Blog Post #2 Where I am and Where I want to go
I think one of the most important things that I've learned about literacy is that it is more than just reading a paper text, writing out your understanding of said text via an essay, and then waiting for a grade to see if you really understand the text. Along my journey of studying to be an ELA teacher I've discovered that students' understanding of topics can be assessed using different forms of multimodal composition. Meaning, rather than a typical essay or question and answer worksheet, students can create different types of projects that show what they've learned.
Kids today are all about technology. As a teacher, I think it's important to tap into this technology and use it in the classroom. Why should students just have to write an essay? Why can't they show me what they've learned using other forms of composition like infographics, timelines, posters, public service announcements, the list can go on. Using these multimodal projects taps into your students creativity and allows them to expand in more ways than they would be able to by just writing an essay.
There's a lot I don't know about technology. I grew up with dial up internet and flip phones. In my English classroom we only wrote papers and did worksheets. The books we read in class had no relevance to me or my fellow classmates, it felt more like a rite of passage, you had to read this material to pass on to the next grade. Now that I'm preparing to have my own English classroom, I want the exact opposite for my students. I want them to be interested in what we are reading and find some relevance to what we are studying. The best way to do this is by incorporating technology and multimodal projects into the classroom. I want my students to be creative, making projects that show me what they've taken away from the material. I'm not an expert and I don't pretend to be one when it comes to technology. I anticipate my students teaching me new things and showing me new online resources. After all, a teacher never stops learning.
My most important goal for my classroom is to find material that is culturally relevant to my students. I want it to be engaging and I want my students to look back and see that they've actually learned something. I know I will be constantly reading new books, seeking out new forms of multimodal composition, and overall, just learning new information whether it be from articles written for teachers or from my students showing me new online platforms.
This website gives a lot of online resources that teachers can use in their classroom: https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-implementation
This website gives a breakdown of multimodal learning and how it can work in the classroom: https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/multimodal-learning/
This website shows how you can use Canva (a popular multimodal resource) in the classroom: https://www.canva.com/learn/how-to-use-canva-for-education/
This website explains why technology integration in the classroom is important: https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-importance
Hey Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right that literacy is more than just readings. Literacy comes in many different forms of understanding ways to do things. Looks like your on your way to become more literate in the technology world to better help your students. You made great points in comparison to when you grew up and how the times have truly changed and you recognize the great new tools teachers have at their disposal to better engage our students and I'm glad you are preparing to use them. Culture relevance is huge in the engagement of children, but also understanding what your students enjoy reading. In my eighth grade classroom for two different units of the class we were all spilt into little book clubs with 3-4 students per group. Rather than having us all read the same book as a class the teacher selected books for students that they gaged would be most interesting to the student and they did a fantastic job. I know I wouldn't hake liked one of my friend's book, but I love the one I did (and that's coming from someone who doesn't like to read. My teacher just knew the right book would help). This allowed for engagement of every student on a different level. The final project was the same for everyone but we all got to share our books and have mini discussions throughout with the others who read the book as well. I think it's a great idea in an English classroom so that one can break away from standard literature as well. I love what you showing and wish you the best of luck.
Caty S
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI love how you brought up the use of Canva as a resource for students to create projects. I absolutely love the different things that you can make on it and I could really see how it would motivate students to organize the information they learned into a format that they can understand the best while also being visually appealing. The idea of technology being integrated into the classroom is so important. In most of my education classes, the idea of preparing students with 21st-century skills is stressed all the time, and using technology is the perfect way to prepare students for life with technology outside the classroom. The resources you've listed on this blog post are a perfect way to bring technology to the ELA classroom-- your future students are going to have a very fun learning experience in your classroom!
-Anna