Tech Play Assignment 4

Exploring Information Literacy Tools

According to the American Library Association’s Association of College & Research Libraries website, information literacy is defined as “a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information”. “Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning”.

http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency

National Forum on Information Literacy infographic                                                             source=www.pinterest.com

·         First explain why you selected this option over the Content Objects option.

While the idea of exploring content objects seemed appealing, I chose to address the information literacy topic. The main reasons that I chose this task instead was due to the fact that I am not a full-time teacher and do not yet have a specific content or subject area that I teach. Perhaps when I begin teaching in a particular area, I will be better able to identify content objects that would be helpful to incorporate into my classroom teaching. I have learned however, from my time working in a public library, as well as the public school system, just how important information literacy can be. In my experience, students today are often lacking in information literacy skills. They often appear lost when asked to conduct research on a topic and construct a paper reflecting their findings. This is part of the reason that I am motivated to explore information literacy tools. When I begin teaching in a classroom setting, I want to be able to help ensure that my students have the necessary informational literacy skills in order to be successful in their future academic and professional endeavors.

·         Identify 4-5 tools you found to support learning information literacy skills. Describe where they fit into the NFIL infographic and how you found the tool.

Thanks to the World Wide Web, there are a plethora of online tools to assist individuals in learning information literacy skills. One of the tools that was mentioned in our assigned course readings for this week was a site entitled Common Sense Media found at www.commonsensemedia.org. This site was created with the goal of “improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology”. It contains a wealth of information including detailed reviews of various media such as TV shows, video games, books, music, etc., as well as explanations of content and suggestions for appropriate age groups for each item. I have had experience using this site from my time working in a public library setting. There would be many times that I would be asked by patrons about the appropriateness of certain materials for their children or family and I would recommend that they consult this site because it could provide them with the information that they could use to determine whether or not they deemed the material suitable. I feel that this would fit into the media literacy portion of the National Forum on Informational Literacy infographic.

 Upon further research, I came across the sight www.digitalliteracy.gov. This is a great sight to assist educators in finding tools that they can use to teach their students digital literacy. Under the Find Educator Tools tab of the sight, there are methods available to allow teachers to search for learning resources and tools pertaining to various information literacy skills. I searched and discovered some of the following tools that I feel could be very helpful in teaching informational literacy.

This is where I discovered that there are two other sites that are branches of Common Sense Media, aimed at teaching users certain skills that are a part of information literacy. The first site is www.cybersmartcurriculum.org. Cyber Smart Curriculum was created with the goal of educating users about safety and security online.  It contains “lesson plans and videos, as well as interactive components on safety and security online, manners and cybercitizenship, cyberbullying, and digital citizenship”. I believe that this tool would fit into the computer literacy and security & privacy portions of the N.F.I.L. infographic. Another tool offered in conjunction with Common Sense Media is the Common Sense Media Digital Literacy Citizenship Curriculum, found at www.commonsensemedia.org/educators.  This site was developed by a nonprofit online education advocacy group for the purpose of “educating kids early about the basics of digital literacy and digital citizenship”. In my opinion, this tool would also fit into the computer literacy and security & privacy portions of the N.F.I.L. infographic.

Another tool that I discovered through this site is entitled Bibliobouts, found at http://bibliobouts.si.umich.edu/BiblioBouts.html. This website was created as “a project at the University of Michigan funded by IMLS that seeks to teach information literacy through gaming”. According to the site, “BiblioBouts is an online tournament made up of a series of mini-games or bouts, each of which introduces students to a particular subset of information literacy skills within the overall research process”. This sounds like a fun way for students to improve their information literacy skills and I would say that I think that this tool could address a range of skills listed in the N.F.I. L. infographic, including research and library skills, information ethics, copyright, searching, critical thinking, etc.

TV 411 Adult Literacy Media Alliance was another tool that I discovered. The address for this site is www.tv411.org. The mission of the Adult Literacy Media Alliance is to “help adults gain the basic reading, writing, and math skills needed to achieve their educational, career, and personal goals”. In order to work toward achieving this goal, the A.L.M.A. “creates multimedia learning materials and distributes them through broadcast television, the Internet, and literacy and community-based programs across the country”. This site also contains resources and materials for teachers working with adult students in the acquisition of literacy skills. While this might not seem as though it specifically addresses the issue of information literacy skills, I believe that it might fit into the critical reading, critical thinking, and critical literacy portions of the N.F.I. L. infographic because acquiring traditional literacy skills plays a necessary part in the ability to expand upon information literacy skills.

