Mr. Lake

This is a Terrible Day

2011-10-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

Sitting home waiting for PSE&G to come. Thermostat is broken and I'm freezing. Hope someone comes soon. Still haven't left house to get the papers. What sort of day is this going to be. Listed to First Baptist streaming and that was very uplifting.

The Lost Boys

2011-08-22T14:57:00.001-07:00

Intersting article in the NYT Sunday on why boys don't read. I've sent it out to a few people and I'm waiting to hear their response to it. Heard an interesting discussion on NPR about education gap. Angel L. Harris at Princeton was on with Diane Ravitch. NYT also did a review of Steven Brill's new book on education.

End of the School Year

2011-06-20T23:00:00.001-07:00

I've made it to the end of another school year. Different school, different priorities. Have a lot of work to complete over the summer. But I'm looking forward to enjoying myself staying grounded and close to the church. Have to think through the direction I have to take in the classroom. Hope the Rutgers workshop will help. Need to establish new network of support because you can't get everything you need from school. New challenge is to learn chess well enough to teach it.

Teachers Convention

2010-11-03T15:04:00.001-07:00

Will be leaving early this morning for Atlantic City and the Teachers Convention. Hope to have some interesting workshops. I have already planned out my schedule. Want to have time to go to the Tech Lounge and talk about blogging and Power Point presentations. Want to get information on teachers using podcasting in the classroom. Hope things are exciting.

Hurdles of Instruction

2010-10-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to get into the center of instruction now. I have been working with Read Aloud/Think Aloud and comprehension with below level readers. Answering compare and contrast questions and also inferencing. There seems to be a huge block with them. Even when I take my time and scaffold carefully they have trouble taking one step on the bridge to pass onto understanding of the question. It is immensely frustrating. You point out the passage with the answer. You asked them to read the passage and they read right pass the answer not even recognizing it! Comprehension is a juggling act; you have to take a question hold it in your mind and don't drop it. Then move onto a text and find a building that block or lego that fits; then return to the text or a corresponding story or new text and find the next facet that answers the questions. My lower level readers are not holding the question in their head or not understanding the question so how can you expect them to answer the question when they don't know what to look for.

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

Spent this holiday weekend in Bowie. Had a wonderful time. We bought blue crabs at the market and made a crab boil that everyone enjoyed. Thinking about school and hoping to get some rest during this vacation.

It's Been Jazz All Along

2010-05-30T03:56:00.001-07:00

This past week is Miles Davis would of been 84 years old. That lead me to YouTube and some videos of him playing with John Coltrance. Then I found Horace Silver "Song for My Father." Then there was Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson. I had to listen to Les McCann and Eddie Harris "Compare To What." Finally I went to Wes Montgomery, "A Day In The Life." This was it again the music I heard when I had no understanding of how powerful it all is. Something that you need in you and is meant to turn you around. Forever tall, like the pyramids ancient and cool like the Nile.

New Class

2010-05-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

I have taken over two seventh grade classes this week and will be with them until the end of the year. Things are very challenging. Plenty of discipline problems, inappropriate behavior, etc. I'm trying to revamp my teaching style entirely and be firm by not challenge or get into confrontations. It is important to think of things to motivate the students and make lessons interesting but not boring. Boy have a lot of energy and their enthusiasum runs way ahead of formula driven and regimented instruction.

Back Again After a Long Time

2010-04-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

Very eventful week. Had a tooth pulled. But I haven't had too bad after affects. Spring break is ending. When we return to school we will be full bore NJAsk prep. Planning to travel to Baltimore Job Fair Saturday 4/10. Looking to have some interesting conversations with school administrators. Look for information for possibly leads for openings. Need to find out about strong charter schools in the Maryland area. Will be looking for a list of good schools.

Out of School Again

2010-02-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

It's amazing we're out of school again because of the weather. Snowed just enough to keep the schools closed and make the roads bad. Worked on scoring cycle test for seventh grade and finished everything. Want to do some reading on blogging before I go to bed. Have to be at the airport early in the morning to get Ingrid. Angela called looking for her. Had dinner with Michael and we had a good time. Talked about people and what they are doing. Emailed for information on Marygrove, want to ask some questions about beginning some graduate work. Have to go over material from folio program this weekend and try and prepare a lesson for class. Been feeling very good lately want to get in the mood to organize projects better. Still need to get back to the gym.

