Digital+Texts+&+Tools+Reflections

Aleza BeauvaisGardner Public Schools Every Digital Texts and Tools session that I attended enriched my digital fluency and had the potential for direct application in the ELa classroom. There are three that I feel I will use a lot: **Wikispace**, **Animoto** and **YouTube**. Having been in touch with our IT director, I understand that it might be difficult to get access to **Wikispace**, especially since we already have a program with a similar function on our current online grade book software. Thus I have focused my attention on **YouTube** and **Animoto**. I also believe that the editing process in **Animoto** and **YouTube** is complementary. Attempting to create and edit my own **YouTube** video has already led me to think about narrative construction in a different, less linear way. I am on the brink of a whole new adventure! I have already made two **YouTube** videos that I will be able to use in my classroom. The first, [|Rosa Ragusa on Peddocks Island], gave me an opportunity to experiment with adding text, titles and annotations to a short video. I tried, also, to have a clear beginning, middle and end. I edited two short videos which I filmed with my new FlipCam. Even before editing these two videos and merging them into one, I had to sort through many, many short videos, carefully examining their differences and similarities, ultimately making a judgement call as to which would be best for my purposes. Ahh! To be effective, I had to have clarity about my goals in this video. These are all skills which we include in our ELA instruction as we address the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. It is clear to me that the process of making a **YouTube** video will be beneficial to our students' writing and reading skills. It will allow students to engage in a new medium, quite different from the traditional linear, single dimensional writing on a page. I feel that the DT&T session on **YouTube** videos was instrumental in helping me formalize my thinking about this digital tool and its possibilities in the classroom. I took it one step further in a second **YouTube** video, [|Beach Edibles on Peddocks Island]. In this video I challenged myself to try something more so I used a transitional technique. Again I reviewed dozens of shorter videos in an effort to find the best to merge into one. This involved a lot of editorial decisions. There is, it seems, almost never a single video that is clearly more suited than the others. This process demanded that I identify the attributes of each candidate and then methodically weigh their advantages and disadvantages in the final product. As I write this I am struck by the similarity between this process and the elimination strategies that we teach students as they prepare for the MCAS. How interesting! On the first day of school - we have already had four days of school - I announced to each class that we would be making **YouTube** videos sometime this year. A show of hands indicated that less than 10% of the class has done this. I had already determined that if we can do this in class (computer lab) that would be ideal. If not, I will offer an after school class/club in creating YouTube videos. I stressed to the students the importance of having their parents/guardians sign the Web Release forms so that they will be able to participate if they wish. Thank you for giving me such an inspiring DT&T session! I am off and running already!! The **Animoto** session was totally awe inspiring! I must admit that I went in a skeptic and emerged a devotee. My skepticism came from the impression that this was kind of like a paint by numbers program that would give kids the feeling of having created something, when in fact, they had just taken elements and cobbled them together with a sleek outcome. Not so! I made an **Animoto** and immediately discovered how tricky and delicate the process is. I was both delighted with my product and disappointed with some of the choices that I had made. I found myself wanting to revisit some of my choices. After working through some technical glitches with my new computer, I decided to attend a second **Animoto** session. I found myself a bit afraid that I would be told space was reserved for first timers so I quickly secured a coveted seat and began working. The presentation was even more useful the second time. I was more pleased with my second **Animoto** and am just at the beginning of figuring out the process and the editorial decisions involved in creating an **Animoto**. I actually feel right now that creating an **Animoto** might be more challenging than creating a **YouTube** video. This session gave me a tremendous opportunity to experiment with new skills immediately upon being introduced to them. This was fabulous in so many ways. It was a terrific model for teaching - releasing students before achieving any kind of proficiency - just letting them loose to try it out. I love the approach and the results! Thank you so much! By the way - just including these live links is new for me. I am so excited to be able to do this with such comfort. Moving my students from content users to content creators is my goal. As they create digital videos they will be able to actively apply the Massachusetts Curriculum Standards for English Language Arts. I believe that the standards that apply to writing can be applied in specific detail to the initial creation and subsequent editing of digital videos. We will begin with listening and sharing student experiences with this medium. Students can be teachers! After that we will examine some digital videos made by my previous students. As a collaborative community we will critique the digital videos using a rubric based on the Frameworks. Then we will set to work creating our own digital videos. Thank you for the opportunity!!!!!

Christopher Barrett Everett Public Schools

Wikispaces

For the past two years, I have been partnering with a US history teacher to teach 10th graders about the Cuban Missile Crisis. One of the superb tools my co-teacher used to teach her students was a Wikispace page dedicated to the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was quite a tool that completely captivated her students. I must say, I often meant to ask her to show me how to master Wikispace, BUT never got the chance. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw that Wikispace would be covered during the week. I think it was the most popular tool used by many of the teachers I came into contact with. The DT&T was exciting because it involved many people like myself who wanted to get up-to-speed on this excellent tool.

