Reading #2

 

1. The readings have confirmed  my thinking about the effects of digital media writing on young people's abilities to read and write.  I determined this while reading the article "Can Texting Help with Spelling."In this article, it states that students know when not to text (Scholastic, 2014). I agree and disagree with this because even though texting might not be affecting students school work NOW, that doesn't mean that in the future it won't. Kids are now starting to get smart phones younger and younger. I feel eventually, the texting lingo will start to show in their professional writing skills because they have started using the texting lingo at a much younger age then my generation or the generation before me.


 
2. The readings have also confirmed my thinking about the effects of school based writing instruction on young people's abilities to read and write. One of the articles that helped my confirm my thinking was "Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum."
I agreed with a lot of points that were made in this article. I feel that when you are learning to write feedback is the most important thing. "Some teacher response is necessary, but student learning can be enhanced by peer responses to writing, whole class discussion of student writing samples, students' reflection on their own writing, and brief one-on-one conferences" (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum, 2011). While completing my student teaching I used a lot of these techniques with my students and it really did help their writing performance. Something that makes me angry as a teacher is when people think that is all up to the teachers to be the only ones to teach students how to read and write. "Young people learn to write outside of school as well as in it." (Writing Outside of School, 2009).
  3. Some changes I feel educators need to make so that reading and writing in schools has a more positive effect on children's abilities to read and write are as following...

• Give Students a Choice- Outside of school, children are free to pursue their interests. They learn how to play baseball or the drums; they learn ride a bike or play video games; they read comic books, graphic novels etc. But during a school day, how much ownership do students have of their learning? Letting students choose (age appropriate) books that interest them or letting them write about something they like (e.g. Journals, 10 minute free writing etc...)   
• Let Students Create Things- People like to make stuff. Having control of our work and using our minds and hands to create something original give us a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Students can create many things across the curriculum; newspaper, magazines, brochures, stories, picture books, posters, PowerPoints, songs-- the list goes on and on.  
•  Show of Student Work- The walls of our classrooms should speak to people; they should say exactly what goes on in that space throughout the school day. You can show students favorite books, you can post some of their best writing--students can read their classmates work as well.

 

4. Here is a link to a video that supports my stance on the use of digital media to support reading and writing instruction in schools--- Think Time: Teens and Social Networks

 

5. I feel the picture to the right is a humorous way of showing my value of using digital media to support reading and writing instruction. I have a neutral stance when it comes to digital media. However, I do not think that everything should be taken over by technology, we are always going to need our options!

 
References

Can Texting Help With Spelling? | Scholastic.com. (n.d.). Scholastic Teachers. Retrieved May 25, 2014, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/can-texting-help-spelling
 
Reading and Writing across the Curriculum. National Council of Teachers of English.

Think Time: Teens and Social Network. (2014, February 24). YouTube. Retrieved May 25, 2014, from http://youtu.be/qR21wvFzJsg 

Writing Outside of School. National Council of Teachers of English. Retrieved May 25, 2014, from          www.ncte.org

Vtoons. 2011, June 2). Jim’s Monthly Muses [Blog Spot].
     Retrieved from  http://monthlymissive-jimvtoons.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html

 

 

Reading #1: Digital Media Effects

•  "Does Digital Media Make us Bad Readers?"

 "The writing we produce is not getting worse.  Instead, it is simply adapting to the modern world."

Children are effectively speaking a new language entirely, so who is to say if it is “right” or “wrong?" I do feel that there is a lack of coherence, proper spelling and punctuation. The biggest problem is that grammatical errors are not limited to social media. It has bled into emails, blog posts and writing of all kinds. 

However,  people have been using computers for over 10 years now. Even the ones with paper notebooks could be doodling or making shopping lists. I think that we should encourage students to use technology, but I also feel it's important to give students at least the basics of writing---after all we can't ALWAYS rely on technology.

•  "Literacy Debate: Online R U Really Reading?" 

“Once they’re on the Internet, they’re reading.”

I feel it all depends on the person in question. If technology takes away time from important things like reading and writing, then it can make people worse writers, because they dedicate less time to it. For example, some people are too into video games. For this reason, they may never write or read. Others use technology to surf the Internet endlessly and in the process read things that are not very good. 

Second, there are those that use technology in a wiser way. They use it to get information in a quick way and the like. I would say that for these people, technology makes them into better writers and readers. In the end, it all depends on the person.

Digital media is changing the way people read and write in the digital age. 

Are we better off in the digital age in terms of reading and writing? Despite some problems, I believe that we are. If we take advantage of the opportunities and resources the Internet has to offer and use the Internet responsibly then we can become more knowledgeable, and  more interesting. People also have many more resources literally at their fingertips to find reading material. The Internet is an explosion of information. Every topic imaginable has websites, blogs, forums, chat rooms, etc. to give us the opportunity to read and write. 

The reading source that I feel justifies my stance the best is the "Does Digital Media Make us Bad Writers?" I chose this text because it is neutral. It does't bash digital media, but it is honest about it. For example, a positive aspect of digital media according to the text is, "Digital tools having changed student writing by providing the ability to marry text and other media in ways that can often help them provide greater depth and texture to what they are trying to communicate" (Karp). A negative side of digital media included in this text states "Because  the amount of writing we are doing, we tend to devalue what we write. How much do we edit or care about what we post online" (Karp).

References 

Internet is shaping the way children and teenagers read and process information. (2013, October 29). kids and teens online. Retrieved May 23, 2014, from http://kidsandteensonline.com/2013/10/29/internet-is-shaping-the-way-children-and-teenagers-read-and-process-information/

Karp, J. (n.d.). Does Digital Media Make us Bad Writers?. . Retrieved May 23, 2014, from http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/does-digital-media-make-us-bad-writers/

Rich, M. (2008, July 26). Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?. The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=all

Introduction

About Me
I was born and raised in Tucker County, WV. I am currently living in Nutter Fort, WV and working at Norwood Elementary in Stonewood as a full time substitute in Physical Education and Music, which came as quit a surprise, since my degree is K-6 and I only had one class for both PE and Music while completing my undergrad, but it has been a great year and I have grown so as a teacher already! I am working toward receiving my Masters in Professional Studies at Fairmont State University. Within this class I would really like to learn new and interesting techniques with technology to teach my students when I have my own classroom. 

Classes Taken in the Graduate Program:
Educ 6300: Foundations of American-Online
Educ 6306: Education Evaluation-Online
Educ 6301: Research in Education-Online
Educ 6305: Advanced Education Tech and Media-Online 

LITERACY  We hear and use it almost every day yet we seem to be stumped each time we are asked to define it. People differ on what literacy means to them and is very hard to find a unified definition. 

References

Norris, D. (2013, June 13). Just Look Up the Answers. . Retrieved May 21, 2014, from http://dannorrisblog.com/decision-making-process-and-critical-thinking-skills/

What Does it Mean to be Literate in the 21st Century? (short version 8 min). (2009, November 29). YouTube. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn0_H-kvxkU