The Sky Is Falling

2010-02-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

What an evening!! Noticed that the ceiling in the area with the washing machine was leaking. The floor was all wet. Took me a minute to realize it was the toilet in the bedroom leaking and the water was dripping down. Got a hold of plumber and $500 later it seems to be fixed. But we have discussed that the entire bathroom has to be redone. Shower, sink and everything else. We have the toilet downstairs that is messing up also. I went to the basement to see if there was any leakage and I didn't see any. Looked over the Folio program for the class. I need to go over it again and work out a writing lesson for the class. Ingrid told me that the "H" in husband mean "handle it." Vernon called said he is still working out what he is going to do. Has to find a place to live, etc. He asked me to watch after the kids let him know what's going on.

End Of The Week

2010-02-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

Two hard days with after-school dentention. Principal decided to round up all the kids without uniforms and send them to detention. Had two full rooms. Need to check on some people who are skipping out on detention. Have to plan work for the weekend. Find another county application and apply. Need to send for transcripts. I've registered for the Baltimore Job Fair. Got some information on how to find out about pension information.

Tod's Peach Cobbler

2010-02-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day, I opted to take Ingrid to Mr. Tod's for the peach cobbler. Have been reading a good deal of the day. Looked at some school district websites. Need to work on receiving additional applications from these districts. Day has been cold and cloudy. Need to keep working on the blog. I have been reading Blogging for Dummies. Very good book plus I have purchased several other books on technology and the classroom. Tried to begin a cover letter for my resume. Need to rework some of the letter but I have a beginning. Made codfish and dumplings last night just like we use to have almost every Friday when I was growing up. Just have a couple of days left before returning to school.

Home For The Blizzard

2010-02-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

The big blizzard hit New Jersey and the district closed. I went to the store early because I wanted some bacon. I asked the cashier was the manager going to close the store but she didn't know. Eason just called and said we're out again tomorrow. I've been reading The Skillfull Teacher most of the day. I discovered they have a website with documents and videos you can download. Had a very interesting conversation with a friend of Ms. D. and I plan to follow up on her suggestions. Still looking at books about technology and the classroom. Need to work on some vocabulary drills and math drills while I have some spare time. Plan to use my camera to post some pictures on the blog tomorrow. McDaniel said if the call I made was for a million dollars instead of another day off he would get a shovel and shovel out the school. Left a message with Rosenbaum and he called back to make sure I wasn't joking around.

Getting Ready Again

2010-02-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

Ahh!!!. Another Sunday night and I find myself getting ready for school again. Just cleaned the kitchen. Not much snow this weekend. Glad this is a short week, for President Day's weekend. Searching facebook looking for JF and PL and didn't locate them. Wondering how cold it will be in the morning. MP did a great video for church on Haiti. He said is showed it to his television production class and they liked it. I made a copy of the dvd and hoped to show it to a few class at school.

Just Another Day

2010-02-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

We have an essay contest for Black History Month going on. I recruited AC and SB who I know are good writers and will be serious about the research. We met in the computer lab during lunch. Both of them have computers at home. I wanted to start some research with them. We went to Google. One of them chose Jesse Owens and the other Thurgood Marshall. I tried to print out some preliminary documents on the subjects but the printer was out of paper. I'm going to do some work tonight and give them both a folder. I have also asked C to join us, I want her to do something on Black Women. Stallings gave the topic on the effect of BH on the writer.

Giving Detention

2010-02-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

I had to call more that half the class since Monday to give them detention. Behavior in the classroom is inexcusable. The talking and fooling around is really detracting from instructional time. It's time to concentrate on the major problems and let them know there will be a consequence for their actions. Have to fill in for Mrs. M this week. Going over NJ Ask prep work with her classes.

Working Hard

2010-02-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

Worked on preparing for class tomorrow. Made several calls to parents for students that skipped detention. Will start class with NJ Ask work on answering multiple choice and then open-ended questions. Cynthia's sister's funeral this week. I called Darnell in Virginia and she said her step-father died.

