Blogging in the Classroom

What is it?
A Weblog, or "Blog," is a website that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer. Blogging sites suitable for the classroom include: Blogger, Edublogs, KidBlog, and WordPress.

Technology and Literacy?
"Blogging is about sharing. You can share opinions, thoughts, ideas, concepts, resources, links, activities, lessons, etc. The first step in creating a blog is determining the focus of your blog. What are you going to discuss? What are you going to share? ... Blogging provides an area for you to reflect. The great thing about sharing your reflections is it provides an opportunity for you to communicate with others about your personal reflections. In education, discussion alone can breed some of the best outcomes for you as a teacher. The great thing about Blogging is that it offers up a way to find other people who share your interest because they will read and comment on your blog. ... What is also great about a blog is that you don't necessarily have to share. It can be a private electronic journal..." (Zimmer, 2010).

Why should students blog in the classroom? Blogging provides students with an authentic audience, whether it's their teacher, classmates, family, relatives, another class/school, etc. Blogging engages and motivates students to write by providing an alternative to traditional classroom writing. Blogging helps students work on spelling and typing. Blogging allows for instant feedback through the comments function, which can further motivate students to write more and better. Blogging offers a venue for students to explore their own creativity. Blogging enables teachers to educate students on ethics, netiquette, digital citizenship, internet safety, copyright and academic property, cooperation and collaboration, writing processes, and much more.

As a English Language Arts secondary teacher, I would innovate my classroom with blogging in a multitude of ways. I would have students journal through a personal blog which would be kept private and have comments provided by their teacher (i.e. me). These personal, private blog posts would consist primarily of reflection over their work. Meta-reflective posts can help lead to changes in their craft as a writer. I would also have students peer edit through blogging; not only could students showcase their work, but classmates could comment and provide constructive criticism as well as expose themselves to other styles of writing by reading each others' work.

By innovating my classroom with blogging, I would begin by introducing students to a "Online Expectations, Guidelines, and Rubric" document, which would be tailored to the curriculum. I would not only have students sign the document, but I would require them to take the document home to their parents along with a letter to the parents explaining what their child(ren) would be participating in and learning in the classroom. I would also clearly present how the technology works and why it is being used, specifically focusing on its benefits to the students.

Once the class has begun blogging, I would validate blogging within the classroom, highlighting blog posts which were done well. I would allow comments on blogs to count as classroom participation. I would give random, non-evaluative feedback on blogs to allows students to not only see that - yes - the teacher is reading the blog posts, but also see that the teacher cares about and is interested in what they (i.e. students) say and think. Lastly, I would model blogging by participating in the blogging assignments.

I believe blogging is extremely beneficial in the classroom. Blogging helps students develop a multitude of skills, kindle an interest in learning, and become engaged and motivated in their class.

References

Zimmer, M. (2010, May 23). Tools for the 21st century teacher. issuu, Retrieved from http://issuu.com/mzimmer557/docs/tools_for_the_21st_century_teacher

VoiceThread : Collaborative, Multimedia Slideshow

What is it?
"A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too.Users can doodle while commenting, use multiple identities, and pick which comments are shown through moderation. VoiceThreads can even be embedded to show and receive comments on other websites and exported to MP3 players or DVDs to play as archival movies" ("Voicethread," 2011). VoiceThread is available for free at http://voicethread.com/

Literacy and Technology?
"VoiceThread is especially beneficial within the classroom. 'Teachers and students are using VoiceThread as a storytelling tool, a deep thinking tool, a research tool, an expository communication tool, and even an assessment tool' (Dyck,2007). VoiceThread has brought storytelling to the 21st century and allows stories to be shared around the world. 'VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to leave comments in 5 ways.' Through the use of comments, VoiceThread creates an interactive environment in which individuals can share commons interests and ideas. It can also be used as an assessment tool for examining others opinions and as a tool for teachers" (Dierolf & Frazier, 2008). "It provides a creative outlet for students and encourages the sharing of ideas. But the uses of VoiceThread are not limited to storytelling. VoiceThread has unlimited possibilities in that it can include voice, type, doodling, unlimited slides or just a simple slide. It can include pictures or typed documents. It can be embedded or exported to other destinations and multiple identities can be created under one account. This is great for teachers who can establish one account and have kids use multiple identities to create and comment. VoiceThread can be used to collect information as well by uploading a simple slide and evaluating comments. Not only can VoiceThread be used as a creative outlet but it can also be used to learn more about others experiences and views. VoiceThread makes it possible to examine the thinking of others through pictures, text, doodling, and voice" (Dierolf & Frazier, 2008).

VoiceThread provides a document entailing how to set-up a VoiceThread in the classroom: "Getting Started in the Classroom" ("Getting started in," 2009). The document discusses student participation, outlines the creation and monitoring of student "identities," and the basics of getting the most out of an educator account. VoiceThread in the Classroom also provides tips for teachers with regards to integrating VoiceThread into the classroom (Dierolf & Frazier, 2008):

1. Start small. Begin by creating your own VoiceThread on which students may comment. As your students become more comfortable with VoiceThread, they can make an individual project.
2. Model appropriate comments for students. Give them prompts to start their comments like, "This reminds me of..." or "I'm surprised that..."
3. Make sure to discuss internet safety and copyright issues when starting a VoiceThread project.
4. Under one account, you can create several avatars. You can easily monitor students from your account.
5. If your VoiceThread is public, make sure to monitor all comments.

Voicethread 4 Education wiki provides a PowerPoint slideshow created by Tom Barrett which provides 26 ways and tips to use VoiceThread in the classroom (Barrett, 2011).

Examples of Classroom VoiceThreads:

The Lightening Thief on VoiceThread : A good example of a collaborative book report.

The Great Wave : A discussion of the Japanese print, "The Great Wave" by Hokusai, by a third-grade class.

Federal Holidays: New Holiday Proposals : Best practices for student publishing.

