. As students gain skills and confidence, they can be encouraged to develop ideas for new computational projects of their own design that address issues of their choosing (the “Create” stage).
This is definitely a confidence builder. Being encouraged to develop their own design and choice.
Computational thinking requires understanding the capabilities of computers, formulating problems to be addressed by a computer, and designing algorithms that a computer can execute. The most effective context and approach for developing computational thinking is learning computer science;
This situation we are in today has a good portion of people wishing they knew anything about computers. Computer science and understanding how a computer works is necessary in this day and age. Welcome to the Technological world.
When students create digital content that they value, they are much more likely to be engaged. With greater engagement, they commit themselves more fully to learning so their learning is deeper and more enduring.
This is so true. I had to ask the kid to create a document with his spelling words today and he wanted nothing to do with it. But Then I told him he could use slides or even record himself spelling them out and defining the words he was all for it because he was given choices. This excited him and he wanted to then make a video of his other assignments. He was fully engaged at that point.
Storytellers can transform the world. They inform, persuade, entertain, and inspire us to take action. Digital storytellers use technology to improve the quality of their work and amplify its impact.
Very true.
Creation can be viewed simply as the act of producing, or causing to exist. Construction is the building or assembling of an infrastructure.
This is a great way to differentiate between the two.
I believe that the word choice involved in identifying construction as opposed to creation is also of the utmost importance
Choice is important in learning. It makes it worth doing especially to the young. Most don't like to be told to do something only one way. If you have choices it becomes their own.
"can never be a perfect translation from one mode to another: Image does not have “word,” just as writing does not have “depiction”; forms of arrangement (i.e., syntax) differ in modes that are temporally or spatially instantiated." In my opinion this is right there can be no perfect translation... however, everything is a matter of opinion. An Image can have "word" it just isn't the same "word" for everyone else. It becomes a personal depiction depending on how you feel and the way you think.
When I think of modes I think of mediums. I believe that they go hand in hand. You think of the message you want to get across and how you will do so. What programs or what item are you going to need to materialize this.
This is graphic design 101. Mode as a socially and culturally shaped resource for making meaning. You can't use comic sans in an obit, it sends the wrong message. being able to use different resources, fonts, colors, framing ... is all important to get a point across
multimodality can be described as an eclectic approach, although itis primarily informed by linguistic theories, in particular, the work of Halliday’s (1978)social semiotic theory of communication and developments of that theory (Hodge &Kress, 1988). Multimodality has developed in different ways in the decade since itsinception around 1996. Although a linguistic model was seen as wholly adequate forsome to investigate all modes, others set out to expand and reevaluate this realm of ref-erence, drawing on other approaches (e.g., film theory, musicology, game theory
An eclectic approach. Not the norm. I think that is important so that kids see that learning isn't always cut and dry.
Alongside this, the representational and communicational environ-ment is also changing in highly significant ways that can be described as a shift fromprint as the primary medium of dissemination toward digital media
As the worlds has gone online, digital media is our saving grace. The one way to keep children learning as all our schools have shut down and the children are forced to be homeschooled. Though packets were sent home they were sent with only 2 weeks worth of work. Now they will be out until may possibly longer and their work as migrated to be online.
Sefton-Green’s (2006) Reviewof Research in Educationreview of how current media debates frame children’s interac-tions with media as pedagogic argues that interest in children’s media culture opens widernotions of learning beyond education and school systems
If you can manipulate a lesson to include something relatable like spongebob, or mindcraft the kids are intrigued. They want to engage in learning.
It’s true that studies have found that readers given text on a screen do worse on recall and comprehension tests than readers given the same text on paper
I know this to be the truth... But I really think it has more to do with the fact that digital tests are more or less timed. That timer is the killer. I also think it could be the fact that there is more distraction. I know that I get little pop ups in the bottom corner of my screen when I receive a notification if I haven't logged off of something and that can pose a problem during a test.
The fear of technology is not new. In the fifth century B.C., Socrates worried that writing would weaken human memory, and stifle judgment. In fact, as Wolf notes in her 2007 book Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, the opposite happened: Faced with the written page, the reader’s brain develops new capacities.
I think it is interesting that writing was thought to weaken human memory when it's taught that we should take notes to help us memorize.
here’s no question that digital technology presents challenges to the reading brain, but, seen from a historical perspective, these look like differences of degree, rather than of kind. To the extent that digital reading represents something new, its potential cuts both ways. Done badly (which is to say, done cynically), the Internet reduces us to mindless clickers, racing numbly to the bottom of a bottomless feed; but done well, it has the potential to expand and augment the very contemplative space that we have prized in ourselves ever since we learned to read without moving our lips
I feel as though most of the time the internet does have that feeling of mindless clickers looking down a bottomless feed but at the same time it's not the case for everyone. its an option to stay connected and read what others are saying but there is much more to digital reading then that.
To read silently is to free your mind to reflect, to remember, to question and compare. The cognitive scientist Maryanne Wolf calls this freedom “the secret gift of time to think”: When the reading brain becomes able to process written symbols automatically, the thinking brain, the I, has time to go beyond those symbols, to develop itself and the culture in which it lives.