Hopkins and YouTube

2007-03-24T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hopkins Green Frog was an internet meme that began to circulate throughout cyberspace in late 2004. According to Wikipedia, the original add was posted by a 17-year-old autistic boy in Seattle. The boy had actually created a poster for a lost toy frog. The posters with the child’s writing on it asked for people to return the toy if it was found. Several people noticed the drawing the child had made along with some of the text the child had written on the flier that was posted looking for the toy. Webusers started to use photoshop software to create versions of Hopkins Green Frog. The internet users would use the drawing they created of Hopkins and attach the new image to other pictures like, World War II propaganda posters and other images. A recent search of Google shows 572,000 entries for Hopkins. According to Richard Dawkins, a geneticist who created the term meme, and developed the successful conditions for why they become of interest to other people. Dawkins said that Hopkins retained fidelity, the ability to be copied easily. Also the image had fecundity, which was described as the rate at which an idea is copied and spread. Finally, the image showed longevity or the ability to remain relevant over time to the users.
While searching through YouTube I saw how the site uses videos to convey messages and information. I was interested in the presidential politics section that has to controversial videos on. One of the videos does a parody of an old commercial showing Senator Hillary Clinton speaking to a group of people who look paralyzed by her speech. The other is a parody of Sen. Barack Obama. These commercials have been written about by the media. This shows the influence that the site can have on the political races. I also was able to watch highlights from NCAA Tournament Basketball Games. It seems that YouTube can give you selective categories of information whenever you want to find something.

Being A Reader

2007-03-10T15:26:00.001-08:00

I definitely consider myself a reader. Now that I find myself teaching reading I am very interested in understanding what makes reading click for middle school kids. I came to my interest in reading not directly I must admit. I became interested in journalism shortly after leaving college and always thought about writing more as a profession. But by writing, it seemed to lead be back to reading more and more things and trying to pattern what I was trying to say after writers that crafted their message well. I like the Star Ledger to see what's happening in New Jersey and the New York Times gives you a good perspective on world events. During the school year it seems I don't get a chance to read for my own enjoyment, but I always read something out of the NYT Book Review on Sunday and I like C-Span2 does BookTV on the weekend. Recently I've become a big fan of NPR and they always have some profile on a book or an interview on a writer that is interesting. The last two books I read for my own enjoyment were Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point and Blink. Two books I read over the Summmer just to get ready for this school year were; The English Teacher's Companion, by Jim Burke and Meet Me in the Middle by Rick Wormeli.
I'm still trying to find myself being comfortable in the classroom and reaching reading. When I work with my students I have the best result when I have one-on-one exchanges with then about they are reading and what is going on with their comprehension. Using a Guided Reading technique is always fruitful because your working with text in manageable portions and supporting understanding of confusing words. Graphic organizers on stories are helpful also because many students need a visual representation or writer ideas.

Watching the Matrix

2007-03-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

Watching the Matrix again and listening closely to the plot to follow the details of the storyline is very intriguing. The whole premise that scientists will be able to create artificial intelligence on a level that was portrayed in the movie is something that leaves me awestruck. There was an entry on Wikipedia that said the film borrowed heavily from Japanese anime (cartoon series) stories.
The plot which revolves around a group of humans that have escaped from the Matrix which controls the world and humans who are part of the world they seized control of. The movie have plenty references to cyperpunk and hacker subcultures. The film is known for popularizing and evolving the use of a visual effect known as bullet time, which allows the viewer to explore a moment progressing in slow-motion as the camera appears to orbit around the scene at normal speed, according to the Wikipedia page on the movie. This has had a strong effect on action film-making in Hollywood.
The movie was given good reviews when it debuted and given praise for its special effects. The movie received Oscars for film editing, sound effects editing, visual effects and sound. In 2001, the Matrix was placed 66th on the American Film Institutes, “100 Years …. 100 Thrills” list. When you Google Matrix “The movie Matrix you get over 5 million entries.

Assignment for Feb. 25

2007-02-25T18:29:00.000-08:00

I tried to start a MySpace page but I didn’t get that far with it. I looked at a lot of different examples and I am trying to decide how I want to put my page together. On these MySpace pages there is so much tied together that explains who a person is. Besides the personal biographical information a lot of people use music.
Putting together videos also helps to show more about the person’s life and where they live and who are the important people in their lives. I am looking at some of the chat rooms on MySpace to see if there are topics that I can discuss with other people. It’s strange being able to speak with so many people around the country. Most of the profiles I read show people who are open to learning about new things and hearing what different people have to say.
I will continue to try to build up my page with things that reflect my personality and the things that I like.