Using VoiceThread to Prepare for The Odyssey Common Assessment : Ninth-grade students prepare for a common assessment on The Odyssey by annotating an unseen passage.

VoiceThread Example Projects : Weird Inventions, Using VoiceThread to Analyze Writing and Images, Student Exchange: Hands Across the Border Sharing the Adventure, Scientific Process, and more.

More ideas?
InfoTech4Lrng provides a wonderful compilation of ideas for using VoiceThreads, consisting of links to blog posts detailing VoiceThread uses in various content areas, collaborative projects, and professional development ("Voicethread in Action," 2008). "Voicethread in Action"

References

Barrett, T. (2011). 26 interesting ways* to use voicethread in the classroom. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_245f2nkv3g3

Barrett, T. (2011). 26 interesting ways* to use voicethread in the classroom [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com

Dierolf, D., & Frazier, M. (2008, December 08). Voicethread in the classroom. Retrieved from http://cnx.org/content/m18419/latest/

Getting started in the classroom. (2009, April). Retrieved from http://voicethread.com/media/misc/getting_started_in_the_classroom.pdf

Voicethread. (2011). Retrieved from http://voicethread.com/

Voicethread in action [Web log message]. (2008, March 20). Retrieved from http://arllennium.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/voicethread-in-action/

PlotBot : Collaborative Screenwriting Software

What is it?
"PlotBot is a very helpful application for screenwriters. Users can create a script on their own, with a partner or as a group. PlotBot works much like web based text editors. Each user can add their content and updates to the document. The application records each user’s addition or change so they can be removed if necessary. PlotBot also manages the formatting of the script so the user can focus on the action, dialogue and other creative elements. The application is accessible in numerous languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, even a comical “pirate” language. Users can also choose to set their projects to private for exclusive access or public so anyone can view and participate" ("Plotbot -," 2011).  PlotBot contains an interactive tutorial called the Sandbox. The Sandbox is like a mini-project which will not publish to the public or take up one of the two free private projects users are given. The Sandbox allows users to learn how to use the program without feeling as though they are diving into the full-blown project; however, users can convert their mini-project from the Sandbox into a project with one click. PlotBot is available for free at http://www.plotbot.com/


Literacy and Technology?
PlotBot could help students develop their literacy skills through post-reading activities, including evaluating (i.e. form opinions, make judgments, and develop ideas after reading) and creating projects/artifacts (i.e. create a project or artifact as a culminating activity that illustrates what they have learned). PlotBot could also help students develop their literacy skills through during writing activities (e.g. drafting/composing, revising, editing, responding, conferencing) and post-writing activities (e.g. sharing, publishing, evaluating, presentation, and performance). With regards to writing genres, students could develop their literacy skills in narrative, creative, and transactional genres. Through PlotBot, students are even able to develop their technology literacy skills by demonstrating "creative thinking in the design and development of innovative technology products and problem solving" as well as collaborating "with peers, experts, and others using interactive technology" ("Technology literacy 6-8," 2009).

When I student taught Romeo & Juliet to freshmen English Language Arts students, I wish I would have known about PlotBot. Not only would students have been exposed to analyzing and comprehending a screenplay, but they could have also had the opportunity to further their understanding of a screenplay through the development of their own screenplay. I would have had my students work in groups of 2-4 to either expand upon a scene, change the happenings in a particular scene, or create an alternative ending for Romeo & Juliet. I believe this activity would help students develop their literacy skills in post-reading (e.g. evaluating and creating projects/artifacts), during writing (e.g. drafting/composing, revising, editing, responding, conferencing), and post-writing (e.g. sharing, publishing, evaluating, presentation, and performance). Through a collaborating writing assignment, students would also develop skills in active and tolerant listening, helping one another in mastering content, giving and receiving constructive criticism, and managing disagreements.

"Students could be reading a book in class and could write out a chapter into a screenplay and then act out the chapter. It would also be a great resource for any class that has students creating movies or Podcasts. This would enable students to write the script and storyboard before creating their final product. This could also be used for a drama class for writing scripts to be performed. An additional possibility for this resource is for students who are re-enacting historical events. Students can work together to plan outlines for historical characters before bring the characters to life" (Irish & Wood, 2011).


More ideas?
eHow provides a comprehensive list of additional screenwriting tools, including Scripped, PlotBot, Scriptbuddy, and Celtx. This list describes each tool and what type of screenwriting it would be best used for (Hose, 2011). How to Write Screenplays Online

References

Hose, C. (2011). How to write screenplays online. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_5038519_write-screenplays-online.html

Irish, S., & Wood, A. (2011). Web 2.0 educator tools - plotbot. Retrieved from http://www.webtwotools.com/plotbot.html

Plotbot - web-based collaborative screenwriting software. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.appappeal.com/app/plotbot/

Star & Brad (2009). Plotbot. Retrieved from http://www.plotbot.com/

Technology literacy 6-8. (2009). Retrieved from http://iowacorescience.pbworks.com/w/page/8866875/Technology Literacy 6-8

Voki : Personalized Speaking Avatars

What is it?
"Voki is a free service that allows a user to create personalized speaking avatars and use them on a user's blog, profile, and in email messages. Students don’t need a microphone to record on Voki; they can use any telephone, including their personal cellphone. Voki recordings can be called in by phone, created with text-to-speech (typing), using a microphone, or by uploading an MP3 file" ("Voki," 2011). Students can remain anonymous by not revealing their actual picture; instead, students create and use an avatar when publishing to the world. There are a few weaknesses to Voki. "The maximum recording time is 60 seconds. If too many students are working at once on their recordings using their cellphones, the website can experience slow running time" ("Voki," 2011). Voki requires an email address to set-up an account in order for users to “keep” his/her Voki creations. Also, "when typing text you may need to type phonetically so that the voki pronounces the word correctly" ("Voki," 2011). Voki is available for free at http://www.voki.com/

