First Post of the New School Year!

It has been a crazy start to the school year with a lot of changes...good changes!  This year, third grade is departmentalizing which means two teachers are teaching math, science and social studies, and two teachers are teaching reading and writing.  I am the literacy teacher and I love it!

So, I was approached by a friend this summer who was getting her dog certified as a therapy dog through Therapy Dogs International.  He finished his training and is now certified to read with kids.  I spoke to my principal about letting him come to school to read with the kids, and he loved it the idea! We started two weeks ago and now Yogi and his handler, Mary (my friend) come every Wednesday for two hours at a time.  We schedule the kids in 15 minute intervals, with a 15 minute break for Yogi. The kids are loving it and are constantly asking me when they get to read with him again!

Officially, Yogi is part of "Tail Waggin' Tutors" which allows therapy dogs to come into schools and work with struggling readers.  These students are often shy, nervous, apprehensive, you name it, when it comes to reading.  This program allows the kids to read to Yogi in a non-threatening atmosphere and help build their confidence.  My hope is to get more therapy dogs at our school to help our students!

I asked students to write a quick blog post about their experience with Yogi.  Specifically, what their favorite part was and why, and would they like to read with him again?

Here is what they wrote!

Dorismar
Reading to Yogi is fun and the end of the story is fun because Yogi is so funny and I pat him in the fur,  I do want to read to Yogi again because it is so fun when he moves around and he lays down.

Josh

Josh
My favorite thing of reading with Yogi was he listened all the time and the time when I laughed it was when he went to sleep and it was fun.   I would like to read to him again because it was fun and I
 wanted to spend more time with Yogi,

Maribel
My favorite part was when I sat down on the grass and Yogi started to lick me.  It was my favorite part because he was super cool because he got on top of me.  Yes, I want to read with him again because he is soft and big and when I was reading I felt his soft fur.

Robert

Robert
My favorite part of reading with Yogi was when he would snuff me because it tickled.  I would like to read to him again because he was a good dog and I really like him.

Lupita
My favorite part of reading with Yogi is when I was reading and he was in my lap.  When I was reading he was sleeping.  I would like to read with him because he is cute and big and I like Yogi.

Deveni

Rosina
My favorite part of reading to Yogi was when he laid on my lap and fell asleep.  He woke up and he wagged his tail.  I would like to read with him again because it was fun to read to him.  It was very fun.



Deveni
My favorite part of reading with Yogi is when Yogi put his paw on my book because Yogi likes my book and was like "read the book!" I would like to see him again because he is a sweet dog.



I look forward to a fun school year with Yogi and can't wait to watch my kids build their confidence in reading throughout the year.  If any of you can get this program, or one like it, in your school, I highly recommenced it!

Check back for more Yogi updates throughout the year!

Digital Storytelling and My Journey- The End!

Wow I can't believe this journey is over!  It was definitely a course filled with ups and downs, with a lot of frustration but a lot of satisfaction as well.  This final reflection and portfolio showcases my work through the last seven weeks in CU Denver's Learning with Digital Stories course taught by Professor Remi Holden. By completing this portfolio, I was surprised how much I accomplished in a short period of time.  Here is the link to my final portfolio, and below is my final course reflection. I hope you enjoy learning about my journey as much as I enjoyed it!

Myself as a Learner in this Course

The following addresses how I learned in this course, how I understand social learning practices, how my experiences in this course inform how I will learn in the future, and the ways I understand myself a connected learner.

When I read the syllabus a few weeks before the course, I was a bit nervous of what was to come.  I didn’t even really understand what a digital story was.  Then as the first week began I watched the two screencasts and part of me felt better and part of me felt unsure.  Remi stated that it was ok to feel frustrated, confused, discouraged (I can’t remember all the adjectives but there were a few) so I knew I wouldn’t be alone in my feelings.  I am pretty sure the first week’s assignments took me about 3 days to complete as I was exploring DS106 and the different aspects.

As the weeks went along, I became more and more comfortable with the course and assignments and even began looking forward to the DS106 assignment bank.  My progression of comfort in the course is very evident in my blog posts and tweets as the weeks went on.  This comfort level increased based on how I learned in this course.  At first, everything was new to me; blogging, tweeting, digital stories, DS106, Daily Creates, literally everything was new.  I learned by doing and trying.  I learned by viewing other classmates’ work and from trial and error on my own.  I learned by asking for help from classmates and Remi.