Night Out at Theater Party

2007-02-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful night last night. My wife Ingrid and I went to a theater party in New Brunswick for the Crossroads Theater production of "Movin Man" by Glynn Turman. The actor and the director Woodie King Jr. who created the New Federal Theater in New York City was there. Both Turman and King were very friendly moving among the guest and talking about their experience working on this production and asking all of us to get tickets and tell friends about the play. One thing I found out that I didn't know was that Turman was in the original Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry's "Rasin in the Sun" when he was 12 years old.

Assignment for Feb. 17

2007-02-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

Class Assignments for Feb. 17

Teenagers are stripping away the utilitarian function of the web and are making the internet a sleeker and flashier technological tool.
This is the overview I came away with after reading the Pew Internet “Teen Content Creators and Consumer report and the article “Adolescents’ anime-inspired ‘fanfictions, ’ An exploration of Multiliteracies.”
In the Pew Internet report, researchers Amanda Lenhart and Mary Madden’s primary finding is that more than half of online teens are content creators. The most popular activity is sharing of self-authored content and working web pages. A full third of these online teens are sharing artwork, photos, stories and videos. This finding is interesting for teachers who want to have students work on computers to complete class work or do larger projects. Nearly a quarter of these teens are keeping their own personal webpage, according to research by Lenhart and Madden for the Pew Internet project.
The researchers see these teens as tech-savvy and intrepid internet explorers. They are referred to as “omnivores who explore.” They help adults do things online and they have more technological tools such as cell phones and PDAs or personal digital assistants and are likely to use them to go online, according to the report.
Internet use is the norm among teenagers in the 12 year to 17 year old age span. Some 21 million teens in the age group use the internet and half of them use the internet daily and another third use it once a week or more.
One in five online teens keeps a blog and 38 percent or 8 million young people, say they read them. A quarter of online girls in the age range of 15 to 17 years of age say they blog, according to the report.
Blogging teens are more enthusiastic content creators, manipulators, and sharers than their non- blogging counterparts. Teens who blog are more than twice as likely to share content of their own creation and to remix content that they have found elsewhere into something new, according to the report.
Music holds a position of priority for teens’ lives, online as well as offline; in our society, half of online teens (51 percent) said they download music from the internet, the report revealed.
Teens who get music files online believe it is unrealistic to expect people to self-regulate and avoid free downloading and file-sharing altogether.
In the article on adolescents anime or Japanese fanfiction, the authors discuss research about two students who use this way of developing stories to show their creativity.
The two adolescent girls who were part of the study had become exposed to anime on the internet and were using it to develop their own stories with a Multiliteracy framework.
The students expressed that writing in this fashion allowed them to have fun, exercise imagination, and avoid boredom. Their fanficton allowed them to develop and solidify relationships with various friends, according to the article. Communicating among a group of friends mirrored Web 2.0 creativity.
The girls Multiliteracies framework included multimodality, which included designs such as visual, linguistic and audio in a text they produced. The authors also discuss intertextuality which is the linking of different stories or texts to preceding stories, according to the article. Finally, the students used hybridity which refers to the creation of new meaning and new genres through the design process.
The authors of the article said lack of knowledge by their teachers’ of fanfiction was a lost opportunity for literacy learning.
One of the key ideas I took from the readings is that teachers may not need to look for entirely new ways to give students assignments on the internet. Maybe teachers should look closer at what their students are already doing and mimic what they see their student doing and enjoying when they develop assignments from their curriculum. This would certainly eliminate any excuse about they don’t understand what they are being asked to do if you explain it as something they already do for fun and enjoyment.
I feel there is a lot happening right now in the world of Web 2.0 that offers teachers substantial content to explain to our students. If we mix in current affairs from the media and show how the internet can help embellish understanding this could offer students exciting and differentiated ways to grasp subject matter.

Preparing for CAPA Visit

2007-02-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

Out visit by the CAPA examiners is a little over a month away. At our staff meeting today we went over a list of things we must have in place in the classroom when they arrive. We have to show evidence of student centered learning, word wall, recent examples of student work, plus a list of other things all teachers are responsible for. It makes me very nervous to have people from outside the district visiting my classroom and asking questions about how I reach. But I understand this is how things are done when you have a school labeled as in need of improvement. I have a lot of work to do beside just teaching every day before the visit so I'm trying to get myself motivated to do what needs to be done in my classroom.