Voki Classroom is the educational version of Voki. While there are many similarities to the original Voki, Voki Classroom allows for a maximum recording time of 90 seconds, as opposed to 60 seconds. There is also no student registration needed through Voki Classroom's creation of class accounts, which allow for multiple class accounts under which the teacher can create multiple student accounts. Teachers can even set lessons to private. There is also unlimited e-mail support and Voki classroom tutorials. There are also no ads in the classroom site, whereas the original Voki is supported by some advertising. However, Voki Classroom is not free; Voki Classroom costs $29.95/year ($2.50/month) for a 1 year subscription or $44.95/2 years ($1.87/month) for a 2 year subscription. Voki Classroom is available at http://www.voki.com/products.php


Literacy and Technology?
Voki is a wonderful Web 2.0 tool for helping students develop their literacy skills in a variety of ways. Voki could be used as a pre-reading activity, specifically for developing phonetic awareness (i.e. hear, identify and manipulate sounds in words). Voki could also be used as a post-reading activity, specifically for summarizing (i.e. summarize or paraphrase the major points of a story after reading it), retelling (i.e. tell what they remember about a story), sharing (share information with others about books they have read or heard), discussing (i.e. discuss favorite parts or elements of a story), evaluating (i.e. form opinions, make judgments, and develop ideas after reading), or creating projects/artifacts (i.e. create a project or artifact as a culminating activity that illustrates what they have learned). Some possible Voki literacy activities could include (Stephens & Rubincam, 2010):

• After creating a Voki, students can record short poems, interview questions, answers etc. for assignments or assessment.
• A Voki could serve as a tool for students to record and listen to themselves reading a short passage to work on pronunciation and word fluency. This could be especially beneficial for E.S.L./E.L.L students.
• Vokis can be used as a “secret self” by students to discuss issues and ideas if they are shy or need help.

Voki is content friendly and can be integrated into any curriculum area. Fun, interesting, and engaging, Voki is the type of assignment students would not mind spending time on. In addition to being user- and viewer-friendly, Voki has the "ability to share 'voki-videos' with others (students, teachers, parents, other classes)" through e-mail as well as embedding in blogs, webpages, and social networking sites ("Voki," 2011). Voki provides a new method of student presentations; by preparing a Voki creation, students must carefully organize their thoughts ("Voki," 2011).

More ideas?
Literacy Resources on edublogs provides a list of suggestions for innovating a literacy classroom with Voki. Their suggestions are provided below ("Voki for digital," 2009):

1. Create an avatar for a character in a book and tell us something they would say.
2. Create a series of characters from a book, e.g. the wolf and the three little pigs, and tell us the story form thier point of view. It would have to be short because the characters only speak for 1 minute.
3. Put together a 1 minute speech about a favorite book, trying to persuade somebody to do something etc. and get a voki character to speak it. This would be particularly good for children who are reluctant to stand up and talk in front of others.
4. Get a Voki to speak five or so words that you want to learn how to spell and leave gaps after you have said them to give you time to write the word down. Use the Voki to practice your spellings.
5. If you use wikis with children, they could produce a Voki to go on their page to introduce themselves. In fact they could be quite useful when you might not want to include real images of children.
6. The children could produce characters to read out poetry that they have written. These could be shared with a link/penpal school.
7. Tell a story in five Vokis – a bit like "tell a story in six words" or "tell a story in five frames."
8. Explore different points of view from a story. Instead of Voices in the Park it could be Vokis in the Park. Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne tells the story of going to the park from four characters viewpoints.

Voki's website also has a collection of lesson plans that include thoughts for using Voki in the classroom. Ideas include all subjects and levels from primary school to the university classroom (Oddcast Inc., 2011). Voki Lesson Plans

References

Oddcast Inc. (2011). Voki. Retrieved from http://www.voki.com/

Oddcast Inc. (2011). Voki lesson plan database. Retrieved from http://www.voki.com/lesson_plans.php

Stephens, D., & Rubincam, N. (2010). Literacy - voki. Retrieved from http://innovations2010unco.pbworks.com/w/page/28129621/Literacy- Voki

Voki. (2011). Retrieved from http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/Voki

Voki for digital storytelling part 1. (2009, January 20). Retrieved from http://literacyresourcesandideas.edublogs.org/2009/01/20/voki-for-digital-storytelling-part-1/

MyEbook : Virtually Publish Your Book and Sell It

What is it?
"MyEbook is designed to completely change the way that new books are published on the internet" ("Myebook -," 2009). MyEbook allows for the creation, publishing, and sharing of online books. It is built on top of a social networking application which allows users to join "communities" (e.g. Facebook groups) in order to spread word about their recently published eBook. With MyEbook, anyone can upload or create from scratch simple or complex page designs and covers. Publishing is as simple as the click of a single button, and users can create as many publications as they want. Best of all - it's entirely FREE! Regardless of personal or corporate publications, users can upload, create, and publish novels, childrens books, magazines, comics, photo albums, leaflets, brochures, and instruction manuals. Want something interactive? No problem! Users are able to even embed or link to videos, audio, documents, images, and flash files to make their books fully interactive. MyEbook is available for free at http://www.myebook.com/

Literacy and Technology?
"Publishing student writing encourages the reluctant writer, strengthens students' self-confidence, rewards interest, and promotes a positive attitude toward literature. What do an Olympic competitor and a successful writer have in common? Practice! Lots and lots of practice. Both people need to learn skills and master a form. Talent is important, but practice creates the solid base that allows that talent to soar. Like athletes, writers learn by doing. Good writing requires the same kind of dedicated practice that athletes put in. Young writers often lack the support they need to practice writing and develop their talent to the fullest, though. They find it hard to receive validation for their work. Feedback provided in English class might not produce the same sense of self-worth that being published produces. Many schools lack adequate facilities to publish students' work, however" (Chaika, 2005). MyEbook provides a fantastic opportunity for students to create, publish, and share their work with an audience other than their student peers and classroom teacher. Students can share their work with members of their community as well as members of the MyEbook community, many of which are professional authors! Offering students this type of opportunity would allow them the validation and motivation teachers hope to instill in their students.