During the DT&T session on Wikispace, I kept thinking about how I could use the knowledge I was gaining to build upon what my co-teacher had already created. Then one of the speakers spoke of how many of these tools we learned could be used to reach across the global community to interact with other students and teachers. This got me thinking about possibly using our Wikispace page to connect with students in Russia who were also learning about the Cuban Missile Crisis. To be honest, I was texting continuously with my co-teacher about this idea and she absolutely loved it! Due to what I learned in the class, we have already started to build upon this idea. We think Wikispace would be an excellent platform for students to not only learn about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but also interact with other students (especially within the old Soviet Union) to see how their view differed on those thirteen terrifying and history making days in October of 1962. It really is amazing how these tools can allow students to experience learning opportunities that teachers decades ago could only dream about!

Christopher Barrett Everett Public Schools

Xtranormal

This DT&T was one of the best ones I attended. It was absolutely a blast. I have long been a fan of Xtranormal skits, but never knew how easy it was to create one. I wasn’t alone; many of my fellow teachers in the DT&T were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to create an Xtranormal. Here we were, two-dozen teachers captivated by what they were seeing on the screen! Simple skits were totally entertaining the teachers – it made me wonder what it would do for the tech savvy students. We were all focused on the simple skits being created. The simplicity of creating the Xtranormal skits really sold the teachers on how effective this tool could be – and fun.

Last year, I worked with a business teacher who was teaching his students about the ongoing economic crisis since 2008. He actually played a comedic, but informative Xtranormal skit on two people discussing many of Ben Bernanke’s decisions since 2008. Never in a million years did I think that one day I would be able to easily create my own Xtranormal skit! It looked so difficult to create when I first saw one of these skits last year. It looked like it took hours to create, but the DT&T proved me wrong!

The experience made me reflect on how I could use this tool as a librarian. I brainstormed about lessons I could possibly incorporate Xtranormal in to get the “message” across to the students. I decided to create a skit on the proper used to research and document data. I am thinking of creating a skit about two kids discussing plagiarism. One student will be a plagiarist caught red-handed and the other student will be one thinking of copying and not documenting material for a paper. I thought it would be informative if the skit involved the plagiarist explaining why he was wrong to do what he did. Then the plagiarist could correctly walk the inquiring student through the proper ways to document information used for a research paper. I think an Extranormal skit would be a great way to keep students focused on a lesson on the proper way to research and document information. It could be not only be funny and entertaining, but an excellent learning opportunity at the same time.

DT&T Ellen Kennedy JFK Middle School, Northampton

Only two? What is up with that? So you totally deluge us with material and then we have to pick two? Hmmm.

I was only partially kidding, it was a deluge, and in fact, there were two that I went to twice, just to make sure I understood how to use them. Over the summer I had hoped to try them all out, but with the Internet going on and off that has proven impossible. So I hope my notes will sustain me, as I was impressed by Prexi, Glogster, and virtually every other thing I saw.

But it was Xtranormal and Animoto that really caught my eye. Part of it was the instructors- who really did a bang up job of teaching two really peculiar web tools. Teachers aside, I liked these because I could actually see how my science students could use these. Some of the other tools were either too complex, or too simple, but, to quote Goldilocks, these were just right. (I have found that anything I have fun doing will go over well with 8th graders.) What to say? I have no idea what you are all looking for- absence of rubric noted and approved. So I can just babble about how much fun both of these are, how much I enjoyed learning- but- I did really need to go twice, which meant I missed out on something, or two somethings, and I do not know which ones. However, my JFK compatriots, being quicker studies than I, will have, so I can pick their brains. As for the DT&T sessions, well the schedule entirely- I do have lots to say, and feel free to discount it, but I do go to an awful lot of workshops, (everything from orchid judging to racehorse pedigrees) and teacher workshops are SO often the worst organized that it makes me concerned. For example, this September I will be presenting at the SAFE (Student Awareness of Fire Education) conference, and have attended for years as both a teacher and a paramedic. My husband is a firefighter/paramedic who teaches SAFE in the fourth grade. The way that conference is run is something worth examining. Instead of the free-for-all-pick-what-you-want, there are tracks. Each day has 2 keynotes, but one is during breakfast and one during lunch- of course we aren’t all busily trying to follow along on computers, but we do listen and take notes. The keynote speakers are a much broader range than what was provided at NL- obviously as the topics covered at SAFE range from juvenile fire setting to the adolescent brain to cyber bullying. However, I do think you could take a few pages from their play book and change the format, providing each day with tracks that would help support what you learned the day prior. It is what we do for our students- right? Pre-teach, teach, re-teach- preceded by a pre-assessment and followed by a post-assessment. We try to create scaffolding within our teaching- something that I know I needed within the NL institute. Don’t get me wrong, I learned a lot, and had a great time despite the crazy stuff at the Kendall and the weird inability of the caterer to leave the peanut/tree nut based foods at home. (The amount of Benadryl I had to take each day just because those foods were all around me was unfortunate. People without allergies forget to take into account that if they eat a sticky bun with nuts and then we work together on a project, the allergic person gets exposed.) Given the amount of trouble I caused all of you I suspect I shall never be invited back. But- again- I did learn a lot and enjoyed making all the new contacts. Please consider my idea that you track the technology, and make the schedule a bit more transparent- our group was totally lost- so it wasn’t just me- I’m just the one willing to say something. For this year I am going to focus on trying to support our idea of the ‘Technology Tuesday’ and continue to use whatever the students can bring- but this time, invite the administration to come and see what students and technology can do- even those desperately dangerous forbidden cell phones. (In the past, if any admin stuck their nose into my room we all pretended to be doing something that needed a stop watch, as there can be no disagreement that the phones have a better stop watch than any I have ever ordered from science catalogues!) Over the last few years I have used facebook as our social medium of choice- this year I will attempt the wiki, and hope to teach both Xtranormal and Animoto to the students. I am going to track down Beth and see if she will go over Prexi with me, and talk to Julie about Glogster. I put out an invite to other western mass folks, so hopefully the western/central mass people can get together at least once before our face to face, if not the internet sessions.(- are there times for those yet?) I do want to thank all the teachers for taking extra time to explain things to me- courtesy of the lesions in my brain, certain kinds of learning take me much longer- without their efforts I might have been much more confused. You really assembled a great group of teacher teachers!

