Building Media Literacy

Using Blogger, create a post in which you describe how building media literacy in the K-12 classroom will enhance students’ skills needed in a global society.

Students may have been born with technology in their hands, and can navigate new apps like they created them, but they need more than that to survive in this technological world. Students need to be digitally literate. According to NAMLE (n.d.) media includes “all electronic or digital means and print or artistic visuals used to transmit messages”.  Media literacy, therefore, encompasses a wide variety of mass communication methods, such as text in books, blogs or magazines; as well as visual images such as those in commercials, advertisements, and online videos. 

Learning to decode and make meaning of these messages, as well as determining bias and audience are skills that our students need in order to be successful both in school and out. Practicing these skills in a safe environment such as the classroom can help students to discover meaning and develop understandings about media literacy that they can then translate to the communications they come across as a global citizen. 

When incorporating media literacy into the K-12 classroom, it is important to be explicit, teaching students about audience, bias, reliability, and to question what it is they see and hear, especially with regards to the internet. According to Thoman and Jolls (2003) students need "to learn how to find what they need to know when they need to know it-- and to have the higher order thinking skills to analyze and evaluate whether the information they find is useful for what they want to know." 

Although that may seem like a huge task, there are some basic things we can do in the classroom to foster those skills in our students.First and foremost, we need to allow our students to explore, and discover for themselves. Providing opportunities for students to delve deeper into the images and other media they see can easily become a learning experience. These learning experiences can be heightened by simply asking questions. For students of all ages, we can begin by asking questions such as "who is the creator of the message?" Simply knowing who created the message can help give insight into why they created it, what their bias was, what their motivation is as well as if they are a reliable source of information. Another question we can ask students is to try and determine why a message was created. This can again give a student insight into the message and how they choose to understand it. (Thoman & Jolls, 2003)

It may sound simple, to provide students opportunities to explore various media, and to facilitate investigation through questioning, but these these two techniques can help students to build the skills necessary to be media literate in our global society. 

Resources

National Association for Media Literacy Education. (n.d.). Media Literacy Defined. National Association for Media Literacy Education. Retrieved February 25, 2014, from http://namle.net/publications/media-literacy-definitions/

Thoman, E., & Jolls, T. (2003, January 1). Literacy for the 21st Century: An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from http://www.medialit.org/sites/default/files/01_MLKorientation.pdf

Web 2.0 Tools

http://gastonguidolin.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/web_2.01.jpg

Since the dawn of the Web 2.0, there have been an ever increasing number of tools that allow people to create, produce and interact with web content.
There are many different type of Web 2.0 tools that can be used in the classroom. There are tools that can be used to create virtual learning networks for blended or online learning. There are also social media tools, such as Twitter,  that can be used by students to engage in discussions with their peers and experts around the world. 

Some tools that can be utilized in the classroom include tools such as Moodle and Edmodo. Teachers can utilize these sites to facilitate learning opportunities for students. Both Moodle and Edmodo are considered virtual learning environments and each "emphasizes classroom and community building" (Light & Polin, 2010). According to Moodle.org (2014), the site is "guided by social constructionist pedagogy" is can easily be set up for an entire district to use for free. Similarly, Edmodo.com (2014) describes their tool as " designed to get students excited about learning" where teachers can monitor student progress. 

http://goo.gl/PlZPUjhttp://goo.gl/PlZPUj

Virtual learning environment tools, such as Moodle and Edmodo can be used to engage all students in discussions. These tools would be great to use in the classroom and could be incorporated into centers or as a whole group activity, this type of blended learning can increase student motivation and engagement. This is especially helpful in a classroom where some voices are dominant in class discussions, leaving many other students apprehensive to join in. Additionally, teachers and schools looking to "flip" their classrooms may use tools such as Moodle or Edmodo. These tools allow for a consistent place for students to find materials to prepare for the next day's lesson. Allowing students to digest materials outside of the classroom, for example when learning about ancient Egypt,  can facilitate greater, more in depth conversations the next day in the classroom. 

