New literacies and technology

I can totally relate to the article when it spoke about how our graduates who started with the standard notebook, pen, and pencil now have so much more offered to them instead of the trusty old notebook. I took a break from working on my masters two years ago and my first class back was this class and boy was i surprised on June 25th. I walked out of that first night of class thinking, it has only been two years. How could that much change in only two years? But before i knew it i was blogging, posting on the motherboard, and even watching u tube for my assignments. Have i adjusted...absolutely! Just like any other form of technology, it is just a matter of time before one becomes adjusted.
It does seem odd to think of literacy as a technology because it is not found in a book, but just think of how many things a day you read on the computer whether it is an article on the Internet, an email, or even the news. I think of an average day and how i rarely turn the TV on and i can't remember the last time i bought a news paper. Why would i do either of these things when they are right at my finger tips!
Are the newspaper and the TV going to just disappear...no way! Technology is not here to replace all of the older ways of literacy, its here to enhance it. Think of email it is similar to a letter, but it did not replace it, or instant message....it is a technology advancement to the phone but it did not replace it. How about text messaging, it didn't replace the cell phone and the use of talking on the phone....it is just an advancement. Society changes, time change, and literacy is changing everyday with the help of technology.
I think the main idea here is to keep in mind that these advancements are not here to replace the older ways of literacy, they are here to keep up with the times and advance the knowledge of those today. Without our prior knowledge to read and write all of these new technologies would be obsolete. I think it is important to expose students at a young age to the technologies in literacy so it does not get misused. For example: most young students think of the computer as a gaming device. They associate the computer with sony play station or any other computer games found on the Internet. Are all these games non educational...no. But it is better to expose them to world outside of video games so they can associate the computer as a literacy device rather then a place to where they can play Grand Theft Auto.

NCLB

Do i agree with this act....yes. I think its a great idea, but i don't think it has been properly thought out. I feel as though its something that looks great on paper, but once you read into it it all kind of falls apart! I feel as though some of the ideas actually contradict each other or other ideas and or theories on education.
I will start with the of educators being up to par....totally agree with that! I feel as though if one is an educator they should be well on top of education themselves. I feel as though it is the job of the teacher and the district to provide this experience. If a teacher chooses to continue in their schooling thats great, but for those who do not they relay on the professional development hours. Do all districts provide the same...no. I think there is a problem in that as well. Some districts are full of good pd hours while others just use those hours for teachers to be part of studies, or clean their classrooms. If the state mandates this idea they should at least provide or monitor where these hours are coming from.
As for the way it effects the kids....i don't think it is made for the "average" student. What is the average student....that is the real question. There is no such thing as the average student anymore and i think that is one of the real problems with the NCLB act. It really doesn't take into consideration those students who are ELL students or those with special needs. Demographically and geographically i feel this act fails as well. It speaks of helping these kids succeed at their level, but you look at the picture of the Abbott districts, why are all their funding being cut? Without these funds these districts cannot stand on their own two feet let alone help these students with all extra services the NCLB speaks of.
I know at first i spoke of how i think the act is a great idea....and i do. I just wish as they sat there and wrote this act they really thought of "all" the students out there and just how well educators actually could carry this act out. I think with more time, thought, and reasoning maybe one day this act will someday support the "average" student.

Assessment

In the past four years of teaching i have been in two different districts. Surprising enough both districts use the same assessments. Through the years i have learned that Abbott districts are monitored heavily through the state, so there assessments come directly from the state. The assessment that i have been using is know as ELAS (early learning assessment). ELAS runs parallel to the preschool age by age accomplishments. ELAS covers the following: listening and understanding to environment sounds, converses effectively in his or her own language, emergent print awareness, knowledge and enjoyment of books, phonological awareness, and emerging writing skills.
Yes these expectations run parallel to the state requirements, but i found when it came time to really spend time with the students i really wasn't. I was so consumed with getting evidence to meets these expectations and fill the students portfolios that i forgot what i was really there for, to teach. After working with this assessment i have found time to figure out how to balance the time, but after speaking with other educators who use this system they feel the same. According to Principles of Effective Literacy Assessment article it is an ongoing process and it does show a pattern of growth throughout the year, and it is absolutely appropriate culturally, but my personal opinion is that it is a little much. I came to this conclusion not when i realized i needed to spend more time teaching instead of assessing, but when i sat down to do report cards and the report card had nothing to do with ELAS. Does the district need to reevaluate this....absolutely!
After reading the article on Ms. Rodriguez i realized that maybe i just need to make my own plan of action when it comes to assessment. I would still use what is expected of me from the district, but maybe incorporate my own activities that would help me assest my students as far as the report card expectations are concerned. Maybe do the year long project and have the students self assesset as she did, but most importantly i would involve the parents as well.