·         Evaluate the tools. Why did you include them in your list? What is particularly useful about the tool? Looking at the NFIL infographic, what areas do these tools neglect, and how can you justify leaving those areas out of any information literacy learning for your students.

While I only touched on a few tools available to support learning information literacy skills, I feel as though each of the tools that I explored had something significant to offer and therefore, were worth mentioning in my list. Many of these tools were expansive in nature because they contained numerous helpful resources aside from their designated purpose. In addition, I feel as though these tools addressed different aspects of the information literacy skills found on the N.F.I.L. infographic. When considering the areas of the infographic, I think that the only area where I could not visualize these tools addressing was that of Boolean logic etc. While it might fit into one of the tools listed, I could not see the connection. I feel as though this area is not something that should necessarily be “left out” from information literacy learning, but perhaps there are additional tools that could be used so that students could be educated in all areas of information literacy.

·         Reflect on how these resources or your exploration/thinking about information literacy could transform your teaching (i.e. your personal pedagogical stance/approach) and your students’ learning (i.e. support their acquisition and construction of content knowledge). Describe and evaluate that transformation.

I believe that using these and other available resources for learning information literacy, as well as keeping the concepts of information literacy in mind when designing lessons for my students could help to transform the way that I approach teaching. Currently, I tend to think in terms of and focus on the specific content that my students need to know. Too often I neglect to consider the skills that should accompany the acquisition of that specified content knowledge. I think that if I stop to consider how I can incorporate various activities/ tools to address information literacy skills within the context of my lessons, my students can grow exponentially. As mentioned earlier in this post, the Association of College and Research Libraries states that “information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learners”. Therefore, it stands to reason that if I incorporate tools and resources to help my students begin to acquire information literacy skills, I will be assisting them in developing the skills necessary to become lifelong learners, something that every teacher should desire for their students.

Tech Play Assignment 3

Exploring Creativity Tools

·         Discuss the various tools you explored: what you liked or disliked about each one, and select one that you’ll continue to reflect on.

This week, I had the opportunity to explore various creativity tools for use in my future classroom. For the purpose of this exercise, a creativity tool was defined as “anything that allows a student to create or produce something”. Unsure of where to begin, I did a general search on Google and came across a variety of options. One tool that I investigated was entitled GoAnimate for schools, found on the website goanimate4schools.com. This tool allows for the creation of animated videos in the classroom. I love the idea of using this tool in the classroom because it is low cost, easy to use with a “drag and drop” format, and has built in safety features that make it appropriate for use in a school environment. GoAnimate for schools affords teachers the opportunity to allow their students to create their own videos showcasing content of their choosing while not having to worry about some of the safety issues that might accompany the use of other sites to complete the same task. Some of the built in safety features of the website that I found to be helpful for teachers and administrators were that: each implementation is its own private, secure, “walled garden”, teachers can provide class or group management, there is an option available for teachers to moderate videos to approve content before they are viewed by others, and all content made available for the creation of videos has been deemed appropriate for a student audience.  I can see how this tool could be useful in a variety of subject areas, as it allows students to harness their creativity to construct videos relaying specific information that can be shared with classmates and other viewers.  

Another tool that I discovered was a free app called StoryKit. With StoryKit, students can create their own storybooks that can be shared privately and safely online. They also have the option to read, edit and add audio to some classic children’s books. When constructing their own books, students can type text, add photos, draw their own illustrations, and record their own narration. This app seems like a great tool to use in the classroom because it could be most obviously used within the context of reading, but I can imagine it would be beneficial in other subjects as well. I could see it possibly being used as a fun way to allow students to create a visual representation of a written assignment.

A helpful website that I came across in my research was cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com. On this site, I found several interesting links to other sites, as well as fun creativity tools that might be beneficial to students. Of those that I discovered, I really liked the idea behind a tool called Golems, found on the website golemgame.com. This tool is a free, open-source, 3D recreational physics simulator. The idea is that students can virtually construct a variety of devices from robots and spaceships, to clocks and catapults using simple parts like gears, motors, and joints. After the students have designed and built their creations, they can add sensors, timers, switches and motors before being able to engage physics and interact with their machines.  This tools seems like it would be a wonderful tool for use in science classrooms, especially beginning physics because it illustrates important concepts and allows students to creatively test their design theories. After all, what kid has not wanted to build their own robot at some point in their childhood?