Working on Class Assignment

2007-02-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

I was working most of the day on this week class' assignment. I'm not sure if I clearly understand what the authors are explaining. It makes me understand that there is a lot of information about using and understanding technology that I need to study. This past week in school was very good. We have been working on NJAsk exercises reviewing important information for the test. It is important to work closely with the students to make sure they are getting what they need out of the exercises we are working on.

Assignment on New Literacies

2007-02-10T17:58:00.001-08:00

Response to Chapt. 1 and 2 of New Literacies

In the opening chapters to the book New Literacies 2.0, Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. are proposing that the technology steamroller has us on the verge of unbelievably level playing field.

Technology is remaking the understanding of literacy in modern society. “Literacy” has extended its semantic reach from meaning ‘the ability to read and write’ to now meaning ‘the ability to understand information however presented,’ according to Richard Lanham. Information Technology and the computers we use make this possible.

Literacy did not gain the type of useful currency until the broadening of the post-industrial society. Post-industrialism entailed far-reaching restructuring of labor and employment as well as deep changes in major organizations and daily life, according to Lankshear and Knobel. Schools were failing to ensure that all learners became literate to the extent required to live “effectively” under contemporary conditions, the writers continued.

What followed was a host of research and books; S. Scribner and M. Cole’s “The Psychology of Literacy (1981) and Heath’s “Ways With Words.” Out of this context ‘literacy’ emerged as a key focus of formal education. The next progression was No Child Left Behind Federal Legislation.

Lankshear and Knobel say that literacy is the new “bottom line” and the new ‘center of gravity’ for school education. Now, however, whereas ‘reading’ has traditionally been conceived in psychological terms, literacy has always been much more a sociological concept, according to Lankshear and Knobel.

One of the hottest ‘literacies’ going around in this sense is ‘digital literacy.’ It is emerging in many education policy documents as a core educational goal. Digital literacy enables us to match the medium we use to the kind of information we are presenting and to the audience to who we are presenting it, Lankshear and Knobel said.

Digitally literate people are ‘quick on [their] feet in moving from one kind of medium to another … know what kinds of expression fit what kinds of knowledge and become skilled at presenting [their] information in the medium that [their] audience will find easiest to understand, according to Lankshear and Knobel.

Digital literacy involves ‘adapting our skills to an evocative new medium [and] our experience of the internet will be determined by how we master its core competencies,’ Lankshear and Knobel said.

This leads the authors into an ontological explanation or their conceptualization of reality. Here they insert the definition of “new” literacies as consisting of different kind of ‘stuff’ from conventional literacies, they said.

It is the idea that “new” literacies are different kinds of phenomena -- are made of different kinds of stuff, or are significantly different in their nature – from ‘conventional’ print-based literacies.

Lankshear and Knobel say that ‘ontologically’ new literacies involve things like using and constructing hyperlinks between documents and/or images, sounds, movies, etc.; text messaging on mobile phones plus a list of many other media and technology driven capabilities.

New literacies are more ‘participatory,’ more ‘collaborative’ and more ‘distributed,’ as well as less ‘published,’ less ‘individuated’ and less ‘author-centric’ than conventional literacies.

In chapter two, The authors tell us that the world is being changed in some fairly fundamental ways as a result of people imagining and exploring how using new technologies can become part of making the world (more) different from how it presently is (second mindset) rather than using new technologies to do familiar things in more ‘technologized’ ways (first mindset).

“We prefer to call them ‘insiders’ and ‘newcomers’ to cyberspace and, on that basis, to identify the two broad mindsets spelled out above as Newcomer and Outsider mindset (Mindset1) and an Insider mindset (Mindset 2), respectively,” the authors said.

They use the example of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, who has his company structured in a way to take advantage of second-phase automation. His company invites consumers to reconstitute themselves in certain ways. Each webpage for each book has space for readers to post their rating of the book, and a facility for readers to say whether they found a particular review useful, Lankshear and Knobel said.

Another interesting contrasting the ‘industrial’ “artifact producing” nature of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 which the authors say is defined by ‘post-industrial’ worldview that focuses more on ‘services’ and ‘enabling’ than on production and sale of material artifacts for private consumption.