To read silently is to envision what your reading. I love that Maryanne Wolf called this the secret gift of time to think.
to determine how participants’ comprehension was gauged. Our intention was to chart the levels of comprehension (i.e., locate and recall, integrate and interpret, and critique and evaluate; NAGB, 2008) assessed within each study. This decision was informed by the assumption that medium may play a more influential role when comprehension questions move beyond gist understanding
Considering some people just kind of know something but can't speak past just that they know of the thing having a better assessment of understanding makes sense.
broadly defined reading as the dynamic process of understanding and drawing meaning from written text. We regarded this general conception as relevant whether the process of reading occurred in print or digitally.
to comprehend is to understand so....yeah
all signs point to a growing presence of digital reading in the lives of students and their teachers. One reason for our conviction regarding this trend is that there are now a plethora of devices to employ when reading digitally, from computers to other mobile devices such as iPads, Kindles, and even smart watches
This is a trend that has grown on even myself. It just seems easier to read on my phone than to carry a thick book around. I still sometimes prefer to read an actual book but it's not always the easy option.
The rationale behind a great deal of personalized learning technologies is that, once complexity is minimized for the user, then teachers are freed up to use their time for other, more important tasks. Whether it’s conferencing with students, analyzing assessment data, or even taking some time for self-care, technology is intended to help us become more powerful and increase our potential as teachers and learners.
Berkeley county has been doing online learning days this school year to allow for teachers to have staff development days and parent teacher conferences. They give out a detailed plan of what the children should do through out the day all revolving around apps.
This is the intention behind a great deal of personalized learning technologies, which oftentimes individualize instruction on the students’ behalf, using assessment data to determine which activities are appropriate. Doing so minimizes the complexity of the role an educator plays, because they are no longer making decisions about content, but instead allowing the technology to take over that responsibility.
I think this is hit or miss really. I hear the kids talking about what level they are on in prodigy and in reflex and how advance they are. They start to discuss who is smarter... But I think that the content is still on par with the grade level. If it stays on grade level then is it really taking over what content is being taught in the classroom? I think the Teacher still has a role.
The problem with many personalized learning tools is that they live mostly in realm of Substitution or Augmentation tasks. While there may be some functional improvement with regard to delivering content and collecting assessment data, there is little to no redefinition of the learning experience, which still sees students simply consuming and regurgitating materials, albeit through more efficient digital means.
I agree with this. The kids I babysit no longer bring home math sheets where they write out the problem to solve it. Instead they do something online through an app called reflexmath. They can't tell you how they did the problems just that they did them.
When redefining learning experiences, we cannot do so at the expense of human connection. The most powerful technologies known to human did more than simply minimize complexity or do something new and catchy: they enhance communication, making it easier for individuals to connect with one another
Will technology preserve or enhance human connection in the classroom is by far a great question. Technology does make it easier to connect you leave an imprint everywhere you go online. I think as much as it enhances communication it also hinders it.
Pedagogical knowledge (PK) is teachers’ deep knowledge about the processes and practices or methods of teaching and learning. They encompass, among other things, overall educational purposes, values, and aims. This generic form of knowledge applies to understanding how students learn, general classroom management skills, lesson planning, and student assessment.
This is definitely important you need organization for the students to grow and succeed
Understanding how these affordances and constraints of specific technologies influence what teachers do in their classrooms is not straightforward and may require rethinking teacher education and teacher professional development
Access to different technologies and understanding the constraints of each is important. It's necessary to limit what technology is in the classroom and how long the students will spend on it. It's also important that there is balance.
Over time, these technologies achieve a transparency of perception (Bruce & Hogan, 1998); they become commonplace and, in most cases, are not even considered to be technologies
This is accurate. I would not consider a pencil to be technology.
effective teaching depends on flexible access to rich, well-organized and integrated knowledge from different domains (Glaser, 1984; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Shulman, 1986, 1987), including knowledge of student thinking and learning, knowledge of subject matter, and increasingly, knowledge of technology.
This is important. You want your students to be encouraged and engaged. In order to do that you need to understand what's important to them and how they learn.
We need to harness these new technologies for learning rather than distraction.
This is a great point. Sometimes we find ourselves abusing the technology we are gifted by using it to distract ourselves instead of fully engage the potential.
The “connected” in connected learning is about human connection as well as tapping the power of connected technologies.
This is an important clarification.
Young people learn best when actively engaged, creating, and solving problems they care about, and supported by peers who appreciate and recognize their accomplishments.
This is very true. Even adults are more attuned when they know that they are recognized for their accomplishments.
Connected learning is when someone is pursuing a personal interest with the support of peers, mentors and caring adults, and in ways that open up opportunities for them.
Definitely pinpoints the collaborated learning or connected learning. Collaboration depends on support.
This is the most accurate thing I have read being an artist. it is truly a challenge. The difference between the digital art form and the physical art form can be overwhelming. Its also an overwhelming task to be original in this digital world we live in.
