Moving Away From the Teacher Centered Classroom

According to Gainer & Lapp (2010) we need to engage students in a motivating way to shift the classroom dynamic from the teacher distributing information for students to absorb to one in which the students take the front seat. Student responsibility is possible with the inclusion of technology and digital literacy in instruction. Since students have so much going on in their out of school  lives, it is important to bring these experiences into the classroom.

“Many educators agree that what constitutes instruction for adolescent learners must be more attentive to their interests and strengths and less focused on the whole-class reading of novels and content-specific textbooks, which do not seem to be working for many adolescents” (Gainer & Lapp, 2010, p. 6).

Then vs. Now- Edutopia and PBL Essential Elements

Question: Is this teacher centered model still prevalent in today's schools? Why or why not?

Edutopia video of HS project. This teacher incorporated multiple literacies into a project. She incorporated community members and student choice in instruction.

Buck Institute and Project Based Learning

This video focuses on ACE Leadership, a school in New Mexico that works with at-risk students and students who have dropped out of traditional schools. This school has a specific focus on engineering, construction, and architecture. From the student interviews in this videos, the students have interests in going into these fields of work when they get out of school.

Literacy and PBL

• This article discusses the importance of literacy in project based learning. Students investigate a problem and need to use "need to know" questions to help them solve that problem. Students have the desire to learn about and use literacy skills because they need them to help complete the project. This is a way to diverge from skill and drill teaching approaches and bring real life skills into the classroom. 

Resources to incorporate literacy:

These resources allow flexibility in topic choice and presentation for students. They also bring technology into students academic worlds. Technology that enhances student experience, but also engages them in building and practicing important literacy skills.

NEWSELA- This is a great source for current events articles for secondary students. Students can adjust the reading level of the articles, annotate, and take mini quizzes. Teachers are able to view student progress in the teacher binder.

Common Lit -Short stories, poems articles intended for middle school students sorted into three levels. Options include guided reading which has the text chunked and revealed as questions are answered and a read aloud mode. This is great for general population, but also for students who struggle with reading.

Question: Gainer & Lapp (2010) discuss the fact that many schools lack the resources to provide opportunities to engage in new technologies in the classroom. How can schools who lack these resources still be engaged in these literacies in the classroom?

References

Gainer, J. & Lapp, D. (2010). Literacy remix: Bridging adolescents’ in and out of school literacies (pp. 1-16). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Shifting the Goals of Instruction with New Literacies in Mind

Chandler- Olcott and Lewis (2016) discuss Gee’s cultural model and new literacy studies This involves discourses that are a part of our identities. People from different race and class backgrounds have different values on language and literacy. These are different from the teacher’s cultural model of their classrooms. We must be aware of what we present in class, and take into account our own values.

Chandler- Olcott and Lewis (2016) also discuss technologies that focus on social communication. Students have various social media accounts and blogs already, these incorporate a variety of skills. Student’s don’t see themselves as a part of one single area of the world, with technology, they are able to engage in a global world. Teachers in this study worried about a decay of culture because of how they use the internet. One teacher asserted that students don’t have to look at something that’s uncomfortable or challenging, so they will not put themselves in a situation where they don’t have to think that way. Another teacher in the article, Lynne, thinks that students are not as informed as previous generations because they can control the flow of information to them. Teachers also raised concerns about how students search, the difficulty in breaking search habits, differences in technology skill levels.

Fake News and Online Literacy

This podcast addresses some of these teacher's concerns, it discusses the importance of teaching our students how to navigate the vast amounts of information available on the internet. 

Common Sense Media This site has many resources for students, parents, and teachers. It includes units and lesson plans for teachers that can be integrated into any content area.

Question: Do you agree that students are more apt to filter out information or be selective of the information they chose to expose themselves to because they have a variety of choices that they can choose from?

Teaching Beyond the $1,000 pencil- My school had Alan November speak at a conference day last year and I was so inspired by his book and lecture. He talks about engaging students in learning using technology. This article talks about how technology should be transnational, not just a substitution for a pencil. This is so important because we need to prepare our students for a changing working world. Basic tasks are becoming automated and our students need to think critically and creatively in the workplace. We can use technology to connect our students to their community, state, country, and the world.

Math Train TV - This site was developed by a teacher who realized that his students were more engaged when learning from other students. This became an embedded part of his class, where students created tutorials of different math concepts to teach their peers. This idea was extended by bringing the products to a global market, through posting them on an accessible website. Students care about producing a quality video because they know that it is going to be seen by others. These videos can be viewed, rated, and commented on, engaging students in authentic exchanges with other students around the world.

Example: http://mathtrain.tv/videos/172/converting-fractions-to-decimals

Global Student News Network A news website produced by students for students. GSNN students tweet out a monthly theme and encourage other students from around the world to produce multimedia projects that address the issue. GSNN students then review the videos and featured chosen projects on their website.