Digital Texts & Tools Reflections

Please add your DT&T reflections to this page. Remember to include your name and school district with your reflection.
Phyllis Kemp Gardner Public Schools

Arthur Murphy Gardner Public Schools

media type="custom" key="10236697" During the "Pause to Talk" Slide I would give the class instruction then have them view the Animoto again while answer a question.



MrMurphy'sWiki

Beth Niece Scituate Public Schools

Jillian Weil, Everett Public Schools

Animoto DT&T with John I have to start off by saying that it is very difficult to choose only two DT&T sessions to write about, however, the ones that I am writing about are the two that I see myself using in the fall with my students. When I walked into the room where Animoto was taking place, I thought to myself I would love to be able to use this program. Animoto is one of the buzz words I wanted to know more about. One of the teachers in my district that attended this institute last year raved about it, I thought since she is one of the most savvy technology teachers in the district the program must be difficult to use. John has a way of presenting this new technology in a way that made it not so overwhelming. First, we followed along and watched him make an Animoto movie, then we were shown how to make a short movie ourselves and John was available for any and all questions that we had, whether it be a simple question or a more complex question for some of the advanced techie teachers in the room. I sat there thinking of a million and one ways that I would be able to bring Animoto back to my classroom, but also back to my school for others to see. We do a lot of fun activities at my school and what a wonderful way this would be to showcase all that it is that we do each year. I immediately thought of the science fair and how wonderful it would be to be able to project on each of the classroom Eno-boards a brief overview of the 6th graders and their science experiments. How about using Animoto for parent nights as well? I think it would be great to be able to show parents slide shows that come alive and let them know that there will be many more to come. In my classroom in particular, I would like to use Animoto to showcase student work and use it for part of my students assignments. I would like to do a back to school one with my middle school students, where they could make an Animoto movie about their summer vacation highlights and then a little bit about themselves. Perhaps the summer vacation highlights video would be my introductory lesson and then the lesson early on in the year would be this mini biography lesson that we could elaborate on for the end of the school year as to how being in my class has taught them more about technology than that first Animoto movie from the beginning of the year. I also see myself as using Animoto for personal use as well. It seems as though in this ever changing fast paced world, I use my digital camera often, but never print out the pictures. They all seem to never be seen again. Since this institute I have made a bunch of Animoto movies using family photos of vacation trips that were taken, etc. My newest Animoto video is of a friend's wedding that I attended this beginning of this month, which I am attempting to attach to this page). What a fantastic way to be able to create memories that can be easily emailed to friends and family or linked to Facebook for sharing. Connection to the frameworks: Technolgy Literacy Standards, Standard 2 Demonstrate the responsible use of technology and an understanding of ethics and safety issues in using media at home, in school, and in society. Communication, Standard 3 G6-8: 3.7.

http://animoto.com/play/j3GzrVTArKpI1bb5jv2Krw?utm_source&utm_medium=player&utm_campaign=player