More ideas?
Students can improve literacy skills by working with a variety of literary genres on a single topic to be published as a multi-genre research paper at the end of the course on MyEbook. "Multigenre research paper is an alternative to the traditional five paragraph essay commonly used in secondary education. It emphasizes the use of multiple genres to represent a given research topic. With this type of project, students are expected to research their given topic and then present the information they gathered using a variety of genres, with an emphasis on writing and composition. The genres created to represent the topic can be put together through the creation of a theme and bracketed by an introduction and conclusion. This creates a unified research paper that avoids the structure of a traditional five paragraph essay" ("Multigenre research paper," 2011). This type of writing project was first described by Tom Romano in his 1995 book Writing With Passion: Life Stories, Multiple Genres and later expanded upon in his 2000 book Blending Genre, Altering Style: Writing Multigenre Papers.

Publishing student work is not only restricted to the English Language Arts classroom. Many other content areas can foster student literacy and writing within their own subject areas. Inspiring Teachers provides a wonderful list of tips and ideas for publishing student work in a variety of content areas, including English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Math, Art, and Physical Education ("Tips - publishing," 2011). Tips - Publishing Student Work

References

Chaika, G. (2005). Encourage student writing -- publish on the web!. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech042.shtml

Multigenre research paper. (2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multigenre_research_paper

MyEbook. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.myebook.com/

Myebook - literary publishing e-commerce site. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.appappeal.com/app/myebook/

Tips - publishing student work. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.inspiringteachers.com/classroom_resources/tips/curriculum_and_instruction/publishing_student_work.html

Research Article 2: Digital Storytelling

The Research Article
"Digital Storytelling: A Tool for Teaching and Learning in the YouTube Generation" by Oliver Dreon, Richard M. Kerper, and Jon Landis, from the Middle School Journal, explores the importance of digital storytelling, connecting theory and practice with instructional technology, application in the teacher education program, and implications for teachers in all content areas.

The importance of digital storytelling.
"Digital storytelling is the art of combining narrative with digital media such as images, sound, and video to create a short story (Robin, 2008). In the Digital Storytelling Cookbook, Lambert (2006) identifies seven elements that are critical components of effective digital stories:

Point of view: Outlines the point of the story and the perspective from which the story is told. A dramatic question: Sets the tension of the story by identifying issues to be resolved. Emotional content: Engages the audience through common emotions and themes (love, pain, humor). The gift of your voice: Helps the audience make meaning of images. The power of the soundtrack: Sets the mood of the story. Economy: Balances the auditory and visual tracks of meaning. Pacing: Sustains the attention of the audience by establishing and modifying the rhythm of the story.

While these elements outline the nature of effective digital stories, the process of creating a digital story involves leveraging a wide variety of skills, including researching topics, writing scripts, storyboarding, and assembling the final product using video editing software (Ohler, 2006)" (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011). By combining visual images with written text, digital stories can help teachers engage and assess students. Digital stories help enhance and accelerate student comprehension as well as assist struggling readers with a way to envision text and visually communicate meaning. Through digital storytelling, students are required to "leverage a host of cognitive, interpersonal, organizational and technical skills" (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011).

Connecting theory and practice with instructional technology.
It is important for teachers to understand the effect that lessons incorporating technologies can have on teaching and learning. Rather than knowing how to use specific technologies in specific ways, it is important to understand how to use pedagogical aspects of technology and how they promote student learning. In other words, rather than focusing solely on movie editing software, examine digital storytelling as an instructional medium and how it could be used in future classrooms.

Application in the teacher education program.
"While the instructional technology course helps teacher candidates develop technological skills and an understanding of technology integration, other classes help model sound technology integration in content areas" (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011). For example, in a literature course, the instructors in previous years may have taught the instructional method of face-to-face book talks, in which students presented the book they read to the class and tried to convince their classmates to read it. Nowadays, many instructors teach the same concept but in the form of digital book talks. A digital book talk involves working "with tools such as iMovie or Movie Maker to create two-minute trailers for the books students read, similar to movie trailers seen at the cinema" (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011). Digital book talks communicate "aspects of theme, plot, character, and setting to tempt the viewer to read the book on which it was based"  (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011).

Implications for teachers in all content areas.
"Making content and connections relevant to students' lives helps bring meaning and purpose to instruction in all content areas" (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011). "Digital storytelling connects students to content in ways that they are accustomed to consuming information. Students watch, share, and comment on snippets of videos from TV and movies. They make their own videos and post them to online forums. In fact, the video sharing site YouTube is now serving more than two billion videos per day (Chapman, 2010). The viral video is the cultural currency of today's youth" (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011). However, there are some challenges with implementing digital stories into the classroom; "educators using any web-based form of instruction must be concerned about equal access for all learners, taking into consideration an individual's socioeconomic background and learning needs" (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011). Although, digital storytelling is not only reserved for student assessment; teachers can use digital storytelling as an instructional method for introducing key concepts and terms. Teaching with digital storytelling "across disciplines requires three interdependent foci—the mechanics of video editing, the techniques of modern storytelling, and the integration of the content and the medium" (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011).

My Perspective
Digital storytelling is a new concept for me, and I was curious to read more about this particular instructional technique. This research article delivers the idea of digital storytelling as an important instructional tool which is beneficial in any content area and adjustable to a wide variety of assignments. I thought it was rather interesting that the research article discussed digital storytelling as a viable option for both student assessment and teacher instruction. With how much students are connected to the daily happenings of YouTube, I had never thought of how digital storytelling could be a platform for classroom instruction from a teacher's point of view. The creation of instructional videos which are engaging and appeal to students' interests - similar to popular YouTube videos - would be highly beneficial for students, especially if the teacher creates their own YouTube channel where students could revisit the teacher's videos from the comfort of their own home if they did not fully understand the concept in class. Digital storytelling provides an opportunity for meaningful learning, challenging curriculum, and multiple learning approaches. I believe digital storytelling is a wonderful instructional technique which has untapped potential in the educational world.

