New Literacy Revision

Powerpoint (New Literacy Revision)

Final Reflection

A Final Reflection 

• Technology Post (LibriVox):

As a teacher aide I have used various technologies in the classroom, mostly were programs on disc. Through this course I was encouraged to find and explore other forms of technology that can be used in the classroom.  At first I was hesitant to engage in any of the various forms of technology that the other students were sharing and using in the classroom.  Because technology is constantly evolving by my being out of "the loop" for the past four and half years I was far behind the other students in regards to the latest academically directed technologies. The first  technology I explored was LibriVox,  an audio-book application for PC's, Chromebooks, tablets, and cellphones.  I found the technology to be useful. Especially, when I would have a hard time focusing on what was reading yet really wanting to get through the content (book).   As I stated in my blog post titled, "LibriVox- Audiobook",  I found this application to be useful when being introduced to new content, characters, and/or language. It created a "flow" to the story.

• "Dear Bobbie" Digital Narrative: 

I can't express to you enough how much I enjoyed doing this project.  Not only did I get a chance to work with my husband who I haven't really spent much time with this semester, but I was able to find the gratification that only comes from working through something you didn't think you could do.  This project was:

• lengthy
• tedious
• stressful
• fun 
• frustrating 
• and rewarding all the same time.

I feel as though this assignment illustrates what I have learned this semester. I can use this video as an example of incorporating new literacy within the classroom.  While creating this video I was forced to "think outside of the box" in regards to storytelling.  I used music, timing, illustration, and various forms of literary elements to tell "my story". 

• Booktrack Mini-Lesson:

This post was a total mess from start to finish. Reflecting back on it I'm a little embarrassed at it's lack of direction. If I were to re-due this assignment I would concentrate more on how to apply Booktrack  into my lesson as opposed to basing my whole lesson on Booktrack. I'd explore the various ways I could use Booktrack in order to encourage the students to explore their imagination in order to tell a story. I still think that Booktrack and it's ability to help students create a "mind-movie" with the assistance of audio ambiance is useful in the classroom setting. 

Final Reflection:

There was never a moment where I felt as though I was being judged for being an older, non-traditional student but there were several moments where I felt supported and encouraged, by the professor and by the other students. I was able to make connections with other students both inside and outside of the class that I found to be useful while trying to work through assignments.  For example, it was Rich's whiteboard stop-motion animation video that he shared with the class that became the catalyst for my own project. He was kind enough to suggest a few "tricks" and tips that were useful when creating my "Dear Bobbie" digital narrative. As much as I've struggled to keep up with the reading and assignments in this class, I'm happy I took it. I've stumbled and fallen more times than I care to remember but I've also pulled myself back up and carried on. The projects in this class allowed me to visually see my growth from start to finish. 

Hale Chatfield's Greatest Hits (1958-2000)

The Night Jeremy had to Shoot the Dog
- Having recently lost my own pup my heart broke for the characters within this poem. The various levels of emotion range from the young child to the older brother and to the father. Each experiencing the "situation" in his own. The innocence of the child, as an unexpected member of the hesitant "death squad" broke my heart as he was alone in his grief. The father and older child, although reluctant,  were able to follow through and take the furry life, leaning on each other for strength. Yet it was the strength of the young child that I found to be touching.

Repetition of Patterns
-A short enjoyable poem of the season.

Free
-I'd rather not get into the reasons why I LOVED this poem. I only want to touch on the depth of which Chatfield's words connected with me.

After being introduced to Hale Chatfield's poetry I'm happy to report that I'm no longer scared of new poets and I look forward to meeting many more.

Hale Chatfield's Greatest Hits 1958-2000

When I was younger, even months younger, I  enjoyed poetry. That was before exploring World Poetry in an academic setting. I had all but given up on ever enjoying poetry again when my professor introduced me to Hale Chatfield. Although, I dragged my feet a bit (a lot) before diving into the quick read of Chatfield's Greatest Hits (1958-2000) I found his words far from quick to leave my thoughts. I picked the book up and read it again. In my next post I will share with you the three poems that reminded me of the playful, sweet/sour "youthful" zest I once had for poetry.