Jillian Weil, Everett Public Schools

The second DT&T session that I would like to write on is the one on Prezi and Tagxedo given by Polly. I thought for sure this was a class in code! Prezi made me think of a car for some odd reason and Tagxedo something to do with tagging as you go perhaps. While talking in the morning with people in the main room, it seemed as though many teachers were actually using these tools. I needed to take the DT&T ASAP, I thought. I walked into the room and we were told that we would go over Tagxedo first because it was simple and then we would dive into Prezi. Tagxedo, simple I thought, ha, but wow was I surprised, it was extremely easy to use. I often get tired of writing out a graphic organizer on chart paper and having each of the students come up and write their contribution to it, and sure it is cool when the Eno-board acts as the chart paper, but it gets old pretty fast for my students. With Tagxedo, they will want to contribute to the discussion so that they can see their words up on the screen. This is especially true when their words can take the shape of many different things. I see this being something that can be used in so many other classrooms. Imagine if the 8th grade social studies teacher does a lesson about a particular topic and poses a question for the class and then the students responded in Tagxedo, but then how about when that class period is over and the next class comes in? This would be a quick form of assessment as well for each of the classes that he/she saw that day. I can't wait to show this to some of my colleagues! Now for Prezi, thank goodness it had nothing to do with cars! Prezi can be used for many different content specific areas. I see myself doing something with Prezi at the beginning of the school year for the meet the teacher's night. We usually meet in the cafeteria and my principal goes over a brief introduction on the new faculty in our school. Then we each stand up one at a time or by grade level and fly up to our rooms to get ready for the parents to visit. What if on that night instead of taking all that time, we simply stay in the cafeteria while the Prezi show is playing as the parents are there? Each teacher could either post their own Prezi by grade level or perhaps a small group of us could gather the information and create it ourselves. Another area that I could see Prezi taking off would be at the start of the professional development sessions. It is sometimes difficult to be at school until 4:00 for a meeting, so why not showcase a teacher each month or week that has done something new with technology in his/her classroom? Connection to the frameworks: Technology Literacy Standards, Standard 3 Demonstrate the ability to use technology for research, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation. Problem Solving: G6-8:3.4

Cathy Tucker, Middleboro Public Schools

All of the digital tools and text sessions were very exciting to me. This being my first real exposure to these tools, I chose to focus on the two that I think will be motivating to the students I work with every day. These two being animoto and xtranormal.

As a special education teacher in a high school learning center, I can envision using animoto in a variety of ways. Students in my learning center all have emotional disabilities as well as learning disabilities. The mini lessons I teach center around social skills, study and organizational skills, test taking skills as well as preparing students for MCAS, SAT exams and college preparation. When I attended the animoto session I was very excited to think of the possible ways this tool could capture my students' attention using a creative multimodal approach. So often the skills that I need to address in my class are repetitive and dry for students. I am always trying to think of new ways to present the material and I believe animoto may be a great way to do this. Using animoto as an introductory tool will incorporate humor, music, art and creativity to the subject. Most of the students are very technology savvy already. In the learning center, students will have the availability to computers and the time to explore some of the possible options they can utilize with this tool. I will use this not only as an introduction to the lesson to be taught, but as a way to provide an overview to what was learned as we complete the lesson. In my ninth grade learning center, I will be presenting the lesson that our team created at the institute. This lesson focused on bullies-are they born or bred? This lesson aligned with the college and career readiness anchor standard for # 1 Key Ideas and Details- Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. This also focuses on the standard for Integration of Knowledge and Ideas #7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. The animoto developed will be used to introduce the issue are bullies born or bred? The essential question will focus on the skill of how effective readers use text to form and defend an opinion and the content will be how does bullying affect collaboration and cooperation. Using animoto as well as xtranormal students will be given the opportunity to locate information, gather, evaluate, synthesize and communicate what they have learned. Typically in our school when students are presented with a project they are given a variety of choices in which to present their ideas. These options have included written reports, posters, or power points. With animoto our students can enhance and elaborate on their projects demonstrating their skills. These are skills necessary for the 21st century learner and something that we as educators must continue to help them achieve. Polly and John did an outstanding job presenting this workshop and outlining the potential for enhancing student learning.