References

Dreon, O., Kerper, R., & Landis, J. (2011). Digital storytelling: A tool for teaching and learning in the youtube generation. Middle School Journal, 42(5), 4-9. Retrieved from http://www.amle.org/Publications/MiddleSchoolJournal/Articles/May2011/Article3/tabid/2409/Default.aspx

Research Article 1: Literacy Through Gaming

The Research Article
"Literacy through Gaming: The Influence of Videogames on the Writings of High School Freshman Males" by Immaculee Harushimana, from the Journal of Literacy and Technology, explores the following questions: (1) How can pre-digital educators negotiate literacy with digital natives?, (2) What does adolescent writing reveal about the influence of video game content on adolescents’ cognitive processes?, and (3) What does adolescent writing suggest about teaching with and learning from video game story lines?

(1) How can pre-digital educators negotiate literacy with digital natives?
The article discusses the new "digital environment" in which our students are growing up. This digital environment has permeated the lives of our students with a variety of technological and other non-print forms of literacy. As a result, this digital environment has begun to shift the way in which literacy is viewed. The article strongly suggests that pre-digital educators embrace the notion that literacy has moved beyond simply the ability to read and write. Essentially, the old concept of literacy centered on the idea that print is the primary carrier of information in our culture, and therefore students must obtain the necessary skills to understand and express themselves in text. However, the new concept of literacy is based on the idea that digital technology has become the primary carrier of information in our culture, and therefore students must obtain a broader range of skills as a means of expression. The article provides an extensive list of what new literacy involves today, including, but not limited to: computer literacy, cultural literacy, diagrammatic literacy, document literacy, economic literacy, environmental literacy, film literacy, information literacy, mathematical literacy, media literacy, music literacy, political literacy, scientific literacy, technical literacy, television literacy, video literacy, and visual literacy.

(2) What does adolescent writing reveal about the influence of video game content on adolescents’ cognitive processes?
The article argues that video games hold distinct similarities to novels and films with regards to form and content. Video games, like novels and films, relies on varying degrees of plot and narrative to make a point. To demonstrate the influence of video game content on adolescents' cognitive processes with regards to writing, the researcher examined a reading/writing workshop of reluctant adolescents at an urban high school. The researcher had students write their own stories, and required students have a clear story line, with an identifiable plot, a dynamic conflict with the exposition, the rising action, the falling action, and the resolution. The researcher discovered that the girls typically wrote about personal experiences while the boys typically wrote fictional stories which hinted to some association with either video game stories or action movies. Nine out of twelve boys' stories were identified as adaptations from video games. The researcher finally stated that his research seemed to support the conclusion that the student authors were influenced by video games' characters and plots. The researcher also stated that there was a literacy equivalence between video games and traditional literature.

(3) What does adolescent writing suggest about teaching with and learning from video game story lines?
The researcher determined that his research suggested that teachers and curriculum development experts need to bridge classroom instruction, especially in literacy and literature, with the popular medium of video games. The article noted how the content and composition of action-adventure and horror video games, such as Resident Evil, Legend of Zelda, and Tales of Destiny, share the same literary features of plot and characterization with some popular classical epics (e.g. Beowulf and The Odyssey), ancient canonical works (e.g. Canterbury Tales by Chaucer or other Greek mythologies), and even more philosophical works (e.g. Allegory of the Caves by Plato). Even classic literary themes, such as gender roles, class struggle, treatment of children, and so forth, apply to video game storylines. The researcher also noted that students seemed to prefer to write about role-playing games more, as the dynamic interactivity made the plot reconstruction process less challenging. During the writing process, the researcher noticed that students placed more emphasis on the plot development, the highlighting of heroic virtues, and the determination of main characters’ outcome. In education, teachers constantly encourage students to draw upon their prior knowledge whether in literacy or any other area of their education. As the researcher provided evidence of video game influence in the cognitive processes, the article suggests that literacy instruction needs to provide students with the capability to draw from their prior knowledge to develop school literacy. Students' knowledge of video game plots and storylines can help in the understanding of equivalent literary works. The researcher recommends supporting the teaching of classical works with video game scaffolds.

My Perspective
This research article was informative and thought-provoking. I think many teachers are hesitant about incorporating video games into their curriculum, and those that are interested are at a loss on how to adequately innovate their curriculum with video games. The researcher made an important point by demonstrating the influence of video game content on adolescents' cognitive processes with regards to writing. This particular research article was published in 2008; since then, video game trends have only increased among both boys and girls. As educators, it is important to find a way to help students utilize ALL areas of their prior knowledge, as it applies to the learning process. I only wish this article provided more suggestions and ideas on how to innovate curriculum for literacy instruction with the use of video games.

References

Harushimana, I. (2008). Literacy through gaming: The influence of videogames on the writings of high school freshman males. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 9(2), 35-56. Retrieved from http://www.literacyandtechnology.org/volume10/harushimana.pdf

GoAnimate

What is it?
GoAnimate is a website allowing users to create animation videos online. Essentially, GoAnimate is a cartoon creation software. GoAnimate has a free version in which the basic user can create an unlimited number of animations; however, these animations are restricted to 2 minutes in length and the inability to upload images or flash files. The paid version requires a subscription fee, but allows users to have unlimited time length in animations, and the ability to upload images and export to YouTube. GoAnimate is available online at http://goanimate.com/

GoAnimate4Schools is the educational version of GoAnimate. The educational version has a private and controlled environment for classrooms, easy-to-use animation tools, unlimited choice of characters, and social networking features. This version of GoAnimate is fairly comparable to the free non-educational version. However, the educational version, which is supposedly free, allows the teacher to create 100 student accounts and provide students with access to the teacher-created animations. GoAnimate4Schools is available online at http://goanimate4schools.com/


Literacy and Technology?
For the most part, GoAnimate would be considered a post-reading activity type, which assesses students’ interpretation and comprehension of the text that was read. While GoAnimate would be considered primarily under the "Creating Projects/Artifacts" activity type, it could also be useful for "Summarizing," "Retelling," and "Visualizing" activity types. Through GoAnimate, teachers could bring together technology, pedagogy, and content by having students illustrate their interpretation and understanding of a text through an interactive and user-friendly technology.

