I thought chapter 8 brought up an interesting point about literacy. It's interesting to think of the modern term "literate" as one who is able to read and write through pencil and paper form AND through media sources. Being multimedia literate enables more possiblities to communicate in various forms. Teaching our students to become effective users of multimedia authoring tools will also expand the ways students can creatively express what they have learned.
One idea I got from this chapter is to have my students create a short movie that expresses what they learn from studying the lifecycle of a monarch butterfly. In spring my first graders study this cycle as they observe actual caterpillars go through this metamorphisis. I usually take pictures of the process. This year I could use these pictures, have my students work in small groups, and have my students create simple movies that recap what they learned about the monarch butterfly life-cycle. I think with some parent volunteers in there to help, this would be a fun, learning experience that integrates technology.
My concern is I am feeling a little guilty with the fact that I currently do not expose my 1st graders to multimedia forms very often. I want to be sure that I am allowing them adeqaute exposure but I guess am unsure how often is enough at a first grade level.
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Alicia,
ReplyDeleteI can really relate to your comment about literacy and how its meaning to you is changing. Ten or fifteen years ago, literacy surely referred to reading and writing (pencil/paper)to the vast majority of educators. Things are definitly changing. I wonder if anyone else is concerned with their student's ability to spell correctly without spellcheck? Is the importance of correct spelling and handwriting going out the window, or is it not as important as it used to be? Things are changing.
Dave Neal