·         Describe how the creativity tool that you selected might fit into the TPACK model. Specifically, describe the content goals/objectives, pedagogical approach(es), and technological affordances of some student work that uses the creativity tool you selected.

Of the tools that I mentioned above, I decided to further reflect upon the GoAnimate for schools creativity tool and how it might fit into the TPACK model. If I were to design a lesson using this tool, I think that I would like to implement it within the context of a history classroom. I could have students to use the GoAnimate for schools program to construct an animated story illustrating a specific event in history as imagined through the eyes of someone during that time period that was the same age as the classroom student. The goals would be for the students to highlight their understanding and perspective of the events that took place during that point in history through the creation of an animated video that could be shared with their classmates upon completion. For instance, I might ask the students to imagine that they were an early American colonist during the time of the American Revolution and they were faced with having to choose to remain loyal to Britain or support the revolutionaries. I might have them create an animation on GoAnimate that illustrated some of the events that might have taken place, as well as their reactions and thoughts about what was happening during that time. I believe that this is a constructivist approach to teaching because I am asking the students to take the information that they have learned and construct or develop their own conclusions. Some of the technological affordances that I can see from using GoAnimate in a classroom for a purpose such as this, would be that due to the drag and drop format of the program, it would be easy for students to use without too much assistance. Also, students who are do not normally consider themselves artistic enough to create a hand drawn animation, can use the ready-made features of the program to construct their designs. In addition, teachers do not have to worry about students using inappropriate content in their animations due to the fact that the elements available within the tool have been deemed appropriate for school use and teachers are also given the ability to moderate assignments before they are viewed by others. Finally, the animations created using GoAnimate for schools can be shared safely and securely amongst other students and classes.

·         Why is it important to know about and use creativity tools? What do they offer that other tools (i.e., drill and practice, tutorials, instructional games, etc.) do not offer?

I believe that it is important to know about and use creativity tools because they afford students the opportunity to utilize their higher level thinking skills in a fun way. There are a multitude of tools available to teachers to assist students in learning new information in a variety of subjects. With the ever improving technology that is infiltrating classrooms, the plethora of tools has expanded significantly over the past few years. Some tools can be used to simply explain information or help students to memorize and regurgitate facts. If I had to classify these other tools, I might refer to them as teaching/comprehension tools because they help to present information to students or test comprehension of information, but do not allow students to “think outside of the box” because they often present the information from a fixed perspective. While these tools can be helpful in a classroom, creativity tools allow students to think and actively participate in the learning process. Using creativity tools, students can construct something meaningful using the skills and information that they have learned along with their own ideas. Other tools do not usually allow for the construction of new elements. Instead, they are limited to tasks such as drill and practice, tutorials, etc. Essentially, creativity tools afford students the chance to think differently, generate new ideas, and tap into their creative potential, t hus making learning more meaningful and exciting.

Tech Play Assignment 2

Electronic Portfolios

After learning more about electronic portfolios or e-portfolios in relation to traditional portfolios, I have discovered that although these tools differ in many ways, they both serve the same basic purpose. The purpose behind the use of a portfolio, whether electronic or paper based, is to showcase a collection of the author’s work as evidence of his or her knowledge or skill set. In other words, portfolios allow the author to provide the viewer with evidence of his or her achievements over a specific period of time.  The author chooses “artifacts” or works that he or she feels best highlights the achievements to include in the portfolio.

A traditional portfolio is usually paper based, containing printed documents or illustrations. Due to this fact, it is often limited in size and scope in order to make it more manageable. Traditional portfolios, in many ways, have to be limited in their size in order for them to be easily shared with others. E-portfolios are electronic based, meaning that they can contain electronic documents and other forms of media such as videos, audio recordings, animations, etc. The fact that artifacts within e-portfolios are electronic means that they can be stored on a computer or online, thus affording the creator the opportunity to make a portfolio that is larger in scale and scope than a traditional portfolio. With the ability to store an e-portfolio online, creators have more freedom to be able to edit and expand upon their portfolio artifacts without worrying if the portfolio will be too large in scale. Having an e-portfolio that is stored on the internet also makes it easier for the creator to share the information with others versus the sharing of a traditional portfolio. Portfolios in a traditional format can only be shared with a limited number of individuals at a time, while e-portfolios afford the user the ability to share the information with a greater number of people at one time through the use of the internet. Viewers of e-portfolios can access them anytime and from anywhere, as long as an internet connection is available.