Cyberbullying (http://cyberbullying.us/getting-teens-rethink-cyberbullying/)

Unfortunately, the rise of teen suicide is something that is ongoing. In this article it is addressed and challenged by getting kids to rethink. In the Baseline and Rethink System, one student took her use of technology and turned it into a tool to prevent suicide. She used a series of, "hurtful messages and measure (d) the adolescents’ willingness to post them on social media." The system also would "measure the test subject’s willingness, but if they agreed to post anything hurtful, it would alert them indicating “Hold on – that message that you are about to send, that may be hurtful to others."  Even though this may not be the "cure all" it is a step in the right direction.

Blondell and Miller

I really like Diane Gorski's way of slowly reeling her students into a new learning process. She was able to connect with the students but never giving up and always evolving. The moment we stop questioning our ability to "do better" in the classroom we immediately limit the possibility to do our students any justice. Diane adapted to the needs of the students and that made all the difference to them and her. For example, her use of a digital video allowed the students to find a personal connection with the assignment which Goski than encouraged the students to build upon. Diane Goski's willingness to adapt was the key to her "feeling purpose" in the classroom once again and to her students finally feeling purpose.

Sabertooth/Barnwell

I can totally 100% relate to how students have become addicted to electronics, partially cellular devices, and have lost the passion to hold a "normal" and engaging conversation. I agree with the following Barnwell statement:
 "the rush to meet 21st-century demands—emailing assignments, customizing projects for tablets and laptops, and allowing students to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)—we aren’t asking students to think and communicate in real time." 
The need to engage with student in the "now" is instrumental in educating them for the future. 
After reading this I was interested in trying the following with my own, detached children,  "the next time you interact with a teenager, try to have a conversation with him or her about a challenging topic. Ask him to explain his views. Push her to go further in her answers." It is only by the pushing a student, or in my case-my kid, into the uncomfortable zone that questions and searching for answers can be learned. 

New Literacies Readings

In the New Literacy readings I liked the following excerpt:
"Multiple ways of knowing" (Short & Harste) also include art, music, movement, and drama, which should not be considered curricular luxuries."

I appreciate the way that there is encouragement to utilize media, mode and/or any other forum in the classroom and beyond. 

"So go out and compose like crazy in any format you can find or invent—but all the while, ask yourself what you already know and what you still need to learn."

Because all of our students will be coming from various lifestyles it is our duty as educators to connect with them on various levels. Some students may be lucky enough to have a computer and internet at home and some will not. We need to mold our teaching to encompass all.  

Kajder chapter 3

        I like the way that Kajder speaks of the need for teacher to "constantly be learning" in order to keep up to date with the new technologies and literacies that our student are using. Also, the need to "let go" of some of the "old school"ideology and embrace the new technologies of our "tech-obsessed" youth is extremely beneficial. Recognizing the use of social media in the everyday life of our students is also helpful. If we understand where they are going and coming from we can help monitor and assist them in a media that they, themselves, understand. As the article states, "literacy extends to new media" and the sooner we jump on board the better it will be for our students. Finding a way to motivate them is essentially the goal and if utilizing new literacies is the way to do that then I see no problem with it.

Booktrack Classroom

• Explore excerpt of “The Great Gatsby”. 
• Edit the ‘heartbeat’ and ‘kiss’- illustrating the ease of the program.
• Create one in front of the class based on a prompt that we work on together. 
• “As I sat on the old wooden bench I noticed much around me.” 
• Use concrete detail to describe the setting here. 
• What do you hear? What do you see? What do you smell? 
• What does it feel like? 
• Booktrack Classroom could be used in the classroom in the following ways: 
• Reading Books From the Booktrack Library: 
• Students who have a hard time “tuning out” outside noise would be able to fully engage in the reading process without distractions. 
• While reading and listening to the sounds and music the student would become part of the story, assisting in reading comprehension. 
• Student will become user friendly with technology and digital tools. 
• Creating a Booktrack audio book: 
• Student will connect with the storyline in an intimate way. Encouraging reading comprehension. 
• Student will learn and recognize the multiple literary devices. 
• Student will utilize knowledge of the following literary devices to enhance the richness of the story by adding sounds and music. 
• Plot: It is the logical sequence of events that develops a story. 
• Setting: It refers to the time and place in which a story takes place. 
• Protagonist: It is the main character of story, novel or a play e.g. Hamlet in the play Hamlet 
• Antagonist: It is the character in conflict with the Protagonist e.g. Claudius in the play Hamlet 
• Narrator: A person who tells the story. 
• Narrative method: The manner in which a narrative is presented comprising plot and setting. 
• Dialogue: Where characters of a narrative speak to one another. 
• Conflict. It is an issue in a narrative around which the whole story revolves. 
• Mood: A general atmosphere of a narrative. 
• Theme: It is central idea or concept of a story. 