I was also very excited to attend the workshop on xtranormal. Once again John was outstanding and informative in presenting this workshop. I am very excited to integrate this tool in my classroom this year. I know that I will need to become more proficient myself with using this before I am able to teach my class. For my students an area that is constantly being addressed is appropriate ways to express point of view. For each group a topic of their choice is chosen to discuss each week. It may be from an article in a magazine, the newspaper or from television. If students are unable to think of a topic, I will present a variety of options for them to choose from. Being able to discuss their point of view on a topic is a difficult area for most of the students I teach. Some students have difficulty listening and will interrupt others, and some students will not speak at all for fear of being ridiculed. Still others maintain a degree of apathy and shoose not to get involved. In class I will use xtranormal as a way for students to present their ideas incorporating the pros and cons that have been discussed in class. As an example, in the unit discussing are bullies born or bred, studnts will state their opinion, gather information to support their opinion and then share these ideas with the class. Some students will find this easier to do than others so xtranormal will be a way for students to be creative in stating their opinions. I know that they will enjoy choosing from the variety of characters, voices and motions that they will be able to use The dialogue may be something that I foresee will need to be monitored, so each student will be prompted to write their conversation then check in with me prior to presenting. In our program we have a speech therapist that provides services to particular students throughout the week. A primary focus of her session with the students is regarding appropriate social skills. I envision xtranormal to be a productive tool that may be integrated into these lessons. The impact of the students actually viewing a dialogue between two characters, hopefully will initiate conversation about what is an appropriate way to handle a situation and what is not. Some of these lessons can include topics such as bullying, disagreements that may occur with other students, how to interact appropriately with teachers, and frustrating situations that arise in the course of their day. I believe that xtranormal can be used as a tool across the curriculum to discuss students' opinions on a variety of topics. I like that students will be able to construct their own character and implement their own dialogue. I like that other students will view the skit and be given the opportunity to offer constructive criticism to their peers. I like that students will be able to listen to the dialogue that they create and hear how powerful words can be. I like that students who have a difficult time expressing their viewpoints will have an opportunity to do so in a different way. I like that this will capture the attention of unmotivated students, allowing them to utilize technology in an exciting new way.

Lisa Morse, Gardner Public Schools



Lisa Morse, Gardner Public Schools Review of the Animoto Session The //Taking Multiple Perspectives Using Animototo Understand Point of View// session, run by Polly and John, was fabulous.Polly and John are great presenters. They are personable, and clearly very knowledgeable.I liked how they showed us examples and showed us what to do as we were doing it ourselves. It made it very easy to learn. I had never seen nor heard of Animoto before but I was immediately interested and excited about it. I loved how easy it was to get pictures of the internet, save them to my computer, and then upload them into my movie. I also loved how you can set music to your movie. I was not able to use songs from my iTunes library, but I was told about a website, [],that allows you to convert your songs so you can use them in Animoto. I can think of many different uses for Animoto in my classroom. The Animoto that I created will be used to introduce the topic for the lesson plan I created for this conference. I think Animoto is an amazing tool to get students’ interests and to get them excited about a topic or lesson. I think students will think it is a really neat website. Another use of Animoto that I hope to use this year ties in with a poem the students write. The students write an “I am” poem, and I think it would be really powerful for each student to create a movie with Animoto, carefully selecting pictures and a song to go with it. I think for many, it would be a great accomplishment and something they could feel proud about. Using Animoto aligns with the New Massachusetts Frameworks under the College and Career Readiness anchor standards for writing, number 6: “Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others” (p. 53). Animoto also meets the CCR anchor standard for speaking and listening, number 2: “Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally” (p.60). Under the same section, Animoto also meets the fifth standard: “Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations” (p.60). I am excited to introduce Animoto to my students. One concern I have is being able to get adequate time in the computer lab. At my school, we have one computer lab,and are only able to sign it out once a week. I can forsee it taking one block just to explain the website and how it works to the students, and several others to allow the students to create their movie. I really like the idea of having them create a movie for their I am poems, so I am not going to let our computer lab situation deter me.

Here is my first Animoto: media type="custom" key="10204071"

Lisa Tabaracci-Falmouth Public Schools



Lexi Runnals - LPVEC

Anne Marie Salvon - Instruction Technology Teacher Longmeadow Public Schools 8/12/11

DT&T Reflections – MA New Literacies Institute 2011 Michelle Eastman, Northampton Public Schools