When I student taught Romeo & Juliet to freshmen ESL students, I provided students with a variety of options for a technology project. One of the options involved re-creating a scene from Romeo & Juliet. Students had to understand the scene they were re-creating well enough to illustrate the actions of the characters in the scene. This technology project helped students think more deeply into the text of their particular self-selected scene, and ultimately provided some wonderful final projects.


Students could also create their own stories using new vocabulary. For example, in a foreign language class, students could create original stories using new vocabulary from each chapter. A great example of this type of learning assignment is from a Spanish class. A student created a story about a robbery, which was stopped by Batman and Robin, using a chapter's new vocabulary (Tayjay3, 2011). Student Spanish Video

More ideas?
GoAnimate has a resource page providing educators with sample animations, lesson ideas, and more, separated up by subject area. This is available at: Lesson Gallery (GoAnimate, 2011).

iLearn Technology provides a multitude of ideas for using GoAnimate in the classroom, including creating "an impressive alternative book report by creating an animated book talk, interviewing a character from the story, or re-creating an important scene in the story" (iLearnTechnology, 2010). This is available at: iLearn Technology: GoAnimate

References

GoAnimate. (2011). Lesson gallery. Retrieved from http://goanimate4schools.com/public_animations

iLearnTechnology. (2010). Go animate 4 schools. Retrieved from http://ilearntechnology.com/?tag=movie

Tayjay3. (2011, October 25). Spanish 97. Retrieved from http://goanimate.com/movie/0aLY_6I4zQUM?utm_source=emailshare&uid=

Animoto : Video Slideshow Maker with Music

What is it?
"Animoto is a web application that produces videos from user-selected photos, video clips, and music. Animoto analyzes the provided photos, video clips, and music, using them to generate a video similar to a trailer. According to the website, the song is analyzed, producing a unique video every time. The site also claims that no two videos are ever the same." ("Animoto," 2011) There are various pricing plans, but the free version allows for the creation of unlimited 30-second videos. Animoto is available for free at http://animoto.com/ It seems the creators of Animoto are working on a educational plan for educators. In the meantime there appears to be a free all-access pass for educators which must be renewed online every six months. You can get the specifics at the following website: http://help.animoto.com/entries/104075-what-s-going-on-with-animoto-for-education


Literacy and Technology?

Animoto is a wonderful, easy-to-use video creator which takes pictures and video clips to make professional quality videos. Animoto is similar to Photo Story and could be used in project-based learning. You might be wondering how Animoto can help with literacy instruction. Animoto helps with information literacy, visual literacy, and technology literacy. Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, and synthesize information. Visual literacy is the ability to understand, produce and communicate throughvisual images. Technology literacy is the ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance. Students develop each of these types of literacy through Animoto by needing to self-select the pictures and videos being used in their video, and determine which music piece and video background best fit their project and audience. Students can use Animoto for presenting on practically any topic. Animoto would help students learn a subject matter in a whole new way. Some sample ideas for using incorporating Animoto into literacy instruction would be with vocabulary. Students would need to know the definition of the word as well as how to represent that word in either picture or video form. Here is an example of a vocabulary Animoto for the class novel The Breadwinner: The Breadwinner Vocab. Students could also create a book trailer for their independent, literature circle, or whole class book. Teachers can use this as a way to introduce students to a new topic or unit. A fantastic example of a teacher using Animoto to introduce a new topic is from an American History teacher: TeacherThink Presents: Animoto 4 Education. Another example is a science teacher's Animoto on the periodic table: Animoto in Education.

More ideas?
Students can improve literacy skills through Animoto by creating digital stories revolving around personal narratives, examining historical events, and stories that inform or instruct.

References

Animoto. (2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animoto

cutekitten20. (2008). Animoto in education [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Xzmx2kWpM

Etzel, M. (2010, January 26). What's going on with animoto for education?. Retrieved from http://help.animoto.com/entries/104075-what-s-going-on-with-animoto-for-education

Sweeney, J. (2009). The breadwinner vocab [Web]. Retrieved from http://animoto.com/play/5nPQiBNB4yHHjVeSXRSZDg

TeacherThink. (2010). Teacherthink presents: animoto 4 education [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8UpgYnGWe4

Prezi : The New and Improved "PowerPoint"

What is it?
Prezi is FREE for students and teachers, and is available at: http://prezi.com/ "Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software and storytelling tool for exploring and sharing ideas upon a virtual canvas. Prezi is distinguished by its Zooming User Interface, which enables users to zoom in and out of their presentation media" ("Prezi," 2011). Users can place text, images, videos, and other presentation media on the Prezi "canvas" and group the items together in frames, designate the size and position of each presentation object, and pan and zoom in between objects ("Prezi," 2011). Prezi allows for both linear and non-linear presentations, depending on whether or not users decide to designate a navigational path on their canvas. Limited Internet capabilities in the classroom? Not to worry! Users are able to download their Prezi presentations onto their computer to avoid any potential Internet problems in the classroom.

What are the major differences between Prezi and PowerPoint? Prezi is non-linear navigation with a map layout; PowerPoint is a linear navigation with a slide stack layout. Prezi is web-based and downloadable; PowerPoint is computer-based. Prezi has limited printing options; PowerPoint has multiple printing options. Which is better? That's up to the user to decide.