TIP 5,6,7

Well to be honest i am actually getting into all these theories. It is very interesting to see how they have changed throughout the years and how people perceive things. I feel it is important for those who have a strong feeling on something that they should be able to express themselves this way. Do i agree with all of them, absolutely not. Actually there are many theories out there that are very controversial, but that's what makes these readings so interesting.

One theory that actually made me laugh, just because it is so ridiculous would be the Maturation Theory. It claims that its harmful to introduce language to children before they are six and a half...um yeah ok! Try stepping into my classroom where i have fifteen five year olds who can speak Spanish and English fluently. The only thing that this theory proves is how times have changed and how people have opened their eyes to language and literacy throughout the years.

Speaking of my students i actually thought a lot about them as i read chapter 6. Chapter 6 speaks of socio cultural theories, the effects of rural and urban communities. Growing up i was the kid in the rural family that helped mom in the house and yes my brother played video games, but on the flip side my mother was always a teacher in an urban area and always exposed my brother and i to that lifestyle so we were aware of what else is out there. Do i agree with my mom for doing this...absolutely! This is the second urban district i have worked in and i love every minute of it. I am fascinated by the these theories and find them very interesting...who knows after all these years working in these communities maybe i will create my own theory!

Acquiring language and reading

After reading the wikipedia article i have to agree with James and Richard that the environment plays a role in aquiring language. The Mama teached me Talk article also states the same with better examples as to why the environment plays a role. In this article they speak of how the parents are the role models of language and they might not even realize it. Think about a child and how all they do is imitate language in their first couple of years of language. They say just about everything they hear. After years of this imitating they aquire this language to be theirs. This imitating now becomes their language. It may be proper, it may not be. But at three and four do these young children really know what is the proper language and what is not?

This then becomes a problem later on when it is time to read. The words that they hear might not look the same on paper. For example: a child calls the bathroom a bafroom for five years but when he/she sees the word bathroom written down on paper, it might confuse them. Here is this word that they have been using since they were probably two years old and it doesn't look anything like it sounds. As if the english language is not confusing enough, now they have to learn to read and correct their grammer (their language) at the same time.

Essential Questions assessment from wiki

When i think about reading and literacy i think of it as a big picture. To someone outside of the education field one might think of reading and literacy as just that. But after being in the educational field for four years i still find myself asking what else can we do to better a learners reading and literacy skills?
Do i think literacy and reading starts before a child enters school...absolutly! A great way to think of it is to look back on the article of The Greatest Art for Little Readers. Reading this article brought me back to my childhood. Growing up i was not much of a reader, in fact i hated it. I was always the last one to finish a test and would cringe if the teacher would ask me to read out load. As i read this this article though i related to what they were saying as a student and a teacher. So many of those books mentioned i can remember as a child and not because i read them from front to back, but because they grabbed my attention and lurred me into reading. As i sit and watch my students now i can see that happening to them. I watch them pick up these books and turn the pages one at a time intriqued at the pictures and trying to tell their own story of what is going on. As the year goes on these preschoolers actually can tell some stories from start to finish because of the picture representation provided on the paper. A great example i have of this is back in January i was doing a lession on hybernation and i took out Eric Carle's Brown Bear. When i held up the book one of my students said, "can i read it?" So i let him take a whirl and sure enough he read the entire story.
Then i came across the wikipedia acticle and i thought to myself, no wonder why there is no set answer to the question of what is literacy and reading. There are so many things to take into concideration to give that question a solid answer. When i read the beginning of the article it frustrated me to think that people actually believed this. But after reading what the recent researchers had to say i did feel a little more at ease. Personally i don't think that there is one world wide defintion of literacy and reading. I feel this way because i think there are too many diverse factors to take into concideration. Factors such as culture, religion, and most importantly schooling. I know the researchers touched on that and after teaching in two different abbott school districts, i can relate to the stereotypes that these urban city students go through.
What i am wondering most about is the last article. I wonder because i have been faced with a similar situation. When i first started teaching i was using the curriculum SFA and did i like it as a first year teacher who was going through the alternate route....of course! As the years went on, i got very bored and so did the children. One of my personal characteristics is creativity and wanted to be able to use it in my career as a teacher, but once i started teaching i was no longer aloud to use my skills. This past school year i have started in another district where i use a different curriculum that allows me to be creative and allows me to cater to the needs of my students. What i am wondering about most here is why are some of these curriculums set up so structured? It creates an impersonal setting making the student feel as though he/she is a number instead of a student who is there to learn, a student who is there to be educated.

Read 500 intro to me!

Hi my name is Marcie! I have been a teacher for the past four years in an urban setting. I love what i do and look forward to this class.