My poll

Link to my poll: http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/LTE2NDE0NTQ4NDA/web

Blog Posting for Aug. 30

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Quote:

“In studying new media language, however, I’ve become convinced that more fundamental linguistic changes are afoot.  The shifts I’m talking about are not in vocabulary, spelling, or punctuation, but in our attitudes toward language structure.” (Baron, March 2009).  

Reaction:

It is hard to know sometimes how our life has changed until we stop for a moment in order to think about how different it is from ten or even five years ago.  Recently, digital media has impacted most of our daily lives.  Baron (2009) addressed the fact that our past language has been governed by rules.  Now it would appear those rules are changing.  Digital media has shown the capacity to profoundly impact our lives and our attitudes toward communication with others.  Have we adopted a “laissez-faire” attitude or have we established a certain level of control over our communication with others?  It would appear that changing paradigms reveal an attitude of “whatever” when it comes to digital media.  Baron (2009) suggested that many are adopting attitudes that involve a less formal structure.  As future educators, we must ask the question, “How is digital media affecting our students?”   

Reference:

Baron, N. S. (2009, March). Are Digital Media Changing Literature?  Retrieved from

     http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-

     Digital-…

Related Resource:

The MacArthur Foundation is investigating the impact technology has on the changing attitudes of our students and their learning.  The MacArthur Foundation has dedicated $50 million to this project.  More information is available at www.digitallearning.macfound.org.  A link is provided to the video entitled “Are Kids Different Because of Digital Media?” This video takes a look at how learning environments are changing for today’s student.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PT3vEjw5g

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Blog Posting for Aug. 26

Friday August 26, 2011

Quote:

“The contemporary American classroom, with its grades and deference to the clock, is an inheritance from the late 19^th century.” (Heffernan, August 7, 2011).

Reaction:

According to Heffernan (2011), our schools continue to function as they did in the 19^th century.  I chose to address this issue due to Heffernan (2011) inferring that it is time for change.  I certainly agree with her position.  Heffernan (2011) raised many valid arguments within this article that point out how out of touch our schools are with today’s society.  Instead of being so concerned about adhering to a strict “bell system” we should be more concerned about establishing digital literacy within our curriculum.  The video generation has come of age and digital literacy is particularly relevant to the field of education.  This article should serve to open our eyes to the importance of establishing practices that will prepare students for the future workplace instead of a workplace of the past.  The curriculum offered to the student of the 21^st century should include a wide selection of opportunities, which encourage the use of problem solving and critical thinking skills instead of simply memorizing facts and figures. 

Reference:

Heffernan, V. (2011, August 7).  Education needs a digital upgrade.  Retrieved from

     http://opinator.blogs.nytimes.com/2001/08/07/education-needs-a-digital-age-

     upgrade/?hp

Related Resources:  A You Tube video entitled “Digital World:  Teachers Today” by k8teaw is a short commentary about how teachers can facilitate change in today’s schools.  I think this is a very thought provoking video that the entire class would thoroughly enjoy watching.

Friday August 26, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2j9qw-A0NM

Intro Blog

Hi, my name is Rebecca and I live in Clarksburg.  I am interested in becoming a Librarian at the Middle School or High School level.  However, in order to obtain a Library Science certification, I must first complete an education degree.  I have selected Health as the education degree that I will pursue. 

I firmly believe that learning is a process that is affected and influenced through observation of others.  I feel that children’s actions are often influenced by what they see others doing.  In addition, I feel that it is critical to encourage children to engage in hands-on experiences suited for their developmental needs. 

In a library setting, effective strategies would be encouragement of hands-on activities involving both print and electronic materials.  These activities would support literacy across the curriculum.  I would also make available collections of resources for topic teaching.  A specific activity to engage students in hands-on activities would be a scavenger hunt in the library.  For example, if a class was studying about France, the library could be transformed into that country and the students could be given a list of things to find in the library such as books, magazines, reference material, and websites to complete their “hunt” for information.  This would allow students to become familiar with the resources available in the library through hands-on experience.