video games can provide using highly specialist styles of language. He contends that pop culture may be better at providing students with informal specialist-language lessons than in education. While the video game company's underlying goal is probably not to provide children with these lessons, these games capture the attention of some of the most distracted youth.  Gee gives a number of examples of how this style of language not only supports learning and literacy, but it also shows the importance of bringing the game to the manual (188). It is not enough just to teach students the general meaning of words, but situated learning is when students are able to take those words and use them to advance their understanding. Video games and video game-like teaching allow us to give students a chance to experience the learning and then make their meaning of the manual. The article/video that I have shared below is a neurologist who became an educator after studying the brain for many years. She shares her case for using video games and video game-like teaching strategies for effective student engagement. Students are motivated by learning when given game-like tasks. They are self-directed intrinsic learners when they are given problems and not solutions. They are able to situate meaning instead of just making verbal meanings (189).

A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool

3) James Gee is a prolific author who is well-respected for his view of literacy. As such, there is a lot of information available about his work. Find one interesting artifact, piece of information, article,  or website (or anything else that seems relevant) related to James Gee's work to share with your group members. Explain why you chose it.

This is a clip about why James Gee is so passionate about games and education. "What I'm pushing is really not digital media," James clarifies. "It's what I call 'situated and embodied learning.' And what I mean by that is being able to solve problems with what you know, not just know a bunch of inert facts. But be able to use facts and information as tools for problem solving in specific contexts." I like that he clarifies that he is not suggesting that digital media is the solution to the many problems with the traditional model, but furthermore he is asserting that literacy is about being able to use learning to solve problems and use specific information for specific situations. These contemporary learning models are making our traditional skill and drill schools look bad. I have shared this with you, because I think that it really articulates what situated learning means for the contemporary classroom. 

Trendy Teaching Club Meeting #1 11/12/2014

Hello Fellow Trendy Teachers!

Today is the first ever meeting of the Amos Hiatt Middle School Trendy Teachers Club! Today we will be talking about the possibilities of having a classroom website/blog. Also the power of having a teaching website or blog. 

The first thing we will do is watch Logan LaPlante's Ted Talk video about Hackschooling. The intent is to empower your thinking about providing an alternative approach to traditional teaching. This is something that having a class blog or website can assist you in doing! 

I would also like you to take time sometime in the next few weeks to read a really great article called Studying New Literacies by Lankshear and Knobel 2014. It is something that I have read lately and it has really had an impact on my thinking about learning. See me for the article. 

We will look at a number of different teacher sites that will help you decide what will work best for you. 

Edublogs:

Maryann Sult-Anamosa Technology Literacy Blog

http://anamosatechlit.edublogs.org/category/tech-lit/

Weebly:

Chelsie Meyer- Waverly-Shell Rock Middle School Art Blog

http://wsrart.weebly.com

Blogger: 

Virginia Rogers- Amos Hiatt Middle School Art Blog 

hiattart.blogspot.com

It is not about what platform you choose. It is about what you want to accomplish using a site. The opportunities are endless, all it takes is for you to start one. One step at a time. 

As always, do not hesitate to ask questions or let me know you need help! We will go on this journey together. 

TEDxNYED - Will Richardson

Responding With New Literacies #2

Created with Padlet

Multiliteracies Theory and Pedagogy

Here are visual representations of my understandings of a multiliteracies perspective. These are take aways from Chapter 4 of The New Literacies: Multiple Perspectives on Research and Practice. The chapter is by Kalantzis, Cope, and Cloonan. 

Interactive Solar System Lesson

I am working with the structured learning classroom to integrate art and technology into their science time. The classroom has about 12 students with many unique learning disorders ranging from autism and cerebral palsy, to functioning significantly lower than peers. The students are in 6-8^th grade and the class has one teacher, two associates, and a deaf education interpreter. 

The project we are working on will be to create a visual display of the solar system to show the student’s understanding of the components of the solar system.

*This lesson was created using the Literacy Technology Planning Cycle by Amy Hutchinson and Lindsay Woodward. To learn more about this planning cycle click here!