Here is a great introductory video for Prezi: YouTube video link (PalmBreezeCAFE, 2009)

Literacy and Technology?
Prezi is a wonderful tool for teaching literacy with technology. As human beings, are thoughts are not exactly linear. Students can often find themselves limited or frustrated with PowerPoint presentations. So why not allow students to not only be creative by also present in a non-linear fashion? How can Prezi be incorporated into the classroom? The possibilities are endless!

Let me begin with a simple example of a Prezi before I start tossing out Prezi ideas for the classroom. The following Prezi discusses Web 2.0 in the classroom. It's fantastic and actually related rather well to my own course on literacy and technology. Simply click the right arrow to go from frame to frame. Engage Your Learners Better With Web 2.0 (McCallum, 2010)

From a student's perspective, Prezi could be used for a multitude of items:

• Concept Mapping : Students can create concept maps using more than just text! With Prezi, students can incorporate text, images, videos, and other presentation media. Students are not limited to a linear mode, and can easily use Prezi to create a concept map to help illustrate relationships among concepts as well as organize and represent knowledge.
• Mind Mapping : Students can create a diagram to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. For students who are less artistic, Prezi can help them better utilize the mind mapping technique as well as create a multimedia mind map.
• Graphic Organizers : Students can create multimedia graphic organizers.
• Character Maps : Students can create simple character maps for any literary character. They can build the Prezi over time or create a character map on Prezi as an assessment.
• Book Reviews : Yawn... Traditional book reviews can not only bore the student but also the teacher. Why not spice up the book review by making it a multimedia presentation? Book reviews could go from a yawn fest to an exciting and engaging presentation!
• Vocabulary : Students can collaborate to create a Prezi to help them better understand and learn the vocabulary. Students can also use Prezi to review and study for upcoming vocabulary exams.
• Storytelling : Create a story using pictures and videos! Students could also create a storyboard using text, drawings, and videos.

From a teacher's perspective, Prezi could help make a lesson more meaningful and interactive for students:

• Zooming in on details : Prezi allows users to zoom in on images rather easily. Teachers can help students study images in a lesson much easier. Forget that obnoxious laser pointer; teachers can zoom into a specific area of an image they want students to focus on. This could not only help create a more in-depth discussion, but help students understand what they are studying more clearly.
• Lesson Introduction : Create a lesson introduction or provide further instruction through an interactive Prezi.

More ideas?
Prezi Templates - Not the best at creating interactive Prezis? It just became a whole lot easier! There are reusable Prezis, essentially templates for you to insert your own information. Simply go to Reusable Popular Prezis (Prezi Inc, 2011)

More ideas on using Prezi in the classroom. The following website provides a Prezi explaining how to use Prezi and ideas of integrating and innovating Prezi in your classroom. Again, click the right arrow to move from frame to frame in the Prezi. Using Prezi In Your Classroom (Davenport, 2010)

References

Davenport, C. (2010, October 26). Using prezi in your classroom. Retrieved from http://colleendavenport.com/go/using-prezi-in-your-classroom/

McCallum, R. (2010, March 31). Web 2.0 in the classroom: meeting learners in their own world [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://prezi.com/obqzirjhtf-q/web-20-in-the-classroom/

PalmBreezeCAFE. (2009). Prezi - part one [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pWV8dUhoq8&feature=player_embedded


Prezi. (2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prezi

Prezi Inc. (2011). Reusable popular prezis. Retrieved from http://prezi.com/explore/reuse/

Glogster : Poster Yourself

What is it?
Glogster is a free social network that brings together blogging and creative expression through the creation of glogs. A glog (i.e. graphical blog) is an interactive multimedia image; in other words, it's an interactive poster. Glogster allows users to express their moods, feelings, and ideas in a way that text or video are unable to do on their own. The user inserts text, images, photos, audio (MP3), videos, special effects and other elements into their glogs to create an interactive multimeda image. Similar to blogging, glogs can be shared with other glogsters and a variety of social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter. Glogster is available at: http://www.glogster.com/

GlogsterEDU is the educational version of Glogster. It has all the same features and functions as Glogster, with the exception that teachers and students can use glogs as instructional aids and share their glogs in a safe, private virtual classroom through GlogsterEDU. GlogsterEDU is available at: http://edu.glogster.com/

Literacy and Technology?
Glogster is a fantastic technology tool for literacy instruction in the classroom. By using Glogster, teachers can create instructional glogs for their classroom, which students can access at any time for future review. Teachers can use glogs on an interactive whiteboard (if available) or even on a projection screen via their computer. Glogster helps innovate instruction by turning a simple, ordinary lecture into a multimedia presentation which addresses all the different modes of learning and multiple intelligences as described by Howard Gardner. Teachers can also provide assignments within their instructional glog.

A history teacher's innovative lecture on the War of 1812

A math teacher's innovative lecture on integers

A glog about GlogsterEDU

By using Glogster, students can create glogs as part of the learning or assessment process for practically any subject. Glogs allow students to learn in a new and creative way by bringing together multimedia and blogging. Students are able to create unique glogs that not only demonstrate their understanding of a subject, but also allow them to illustrate their creative side, which is often underutilized in many school subjects. I created a glog to demonstrate how it could be used in the learning process for a foreign language classroom: Example. My glog is dealing with family vocabulary in which students would need to create a glog about their family. The audio button in the top right corner would include the students' own recording in which they discuss their glog in the target language using the desired vocabulary. There are many more possibilities for this assignment through Glogster, as this was simply my first attempt at glogging.

A science student's glog

A Spanish student's glog

A language arts student's glog

Glogster is a wonderful tool for the classroom, especially for students. It provides students with a multi-sensory outlet for creative expression and academic development. The possibilities for Glogster and literacy development seem endless!

More ideas?
Why not have students collaborate?! Educators are constantly pushing students to collaborate on projects as a means to learn a basic skill which is essential in many careers: Example.

Have students create a virtual tour on the country they are studying or researching: Example.