This leads to how I understand the social learning practices given theory by Lankshear and Knobel.  My whole journey to become a teacher and more recently getting my master’s degree has had a fair amount of social learning, although I wasn’t really aware of the label until recently.  My cohort through CU Denver’s Urban Teaching Program became my go to for help and questions more so than my professors on my road to becoming a teacher.  Some of my master’s classes have had a lot of social learning and some had none.  This most recent course on digital story telling has had the most social learning.  My favorite definition of social learning comes from Lankshear and Knobel’s New Literacies chapter 7, but it is from a quote from Brown and Adler.  They say, “[Social learning] is learning based on the assumption that our understanding of concepts and processes is constructed socially in conversations about the matters in question and 'through grounded interactions, especially with others, around their problem or action” (p. 218).

My social learning became evident when I asked for help in a blog post regarding DS106 assignments and within one hour of my post, I had two classmates offer suggestions to me.  I immediately took their advice and was on my way.  Even though this is my last graduate class of my program, I plan to continue incorporating social learning into my third grade classroom.  I have learned how powerful it can be, especially for younger students who are like sponges.  There is a lot of research out there that discusses how important social learning and group work is for English language learners and my plan is to incorporate as much as I can this coming year.

My Co-Design of this Course

The following addressed how this course was different from others I've taken, how I contributed to the development of this course and our learning community, how I was responsible for directing both my own learning and also the shared experiences of peers/others, and how I would have designed this course differently.

With the exception of one or two courses in my program, this course was very different.  It challenged me to think on my own and rely on myself and the help from peers to figure things out.  My whole ILT program was online so there is always some degree of self-reliance, but here I was pushed farther than before.

I feel I contributed to the development of this course by bringing a different perspective (that of an elementary teacher) to the group.  There were a lot of people in the class that had something to do with education, but to my knowledge I was the only elementary school teacher.  This allowed my peers to see this class through a different lens than their own.  Those that read my blog could see how the Lankshear and Knobel readings or DS106 assignments could be tied to elementary classroom.        

I was responsible for directing my own learning through DS106 assignments and digital story critiques.  It was up to me to pick the DS106 assignments and then learn how to complete them.  This was a lot easier said than done.  There were so many assignments I chose that were a learning curve.  Whether it was figuring out Windows Movie Maker or Audacity or just simply how to embed things into a blog.  As far as the digital critiques went, I could choose a story that interested me or taught me something.  For example, I watched a lot of Ted Talks on education and I found myself paying close attention to the news or Facebook in order to find stories I wanted to critique. 

One of the most helpful aspects of this course was reading other responses to the text.  Each person had a different take on the same chapter and it was very helpful to read other responses and put it all together.  What I had to say might have helped someone else that was struggling with a concept or something I read on another’s blog helped clear up my confusion.  This shared experience of working through a complex text together, I think benefited everyone.

There are two things I would change about this course: the story critiques the second half of the class and the lack of grades.  I found that many of the remixes the second half of the course that people critiqued, including myself, were not as in depth or were more surface level than the critiques the first half of the class.  For example, remixed songs or fan fiction.  I realize those remixes are very important to some and maybe I am being naïve in saying they are more surface level or just for fun.  But for me and my journey through this course, I preferred the critique criteria the first half of the course where I could watch Ted Talks or news stories that were not remixes.  But then again, Lankshear and Knobel argue that everything could be considered a remix of something else so perhaps it just comes down to personal opinion.  Finally, it was hard for me to never get a formal grade for my work.  I know everything was read and kept track of, but I am person that needs that grade to keep me at peace that I am on the right track.  Although, I am assume if I was failing, I would have been notified by now!       

My Understanding of Pedagogy

The following addresses how I understand Remi's course design and ongoing decision-making, how this course changed my understanding of pedagogy, how my understanding of "instructor" changed, and some feedback to Remi about this course.

I would be curious to see how this course was designed before this semester as I had heard it used to look very differently.  My understanding of this course design comes from what I have seen on DS106 as our syllabus correlates to the DS106 syllabus.  I very much appreciate Remi’s ongoing decision making throughout the course because I feel like he was really listening to our reflections and acting accordingly.  He wasn’t afraid to veer from the syllabus and update it to meet our needs.  For example, I was one of the people who was frustrated with the Daily Creates because there were very few I related to each week.  I never directly complained about them but would mention my concerns in my reflections and a few weeks later he made them optional.  This goes to show he was really listening and doing his best to meet our needs. 

With that being said, this course didn’t necessarily change my understanding of pedagogy, but it did help confirm my beliefs.  I knew the importance of social learning, but like I said before, I didn’t have a name for it other than group work or collaboration.  Through Lankshear and Knobel’s final two chapters and the real time exposure I got to social learning, it has confirmed that I need to ramp up my efforts in my own classroom.            