(http://literarydevices.net/)

• Creating a Booktrack audio book with students own story. 
• Student will practice previous skills learned to create a their own Booktrack from their story, This will encourage: 
• confidence 
• communication skills 
• presentation skills 
• digital literacy skills 
• and much more. 

This easy to use technology is on point by keeping up with the needs of today's classroom and students. Booktrack classroom is available for: teacher, student, and parent. This allows us, the educator, to connect with the student on a different level. By having this technology available to so many different platforms it is virtually available at most times. The student on summer vacation could read along to “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” while the student who has to babysit their younger siblings could read along to “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” while enjoying a snack. The availability of Booktrack allows the student a different level of engaging with a story as well as their own imagination.

Dear Bobbie Project 2014

        I'm not going to lie, the Digital Narrative assignment scared the crap outta me at first.  I wasn't sure how to start it.  I had dozens of story lines and ideas:

• live action
• cartoon
•  writing of words
• still pictures
•  and an array of other thoughts and ideas. 

With each idea I became more and more frustrated and overwhelmed. Thankfully, after talking it out with Prof. McEntarfer in class one day I was able to come up with a concrete idea. Later that afternoon I ran to Wal-Mart and collected the necessary supplies:

• Dry erase markers
• Dry erase colored pencils
• a decent size and quality dry erase board
• and coffee. 

With caffeine and supplies in hand I laid out my plan. My plan was to ask my husband to assist me in creating my digital narrative by using stop-motion animation. Once he was able to find a program that worked and coffee was brewed we set off and painstakingly created the "Dear Bobbie" video. 

        Would I do another project like this again? Surprisingly, YES! I can see the draw to whiteboard stop-motion animation. It is surprisingly easy and kinda fun regardless of all the time and energy spent on it. Once complete it is rewarding to watch the life brought into each character as well as the story. I'm glad that I was pushed to complete this assignment and I will definitely introduce something similar as this project into my future classroom. 

Post #2 for Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

        What a tear inducing book!  I appreciated the way the author skillfully pulled us, the reader, into Melinda's head.  The author used emotion to bridge our connection with the protagonist, Melinda.  As the young girl attempted to work through the moment her innocence was lost- my heart broke for her.Also, I felt horrible for her parents. As a parent myself I can't even fathom something as devastating as a rape happening to my child- my baby. The daily business of making a life for our family doesn't always make it possible to truly "be there" for them. The routine interactions within a family becomes just that, routine.  Everyone knows their place and what is expected of them. The routine craziness of life doesn't always make it easy to be as attuned to our child as we should be.  

        As I stated in my first post about, Speak, I can really see this book leading to deep conversations within the classroom as well as outside of the educational setting.  Even though kids want to talk about their feelings and thoughts they often feel awkward and embarrassed to do so.  This book can connect them with each-other and with the content within the book: exclusion, victimization, alienation, and perseverance.  Being a teenager isn't always easy and life isn't always perfect.  Speak creates a safe environment for the student to identify with the protagonist on various levels.  You don't need to have been assaulted (sexual or otherwise) to feel helpless, abandoned, or confused.  All and all I really enjoyed this book and would definitely share it would my future students.  

        

Google Goodness!

        I'm not sure where on the list of my overdue blog posts this would fit into BUT I must give a HUGE shout-out to everything Google. I've been without my Chromebook for the past week and I've felt unattached and lost without it. I depend on my laptop for everything: homework, research, correspondence with very important people (really it's just my dad), and crock-pot recipes. The later really has nothing to do with school but it does provide me nourishment which feeds my brain. :)  When my 3 month old Chromebook "baby" died I immediately went in to PANIC MODE. "What about all the documents I had saved on there for school?!" I was sick to my stomach and ready to abandon all hope of being able to finish this semester.  All these thoughts and more swirled within my manic brain and did so within a millisecond before I recalled the power of Google Drive. 
        Lucky for me, I had saved my homework (and much more) to Google Drive prior to my computer crashing.There are so many pro's to entrusting Google with all my media: photos, videos, music, documents, and more. In this situation it would be Google Drive that would come to my rescue and save the day. Retrieving my data was simple, all I had to do was log into my Google Drive account and "Voila!" I was back up and running. Everything that I had feared was gone, never to be seen again was neatly stored within the confines of my Google Drive.

