Literacy mattering in all content areas seems like common sense to me. The definition of literacy will be kept general here, viewed as the ability to comprehend information for oneself from a variety of resources for application and the ability to communicate these understandings to others. There is a plethora of resources and strategies that can be used to engage our students and to effectively teach lessons. The goal here will be to dig in and determine the resources and strategies that may best fit the educational communities one may teach within from a perspective of science literacy. According to Hazen, R. and Trefil, J. (2009), “More than ever before, scientific and technological issues dominate, from global climate change to the teaching of evolution, to the perceived gradual decline of American competitiveness. Being able to understand these debates is becoming as important to you as being able to read. You must be scientifically literate.”(p. xi)
Five years ago when I left the science classroom, electronic technology was beginning to play a much
larger role in encouraging literacy in our middle school classrooms.
Some big tech tools that stood out at that time used in my room were WebQuests and
Myspace. There was still plenty of room for the paper graphic organizers,
various note taking methods, various techniques for learning vocabulary, plenty
of diagramming and labeling, graph reading skills, and hand written and word processed
reports, summaries, and lab reports. I
read aloud, they read aloud, and we read silently. We read a variety of texts online, offline,
and our textbooks. We watched and
listened to videos, presentations, and listened to music. Gasp, there was even a VCR in the room. We discussed in pairs, small groups and large
groups. I modeled questions and thinking
about reading and hands on investigations.
There was room for demos and hands-on activities, both cookbook and
inquiry based.
A lot of what was used in the past will still be great in
the future. OK, I’ll be streaming videos
and possibly giving up some of my favorite VCR materials. Today, I would move to Edmodo or similar over
Myspace. I see there are far more WebQuests
to choose from.
Right now, I am most motivated to learn more about the Web 2.0
side as part of the science literacy journey.
I’m excited about using the online simulations in the classroom. I see much potential for tools such as Glogster
for informational posters and ads. The thought has crossed my mind to incorporate some online sites such as Quizlet for vocabulary, Quia for
quizzes to know students watched a video before coming to class or as an ‘entry
ticket’ for an activity, and Google Docs or Wikispaces for collaborative
projects. I can see great advantages for
a flipped classroom with more time to dedicate to hands-on activity,
discussion, and argument. Many of my teacher friends at the
secondary level have given up their paper textbooks for online build your own
curriculum. Their students are taking
pictures with cell phones and iPods as part of their data collection, using phones
for quick definition searches, listening to teacher podcasts and watching
teacher made videos.
I have to admit having all these opportunities for students
to respond wherever they are at any time may be time consuming in the beginning
in developing materials for some of the applications or in teaching students
how to use the tools. I wonder how best
to protect students’ privacy and how to keep them safe online. Being in a middle school recently, I see
students of that age group are not all quite mature enough to make wise choices
in the use of their technology. The
realization that posted information is permanent does not seem to be a reality
for many of them. I see this somewhat better
understood at the high school level. I
also wonder how excited to become about implementing the outside technology
before understanding the technology policies of a school or district. I’ve learned some districts are very
protective of their students' and teachers' online activities while some
districts are open to integrating and trying the latest educational technology
trends.Enjoy,
Mrs. A
Hazen, R. and Trefil, J. (2009). Science Matters. New York, NY: Anchor Books.
Cheri,
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time stopping by your blog, and I appreciate all of your insights from the field! Do you feel, in the case of technology, that more is necessarily better? Are students always learning more simply because they are using a device? I worry about technology becoming the end itself rather than just one tool in our toolbox as educators. I lament the end of cursive instruction, and I think that pen and paper still has its place. I just read that "Science" article on the benefits of doodling, and I wonder if giving every student a tablet might be detracting from their learning in some instances. This is not to say that I think you are advocating a "more is better!" approach, but I am just wondering what someone who has been in the field and has seen the changes taking place thinks.
Cheers!
Lara
Hi Lara,
ReplyDeleteI do not think more is better. Learning can take place with or without an electronic device. I'm happy to teach math 'old school' on a chalk board, off an overhead, with an overhead or projector aimed at a dry erase board, or using a Smartboard. I do think integrating technology in a way that strengthens a lesson is often welcomed by the youth of today. Technology has been wonderful for displaying visuals, marking text with the class, and sharing information with one another. It can be a great motivator for students to complete work. I think students can find as many ways to be off task in the pencil-paper classroom as they can in classroom using more electronic technology. In both types of classrooms the students need to understand the expected outcome of the learning and the expected behavior during the process.
Happy spring!
Cheri