To me an instructor is someone who guides you along your journey and helps you reach your goals.  Their job is not to ‘push’ all this knowledge at you, but be there for support as you try to find your way.  I think all of us became ‘instructors’ in this course as we all helped each other through the journey.  Selfishly, it was comforting knowing others were going through my same struggles and I learned about their same struggles through their posts, whether it was technology issues, work or travel obligations, to confusion about assignments, etc.  Our ‘instructor’ was there each Monday to check in and help guide our work for the following week.  It was always nice to be showcased in a screencast as it validated and acknowledged the work we were doing.   

All I have to say is if you had asked me 8 weeks ago if I was going to make it through this course, I would have said probably not.  I remember saying to someone, I don’t know how anyone with a job will have time to complete all of these assignments!  Not only did each week get easier and easier, but I began to look forward to things like the critiques and DS106 assignments.  I learned about a world I never knew existed (fan fiction and anime) and learned about new programs and web 2.0 tools that will be very useful for me in the future with my students.  I think it is very important that you emphasize to ‘newbies’ that it seems like a lot but it is worth the journey, if I could do it, anyone can!

References:

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning. New York: Open University Press.

Here is the embedded version on my portfolio.  To view the complete site, click here

Week 7 Reflection

How well do you feel you completed the requirements of the week’s assignments?

This week, I completed all the assignments and they were on time!  My feelings towards the final chapter were mixed but in the end, I do see how they tied it all together and I really liked reading about the Q2L school.  I think if I read that book again I might get even more out of it...

What gave you trouble? What did you enjoy most? What did you learn?

Nothing gave me trouble this week, luckily.  I completed my Lankshear and Knobel response from Spain in my mom's apartment with great wifi and did my visual assignment when I got home.  I really enjoyed the visual assignment because I am starting to get excited about applying some of these things to my classroom.  I learned a little about html this week and how to embed a Google slideshow into my blog so that was exciting!  I also liked all the comments I received on my L&K post, it was interesting to read everyone's thoughts and responses to what I wrote.  

What would you do differently? What questions to you have?

I think some of my comments in my Lankshear and Knobel reflection came out in a different way than I intended.  I think some people reading my blog took my words to say that I don't like this class or that I am annoyed with all the "pull".  That was not my intention at all, it was simply my very first thought that changed very quickly once I dove in.  I have very much enjoyed this course and all the freedom and choice in the assignments.  I feel like this class has been better than most!  

What are some of the larger issues surrounding your work?

No issues!

Score: 10/10

Backyard Photo Safari

For this week's DS106 assignment, I decided to stick with the visual assignments because they are my favorite.  I chose one that might be boring for some, but the application to the classroom could be very powerful.  It is a backyard photo safari that takes viewers on a photo journey through someone's yard.  Now my backyard is fairly plain, but I chose this assignment because I was thinking about applying it to the classroom.

One of the most powerful things I learned through CU Denver's Urban Teacher Program was how important it is to allow the students to bring their own culture and funds of knowledge into the classroom.  I thought this backyard photo journey could be a really cool way for me to get to know the students at the beginning of the year and for the students to get to know each other.  It wouldn't necessarily have to be their backyards, it could be anything.

In my current school, we would probably have to modify this a bit by either doing it in class together or by using actual pictures the kids have, not digital.  For some, this could be homework during the first week of school and have students share on Friday, for example.  This assignment would teacher the kids about creating digital slide shows and allow them to learn to be digital storytellers!

Here is my photo journey!



  

Moving Towards "Pull"- Last L&K Response:

While reading this chapter I had a roller coaster of thoughts and emotions running through my head.  While the concept of social learning through a masters and teaching cohorts is intriguing and forward thinking, I would be upset if I was paying for a class and I had to learn everything myself...why pay for it then?  Now I don’t know all the specifics around tuition but my first thought was that would not be ok with me.  Perhaps this is because I am so used to learning via the ‘push’ model where I am told what to do, how to do it and when it needs to be finished; it is all I have known really until this class.  And I’m not going to lie, I felt a bit annoyed at first about this class and its freedom and flexibility.  I was thinking if I had known about DS106 previously, I could have accomplished the same result for free.  But then I lose the credits, the guidance of a professor, and a known, close knit group of classmates to collaborate with and seek advice.  Now reaching the end of the this class I realized how much I’ve learned on my own and how much I’ve explored on the web that I never knew existed.  So I guess I am a fan of the ‘pull’ concept and social learning.

