Literacy Across the Curriculum

Literacy Across the Curriculum
Interesting thought - with all the literacy professional development we have for teachers, there is still have a ways to go. As I read this article, I started mentally checking off all the suggestions offered against a mental list of what I've seen in classrooms. Not many of them show up in our rooms.
Lets take a quick look at one of the suggested links Tools For Differentiation This turns out to be wiki on different literacy tools.

Photography as an art form and teaching tool

Kids and photos are a natural. As a school for the arts, I am inclined to push for kids to use images in the form of photography and video images. This is a collections of resources.Some are to the point, others wanfer away from it...

General Photography information:

• History of photography from National Geographic http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photographers/photography-timeline.html
• Museum of Photography http://www.photographymuseum.com/ 
• Take better photos: Digital photography tips and ideas
• Google Earth - our world in pictures http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/google_earth/how.html

For Kids

• Big Learning: Photography for kids   http://www.biglearning.com/treasure-photography-for-kids.htm

Nice for teachers learning about photography:

• 13 Lessons to teach your child about photography http://digital-photography-school.com/13-lessons-to-teach-your-child-about-digital-photography
• ShortCourses.com The On-line Library of Digital Photography 
• Teach kids to take photos : http://www.teachkidshow.com/teach-your-child-how-to-take-good-pictures/  
• Technology super hero - http://eduscapes.com/sessions/superhero/superheroes.htm

Image resources

Images for Blogs (still and moving)

• The complete guide to video blogging http://mashable.com/2009/10/09/video-blogging/
 

Beyond photography into 

• Learning/teaching aligned with the use of images  http://www.eduscapes.com/sessions/multiplatform/index.htm

• Seeking information on learning with and through images I ran into: Divergent/Convergent learning  http://www.eduscapes.com/sessions/multiplatform/index.htm

Attention - what's necessary

Poetry Alive came to visit and I joined our k-2 group to enjoy the performance. I had random observations I'd like to share.

• wiggle bugs can sit still - they like poetry
• kids who are worried about there not being enough lunch in the lunch bag don't pay attention
• an hour is too long for some kids to sit and pay attention, even when they like the presentation
• why is it too long when I know they can watch t.v. for hours and never move
• some classes are better as a group at being still
• some classes know how to be a good audience
• some teachers never had to move to correct behavior, others moved constantly to do so
• I can't get simple hand, arm and rhythm activities as easily as a 7 year old
• Poetry Alive is fun

Thinking Assessment

MTAC team was planning professional development for next year and one topic came up. That was the use of the CPS clickers. As we discussed the use and training in the use of the clickers, it dawned on me that once again, we are talking about a tool in isolation of its function. Assessment should be the topic of study. What is assessment, how can it be used to alter instruction based on the data gathered, how do we track the data and individual student progress. All these questions popped into my head. Of course, while leading the MTAC meeting was not the time to get into a lengthy discussions on the content of the instruction. Assessment has always fascinated me since I was a beginning teacher and thought assessment consisted of final or summative assessment given by way of tests. It was years before I understood that assessment it a picture constructed of many parts and pieces, one of which can be a test.
As usual, I hit the research process to see what others were doing and researching regarding assessment. I came up with a collection of site which could be a source for PD content.

• From NCREL web site (http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as8lk30.htm)  I find, "Alternative assessment is any type of assessment in which students create a response to a question or task. (In traditional assessments, students choose a response from a given list, such as multiple-choice, true/false, or matching.)"
• Funderstanding has an interesting and short article on authentic assessment. ( http://www.funderstanding.com/content/authentic-assessment
• Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work has much to say regarding assessment. On page 222 they list the principles regarding good assessments. Very distilled, they say:
• assessments should be few,
• teachers should have a clear picture of student knowledge
• assessments should be balanced and authentic.
• team should use external assessments as validation of teacher made assessments
• assessment should be useful for students and teachers
• should help students clarify achievement  vs standards of learning

Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work  is well worth the read to get the entire picture of assessment and its use in student learning.

Assessment is probably the most powerful tool a teacher has. Without assessment data there is nothing to inform the instruction so teachers will teach what they think the kids need, not what they actually need.

Just some thoughts...on assessment.

When the computer died - how it ruined my day!

I rarely have a day when I don't get into my work. I find the integration of technology into teaching and learning endlessly fascinating. The excuses teacher use, justifications for the lack of technology and the arguments for 'real' teaching methods all goad me to find ways to sneak into their world. The kids? They're naturally accepting of everything, including a teacher with excuses, justifications and arguments. The part that bothers me is that some of these folks are the strongest teachers who are working themselves toward mediocrity with their attitudes. So some days, rare that they are, I am discouraged and sad. Today, I started with a virus ridden desktop computer, a laptop with no power supply since I loaned it to a teacher who needed it more than I did. So, today I was disconnected. It gave me time to get sad and discouraged. Luckily tomorrow will come and I'll gird my loins for battle once again. Happily.

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning - Digital Literacy

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Resources

• CSCL theories - UT Austin online http://www.edb.utexas.edu/csclstudent/Dhsiao/theories.html
• Promoting reflective interactions in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment, M. J. Baker & K. Lund CNRS & University of Lyon 2, UMR-GRIC, COAST research team
• http://130.237.161.25/research/kogc/Kurser/Baker-kurs/BakerStock-Lecture6.pdf  by Michael Baker,  Senior Scientist, LEAPLE, CNRS & Université Descartes Paris 5 (Sorbonne), michael.baker@vjf.cnrs.fr , Visiting professor, DSV-KTH k2lab  mbaker@dsv.su.se
• Computer-supported collaborative learning: best practices and principles for ... By Kara L. Orvis, Andrea L. R. Lassiter (book- preview online)
• International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning http://www.springer.com/education+&+language/learning+&+instruction/journal/11412

Digital Literacy - the new literacy in NC Schools.

• Making the Grade: Digital Literacy (Winter 2009) Digital literacy at School Quote: Digital literacy at School  All North Carolina schools teach what we now call digital literacy skills In the language arts curriculum. From the DPI.

• 
  
  http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/parents/resources/makingthegrade/2009winter.pdf
• Digital Literacy Slide Show http://www.slideshare.net/EvelynIzquierdo/digital-literacy-2593507
• Discussing Digital Literacy with the New Literacies Collaborative at NC State http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2010/04/17/discussing-digital-literacy-with-the-new-literacies-collaborative-at-nc-state/  The podcast: http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2010/04/17/podcast346-discussing-digital-literacy-with-educators-in-the-new-literacies-collaborative/