http://altazorchillan.cl/Colegio/images/logo_edmodo.png

Another type of tool the can be used in the classroom are social media sites, such as Twitter. Although Twitter to some is a way to narrate every move they make in life, it can also be a valuable learning tool. According to a study by Blessing, Blessing and Fleck (2012) the use of Twitter in the classroom can be an "effective way to increase memory for important class concepts.” One of the benefits of Twitter is that each message is limited to 140 characters, therefore students must practice being precise and stating what it is they are looking for in a short space. Similarly, one can review several tweets in a short amount of time, looking for pertinent information. 

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/ht_twitter_logo_jef_120321_wblog.jpg

There doesn't appear to be only one right way to use Twitter in the classroom. Jeff Horwitz, A second grade teacher incorporated Twitter into his classroom, allowing students to tweet throughout the day. He praised the tool, explaining it allowed students to “have authentic writing opportunities with an authentic audience”(Kist, Doyle, Hayes, Horwitz, Kuzior 2010). Twitter can be used to "follow" experts, and ask questions about current issues. If we had a tool such as Twitter when I was in high school, I am sure it would have greatly added to my contemporary issues course. Further, Twitter can be used to connect students, whether they're in different periods or different countries to each other and their learning. Another added benefit to using social media tools, such as Twitter, provides a great opportunity to talk to students of all ages about netiquette and digital citizenship. 

Though there are many other Web 2.0 tools available, these tools are a great place to start. They can be used in a variety of ways and can help to get students involved in their own learning as well as motivate them to continue learning at their own pace. 

http://www.appappeal.com/web-2-0-application-world-mosaic/

Resources

Blessing, S. B., Blessing, J. S., & Fleck, B. K. (2012). Using Twitter to Reinforce Classroom 

           Concepts. Teaching of Psychology, 39(4), 268-271. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from        

           http://top.sagepub.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/content/39/4/268.full.pdf+html

Edmodo.com. (2014). Edmodo.com. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from https://edmodo.com

Kist, W., Doyle, K., Hayes, J., Horwitz, J., & Kuzior, J. T. (2010). Web 2.0 in the elementary 
           classroom: Portraits of possibilities.Language Arts, 88(1), 62-68. Retrieved from 
           http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/748977628?
           accountid=3783

Light, D., & Polin, D. K. (2010, June 28). Integrating Web 2.0 tools into the classroom: Changing the 
           culture of learning. EDC Center for Children and Technology. Retrieved February 20, 2014,      
           from http://cct.edc.org/sites/cct.edc.org/files/publications/Integrating%20Web2.0.PDF

Moodle.org. (2014). Moodle.org. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from https://moodle.org/

Evaluating Technological Tools

There seem to be an endless number of new tools that claim to revolutionize education. When looking for a technology tool that will help to enhance either your teaching or learning, it is important to use the best tool for the job. Some of the more common tools that are used for sharing ideas and learning are blogs, Twitter, and video sites such as YouTube. Additionally, there are sites such as Pinterest that provide links to great resources, including blogs, Twitter accounts to follow and great resources on video sites such as YouTube.
Blogs are great tools that can be used to enhance student learning, allowing for people to both give and receive ideas, feedback and motivation. 

Blogs can be used in many ways, either by creating the blog yourself or finding blogs created by other experts and educators. As a k-6 technology teacher I seek out blogs from others in my field, such as Pine Glen LTC, a librarian and technology teacher duo that integrate the two areas into their teaching, while also offering push in services for teachers. Through blogs, I have been able to generate ideas, as well as ask questions of the bloggers and other blog readers to clarify any of my confusion or misconception on a topic. Since I do not have a fellow technology teacher in my own district, blogs, Twitter and YouTube have been invaluable resources for my professional learning network, allowing me to communicate with people near and far, and benefit from a large pool of knowledge and experience. 