While both the traditional portfolio and the e-portfolio allow the creator to explore his or her creativity when creating and compiling artifacts, the incorporation of different types of electronic tools can allow users of e-portfolios a slight advantage. Thanks to the vast array of online resources and tools available, individuals creating e-portfolios have an increased ability to customize and personalize the contents. For instance, someone creating a portfolio might want to include visual evidence of a certain skill set that they have acquired. With a traditional portfolio, they might be limited to simply providing paper evidence such as documents or certificates as evidence of their knowledge. If they were to create an e-portfolio, they might be able to include video evidence in addition to their paper documents to better illustrate to the viewer the extent of their knowledge.

In the quest to discover what tool I wished to use to create my e-portfolio, I examined Wikispaces, Wordpress, Google Sites, and Weebly. While all of these sites offered free options for creating an e-portfolio, some were more user friendly than others.  Wikispaces has many features that I think would be very helpful if looking to create a wiki for use in a classroom or learning environment. There are tools to allow for project-based learning, safe social networking, connections to knowledge communities, as well as online and remote learning. While I was excited to further explore these tools, I had difficulty signing into the site and after extensive attempts, I decided to abandon my efforts for the time being and explore other options. Wordpress offers several different templates for designing a site, but the site seems to be better formatted for blogs. Google sites also offers simple templates and editing options to allow sites to be customized. I found it to be fairly easy to use in the beginning, but I had difficulty figuring out how to get the site to be arranged in the format that I desired. Weebly offers a good variety of template designs and is easily edited with the ability to add photos, text, illustrations, etc. Due to the fact that Weebly proved to be the most user friendly, in my experience, I chose this site to create my portfolio. The only drawback to this site is the fact that users are only allowed to create a site with up to five pages for free. I may need to upgrade my site in order to add more pages in the future, but for now, the address to my e-portfolio is http://shelliharreleportfolio.weebly.com

If I were using e-portfolios in a classroom environment, I think that Weebly would be a good tool to use because of its simplicity and user friendly format. I do think that Wikispaces might be a really good option as well, due to the many tools that are offered for educators in the Wikispaces Classroom. There are tools for classroom management, project-based learning, safe social networking, knowledge communities, online and remote learning, as well as the creation of portfolios. While I was unable to truly explore these tools in depth, I plan on exploring them further at a later date.

E-portfolios can be created for a variety of fields and purposes. The use of Wikispaces classroom would afford teachers of different subjects options for creating online learning platforms. In my search for options for creating my e-portfolio, I came across several sites that were specifically designed to allow artists of different mediums to display their work. Other sites allow users to create portfolios that feature job qualifications and resumes. Not only do these sites host these professional e-portfolios, but they also allow job postings and opportunities for users to connect with potential employers. In my research, I discovered that there are a great number of options available for creating e-portfolios with many tailored to the content included and the purpose for the portfolio.

Tech Play Assignment 1

Blogs

1.       According to the website www.dictionary.com, a blog is “a website containing a writer’s or group of writer’s own experiences, observations, opinions, etc. and often having images and links to other websites”. Blog users can customize the format by which they express their opinions on topics of their choosing. One of the affordances of blogs versus traditional websites is that blogs allow a platform for individuals to express their opinions and share those opinions worldwide through the internet. Traditional websites contain information on a select topic or set of topics, but do not usually offer individuals the chance to discuss their opinions on the information presented.

If websites do offer places to express opinions, this is known as a “message board”.  According to Wikipedia, a “message board or internet forum is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages”. While message boards allow users to express their opinions, users are often restricted to a specific topic or topics. In addition, other users are allowed to participate in the discussion on message boards, while blogs usually just contain the opinions of the blog author or authors. Vlogs and Glogs are websites similar to blogs but containing different forms of content.  A glog or “graphics blog” is like a blog, but contains the users opinions in the form of graphics or illustrations. “Video blogs” or vlogs allow users to express their opinions in video instead of written text like traditional blogs. One of the most well known examples of a vlog is YouTube.

When I first began looking at options for creating my blog site, I looked at a few different free sites including Blogger, Wordpress, Weebly, Blog.com, Tumblr. These were all sites that I frequently found as highly recommended. I have had a bit of experience using Blogger in my previous course, but that was the first time that I had ever tried to create a blog. Therefore, I was interested in seeing what these other sites had to offer.  I am sure that both Tumblr and Wordpress are great sites, but they did not seem as user friendly to me. Blog.com is one that I really liked because it seemed very easy to use and had many interesting features such as: the ability to establish multi-author blogs, the use of a variety of themes, the ability to incorporate widgets and share with social networks, etc. I really liked some of the features on Weebly as well and I think that it might be a good site to use if I want to create a website in the future. Ultimately, I decided to use Blogger again to create this blog, because I am somewhat familiar with the format and the features from previous use and I like the fact that it is connected to other Google features.

