Presentation Topic - Children's Books!

I'm not completely sure which direction I'll take it yet, but my presentation is going to deal with children's books and their multiple values in the classroom (how they can be used to supplement learning in various subjects, to help children deal with difficult life situations, etc.).

I love to read and I love children's books!
--Kristin.

Blogging with Fifth Graders

Blogging with the fifth grade students was a good experience. It helped me to realize, even more, how much internet "lingo" is influencing children's writing abilities. Some of the students were very capable writers and wrote very nice, grammatically correct blog postings. Other students, though, wrote in internet slang and used things like "idk," "u," etc. AND hardly any punctuation. It surprised me that so many students wrote in this way, instead of writing properly; many students today seem to think that just because writing is digital, it doesn't have to be correct, which isn't the case at all.

Doing some type of blogging activity with my students in the future is a possibility, since it would show them the importance of communicating effectively through a digital medium. However, my biggest concern--which, of course, is using proper grammar, punctuation, etc.--would definitely be addressed if I used blogging with my students. And, I would use a different site instead of Blogmeister, because it was kind of messy and hard to find things.

All in all, blogging with the fifth grade students was a good experience that provided good insight into how technology is affecting students today.

--Kristin.

Scratch Project - USMap

Using Scratch makes me a little frustrated! It wasn't completely difficult to work with, but it's definitely not something I'd ever use with students. Having students try some of the game would be fun, though!


Here's the link to my adapted USMap Project on Scratch.

Scratch Modification

The Scratch project I mentioned in my previous blog posting, US Map Puzzle, is the same project I've selected to modify. The directions aren't completely clear and the project could be richer in content, focusing on regions of the US, etc. I plan to modify the colors of the states to have all states in the Midwest be one color, the Southeast one color, New England one color, etc.

The WV CSO that goes along with this project is:
S.S.O.3.4.4.: Students will name and locate...states of the United States.

Scratch - US Map

I found a Scratch project that would be of great use in the classroom! It's titled "US Map Puzzle" and students are required to click on a state and use the arrow keys to move it to its place on the map, then press the spacebar to lock it in place. I know that placing all of the states in their correct locations has always been difficult for me, so I can really see usefulness in this project. It would be fun to create a Scratch project similar to this, maybe with the counties in WV? That's something that students learn in WV History classes, and a reinforcement using technology might help the placement of the counties stick in their minds a little better.

Here's the link to US Map Puzzle.

Enjoy!
--Kristin.

Convergence Culture - What is it?

According to the Henry Jenkins video, convergence culture is what occurs "when old and new media collide." This doesn't mean that old media goes into the wastebasket and new media takes its place, but rather that old media is updated and integrated into a new media that assists in creating what Dr. Jenkins refers to as a "participatory culture."

Convergence culture has its place in education in the area of technology integration in the classroom. Overhead projectors and filmstrips are no more; media usage in the classroom is even moving past powerpoints now to Smart Boards and Mimios. The more students are exposed to technology in the classroom and have experience with using the technology, the more comfortable they'll be integrating new technology into their everyday lives, thus enhancing the convergence culture.

Schools are limiting kids' access to digital tools by not allowing students to be signed into social networking sites and by limiting access to computers in general. Granted, the use of social networking sites, blogging sites, etc. need to be monitored in the classroom; students can't just be freely using these sites at their own will. But, all students need to have access to a multitude of digital tools so, as Jenkins proposes, the "participation gap" can be lessened.