Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
DIGITAL STORYTELLING A FUN ROUTE
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"Ten years ago, a project like this would have been too complex and expensive to be within the reach of most 6th graders. But media-based stories are now every one's to create. And with the Internet as an international stage, they are every one's to watch and enjoy." (Ohler, 2006)
Reaction
Digital storytelling is an example of how technology has made it easier to be creative. Not only is it easier to be creative but your creativity can be seen by many people. I think digital storytelling is a great way to express yourself. We should take full advantage of technology like this when it comes to education. The mood and emotion of your story cannot be expressed as well in a written story when compared to digital storytelling. Not to mention it is much more fun to tell a story in this way. We should consider ourselves lucky that digital storytelling is not too expensive for an average student to use these days. Why would you not want to implement technology like this in your classroom?
References
Hodgson, K. (Artist). (2009). Keeping the mood light: digital storytelling and boolean. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://dogtrax.edublogs.org/2009/04/06/keeping-the-mood-light-digital-storytelling-and-boolean/
Ohler, J. (2006, January). The world of digital storytelling. Retrieved from http://www.jasonohler.com/pdfs/digitalStorytellingArticle1-2006.pdf
Related ArticlesThe Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
Friday, September 9, 2011
TEXTISM FAD RUNNING ON EMPTY
Quote
Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University and author of “Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World,” shares Crystal’s view. She predicts that the number of “textisms” will stop growing as people continue to develop more proficiency in using handheld devices and as the devices continue to grow more sophisticated than simple telephone touch pads. She adds that part of the appeal of texting shorthands is their novelty, and that that will fade. (Shea, 2010)
Reaction
Devices that people are using to text are getting more and more complicated and therefore textisms and abbreviations will begin to fizzle out. With many of the new phones it is easier and quicker to touch the entire word you are trying to use. Similar to T9 but even better you type in the first few letters and you have a large list of possible words you are trying to write. You simply touch that already correctly spelled word and move on. It's quicker than typing a 3 or 4 letter abbreviation that could be misinterpreted. I believe a lot of the abbreviations and textisms were somewhat of a fad. Younger kids got creative abbreviating words to create their own texting "style" . Some of these will stick but, like most fads the majority will fade.
Related Articles
David Crystal on It's Only a Theory, defending the proposition that texting is good for the English language. In this YouTube video David Crystal talks about how teens leave letters out of words when texting because it is cool. And that they could not leave out certain letters if they did not know the correct spelling in the first place.
Reference
Ammon, Shea. "The Keypad Solution." New York Times. 22Jan2010: n. page. Web. 9 Sep. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/magazine/24FOB-onlanguage-t.html>.
Crystal, David. "David Crystal on It's Only a Theory S01E02." 21Oct2009. Online Posting to Gassalasca2. Web. 9 Sep. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7WSzxQ0nX4>.
Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University and author of “Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World,” shares Crystal’s view. She predicts that the number of “textisms” will stop growing as people continue to develop more proficiency in using handheld devices and as the devices continue to grow more sophisticated than simple telephone touch pads. She adds that part of the appeal of texting shorthands is their novelty, and that that will fade. (Shea, 2010)
Reaction
Devices that people are using to text are getting more and more complicated and therefore textisms and abbreviations will begin to fizzle out. With many of the new phones it is easier and quicker to touch the entire word you are trying to use. Similar to T9 but even better you type in the first few letters and you have a large list of possible words you are trying to write. You simply touch that already correctly spelled word and move on. It's quicker than typing a 3 or 4 letter abbreviation that could be misinterpreted. I believe a lot of the abbreviations and textisms were somewhat of a fad. Younger kids got creative abbreviating words to create their own texting "style" . Some of these will stick but, like most fads the majority will fade.
Related Articles
David Crystal on It's Only a Theory, defending the proposition that texting is good for the English language. In this YouTube video David Crystal talks about how teens leave letters out of words when texting because it is cool. And that they could not leave out certain letters if they did not know the correct spelling in the first place.