“The software applications of Web 2.0 swim in a different sea. It is a sea, to be sure, generates information and manages information, but does so largely in the course of (and in the name of) facilitating, ‘ other business,’. And in each case the ‘other business’ is heavily relational – it brings people into relationship (which is not to say that they need ever meet or even knowingly interact – although in many cases there is a direct, even if impersonal interaction, like buyer and seller,” the authors said.

“The standpoint we are adopting – our working hypothesis – is that the world is now significantly different from how it was two or three decades ago, and that this difference has a lot to do with the emergence of new technologies and changes in social practices associated with these,” Lankshear and Knobel said.

My Response

In my response to the definition of “new literacies” for what practical application do these technologies have in classroom, I would have to say teachers can have their students use online programs and applications to demonstrate what they have learned.

When students answer a question on finding the main idea of a story, they can search the internet for stories that are online and answer using a graphic organizer a teacher can provide. They would identify the main idea first and under that main box in the graphic organizer they can list subsequent details in the order they occurred in the story they have chosen.

Another assignment would be to find an interesting picture and write a story about it. Many students have picture phone and are capturing images they like to save. If they take the picture of a family member or a scene from their neighborhood they could but it online and ask other students in the class to read their story and comment on it.

Schools that have the capability should produce programs that can be shown on aired. Teachers could have students perform news programs, theatrical productions, talent performances for the benefit of the school.

I must admit that a lot of what the two chapters was addressing, I have never heard explain before. I am still not sure that I understand the full implication of what the authors’ theories are.

When I look at my students and how at ease they are with the technology I am sometimes truly amazed. I remember a student I had a couple of years ago who was below his grade level in reading. It was very hard for him to do assignments and study because he had such severe comprehension problems. This same student I noticed one day playing a Sims-like game. He was online with several other students throughout the building in different classrooms. The object of the game was to take things from each other, like money, weapons, clothing and other things. The students were working in groups and one group was using strategy to out maneuver the other group. They were using the keypad to communicate to each other. They had to read the messages they were sending each other and write a response. The student was thoroughly engrossed and I had to wonder how much of a step was it from what he was doing or something I could get him to do to help him with his reading and writing.

I can’t answer that question because I don’t understand the basis of the technology he was using and how it can used for instruction in the classroom.

Educators need to understand the power of what our students can do with technology.

Assignment for Feb. 3

2007-02-03T07:34:00.000-08:00

Just like an Intel chip can move mountains of information effortlessly, IT is pushing the envelope of the childhood experience in ways that education can no longer stand by passively and accept. This is what Carmen Duke wants us to consider in her article, “What Next? Toddler Netizens, Playstation Thumb, Techno-literacies."
There is no use of decrying the dangers of Gameboys and PS2s destroying the younger generations ability to communicate because the kids are already in bed with the hand-helded devices. According to Duke, today’s youth are growing up in tandem with emerging technological innovations.
Nowadays, a child’s “early literacy and play experience” is molded by electronic media. Educators have to accept that a child’s cognitive, behavioral development does not follow “lock-step” developmental stages. The portrayal by the media of families using and manipulating communications and entertainment products is represented throughout society. The child is now the “techno-literate “netizen” of the developed world. The software industry has targeted parents as the choice makers for early literacy needs, Duke said. The untold message is schools cannot provide the computer skills and knowledge that will be needed by the school-age generation when they are ready to enter the workforce.
Primary and secondary teachers need to have critical software evaluation skills, Duke says.
Duke says it is crucial for educators at all levels to take charge of reshaping curriculum and pedagogy as it relates to IT. If not corporate software developers will maintain control over content design which shapes what is taught in the classroom.
Finally, Duke challenges educators to provide the perspective on what IT creates to mediate learning and socialization issues.
Our second reading, “Children Online… “ by Angela Thomas shows how a group of middle-age youngsters used the creation of fictional Middle Earth role-playing computer game to help them understand and use language correctly.
After interviewing a member of the community, Thomas sees that the member ( Elianna) uses storytelling to teach others she communicates with the practices of the group. The game helps members to engage their imagination and provide a context for new stories the group creates. When the group members change their identities, they are actually learning, Thomas believes.
Through their interaction using their on-line role-playing game, Thomas says the children are learning that to be literate is to have power. Literate behavior is one of the most valued forms of capital in the community, Thomas says.
When their was a disagreement between a member of the community who edited the poetry discussion board for the community, one way this member resolved the problem was by posting a poem which helped the other members to reinforce his support. According to psychologist E. Wegner, a community of practice in which a history of mutual engagement has developed is an ideal context for the acquisition of knowledge.
The opportunities for freedom of expression, for the exercise of power, and for the opportunities to create meaningful relationships with others, offer children a place where they can be themselves, and the motivation to belong is the drive for learning, Thomas says.
Through this study Thomas see it critical to offer professional development to teachers in the area of the cultures of cyberspace and the characteristics of cyberliteracies. This will enable children’s growth and success in an increasingly sensorially complex, technological age.
Finally, in “Zero to Six” the authors study the effects of the electronic media on young children.
This report gives the results of a study of media use on the youngest children. The study states that because social and intellectual development are more malleable in these early years media use could has a significant impact on this group of society.
Some key findings of the report are:
· Children six and under spend an average of two hours of day with screen media, mostly TV and videos
· A high proposition of very young children are using new digital media, including 50% of four-to six-year-olds who have played video games and 70% who have used computers.
· Many parents see media as an important educational tool, beneficial to their children’s intellectual development.