Question: How can we use technology to make our students become a part of a global community?

One of the teachers in Chandler-Olcott and Lewis’ (2016) study has been teaching for seven years and feels set in his way because, “...the way I teach came from the way I learned… I kind of base my English classroom on what my English classroom was like when I was in high school” (p. 196). This is embedded in the cultural model of secondary English classes. The privileged skills are  print based and traditional school literacy.

Most Likely to Succeed-Movie Trailer

This film looks at turning the old model of school on it’s head by engaging students in real world problems and projects. A major part of this film also looks at bringing the community into school and having students explore out into the community, combining in-school and out of school literacies.

SAMR Model This article depicts the SAMR model in two ways. In the first picture, the model  is displayed as though transformation is the highest goal and augmentation/substitution are below it. Although transformation is a great goal, one can not only stay at this high level. There should be a mixture of ways technology is used in the classroom to introduce content.

Question: How would you approach teachers who are resistant to integrating new literacies in their classrooms?

Other Resources:

Shmoop-  In Chandler-Olcott’s (2016) study, one teacher, Gail, asserts that students are being wired differently because they are not always interacting with print text. They are engaging in a variety of modalities online. Video is an extremely popular modality. Shmoop has fun videos on a variety of topics that can be used in class.

Example on primary sources: http://www.shmoop.com/video/english/

Flocabulary: Vocabulary and educational topics mixed with rap and hip hop

I  use some of their videos as examples for when I have students create music videos on SCRATCH.

References

Chandler-Olcott, K., & Lewis, E. (2016). “I think they’re being wired differently:” Secondary teachers’ cultural models of adolescents and their online literacies. In D. Alvermann (Ed.), Adolescents’ online literacies: Connecting classrooms, digital media, and popular culture (pp. 183-202). New York: Peter Lang.

Digital Tools for an Inclusive Classroom

Price-Dennis, Holmes & Smith (2015) describe the “Hive Society” (p. 196) where students can work in small groups, independently, or as a whole class. Working in these different ways, students are able to engage in investigative learning. Students count on each other to build and develop their learning. Lessons, units, and projects need to include multiple activities and tasks that draw on different talents and skills. This provides for an inclusive classroom. Inquiry learning provides opportunities to “layer” different learning experiences within a unit.

Edpuzzle This site allows for differentiation because you can create questions throughout the video to gauge student understanding. Students are also able to work at their own pace using these videos.

http://thestormsreport.weebly.com/edpuzzle-example.html -Example of an edpuzzle


Nimbus demo A free extension that captures your computer screen and allows you to record your voice as well. Teachers use this to prepare presentations and students can as well.

What is an EdCafe?
An EdCafe is a way for students to take ownership of their learning. Students choose what they will present on and what EdCafe sessions they would like to attend. This class structure shits students to the 'expert' role and the teacher acts as facilitator.

Skype Grannies Interesting initiative where students can Skype with 'grannies' (24-78) from around the world to ask questions, gain guidance, or get cheered on and supported. Students from India learned English with the help of their skype grannies.

Question: How can a teacher cultivate a classroom environment where students are comfortable to work in a classroom as described in the article? What tools can be used to help create this environment?

References

Price-Dennis, D., Holmes, K. A., & Smith, E. (2015). Exploring digital literacy practices in an inclusive classroom. The Reading Teacher, 69(2), 195-205.

Remixing Literacies

Lankshear & Knobel (2006) discuss remixing in a digital world as a new form of writing. Students make new texts by remixing old ones and incorporating pieces of themselves, this is seen in a variety of types of fan fiction. Students learn to write not by completing skills worksheets, but by writing. Writing is not the only form of digital remixing, artwork can also be remixed to engage student interest, develop identity and form new literacy understanding.

Student Centered Podcasting: Excerpt from Student-Powered Podcasting by Christopher Shamburg

Smithsonian Ameriacan Art Gallery Podcast project: http://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/

The gallery provides project resources to create podcasts in classrooms. The gallery then posts the podcasts on their site. They come from around the world.

Booksie: Students and adults can post poems, short stories, and other written works into this open forum for discussion. Students can get advice from other writers as they are working on their own story.

Shakespeare Mash Up Example of a high school production of multiple Shakespeare plays. Remixing requires students to understand the content so they can create something new.


Remixing with Pixlr
Pixlr is a free web based photo editor. Students can use it to remix works of art or bring new meaning to existing ideas. This link is an example of an art teacher who used Pixlr to teach students about surrealism.

References

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2006). New Literacies: Everyday practices & classroom learning, 2nd edition (Chapter 4, pp. 105-136). Berkshire, England: Open University Press.