Moving towards the school in New York, I was encouraged by the findings.  I love the idea of what the Q2L School is doing and how they are going about their teaching.  Their goal to use “game like learning to connect student learning to the demands of the twenty-first century and support young people in their learning across digital networks, peer communities, content, careers, and media” (p. 246) is exactly why I chose instructional technology as my masters.  I want my students to be prepared for the 21^st century and in order to be prepared; they need critical thinking, technology and problem solving skills that are so hard to teach from a text book in the standard classroom.

Now, playing devil’s advocate...how does this concept work with kids from all different backgrounds?  I know typically New York is fairly diverse and these students were chosen from a lottery system, but as I was reading, I kept thing what background did the kids have?  Were they already proficient readers and writers?  Were they at grade level in math?  Do they have internet access at home and parent support?  

These are the things I have to think about when trying to apply this concept to my situation, even though I know this case study was 6^th and 7^th graders.  It was also interesting to read that “school’s resourcing and operating costs fall within the parameters of the school’s district-approved budget” (p. 246), I would be curious to see what that looks like and how they got all the partnerships they did.  What the Q2L school is doing sounds expensive and something my district would never consider so seeing the financials of this all would be interesting!

References:

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning. New York: Open University Press.

Reflecting from Spain

• How well do you feel you completed the requirements of the week’s assignment

This week was a little rough for me traveling and being out of the country.  I managed to get all the assignments completed but one was a little late and I wasn't able to engage with my peers as much as I normally do.  I was finally able to respond to comments on my posts and I got to read peer work this morning.

Fan Fiction Digital Critique
Chapter 7 Response
DS106 Assignment
Daily Create #1
Daily Create #2

• What gave you trouble? What did you enjoy most? What did you learn?

Obviously the wifi situation gave me a lot of trouble this week.  One hotel only had it in the lobby and it was a very weak signal and the current hotel's wifi cuts in an out all the time (obviously I can't be too annoyed because I am in a beautiful part of Spain enjoying the sun and the beach) but it was still stressful.  Another thing was the Blogger app on my phone doesn't let you use links but I was able to take screen shots of the fan fiction I read and hopefully people could read too if there chose.  

I enjoyed learning about fan fiction, I had never seen it before and I liked reading different 'what ifs' and the crossovers between some of my favorite shows.  I have also learned to have a great deal of patience this week with all the frustrations surrounding trying to get wifi!

• What would you do differently? What questions to you have?

I guess there isn't much I would have done differently other than trying harder to get EVERYTHING finished before I left.  I don't get home until Thursday but my goal is to start tomorrow and see what I can get finished.

• What are some of the larger issues surrounding your work

I am feeling better about creating assignments related to my focal theme or at least finding ways to tie assignments into my theme.

Here's to next week!

Score: 9/10

Something new from a far away land

Let me preface this post by telling you how nearly impossible it's been to blog from Spain...so much for being global...I couldn't get wifi to work in the hotel with a computer or an iPad.   I apologize about the lack of links but that's asking a lot apparently. For now if you want to see the mix up go to fanfiction, then mix ups, then Grey's anatomy then law and order SVU then it's the first one. I've also added screen shots!

This week I decided to try something new. I have never see any fan fiction before so I went to fanfiction.net and started browsing. Unfortunately, the wifi where I am isn't the fastest thing in the world so my options were limited. However, I explored TV shows and saw some Friends stuff, obviously everyone knows I love Friends, but changed my mind when I saw the mix ups section. I clicked on Grey's Anatomy then saw I could mix it with Law and Order: SVU and got so excited...two of my other favorite shows! To be honest, I think this mix up could have been done much better, maybe I'll write my own crossover :)

I chose to critique this fan fiction based on 3 of Lankshear & Knobel's literacy dimensions:

1.) crafting an engaging plot line that remains 'believable' despite the new twists given to characters and extant story lines. 

2.) may include writing reviews and providing feedback on other's narratives 

3.) using good grammar and spelling; or using bad grammar and bad spelling for developing characters, etc. 

1.) this story has believable plot lines because the back story here matches with the shows' plot. Even with the new twists and added characters (babies) the plot line makes sense and could really happen. 

Score: 10/10

2.) at the end of the fan fiction the author welcomes reviews and provides commentary on her thought process. Only 2 people have reviewed this work and based on the author's request I think he/she wants more feedback. 

Score: 10/10

3.) this was the weakest part of the fan fiction. There were several times when I had to re-read parts of this in order to follow or understand the new plot. The grammar was ok but nothing was so bad that it interfered with the story line. 

Score: 8/10