2.       When considering possible lessons that I could design using blogs, I would like to further discuss the idea of the world geography lesson that I mentioned in a previous post, using the TPACK model to identify the different aspects of the lesson.  I would first begin the lesson by assessing my students’ prior knowledge of world geography and discussing that basic knowledge with the class. Based upon that assessment and discussion, students would be assigned different world countries to research. They would be required to use various resources to research their assigned country. Students would then present their findings by constructing a travel blog page that contains specific information aimed at informing the reader, as well as persuading them to want to visit that particular country.

Content- The main objective that I envision for this world geography lesson would be for the students to “develop” a greater understanding of different countries of the world through researching and “constructing” their own travel blogs that contain information aimed at persuading individuals to visit each student’s assigned country. I believe that this would fall under the “creating” level of the Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy.  

Pedagogy- When it comes to pedagogical stances, I feel that this lesson would best support a constructivist learning theory. The website www.thirteen.org describes the concept of constructivism in the following way.

“Constructivism is basically a theory -- based on observation and scientific study -- about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning can point towards a number of different teaching practices. In the most general sense, it usually means encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing. The teacher makes sure she understands the students' preexisting conceptions, and guides the activity to address them and then build on them."

                              http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index.html

By having students conduct their own research and create a blog based on that research, they are actively “constructing” new knowledge while building upon previous knowledge. This is a student centered activity where the students can strengthen their current understanding and develop new understanding through research and guidance from the teacher.

Technology- One of the affordances of the use of blogs in this lesson would be that students that are normally more reserved and less likely to verbally express opinions or want to present information in front of their peers would be able to express their views and creativity without the pressure that often accompanies oral presentations.  In addition, the travel blogs could be shared with other individuals like parents, more easily than traditional posters or written reports. The use of blogs within this lesson allows students a “creative” way to merge their existing knowledge of world geography with the knowledge that they “construct” from their research and interpretation of the information, ultimately helping them to “develop” a better understanding of the world in which they live.

3.       Another way that I can imagine using a blog in the learning environment might be to construct a blog for teachers of certain subject areas to share idea, lessons, resources, and general thoughts about the subjects that they teach. In doing my own research, I have come across numerous blogs that were created for this purpose. I can see many affordances to creating a blog for this purpose within a school district. Not only would it allow teachers in specific subjects to share their information and ideas amongst their colleagues, but it would also allow instructors for those subject areas to better ensure that the lessons taught at each grade level are streamlined with the desired objectives for that grade. In addition, blogs could be a good format for teachers to be able to communicate assignments to teachers and parents.

4.       One obstacle that I can see in using blogs in an educational environment would be the fact that it would be difficult to monitor the content that is posted onto the blog site. In a school environment, especially when students are involved, it is extremely important that the content that is presented is appropriate. For that reason, it would be necessary to ensure that the content of blogs being used in as school district, whether by students or instructors, be monitored. Another potential issue that I wonder about in regards to having students submit assignments through the use of blogs is the fact that in rural areas/ school districts like where I live, there are a few obstacles that might prevent the effective use of this technology. One of the obstacles is the fact that many of the students cannot afford to have computers or internet service at home or live in an area where internet service is not available. Also, schools do not have the budget to issue computers to the students to use outside of school. Essentially, access to blogs outside of school might not be feasible for all of the students due to limited resources.  I know that this is not the case in every school or learning environment, but it is still something that I would have to consider when deciding whether or not the use of blogging would work for the students that I work with.

 In spite of these obstacles, I can see how blogs can be a very useful tool within a classroom or school setting because they allow personal opinions and information to be shared in a unique way. Blogs can provide individuals who are normally reserved and shy away from verbally sharing their opinions, a less intimidating way to share their thoughts. In addition, students can submit their assignments at any time, as long as they have internet access, thus lessening the chance that students will forget assignments at home and fail to submit them. Also, having the blogs available online would allow the projects to be viewed by others more easily.  Not only the could the classroom students and teacher view the work, but parents, other teachers and students could also view the completed blogs online if the classroom teacher decided to share the information.