According to the Google Drive website Drive allows you to:

• Store any file.

• Drive starts you with 15 GB of free Google storage, so you can keep pictures, stories, designs, drawings, recordings, videos – anything,

• See your stuff anywhere.

• Your files in Drive can be reached from any smartphone, tablet, or computer. So wherever you go, your files follow.

• Share files and folders.

• You can quickly invite others to view, download, and collaborate on all the files you want–no email attachment needed.

If you aren't already familiarized with Google Drive I highly suggest visiting the Google Drive website. Give it a try, ya never know you just may like it.  

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

     I'm halfway through the book, Speak.  I'm finding it easy to get in the mindset of the protagonist, Melinda Sordino. As she enters the ninth-grade she is full of feelings of alienation from her former friends and is finding it hard to connect with new ones. As I'm reading through the easy to ready chapters I'm drawn into her "story" and the secret she is carrying. I'm reminded of what a challenge high-school really can be for some kids and how we, as educators, aren't always privy to the interaction between them.  I can really see this book leading to thought provoking discussions both inside and outside of the classroom setting.  I'm looking forward to finishing the book and "shadowing"  Melinda as she continues through her freshman year with so much on her mind.  

Post #2 on America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories Edited by Anne Mazer

          I really enjoyed reading, "America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories".  This book would be extremely beneficial for the students who identify with any one of the diverse cultures represented within this anthology. This book would be extremely helpful for those students who may wish to learn more about their own heritage or even their neighbors culture but have yet to find a way to do so that was on a level that they could relate with on a personally level. They various cultures represented within the confines of this anthology are: Native, Asian, Latino, European, African, Arab and Jewish. There is a diversity in where they live as well as some tell stories of the country and others of the city. Many came to America from other countries but some where born in the States. The voices of the children in each short story is distinct to their culture and experience. It is the authentic voice within each of these that allow the reader to connect with the story.
          My two personal favorite short stories are: "The Circuit" by Francisco Jimenez and "Thank You, M'am" by Langston Hughes.  "The Circuit" tells the story of a Mexican migrant family and a little boy who longs to stay put instead of from traveling place to place in search of work. It describes the family's poor living conditions and their ability to make the best of what they had. The fine line of having to work to help support the family and yearning for an education weighs heavily on the young protagonist, and breaks your heart. This is opposite of the short story, "Thank You, M'am".  This is a story of forgiveness, understanding, and educating. We are introduced to the young boy in this story as he is ripping an older woman's purse of her shoulder.  In his youth he is naive and not at all prepared for the consequences of his actions. The older woman quickly takes control of the situation and begins her lesson. This story represents the best in us: forgiveness,  understanding, and guidance.
          As I stated in my previous post, this book would work well with many of the new literacies  we have gone over in class as well as the ones that are being born every day. I would utilize the multicultural diversity within this book to near the beginning of the school year. I would create a lesson that would encourage the students to express themselves by identifying with one of the stories within the anthology. I would then have them utilize technology to create a project to be shared with the class.    

America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories Edited by Anne Mazer

          The book I'm currently reading, "America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories", consists of fourteen stories saturated with the colors and textures of "American" diversity. The stories are told about young people, some who were born in America and many who were not, some who are urban dwellers and some who find themselves harvesting a crop of cotton alongside their parents.  Yet, in each short story it is easy to hear the authentic voice of a generation trying to find their identity amongst the landscape of America.
         The short story format is quick and easy reading; I could totally see students associating themselves with the diversity within this anthology. This book could be easily tied in with many of the new literacy theories we have gone over in class thus far.  It would be easy for a students to identify themselves in the stories and in turn tell their 'own story' in the form of a WeVideo project or a even creating a music video from song that exemplifies their heritage.
         At the moment, I have a couple favorite stories that I've connected with on various levels, personal and otherwise, but I'm holding off sharing them until I have read the remainder of the anthology.

