Week 12, Assignment #2: Technology and Literacy

The concept of new literacies is revolutionizing the educational sphere. Many students began school using pen, paper, and books but are now using electronic forms of these. Computers and internet have helped broaden the scope of learning, teach students new skills that they will use in the outside world, and introduce them to more information than was previously possible. Additionally, technology helps students be able to collaborate and interact with each other while learning. Technology is also a vital tool for helping students with disabilities and English Language Learners. It helps simplify lessons as well as make it more interesting.

One such example is digital story telling. While story telling has always been a vital part of literacy instruction, digital story telling has taken regular storytelling to a new level. It helps the students interact with the story and helps the teacher bring out vital points. It makes reading and learning that much more interesting. I would like the incorporate digital story telling into my lessons. It can help students bond with any topic and any lesson when they see it first-hand like that. Digital storytelling is easy to use and has untold benefits.

Electronic publishing in general, has students learning new skills while they interact and create their own projects. This feeling of creating something new that is their very own will help them feel motivated and will make learning fun. It helps them tackle new ideas and skills that may have been daunting when being taught and learned in its print format. In the digital era, everything can be make exciting and relatively simple to use.  

Teachers must be trained in these areas of technology integration. If the teacher is not equipped with the proper tools and knowledge, he or she will not be able to give it over properly. Additionally, we must find new ways to assess students in a technological way, not just with a pen and paper. I would like to be able to assess students on their digital skills such as by having them create a digital story book.

In all, technology has changed the way we teach literacy. It can greatly improve our student’s literacy skills if we take advantage of it and teach in the right way.

Candidate’s Name: Hannah Friedman

Grade Level: 4

Title of the lesson: Using Technology in Reading

Length of the lesson: 4 periods of a half hour each

Central focus of the lesson (The central focus should align with the CCSS/content standards and support students to develop an essential literacy strategy and requisite skills for comprehending or composing texts in meaningful contexts) Key questions: ●     what do you want your students to learn? I want my students to learn about various forms of technology while enhancing their understanding of the book that they are reading. ●     what are the important understandings and core concepts you want students to develop within the learning segment? Reading comprehension, technology

Knowledge of students to inform teaching (prior knowledge/prerequisite skills and personal/cultural/community assets) Key questions: ●     What do students know, what can they do, what are they learning to do? My students have read the book “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”. Now they are going to enhance their comprehension using technology as an aid. ●     What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests? My students come from diverse backgrounds and are on various levels of reading and comprehension.

Common Core State Standards (List the number and text of the standard. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the relevant part[s].) Common Core Learning Standards for ELA and Literacy) ELA2015 (4) 23. Write informative or explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. [W.4.2] a. Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. [W.4.2a] b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic. [W.4.2b] c. Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g., another, for example, also, because). [W.4.2c] d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. [W.4.2d] e. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented. [W.4.2e] ELA2015 (4) 27. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting. [W.4.6]

Support literacy development through language (academic language) ●     Identify one language function (i.e. analyze, argue, categorize, compare/contrast, describe, explain, interpret, predict, question, retell, summarize or another one appropriate for your learning segment) Students will interpret the story and answer questions on it. ●     Identify a key learning task from your plans that provide students opportunities to practice using the language function. Students will type the answers to the comprehension questions using a word processing tool. ●     Describe language demands (written or oral) students need to understand and/or use. Students need to write answers and collaborate with each other.

Learning objectives 1-      Students will enhance their understanding of the basal reader story for the week. 2-      Students will use technology skills to communicate information they have learned.

Formal and informal assessment (including type[s] of assessment and what is being assessed) ●     Explain how the design or adaptation of your assessment allows students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning. Consider all students, including students with IEPs, ELLs, struggling readers, and/or gifted students. Each group will have written information that can be graded and used for assessment. Accommodations will be made for the students who need it, in the instruction part of the lesson and the teacher will grade accordingly.

Instructional procedure: Instructional strategies and learning tasks (including what you and the students will be doing) that support diverse student needs. Your design should be based on the following: ●     understanding of students’ prior academic learning and personal/cultural/community assets ●     research and/or theory ●     developmental ●     appropriateness Consider all students, including students with IEPs, ELLs, struggling readers, and/or gifted students. Divide the students up into groups of 5 or less. (Four groups work best, but if more are necessary, the teacher may need to add one activity to the list so that all groups will have a different activity.) Explain to the students what they will be doing for the week. Go over the various equipment that they will use and outline teacher expectations for use of the equipment, group work, and assignments. One group will use the AlphaSmarts to type a story using the vocabulary words for that week. Another group will use the handheld computer to answer pre-entered questions about the story. These can be comprehension questions that the teacher got out of the teacher's edition and downloaded in to the Palm. A third group will research on the Internet a topic related to the story or the author. They must come up with 10 facts. The teacher can provide a research guide sheet with pre-determined questions if the groups seem to have trouble sticking to the topic. The last group will work on a presentation project using PowerPoint or other slideshow software. They will compose an overview of the story and enter it into the slideshow. The teacher will need to sit down with each group the first time to explain how to use the software, but they usually catch on quickly. Over the course of a week, rotate the groups through all the activities, or it may be that the teacher will prefer to have each group complete only four out of the entire selection of activities each week. In that case, the teacher should keep a log so that he/she can ensure that groups have equal opportunity to use the equipment that is available.

Instructional resources and materials used to engage students in learning. Text Computer with internet access Computer with Power Point Tablet or a handheld computer Portable keyboard (AlphSmart)

Reflection ●     Did your instruction support learning for the whole class and the students who need great support or challenge? My lesson had all students learning through different ways providing multiple entry points. ●     What changes would you make to support better student learning of the central focus? I would allow students to pick which group they want to be in. ●     Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your explanation from evidence of research and/or theory. Students are drawn to different ways of learning. Each student should pick what interests them to maximize their learning.

Dr. Hui-Yin Hsu Spring 2014