Thursday, November 19, 2009
Creativity/Media Literacy
Just as with Information Literacy, Media literacy is ever changing due to the access that students have to various forms of media. We used to look at magazine advertisements and television commercials and how movies and television portrayed groups and individuals. Now, because almost anyone can create and publish media in some form or another, we are faced with a wider range platforms that we need to raise awareness about. We are faced with these platforms on the web in mass quantities.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Mind42.com
I explored briefly the Mind42.com website because it caught my eye as it relates to an activity that I am doing currently with my 8th grade students. They are moving through the engineering design process for building their dream house. Currently they are at step three and four: brainstorm possible solutions and make a decision. I had them bookmark three house plans that fit the criteria they developed during the first step of the process. I then had them work in Inspiration to brainstorm the benefits and disadvantages of each floor plan. I wanted them to see that the coolest looking house was maybe not the best house to select for this project.
I could have them use the Mind42.com site to make it more interactive and add the aspect of collaboration to the activity. They could brainstorm about their three choices and then partner up with someone to critically think about the options. I want to see that the students have gone through decision making process. They then journal about it.
The more I explore it, the more I see that it has potential for meaningful collaboration with students.
I could have them use the Mind42.com site to make it more interactive and add the aspect of collaboration to the activity. They could brainstorm about their three choices and then partner up with someone to critically think about the options. I want to see that the students have gone through decision making process. They then journal about it.
The more I explore it, the more I see that it has potential for meaningful collaboration with students.
Creativity/Information Literacy
What are the characteristics of creativity/information literacy today?
In today's digital world where people are creating information online at a rate faster than we can imagine, it has made the task of teaching information literacy to our students even more crucial. With the shear number of pages on the Internet and the millions of people creating content, it can be very overwhelming for students to sift through.
Students still need to know the basics of how to assess the validity of a web resource, but they need to be even "smarter" about it now. They need to be more critical and learn to be educated consumers about the information they are presented with.
How has it changed and stayed the same?
The shear volume of information is what has changed this connection. The ability for people to create information at the click of a button, forces students to be more critical thinkers and problem solvers. Students need to understand the importance of the analysis of the information they come across. The manner in which we teach them about information literacy is still the same.
In today's digital world where people are creating information online at a rate faster than we can imagine, it has made the task of teaching information literacy to our students even more crucial. With the shear number of pages on the Internet and the millions of people creating content, it can be very overwhelming for students to sift through.
Students still need to know the basics of how to assess the validity of a web resource, but they need to be even "smarter" about it now. They need to be more critical and learn to be educated consumers about the information they are presented with.
How has it changed and stayed the same?
The shear volume of information is what has changed this connection. The ability for people to create information at the click of a button, forces students to be more critical thinkers and problem solvers. Students need to understand the importance of the analysis of the information they come across. The manner in which we teach them about information literacy is still the same.
Interesting Use of Twitter
I was reading a blog post (http://k12edubuzz.com/encourage-some-risk-taking/) because I am thinking in my own process, some of my pull back is my unwillingness to take a risk in my classroom. I understand what the technology can do for our students, but the number of students I am working with is at times overwhelming.
So I need to take more risks. I need to step out of the same old projects, which may be new for the students, but are feeling "old" and beige to me. Perhaps I start with just one section of a course and work with a small group of students to get the management of the project down and have them help me through the process of seeing what works and what doesn't. However, do the students who don't participate loose out on something?
I like the use of Twitter described in this blog post. It shows that sometimes you need to think outside of the box to see how something could be used. Although this particular scenario does not pertain to me, it makes me think of what other different uses it could have.
What are your thoughts?
So I need to take more risks. I need to step out of the same old projects, which may be new for the students, but are feeling "old" and beige to me. Perhaps I start with just one section of a course and work with a small group of students to get the management of the project down and have them help me through the process of seeing what works and what doesn't. However, do the students who don't participate loose out on something?
I like the use of Twitter described in this blog post. It shows that sometimes you need to think outside of the box to see how something could be used. Although this particular scenario does not pertain to me, it makes me think of what other different uses it could have.
What are your thoughts?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Voice Thread Experiment
I can easily see how I could use VoiceThread to have students view and analyze floor plans in preparation for class discussion or an extension of a class discussion. I want students to be able to look at a floor plan and discuss what they find to be the benefits or disadvantages, and mostly these are based on their own opinions. This would add a dynamic method of contributing to the class discussion.
I do have a large number of students (about 150 in this class), so I might make a Voice Thread for each section of the class to cut down on the number of comments at one time. Or perhaps the point is to have a large number of people contributing? I would feel that for something like this, there would be so many duplicate answers. I'm not sure how I would manage this. Any thoughts?
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