Reference
Ammon, Shea. "The Keypad Solution." New York Times. 22Jan2010: n. page. Web. 9 Sep. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/magazine/24FOB-onlanguage-t.html>.
Crystal, David. "David Crystal on It's Only a Theory S01E02." 21Oct2009. Online Posting to Gassalasca2. Web. 9 Sep. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7WSzxQ0nX4>.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Multimodal Learner
According to my VARK Questionnaire results I am a "Multimodal" learner. This means that I can learn in many different ways. I totally agree with this. I do like to learn in many different ways. I usually do many different things when studying for a test. I always go to class and listen and take notes. Then when I am studying I might re-arrange and re-write these notes so I can understand them better. I do my homework so that I can DO what I will be asked to do on the test. I think this was an very accurate account of how I learn and I will continue to study in different ways in order to learn.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
REV UP LESSON PLANS WITH WORDLE AND POLL EVERYWHERE
In our Instruction Technology class (EDUC 2201) at Fairmont state we did an activity using "Poll Everywhere" and "Wordle". This activity definitely facilitated and inspired learning and creativity. First we posted a poll a Poll Everywhere, which is an audience response system, to get to know our classmates. Then we were able to view those results in a Wordle which is a fun text anaylsis tool.
With Math as my subject matter I believe Poll Everywhere has potential to be used in various different ways. The simplest being to poll the answer to a tricky Math problem. Then we could use the various answers and plug then into the problem in class and prove why they are correct or incorrect. This would be a good way for students to reflect on what they are doing wrong. Also it will show me as a teacher if students are making some of the same mistakes and where I may need to focus my lesson.
Using Poll Everywhere would be an more engaging and fun way for my students to learn instead of just assigning homework problems that they answer on paper at home. Poll Everywhere encourages participation and collaboration. Students will be more willing to participate when evidence of other class member's participation is right in front of then. Collaboration occurs when discussing the poll results and comparing answers with classmates.
With Math as my subject matter I believe Poll Everywhere has potential to be used in various different ways. The simplest being to poll the answer to a tricky Math problem. Then we could use the various answers and plug then into the problem in class and prove why they are correct or incorrect. This would be a good way for students to reflect on what they are doing wrong. Also it will show me as a teacher if students are making some of the same mistakes and where I may need to focus my lesson.
Using Poll Everywhere would be an more engaging and fun way for my students to learn instead of just assigning homework problems that they answer on paper at home. Poll Everywhere encourages participation and collaboration. Students will be more willing to participate when evidence of other class member's participation is right in front of then. Collaboration occurs when discussing the poll results and comparing answers with classmates.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
LANGUAGE TAKES A SHORTCUT
Quote
"Before we despair that language is going to hell in a handcart, we should remember two lessons. First, normativeness in language goes through cycles, much like taste in music and politics. All is not lost. And second, regardless of the swings that language goes through, there is room for individual schools or teachers to set their own standards. Most schools have abandoned teaching handwriting, but a few have held their ground, to the good fortune of their students. Just so, if you choose to insist on written precision, students generally will follow your lead." (Baron, 2009)
Reaction
Change in language is an aspect of our evolving society and it is not the end of the world. We should embrace this change like we have done with many other aspects of our changing times. Language itself has always been evolving. We can see evidence of this when deciphering the required Shakespeare readings in high school. I do believe that the correct form of grammar and language should be taught and used appropriately. Like Baron says "there is room for individual schools and teachers to set their own standards". Most people are afraid of change especially when they don't understand it. Much of the older generation have no idea what "omg" or "LOL" stand for therefore they just think it is ignorant. We must accept change and all the things that come with it in order to continue to grow as a society and a species.
Reference
Baron, N. S. (2009, March). Are digital media changing language?. Educational Leadership: Literacy 2.0, 66(6), Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-Digital-Media-Changing-Language%C2%A2.aspx
Related Articles
62 Common Internet & Texting Acronyms
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