Week 7 2018 Inquiry: Research and Critical Thinking Part 1

I enjoyed reading about the different things you are trying out, and hearing about potential pitfalls.  And I agree with you all that you need to balance ebooks and traditional ones.

Learners are  empowered when they are able to ask questions about topics of interest and use those questions as a guide to finding information they can use to enrich their lives. So this week, we are beginning to read and discuss about inquiry.  While inquiry does include communication, collaboration, and comprehension, critical thinking is going to be a key focus here as is creativity.

This week you are reading  3 book chapters.  I'd suggest reading the Johnson chapter first, followed by the BABR chapters. They are really full of tools and strategies for inquiry, so much so that I was a bit overwhelmed!  Here is some vocabulary I"d like for you to use in your blog discussions: locate, evaluate, synthesize, integrate, divergent search phrases, repurposing, reinforcement, problem posing, online search, search engines, search strategies, curating, organizing, summarizing. Synthesize the information and collaborate on creating a definition of inquiry learning grounded in all of the readings for this week. Make this synthesis a generative synthesis (see the DeSchyver article I've uploaded on Canvas for a definition of this term). Then I want you all to be critical evaluators.  Divide up the tools from BABR chapters to try out--the blog leader can either make assignments or you can volunteer.  Critically evaluate the tools that you tried out and write about them in your responses.
Remember that  this week you need to fill out the Virtual Check In form. Please do this by Thursday  midnight.  I"ll check regularly and get back to you.  Have a good fall weekend.

Week 6 2018 Comprehension and e books

Awesome discussion this week, ladies!  I could tell it was a synchronous discussion and much richer because of it.

This coming week you will be extending the creative collaboration and communication around comprehension:  What is it in digital spaces? What supports it on Web 2.0? Which of the social practices might contribute to it?  An additional topic is how eBooks contribute to comprehension, and in fact, my aha moment of the readings, what "taken for granted" book handling skills need to be revisited in order to comprehend a story or a piece of text in the e-world.

 As I was reading, I came upon a reference to Bloom's Taxonomy and its revision to be a digital taxonomy.  Take a look at it below.

 Keep this in mind as you read the chapters in the Johnson book and H&C chapters.  In your blog discussion, refer to the digital Bloom's to identify the comprehension/thinking that you might be encouraging with students in each of the activities or ideas presented.

It is noon on Friday as I write and rain is still coming down.  Stay dry!  Stay safe.

Week 5 2018 Collaboration and communication for comprehension

We are moving into Module 2 about Web 2.0 resources and supporting NL/nl skills and social practices--the more practical piece. Remember to always be thinking about why the resources and skills are related to NL theory and to the important social practices that underlie that theory and the uses of those skills.
This week we are focusing on collaboration and communication for comprehension--three of the C's that are key skills for participating successfully in NL. Specifically, J 3 will discussion communication to build community within and outside of the classroom.  BABR 6 discusses how online discussions build communication and collaboration. H&C 5 discuss how to use audio tools and H&C 9 discusses how social media can support collaboration. How does communication and collaboration increase comprehension? How can you connect the key ideas to your own setting?

Have a good week!

Week 4 2018 Planning for NL/nl

So sorry I'm behind in confirming your topic choices for the digital book. Jenny, you want to do digital citizenship, which I can see easily for the theoretical piece and the lesson activities.  I"m not sure about what resources you will evaluate, but I'm ready to hear your plan.  Melinda, I have you down for planning for integration of New Literacies into literacy instruction.  Theresa, I have you for social media and collaboration.  I"m looking forward to what you all do with those topics. 

The readings for Week 4 focus on the planning process for integrating New Literacies/new literacies into your teaching and classrooms.  Last week's readings also alluded to planning as part of describing new literacies on classrooms.  I hope that as you read, even if the literal content is not about your teaching area or grade level, that you have been making connections to your own situation and in your mind, thinking about how the information could be used at your grade/age level.


As you read the chapters, think about how the ideas they put forth are part of planning for instruction.  How are they related to last week's readings? Compare and contrast the different frameworks. How are the readings all connected to this week's overarching topic? What is new to you about this process and what is just an expansion of what you already do? On Page 28 of H&C, you see a link to the Tech Integration Matrix site.  Go there and see where you fall within the two dimensions of the matrix.  How will all of this information help you as you plan for your own lessons/activities integrating digital and multimodal literacies into your classroom?

Have a good week! I'm looking forward to seeing you on Friday, Sept 14 at 5 pm.  I"ll let you know where via email. If there are questions that you woudl like to discuss in class (content or assignments), let me know in the blog discussion.