Lesson Plans for Booktrack Classroom

I shared my lesson plans in Google Drive.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m1HZcIRj79ABh-x7lFRv7PHqdZBvSIriQsiq2bN6cxI/edit?usp=sharing

Bailey 10/21 Reading

Bailey refers to the technological disconnection teachers are experiencing in the classroom. This is due to the students constantly being up to date on the of the latest technologies. Students are always connected to technology- it may be a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. They want to feel "connected" with in the classroom as well.
 I commend Carol Olson for doing the "work" in order to connect with her students on an technological level. Her use of music videos and video games in order to "hook" the students allowed the students to view her in a different light and made her more approachable.
I liked that she didn't give up on blending technology into her classroom but she worked through the process of integrating technology into the fiber of her lessons.

During my own personal experience working with special-education and English language learner I found that the students embraced technology. It was comforting to them to work with something that they were familiar with.  It built their confidence and brought them out of their shell. Once they felt comfortable we would introduce the intended lesson and allowed them to work through the process using various technologies.

In this day and age it would be naive to think that technology wouldn't be just as valuable in the classroom as pencil and paper.  Carol Olson exemplifies the type of educator who is constantly educating herself to benefit the student in their classroom.

The Road Not Taken 10/20/14

When I initially began working with WeVideo I found it to be simple and easy. The following is an excerpt from a blog post that I intended to publish.



 I choose to use WeVideo for my Digital Poetry Interpretation project. I've been out exploring the wilderness and was able to take many pictures and videos that I feel would fit neatly into the delivery of my poem, "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.
I decided to begin my project by adding several photos from my Facebook account. The first thing I had to do was to give WeVideo permission to access my Facebook account in order to link the two. Next, I had to chose which Facebook folder and photos I wanted to download- a click and an ok to download the photos was all it took to add them to the "My media" folder of WeVideo.
I found the process simple enough to do. There are other platforms besides Facebook that are available to connect and download from. The following is the complete list of web services WeVideo offers a link to:

• Google Drive
• Instagram
• Flickr 
• Facebook
• Dropbox
• Picasa
• Box
• OneDrive
• Dailymotion
• and of course your computer   

It is after the downloading of the various media that my difficulties with WeVideo began.  I was able to insert the video and/or pictures I needed as well as the music with ease. When I wanted to edit the length of each slide I had to do so individually- this I found to be a pain. I also had trouble when it came to adding my voice as I read the poem.  I could visually see the files of the various readings but was not able to insert them into my video. If there was a way I wasn't able to find it. This caused me to lose time recording an audio track that I had already done. Even though I decided not to use a theme there were several cute ones to choose from. 

In the end I found it extremely difficult to align the music, slides, and my reading of the poem.  I experienced technical difficulties when I first initially played my video for the class as the music drowned out my voice.  I had to go back into the editing mode of WeVideo and change the volume to each, the music and my voice. Once I was able to balance them out I had to re-publish my video to view it before the class.  

I could go on and on about the pros and CONS of WeVideo but lets talk a little about the process of dissecting the poem in this platform. 

As much as I LIKED Frost's poem prior to start of this project I now LOVE it! This project forced me to slow down and really getting into the meat of Robert Frost's words.  I was able to look past the visual aesthetics created by the weaving of Frost's words and appreciate his ability to draw attention how the powerful choice has in influencing one's personal development.   This is not the "badass" poem that I once thought it to be. To me this poem defines the journey through life as being full of pathways of choice and understanding, trails lined acceptance and appreciation, and roads paved with ugliness and beauty. We are all a product of the roads we've taken, both good and bad, and they have shaped who we are today.  We have the power to take a different route and chose another destination, I know I have.

Night~ Elie Wiesel

A few years ago my middle son, Jonathan, read "Night" by Elie Wiesel for school. Jonathan would often come home and talk about horrible things that Mr. Wiesel had gone through and how he was able to overcome and live a good life despite everything. He would often encourage (nag) me to read "Night" but never really found the time to do so. I now know why Mr. Wiesel's story made such an impact on my son. It is a story of survival and of hope while surrounded by darkness and fear.

Although I was taken aback by many of the horrific and unimaginable events that Mr. Wiesel witnessed and experienced I was more impressed with his ability to remain "whole." I now understand why this book would be shared with high school students. This book is shocking and awful yet it exemplifies how the human spirit can overcome adversity, something students can relate to on various levels. 

I hate to say that I enjoyed reading "Night" because it's unimaginable to think of the events that unfolded, but I did. I take away hope, faith, and optimism from within the pages of "Night."  