Digital Health: Digital health skills include managing screen time and balancing students’ online and offline lives; managing online identity issues; dealing with issues relating to digital media, body image and sexuality; and understanding the differences between healthy and unhealthy online relationships.
Again supper important for children to understand just how important it is to not disclose their identity to just anyone online. Its also important to deal with the issues that are so commonly seen in digital media.
Teachers interviewed by MediaSmarts identified several key factors that limit the ability of educators to help students build digital literacy skills. They also offered some solutions to these problems, including the need to: provide students with authentic learning opportunities that are enhanced through technological tools; position teachers as facilitators and co-learners, instead of “drill and kill” experts; focus teacher training on how to use technology to enhance learning and meet curricular outcomes; and create reasonable policies and less restrictive filters in schools so that teachers can better help students develop and exercise good judgement.[12] Technology has shifted the traditional classroom paradigm that positions the teacher as the expert. This can be hard for many educators to accept, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. In our quickly evolving technological world, we are all learners, and teachers who are willing to share responsibility with students are more likely to be comfortable – and effective – in a networked classroom.
This is all good information. I think that when we ourselves show that we are all learners and create authentic learning opportunities the children gain not only respect for what they are learning but also for the teacher. It makes for a more comfortable learning environment.
content can also be copied, shared or spread at a trivial cost
This is a slight nightmare. Nothing is safe to manipulation.
young people need to develop knowledge, values and a whole range of critical thinking, communication and information management skills for the digital age
It's definitely important for children to develop an understanding of knowledge, values and definitely information management. Kids do not understand what being discrete and monitoring what you say and what info you give when it comes to being next to people let alone a whole internet full.
Today’s youth are often called “digital natives” by adults because of the seemingly effortless way they engage with all things technological.
This has definitely rang true for at least the past decade. I have heard on more than one occasion something along the lines of "Just ask the kid to show you how to work the phone."
The Arts: As more and more artistic production is created or distributed through digital media, arts courses also need to reflect the impacts of digital technology, such as how platform architecture influences aesthetics and self-presentation, and the effects of networked technology on arts industries and communities. The Internet has definitely been a mixed blessing for most arts industries, but students need to understand those changes – and be able to see what changes are coming – if they’re considering careers in the arts.
This is important to me as I am working toward teaching elementary arts. I love using multimedia design and I love using online to promote myself and art, but this also means my art is up for grabs by others online.
participate in the digital world has become the 4th basic foundational skill next to the three Rs—reading, writing, and arithmetic
As the internet has become a major learning tool that is literally at the tip of our fingers it makes sense that it has become a 4th basic foundation skill.
When most workers held jobs in industry, the key skills were knowing a trade, following directions, getting along with others, working hard, and being professional. To hold information-age jobs, people also need to think deeply about issues, solve problems creatively, work in teams, communicate clearly in many media, learn ever-changing technologies.
So, even though these are two different types of jobs I think that in this day and age they are integrated. Even the industrial job needs the updated communication of the tech world, because of just how vast the internet has become a main source of information.
coding in national school curricula; outside-school coding clubs; competitions and campaigns; and the subsidized distribution of low-cost computers with pre-loaded courses and applications.
This is ideal for building new digital tools that could impact future job skills. Most people want experience and if you have been coding since elementary school it is a huge advantage.
National ‘digital literacy for all’ initiatives; integration of digital skills development into school curricula;
Definitely important for the future. Technology being in the curriculum allows for children to develop the skill set necessary for our rapidly growing digital world.
In the place of ‘digital natives,’ I believe we need to support the rise of a new generation of ‘digital citizens,’ with the right skills for life, work and engagement in connected communities for today and tomorrow.
I think that it makes sense that the newer generation would be now digital citizens. The internet is definitely not the same as it was when it started to bloom into the world wide web in the early 90's. This new generation has only known the fast pace growing internet.
orchestrating opportuni-ties for the exchange of new literacies, both teachers and students may enhance their literacy skills and their potential for effective communication and information use
I think its valuable to the children to see that even the teacher is learning. That we are all lifelong learners. The opportunity for an exchange of information and literacy growth is important.
we live in an age of rapidly changing information and com-munication technologies,
The most accurate description of this day and age.
literacy and Internet use are beginning to slowly become more integrated into the public policies and curricula of nations in ways that have a direct impact on literacy education.
Very true. I know that my little cousins had "in class i pads" for everyone in class beginning in 1st grade. 3rd graders bring home their chrome books to work on google slides and presentations for book reports. Technology has definitely had an impact on literacy education.
Times piece viewed on the web may contain hyperlinks, videos, audio clips, images, interactive graphics, share buttons, or a comments section—features that force the reader to stop and make decisions
I like the aspect of digital learning but sometimes having so many options is obnoxious. I have accidentally hit a link before that ended up taking me to a different page and the rest of the article I was reading is now lost and a chore to find again.
digital authorship as "a form of social power.
This is definitely a huge deal in my opinion. There are so many ways to digitally get your point across and make sure your voice is heard. Social media has blossomed into a literal online journal that can make or break you and is easily accessible.