__**Wikispaces:**__

I have been interested in integrating technology into my classroom for several years. I have been making every effort to educate myself about different technologies. I am trying my best to bring them into my classroom. Last year I created my own class website which has been under construction every since. I did use the website a few times last year but not much. I had been hearing about Wikis throughout last year but not knowing exactly what they were. I knew that another teacher in my building was creating wikis for her students and it seemed like I should learn more about this place called wikispace. Wikispace is a place that will engage students, help collaboration among students, and continue classroom learning beyond school hours. The MA New Literacies Institute wikispace helped engage me as a learner. When I saw this MA New Literacies Institute I thought it was a must attend. I had no idea that I would have to create a wiki account. So I went through the process of creating the account, not knowing how I would be able to use this in my classroom. I started looking at all of the different pages within the MA New Literacies Institute wikispace. I wondered what exactly we would be doing during this weeklong institute. I arrived at the MA New Literacies Institute ready to learn new and exciting technologies and collaborate with my like-minded peers. It seemed like we were being encouraged to go onto this wikispace all the time to look at slide shows, explore links to other websites, and look up our schedule. We even posted our group project on the wikispace. We went on our wiki for really everything. I knew it must have a use in my classroom! Then, I attend the wikispace DT&T. During the DT&T, I was full of questions. I wanted to create a space for students that would be engaging students, helping collaboration, and creating a place to continuing learning beyond the classroom. My class website wasn’t doing any of these three things. I felt I could have spent a whole day or more learning about and creating my wikispaces. Although, the wikispace DT&T was an essential first step for taking wikispace back to my classroom. I created a Math, Language Arts, and Reading wikispace during this DT&T session. I didn’t really get to put anything on those wikispaces during the DT&T but I was able to ask questions and get my feet wet with wikispace for classroom use. At the end of the session I walked out thinking, I can do this in my classroom. I don’t have to have a finished produced ready to present to my student because they are also creators of this wikispace. As the week went on I kept coming back to my wikis while in other DT&T Sessions. I kept thinking about the ways I can use these wikispaces. I embedded a google doc technology survey I created for students to take in september. I keep coming back to the wikis and thinking about what I will do with it. I have great ideas for all three wikis. I would like to have book discussions on my reading wiki. I would like to give each student a page to post their writing on my Language Arts wiki and possible some peer editing. My math wiki I am still thinking about different ideas. I know has the year goes on if I stay focuses on these wikispaces they will take on a life of their own.

DT&T Reflections – MA New Literacies Institute 2011 Michelle Eastman, Northampton Public Schools

Deepen__ing Comprehension through Character Analysis: Using My Fake Wall__ and __Synthesizing and Summarizing New Knowledge with Glogster__

I believe I can engage my students with My Fake Wall and Glogster. I had a hard time picking between the two therefore I choose to reflect on both.

I will start with My Fake Wall.

The DT&T session for my fake wall was very engaging. We had a read aloud about a girl named Trixie. We needed to read these books before we were able to make since of Trixie’s wall. We looked at Trixie’s wall and added to it thinking about the different connections among characters. I could see doing this with my reading class.

I read the book __Schooled__ over the summer and I think it would be a perfect book to read and create a Fake wall as a whole class while reading it. Then I was thinking I could connected the fake wall to the reading wiki and we can have discussions about the fake wall. I am not sure I would have students create accounts since I teach sixth grade but I would like to try this idea out then see what happens from there. I feel that all DT&Ts can be connected the my wikis which is excited. As the year goes on I will learn what works and what doesn’t but I believe this is an excited way to use My Fake Wall in my classroom.

Next, I will talk about Glogster.

I did my group project using Glogster. Students will learn about biographies with the two glogs our group created. One glog was about what a biographies is and the other glog was a collection of different types of biographies and interviews. Students will then create a list of interview questions, interview a classmate, and create a glog about that student. I was thinking about letting students create a glog about themselves so that they become familiar with glogster before doing the biography glogs. I believe if they make one about themselves then their second glog will be even better.

All of these DT&Ts are here to help students. As teachers, we need to look at the functionality of each tool to decide how it could work in our grade with our students. I believe during all sessions I attended I was trying to make connections between the session and my classroom. I know there will be bumps along the way but I am hopeful that I will be able to use most of the tools in some way to help educate my students with new literacies.

LaRae Davis Gloucester Public Schools Wikis ====Attending the wiki seminar helped me realize the potential that this tool had for my classroom and for my students. I had tried to teach myself how to use a wiki and even though I have used it for myself as a professional tool I have not used it as a student tool. ==== ====As the workshop began with the understanding on the change in the workplace I kept thinking about how my own children have been communicating with people around the world and learning from them. This is an important development in the breaking down of cultural barriers that exist in our society. ==== ====I can see how I could develop a wiki for each of the units that I cover in my Social Studies curriculum so that the students could use this to interact with not only each other in the class but with the other students in the building. My colleagues and I have been trying to create this between classes and now I think this will be an easier and more efficient way to develop this interaction. ==== ====Seeing how students can react to questions or comments on the discussion page make it a perfect collaborative and interactive tool.This collaboration is definitely part of the new common core standards and is how people learn and expand their thinking. When students can see other student’s learning they are able to gain from that experience and come up with new ideas themselves. That discussion will enhance the learning experience for all. ==== ====The other important aspect is the speed with which students get feedback. When they are waiting on one teacher to give that feedback they may have to wait a long time to hear from the teacher. However, the way wikis are set up the feedback is almost immediate and also is usually short and to the point. This immediate feedback can help students to understand mistakes or misconceptions and change their thinking or shape it in a new way. ==== ====<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I think that the organization of the wiki can help students with executive functioning issues because all the information is in one place. They will be able to access the content, the links where they could learn more, the assignments and readings, and see what other students have been doing. Since everything is online they do not have to carry things around and have problems with losing things. ==== ====<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All of this has made me realize what a wonderful new tool wikis are and how excited to see how students learning will progress next year with this. ====

