Reflection on Teaching New Literacy Skills

Before taking this course, I knew how essential technology is to education. However, this course has integrating the strategies needed in teaching my students how to use technology. Learning how to teach my students to question, understand resources, evaluate, synthesize, and transform are key to the 21st century. In creating a unit of study, I have developed strategies that will help my students to be successful in researching standards based topics and creating a well developed project that gets them excited about learning.

In the past, I have felt overwhelmed with researching a subject. I know that my students have felt the same way. Through this course, I have learned how to take it in steps. This way, it is not so overwhelming. In Reading the Web, Maya Eagleton and Elizabeth Dobler (2007) state, “We would be doing students a disservice by not preparing them to apply the inquiry process to the world’s most massive source of information, one that will impact their future daily lives in ways we cannot even imagine.” Technology is a major part of our society and will surely expand by the time our students face the working world. We have to give them the skills needed to be successful. In creating future lessons, I will use the “QUEST” model. In applying each of these strategies, my students will learn much more throughout their projects. Yes, the end result is important. However, the inquiry process allows them to really understand what they are researching, evaluate the information, and stay on topic.

In the DVD, “Its Not About the Technology”, David Warlick (2007) explains that it is not about how much technology a teacher has in his/her room or what kind of technology he/she implements. It is about creating an environment that allows students to make connections to what they are learning and communicate that to each other. Technology does help students to do this because students are actively working together or individually and making connections to the task. As Warlick explains, blogging is a great way for students to make connections and communicate with each other. This year, my goal is to continue to learn how to implement blogging into the classroom. I teach 4th grade and know that this will be very beneficial to my students. I can incorporate all subjects and it will help them to practice their writing skills. This school year, I would like to visit an elementary school classroom where the teacher has implemented blogging. I want to see how he/she incorporates this into the lessons. I am curious to see how much time it takes up in the classroom and how it is graded. Slowly, I will implement this into my own classroom. In taking steps, I will begin by creating one class blog where students will post comments to questions that I ask. My long-term goal is to teach them how to create their own blog. I am very excited about this goal. I can’t wait to see how much fun my students have while learning!

References:
Eagleton, M.B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
Warlick, D. (2007). Its Not About the Technology, Laureate Education, Inc, DVD.