LibriVox- Audiobook

      A few years ago, I noticed that whenever I would attempt to read a book I would become distracted. I was distracted by my boys, my furkids, the cars driving by my house, the neighbor weedeating, or the sound of my washing machine on spin cycle.  Almost anything and everything would cause me to lose my focus.  I've always been the girl who had a book in hand and not being able to concentrate was becoming increasingly frustrating.  I took to the internet in search of help and was happy when I stumbled across this little gem:  "LibriVox- Free public domain audiobooks."
      LibriVox is a totally free website which offers a variety of audiobooks from Walt Whitman to Hans Christian Anderson.  My first experience with LibriVox was with Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel, "The Jungle".  I was amazed how much easier it was to tune out the distractions around me and become engrossed with the story.  I also found it extremely helpful when I began my first ever reading of Shakespeare.  I soon as I was assigned to read Hamlet I could feel my anxiety take over. I had no idea how to pronounce half of the words on the page.  Thankfully I was able to utilize LibriVox as an educational tool.  I read through Hamlet the first time with the use of LibriVox and became familiar with the language of Shakespeare.  I was able to read through it a second time by reading it aloud to myself without the use of LibriVox.
      Although I am content reading aloud to myself the more daring reader can add to the audiobook library by reading for LibriVox. As it is purely by the voices of volunteers that LibriVox is powered.
       I know there are a lot of audiobook sites out there but I think LibriVox's mission objective
"to make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet" makes them stand out from the crowd. I hope you'll give LibriVox a try and that you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

The following is taken directly from the LibriVox "About" section of their website.

Our Fundamental Principles

• Librivox is a non-commercial, non-profit and ad-free project
• Librivox donates its recordings to the public domain
• Librivox is powered by volunteers
• Librivox maintains a loose and open structure
• Librivox welcomes all volunteers from across the globe, in all languages

Kajder~ Adolescent Literacy

Within Sara Kajder's 2010 book, "Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students",  she addresses several adolescent literacy myths and concerns.  Included within her words is a variety of ideas and solutions that teachers, school programs, and policymakers can utilize.

Kajder swiftly exposes the truth behind several adolescent literacy myths. The following are examples of such misconceptions-

• “Literacy refers only to reading.” - While literacy does include reading it also “encompasses …, writing, and a variety of social and intellectual practices that call upon the voice as well as the eye and hand.”
• “Students Learn everything about reading and writing in elementary school.” - Although a foundation of literacy learning is establish in elementary school “literacy learning is an ongoing and nonhierarchical process.”

As studies continue to show students struggling with literacy it is  important to discount myths such as these and move into a place where progress can be made.

In an early study it was found to be that a whopping  "40 percent of high school seniors never or rarely write a paper of three or more pages", this is an alarmingly high number.  As these students graduate many are unprepared for the expectations of college level writing. Kajder illustrates the following four “dimensions of adolescent literacy” and the changes needed to be made from within to allow for “effective adolescent literacy”.

1. “Shifting Literacy Demands”-  Proficiency begins as students engage with a subject matter is presented as being clearly presented.  When presented writing prompts students must be able to “reflect on their current understandings, questions, and learning processes (to) help improve content-area texts.”
2. “Multiple and Social Literacies”- It is important for teachers to help the students to bridge their “everyday literacy practices” with the many classroom literacy disciplines.  This includes utilizing electronic applications such as the Nook and iPad to create an interesting forum of which the student to work upon.
3. “Importance of Motivation”- It is important for adolescents to be motivated enough to want to explore different subjects, eras, and genres within literacy. By “allowing student choice in writing tasks and genres can improve motivation.”
4. “Value of Monocultural Perspectives” -  Introducing the students to the issues and challenges that various cultures and ethnicities face in a tangible and empathetic manner will help them “move between cultures and communities and develop transnational understanding and collaboration.”  This understanding will promote the student to step outside their comfort zone when deciding on the literature they will read.   

Essentially it’s the adolescents’ teachers, social programs, and policymakers that will determine the opportunity for student success by implementing modifications within traditional programs already established.  The change needed can slowly take root, creating a foundation for success that the student can fairly obtain, preparing the adolescent for college-level literacy that they can build upon.

Technology & Me!

This semester I would like to learn how to use the following five technologies. My goal is to be able to integrate this technology into the classroom for both regular education students, as well as, the students who have IEP and 504 Plans. _________________________________ 1. Smart Board Technology

2. Kurzweil

3. LORE

4. Video Editing Programs

5. Cloud Storage