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My Fakewall and Glogster

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Digital Tools and texts workshops were the highlights of the week. Two of the tools that will enhance in the learning and abilities of my students are Glogster and MyFakewall. I am always trying to find new ways for students to share and demonstrate the knowledge they have acquired in my classroom. These two tools will make sharing this knowledge exciting and fun.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The first tool, myfakewall, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.myfakewall.com/__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is a wonderful tool to show the development and growth of a literary character over time and circumstance. This is such an important skill for students to learn. One of the College and Career Anchor Standards that correlates with this skill is under Key Ideas and Details : “Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.” How people and characters change depends on what has happened to them in a text. In seventh grade we study <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">__The Christmas Carol__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, and this will be a perfect tool for them to explain the change in Scrooge over the course of the story. We could use this tool to show that change and then have students think of other characters in the literature we have studied and show how that change has occurred for them. This would be a simple evaluation for seventh graders’ understanding of character development.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Glogster <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://edu.glogster.com/__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> on the other hand has multiple uses. This tools can be used as a presentation of information to students or by students as a tool for sharing what they have learned. It can be a collaborative tool and students can learn to cooperate and work together. I can see students using this to explain the growth of the Empire of Alexander the Great or the differences in the roles of women in different Ancient Civilizations. This tool will help with the skill of summarizing and synthesizing and sharing the information with others which is part of the new Common Core Standards. Another Common Core Standard is <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ntegration of Knowledge and Ideas: “Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.” Students need to learn how to relay their knowledge to others. They have to have the ability of different kind of presentation tools. Using glogster gives them another possibility. This article helps to explain the use of Glogster in the classroom: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__Read Write Think (Glogster)__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We need to think about using technology to transmit knowledge and gain the capacities they need for the world out there. We are trying to prepare them for both College and the work place. When we think about the capacities that they will need, many of which are emphasized in the new Common Core Standards, one of these standards is that students are capable to “Use technology and digital media strategically and capably.” Exposing them to different options they are able to try new things and gain the ability to learn and adapt since they will have to learn more and more to keep up with this changing world.



Nicole Mele Falmouth Public Schools Xtranormal: I ncreasing Student Engagement and Comprehension with Animated Avatars When I read the description for this session, it didn’t immediately seem like something that would be appropriate for my fourth grade students or something that I would be too interested in learning about. But, after two of my colleagues took it and raved about it, I decided to check it out for myself.

This video application was so easy to use and engaging, it has so many possibilities for even my fourth graders. This was probably the quietest Digital Text and Tools session that I attended because everyone caught on so quickly and was busy creating his/her own video. In very little time, I created a little skit that I will show my students on the first day of school. I’ll tell them that I overheard two of their classmates gossiping about what they heard fourth grade would be like. You can check it out at []

For my students, I have thought of many ways that this would allow them to show their knowledge in this creative format. What I love is that they would have the incentive of doing “the fun part”, the characters, voices, sounds, setting, etc. But, first the students would have to develop a meaningful dialogue. Many times I give my students options on their products and this can be a new one that I add.

<span style="display: block; font-family: cambria,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">I thought that this tool allows students to really show their knowledge of the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, Integration of Knowledge and Idea, number 7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. Also, Writing, Production and Distribution of Writing, number 6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. The whole process of writing and publishing an Xtranormal video would certainly connect with many other Massachusetts Frameworks, but I thought that it really provided a wonderful opportunity to align with these two.

Nicole Mele Falmouth Public Schools Improving Informational Text Writing Using Wikis: The Power of Collaborative Documents A few years back I heard about wikis for the first time. I was at a social studies committee meeting and the facilitator had just learned about them and wanted to give it a try. After that day I really didn’t think too much about wikis or their relevance in the classroom until this institute. Now that I really understand what they’re all about and how to make one, I think it’s an fun, easy, way to allow a lot of people, sharing a common goal to work together!

Throughout the institute, I have been impressed with the practicality of the wiki created for us. Any time that we have needed access to something, we heard, we’ll update it on the wiki or you can find it on the wiki. If something needed to be revised or added, it was done practically immediately. Now, I understand the distinct difference between a wiki and a blog. The wiki allows all of the members of the wiki to edit and make changes to it. This allows a real opportunity for people to work together and have an equal interest in a project.

During the institute, my colleagues and I created a wiki for our school. We called it East Falmouth School Culture Connections found at http://eastfalmouthcultureconnections.wikispaces.com/home The purpose of this wiki is for the students, staff, and community of East Falmouth to research and share their heritage and to learn more about each other. The wiki allows all of the grades and the community the ability to share and work together, allowing us to teach and learn from each other. I'm excited to see it get started.