The study also listed a group of topics which should result in further study and some of them are:
Does the presence of background media interrupt the concentration of infants and toddlers.
Do activities such as video-game playing help the visual and spatial skills of young children.
What role does music play in children’s cognitive and social development, and how can any positive impact be maximized.

Response

These articles give you a lot to think about from the view of a classroom teacher. Looking are the article “What Next…” I feel it is very important to teacher to interpret the implication the growing use of technology in modern society. A good way I feel to start is to use established professional organizations like the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Literacy Association to network with other professionals and propose some action that educators can take to exert their influence upon the development and use of IT control of media in the classrooms. Professional should be gathering information about the changing makeup of classrooms using more sophisticated technology. Educators could write reviews of software that is being used and understand the implication of new programs that are being developed.
Something that educators could discuss regarding the article “Children Online” is if their district or schools are capable of developing and using on-line assignments and blogs for the classroom, then this could be used for instruction.
In addition, “Zero to Six …” can help educators communicate with parents about how media is used at home. Educator and parents need to think about boundaries of media us and what is appropriate for young children.
I think that all of these articles make me think about the implications for media use in the classroom. Some of the ideas discussed make me think I should be a more critical evaluator of what type and what degree of technology are students being exposed to.

Grueling Week

2007-01-31T15:49:00.000-08:00

This has been a week to put into the record books. The cycle has ended and report cards are due. I've finished mine, except for detailing absent days for my students. I'm still trying to be moderate with my grading, giving some students who I believe deserve it a chance to pass. I'm working with the Scholastic's Read 180 program and preparing how I'm going to proceed into the next cycle. My students still are not reading enough. I talk with their parents trying to get support to make them do independent reading, but I feel that I have to continuously remind the parents that it's important that their child is reading consistently.
I think that our Read 600 course is very interesting. It feels good to be in a structured learning environment again. Maybe this is what I needed to do. The last two years of teaching that I've done I'm not sure that I've been making the progress I wanted to in understanding how to get my balance in the classroom and become an effective teacher. Professional development workshops are good, but most of them are too short to get you really moving in a direction where you feel you are making growth and improvement.

Course expectations

2007-01-24T16:46:00.000-08:00

I find working with below-level readers very challenging and I'm looking for information and ideas that will help me to increase my effectiveness in the classroom. I think this course will expose me to new technology and how it is being used in the communication fields. Some of the things we will be learning about will be applicable to learning in the classroom. It is very important to keep students attentive and using some of the things that they are interested in like the internet, podcasting and digital games I think will increase interest in my language arts classes. If I can see a way to use technology to stimulate learning and increase literacy, I feel I can reach a group of students and teach them how to increase and enjoy their reading and writing.

Work this week

2007-01-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

I'm having an unusual week at work. I'm still having trouble keeping a few of the kids in my class on task. I spoke with the Asst. Principal about having Brian's father come in for a conference about his behavior. Davonna was very disruptive today.
I need to talk with guidance about some of the more disruptive children in class.