1.   Instructional Goals of the lesson:       ·      S.6-8.ES.5- Essential Concept and/or Skill: Understand and apply knowledge of the components of our solar system. Standards Addressed:       ·      21.6–8.TL.2-Essential Concept and/or Skill: Collaborate with peers, experts, and others using interactive technology.       ·      21.6-8.TL.1-Essential Concept and/or Skill: Demonstrate creative thinking in the design and development of innovative technology products and problem solving.       ·      Reporting Cluster – Studio Skills: Media and Processes o   Artistic Media and Processes are defined as the means of expression (tools, materials, and techniques) used to produce a work of art.       ·      Reporting Cluster – Critical Analysis: Planning o   Planning is defined as the process of conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.       ·      Reporting Cluster – Critical Analysis: Evaluating o   Evaluating is defined as judging the merits or value of a piece of art based on a set of criteria.       ·      Reporting Cluster – Making Connections: Connecting to Contexts o   Connecting to Contexts is defined as exploring links between works of art and history, society, culture, and personal experiences.

2.   Lesson Description & Instructional Approach: I will be working with the structured learning classroom to integrate art and technology into their science time. The classroom has about 12 students with many unique learning disorders ranging from autism and cerebral palsy, to functioning significantly lower than peers. The students are in 6-8th grade and the class has one teacher, two associates, and a deaf education interpreter. All students in this classroom are on alternative assessment plans. The project we are working on will be to create a visual display of the solar system to show the student’s understanding of the components of the solar system. The display will include QR codes that have videos attached to them. Students, teachers, and parents can scan the codes to learn about each planet. Students will help hang the background for the solar system display on the first day. This will help them with understanding how big the art display will be. They will work on measuring, cutting, and hanging the paper in the hall. Students will then learn how to make marble paper using chalk pastels, scissors, water, and paper. They will practice shaving the chalk into the water and submerging the paper. After they submerge the paper they will take the paper to dry. Students will draw a planet out of a cup for the planet they will be responsible for designing. They will write down the colors they think are needed to represent that planet on an index card. Students will walk around and double check answers to make sure that they agree. The students will make enough marble paper to make their planet, using the colors that represent their planet. They will cut and paste their paper onto the circles. We will then attach the planets to the display in the order that they are aligned in the actual solar system. After they have been added we will use metallic sharpies, metallic paper, and other aids to draw stars and orbit marks. After the planets are hung, the students will draw another planet from the cup. They will research and write a paragraph about their planet. Interesting and basic facts. We will record the students reading their paragraph using the iPad camera and then upload the videos to the schools YouTube account.  The students will attach their YouTube link to the http://goqr.me site. The QR codes will be printed off and attached to their planet.

3.   Digital Tools Used: ·      iPad Camera ·      YouTube ·      QR Code Maker ·      Internet for Research

4.   Digital Contribution to Instruction: ·      The use of the recording tool and QR code maker provides the opportunity to learn additional standards. It is allowing them to produce their own understanding. ·      The technology engages the students in multiple types of opportunities including producing and consuming. ·      Additional standards addressed:           21.6–8.TL.2-Essential Concept and/or Skill: Collaborate with peers,                    experts, and others using interactive technology. 21.6-8.TL.1-Essential Concept and/or Skill: Demonstrate creative thinking in the design and development of innovative technology products and problem solving.

5. Potential Constraints: ·      The students may find it difficult to figure out which facts to include with their recording. ·      Keeping the other students on task while students are recording their videos. ·      Keeping the videos and the QR codes organized so that they get attached to the right planet. ·      Finding a quiet place to record without background noise.

5.   Instructional Considerations:     The instruction will take place in the structured learning classroom.     The students in that classroom perform significantly below grade level. There is a mixture of students that have multiple learning disabilities. These disabilities are taken in to consideration when designing this lesson. There will be multiple adults in the room to help facilitate the learning goals that are being addressed. We will need to make a plan for how to manage the students when they are creating their videos. The other students will need something to keep them busy while this is occurring. There are three possible rooms that could be used during this lesson. Students that are recording will go into another room with a teacher while the other students are working on their paragraphs.     The adults will need to keep the recordings, paragraphs, and QR codes organized for the students. They will need to turn their work in each time the class is over so that the right code gets attached to the right planet. Most of the students will need assistance writing their paragraphs. As they find information the adults can ask the students to explain what they would like to include while the teacher records the information. Some students may also need the teacher to read the paragraph allowed for them. There is one student who is nonverbal. We will need to come up with an alternative plan.

7. Reflection: After conducting the lesson, consider the extent to which you were able to adhere to your instructional goal.  What helped or hindered your students’ abilities to meet the instructional goal? Note what you may need to do differently the next time you use these technologies. This would take place after the lesson has been completed.