More resources?

Here is a PDF on how to set-up a teacher account on Glogster: Teacher Glog Account Set-Up

A guide to using Glogster, provided by Jefferson Township Public Schools: User Guide

A guide for students creating glogs: Student Guide

References

(2011). Making your glog using glogster. Retrieved from https://edunology.wikispaces.com/file/view/Student+-+Create+a+Glog.pdf

jhoertel. (2011). Teacher glog account set up. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B7t2gFUF5PYjYjY3N2YwNjEtNmZlMS00ZDZjLWExNjEtMDY4YTVkZmQ2ZjJl&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

Walker, D. (n.d.). A guide to using glogster. Retrieved from https://edunology.wikispaces.com/file/view/Getting started with Glogster EDU.pdf

MixedInk : Collaborative Writing

What is it?
MixedInk is a free collaborative writing tool which allows groups of any size to bring the best ideas and language together in a single text. MixedInk encourages accountability by highlighting which pieces of text were written by which students, and analysis by having users rate which ideas and language is the most popular among the group working on the piece. MixedInk is available online at http://www.mixedink.com

Literacy and Technology?
Collaborative writing is an essential skill as group projects become more common in the workplace. By providing students with the opportunity and experience in collaborative writing projects, teachers can not only help students learn from one another but also help students develop necessary skills in teamwork and cooperation. Collaborative writing is difficult to achieve without the use of technologies such as wikis, blogs, Google Docs, or another similar tool for helping students collaborate on an assignment. MixedInk is another Web 2.0 tool which allows students the opportunity to share information and collaborate. However, MixedInk differs from wikis, blogs, and Google Docs in several ways, including authorship and and drafting. While traditionally difficult to track in most collaborative writing tools, authorship in MixedInk is tracked automatically and color-coded. MixedInk also enables an unlimited number of users to collaborate on a task at once, rather than only allowing a single user to to edit at a time. Drafting is not confined to a single document. MixedInk displays every user's work rather than simply displaying the most recent editor's work, allowing user's to draw ideas from a multitude of revisions no matter what stage of the drafting process.

MixedInk provides a fresh look at collaborative writing. Not only are students able to submit their own drafts, but they are able to draw upon the writing of their group members to create one cohesive piece. MixedInk is a great tool for teaching about collaboration and use of secondary sources. Through the automatic color-coded authorship feature, students learn about analyzing ideas and ethically incorporating another person's ideas with their own, thus teaching students about the concept of plagiarism and giving credit to appropriate authors. This would be a great tool to explore in the classroom and help innovate the instruction of literacy.

More ideas?
MixedInk combines community action with collaborative writing. MixedInk's website suggests some of the following ideas for writing projects which would best utilize their features: mission statements, editorials, political platforms, product reviews, and so forth.

Skype

What is it?
Skype is a software application which allows users to make voice and video calls over the Internet. Skype allows users to call anyone for free within the Skype network. Skype can also be used to make traditional phone calls internationally rather inexpensively. Skype also offers instant messaging, file transfer, and videoconferencing. Skype can be downloaded for free at http://www.skype.com

Literacy and Technology?
One of Skype's slogans is, "Skype is for doing things together, whenever you’re apart." Through Skype, people are able to remain connected. You might be asking yourself, "How does this apply to literacy?" Skype allows students to use all four basic skills (i.e. listening, speaking, writing, and reading). Students can develop their literacy skills through Skype by sharing and communicating with real audiences, and engaging in collaborative learning. Skype has an enormous potential for being "innovative" with literacy instruction and technology. One example of this potential comes from my own experience during student teaching in May 2011.

During my student teaching experience with a ninth grade English Language Arts classroom, I was teaching a descriptive writing unit. My students were struggling with this particular mode of writing, and expressed concern at the thought of completing their unit project - a descriptive essay disguised as a visitor's guidebook. In order to help my students understand not only descriptive writing but the writing process itself, I contacted a young adult fiction writer and asked if she would do a virtual author's visit to my classroom through Skype. The author was delighted. Several days prior to the author's Skype visit, I had students write three questions they would ask their favorite author about descriptive writing. I previewed the questions, selected questions that kept occurring over and over among students' papers, and e-mailed the list of questions to the author for her to prepare. The day of the visit, I arranged my students in the classroom to fit in front of the webcam I had brought in. I handed back student's question sheets and highlighted which question of their three they were going to be able to ask a real author (I highlighted the questions so each student was able to ask one of their questions and not have the same question repeat multiple times). The author visited all three of my freshmen English Language Arts classes over the course of the day. The students were excited about being able to interact with a real author and receive feedback and advice. Needless to say, the students talked about the author Skype visit for days afterwards. If I repeated this experience, I would follow-up this particular lesson with a short written reflection from each student.

Skype is a user-friendly software application that is extremely easy to learn. It is also perfect for schools that have little to no budget to spend on expensive educational software because Skype is free! It is an effective innovative teaching tool because the technology becomes virtually invisible as students interact with the person on the other end of the screen (no pun intended). Skype provides an interactive, real-time experience for students, making the experience more relevant to their own lives and education.

More ideas?
After spending a few minutes searching the Internet, I found two resources which discuss ways to innovate literacy instruction through Skype in the classroom.

(1) This website provides 50 ways to use Skype in the classroom. This may help foster ideas for your own classroom and grade-level.

50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom

(2) This website provides a list of authors who Skype with classes and book list clubs for FREE!!! The authors are separated into lists by elementary, secondary, and higher education. According to the website, the authors "offer free 20-minute Q and A sessions with classes and book clubs that have finished reading one of their books."

Authors Who Skype with Classes and Book Clubs (For Free)

References

50 awesome ways to use skype in the classroom [Web log message]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/

Messner, K. (2009, May 28). Authors who skype with classes & book clubs (for free!) [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.katemessner.com/authors-who-skype-with-classes-book-clubs-for-free/