The alignment for the wikis to the frameworks is huge. Certainly, the same two connections that I made for Xtranormal would also be applicable for the wikis. Reading, Integration of Knowledge and Idea, number 7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. Also, Writing, Production and Distribution of Writing, number 6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. The wikis can integrate with whatever you are teaching so the wiki is truly a tool that allows you to collaborate in a highly efficient way.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 18.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">DT&T Reflections **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 18.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Posted by: Nichole Freeman, Falmouth Public Schools **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I. Helping Students Find Their Voice: Collaborative Discussions, Presentations, and Inquiry Using VoiceThread **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I was excited to attend the VoiceThread session with Jared. I thought this tool would be most appropriate for my incoming first graders considering their limited keyboarding skills. In the past, I utilized tools like Audacity to record students’ voices as they brainstormed ideas for writing, shared a response to reading, or to track their fluency progress. Recording the voice is where it ends; however. It works well for fluency practice, but not as a collaborative tool. VoiceThread offers so much more!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I cannot wait to introduce my students to VoiceThread this fall. This simple tool aligns with the new Common Core Standards and will enhance learning in a variety of ways. Through the use of VoiceThread, I can engage students in literacy and the content areas. This tool will help build prior knowledge and enable students to collaborate and reflect as they learn. VoiceThread can also serve as an assessment tool and a place where students can showcase their new knowledge.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Using VoiceThread aligns with many Common Core Standards. Below is a list of standards and how I might use this tool in the classroom.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Reading Standards for Literature: Grade 1__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6. Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Speaking and Listening Standards: Grade 1__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Language Standards__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students can work in small groups to retell a story read in class or in a Guided Reading group. Click on the following link to see how one student created a VoiceThread with her parents to tell the story of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__Three Little Pigs__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Students may collaborate on a tale of their own to extend a reading selection and tell the story via VoiceThread. I might use the retell or the story to assess students’ ability to sequence a story, identify main ideas in a text, or to assess students’ understanding of story elements.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Speaking and Listening Standards__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I had the fortunate opportunity to meet up with Jill Girard, a first grade teacher from Salem, during the Institute. She and I are returning back to the classroom after working as Reading Specialists for several years. And. . . we’re both teaching first grade! We were excited to get to work on our lesson plan and plan for our classes to be “virtual buddies.” Students will work collaboratively through our “First Grade Flag” Wikispace to discover the ways our American flag has changed over time. At the end of the unit, students will create a VoiceThread to demonstrate their knowledge. Our Wiki is still a work in progress, but you can check out our lesson plan: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://massnewlitinstitute2011.wikispaces.com/team++1__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ease of this tool makes it a definite in my bag of tricks for the fall. The students will love it!


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">II. Taking Multiple Perspectives Using Animoto to Understand Point of View **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Digital citizens. This term bounced around the Institute all week, and it is a term fitting for today’s students. Our students of today see the world through a different lens, a lens filled with images, videos, and instantaneous information. Consequently, our teaching styles need to adapt to meet the needs of those students and prepare them for whatever lies ahead. To do that, we have to utilize more of the digital tools within our daily teaching and teach students how to use them effectively. One tool I hope to use frequently to engage students and enhance learning is Animoto.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Animoto will enable me to build background knowlege and engage students in meaningful discussions about images they see. For example, to introduce our lesson on the history of the American flag, students will watch an Animoto created by Jill Girard, my partner from the Institute. The Animoto displays common symbols students see around them every day. Check it out on our lesson plan page on the Wiki <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Team 1 Lesson Plan__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Once students see the Animoto, we will discuss what symbols our United States symbols, particularly the flag. This short introduction to our unit will engage students in the lesson and aligns with the following Common Core Standards:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Speaking and Listening:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We could follow this Animoto with another student created one displaying students illustrations of the American flag. Perhaps they could design their own flag. We could also collaborate with other first grade classrooms from around the world using <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__epals.com__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Student would expand their knowledge of symbols to other countries and gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of our flag.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My classroom theme for the year is “Teamwork,” and Animoto just might be a great tool to help me launch the idea. I could create a motivational Animoto and include images of students working together. The Animoto could lead us into a discussion of what it means to work as a team and what kinds of things we need to do in the classroom make our team successful. We could carry this work throughout the curriculum and utilize our older student buddies to help students create their own Animotos about teamwork. Students work collaboratively to create illustrations depicting teamwork in our classroom and then create an Animoto to present it to the class.To take it further, students could create an alphabet Animoto with team related terms to enhance phonics skills and vocabulary.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The activities listed above align with the new Common Core Standards in many ways and will work to excite and engage students in learning. I’m ready for what lies ahead and keep brainstorming new ways to use the new tools throughout the coming year.



Digital Texts and Tools Reviews by Catherine Hall, Scituate Public Schools