Another tool that teachers should use to add to their professional learning networks is Twitter. According to Bedell (2011) with Twitter you can find educators and other professionals that can help add to your knowledge, support your ideas, help you think through things, and really help give you a lot of resources that can help you as an educator.” Following others on Twitter can provide inspiration and motivation to continue to use innovative ideas in your own teaching. Twitter also provides you with a seemingly endless supply of ideas, where it is encouraged to "follow" and talk to strangers. Questions can be posed, and answered by experts in the field in a matter of moments. Laura and Dan, of the blog Pine Glen LTC, are also both on Twitter. Although I began by following Dan, the technology teacher of the two, I also follow Laura, having met both of them at the Christa McAuliffe conference in December of 2013. Following both Dan and Laura provides me with great insight into how the two collaborate, and bring library and technology together. Since that is the vision I have for my own school, I often use their tweets as inspiration to continue working towards that goal. 

Another tool that can be useful to educators is Pinterest. Pinterest can be used to follow other uses' bookmarked ideas, including blogs, videos, as well as list of twitter users and ed chats. Additionally Pinterest offers a variety of ways to collect ideas, which can be incorporated into your own teaching. Ideas can be gathered from people all around the world, and the search function allows you to browse through pins from all users. Before beginning my current position as a k-6 technology teacher, I went on a pinning frenzy, gathering lesson ideas, blog referrals and web resources to use with my students. 

Finally,  YouTube can be a great resource for teachers as well. Not only are there great videos that can be used for learning, but they can also be used to help teachers develop their own teaching skills. Videos can be used as tutorials, showing and explaining valuable teaching resources, or even classroom management suggestions. YouTube videos can be posted showing a teacher using a variety of teaching techniques. Using these videos, teachers can discover ways to incorporate these tools into their own teaching. Similarly, teachers that are experiencing struggles in the classroom, can post a short video asking for feedback from other users.

                  Find me!

                         SAU43 Tech Blog

                         Tech With Ms. O Blog

                         Pinterest

                         Twitter @TechwithMsO

Resources

Bedell, J. (2011, October 7). Twitter as a Professional Learning Network.mp4.YouTube. Retrieved

February 10, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VukO2jWBoOY

Moral and Legal Issues

Technology can be a very powerful tool to use in education. However, with great power, there are also comes the potential for moral and legal issues. Legal issues should be addressed through Responsible Use Agreements (RUA), providing a clear cut policy for all users, providing information on what is acceptable and what will not be tolerated.

Legal issues can include:

• Cyberbullying in regards to race or religion (Smith, 2014)
• Plagiarism in published works
• Piracy
• Fair Use

Wisegeek.org (2012)

On the other hand, moral issues aren't necessarily cut and dry, and are things that require a deeper understanding on student's part. Moral issues can often be introduced through internet safety or digital citizenship lessons. When moral issues arise, it is often important to look at each situation independently to determine the proper course of action that school officials should take. 


Moral issues can include:

• Cyberbullying (Smith, 2014)
• plagiarism in non published student writing
• Screen time limitations
• Student privacy concerns (Lane-Kelso, 2011)
• Inappropriate content
• Inaccurate or hoax content
• Universal access to technology

Regardless of the potential implications, it is important that schools embrace technology and develop plans to be proactive with regards to these moral or legal issues. Technology is here to stay and ignoring the moral or legal issues that may arise will not make them go away. 

Resources:

Lane-Kelso, D. M. (2011, December 27). Ethical Issues in Technology Use. YouTube. Retrieved 

            February 1, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF_9YdvIFDQ

Smith, M. (Director) (2014, January 24). Bullying. Professional Development. Lecture conducted 

            from SAU 43, Newport, NH. 

WiseGeek.org (Designer). (2012). Scales of Justice[Web Drawing]. Retrieved from 

            http://www.wisegeek.org/what-are-the-scales-of-justice.htm