# data[].attributes.headline
Part 1: Literacy in the 21st Century Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Part 1: Literacy in the 21st Century Classroom

# data[].attributes.body
Traditionally, literacy instruction in the elementary classroom has centered primarily around reading printed texts and writing utilizing conventional tools such as paper and pencil. However, the definition and picture of literacy is changing as new forms of technology are introduced. While the goal of developing literate students remains of utmost importance, the methods and tools used within the classroom are changing. Reading and writing digital text, creating digital images, and audio features are components of a 21st century literacy curriculum and the incorporation of digital technology into literacy instruction is included in the Common Core State Standards. Thus, it is important for educators to not only realize the shifts occurring within reading and writing environments, but also provide instruction integrated with technology.

"Reading is a communication tool and means so much more in the digital age. Students must learn to understand and “read” images, layouts and colors to comprehend meaning within society." Ugie, J. In this group discussion post, I feel my classmate, Jason, clearly stated the connections students need to gain to be prepared for literacy in the digital world.

‘If we continue to limit literacy instruction to the ability to read and write alphabetic text, are we preparing our children for the past instead of the future? If making sense of a topic includes the multimedia offered on the Internet, then literacy includes the ability to read and write with not only alphabetic sign systems but also video.” Baker, 12. Many educators are concerned the digital devices or tools will overshadow literacy instruction; however, quite the opposite is likely to occur. Hutchison and Colwell clarify by stating on page 2, "To integrate means to make something part of another larger thing. Thus, when digital technologies are integrated into literacy instruction, they become part of the teaching and learning process that leads to the attainment of literacy skills." By providing applicable professional development, digital devices, aids such as Hutchison & Colwell's The Technology Integration Planning Cycle for Literacy and Language Arts (pictured), figure 2.1, p 37, and The Technology Integration Matrix http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix.php, teachers can become better equipped to provide and prepare students for digital literacy learning environments.

# data[].attributes.headline
Part 2: The Influences of Digital Media in the Elementary Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Part 2: The Influences of Digital Media in the Elementary Classroom

# data[].attributes.body
The introduction of iPads, e-readers, laptops, and other digital devices into elementary classrooms have influenced both the delivery of literacy instruction and student response to instruction. I continue to approach digital integration with balance, but am increasingly aware of how students entering my classroom are already readers of digital images and text. Most children enter school with large amounts of exposure to media, digital apps, and online learning activities, but explicit instruction of digital tools is important. "Before providing students, particularly younger students who may not have as much digital experience, with e-readers, such as Kindles or iBooks on an iPad, teachers should be prepared to model reading from such tools." Hutchison and Colwell, 47.

In addition to traditional storybooks and texts, students in my classroom also utilize apps and websites such as Storyline Online http://www.storylineonline.net/, Scholastic's Storia http://www.scholastic.com/storia-school/, and iPad apps such as Read To Me. These tools are used for listen to reading and response to reading, which often provide literature extension activities to enhance comprehension.  In relation to a discussion regarding texts available to students, my classmate, Angela, posted the following idea; “I learned in my PD recently that a "literate environment" is one that needs 10-15 books PER STUDENT!  With the digital texts at our fingertips students are now able to access a wide variety of books both in and outside our classrooms to ensure text that is interesting to them, on their level, and of an appropriate topic that matches the assignment theme.”, McGrath, A. Many high-quality books, both fiction and non-fiction books are available free to educators, which can assist a teacher in providing a "literate environment".
Although traditional writing materials such as paper, pencil, crayons, markers, journals, notebooks, and paints are still the primary tools used in my kindergarten classroom, it is also beneficial to provide students with the ability to interact with and create digital images.  Pictures in the following slides represent the usage of both traditional and digital response to reading assignments in my kindergarten classroom. The featured book was, "The Enormous Watermelon" by Brenda Parkes.

Digital images in the elementary classroom can provide literature extension activities, help students demonstrate their understanding, and make text to world connections. The usage of digital images can also bring additional meaning to vocabulary words as seen in the attached google slides link which I created for my kindergarten classroom: Enormous Watermelon Vocabulary Slides. I agree with the following statement made by my colleague, Jennifer Petersen, after she posted a link to a vocabulary example she created using mindmeister, https://www.mindmeister.com, “The idea of using these to learn and work with new vocabulary words could really help in making sure the students are actually learning the words and not just remembering them for the week.” Petersen, J. Although there are multiple useful tools for this purpose, I chose to utilize google slides for their ease of sharing and editing with teammates with whom I've created literature units within google documents.
I have become more aware of the value of incorporating digital audio tools into the elementary classroom. I've used the digital audio tools, Voice Memos app on my iPad and Quick Time Player on my MacBook Air to record a student for progress monitoring and believe the recordings can be useful in the following circumstances. While reviewing student data, it may be helpful to share audio records with the Reading Plus teacher for her to listen and compare to what she observes/hears when working with the student. This could assist us in determining the next steps of individualized instruction. Recording students with speech difficulties and sharing the recording with the speech and language pathologist may help me more accurately score an assessment. The usage of an audio recording tool may be less invasive and distracting than video recording or having a specialist join a child's assessment session while sitll providing the appropriate data needed to collaborate following the assessment. The attachment link on this slide includes a voice recording of a kindergarten student for Letter Sounds Fluency Progress Monitoring using Voice Memos. Recently, I've learned of the audio tools Voki and Blabberize and initially wasn't sure how I could effectively use these tools within my classroom. Following classmates' examples, I discovered the engagement these tools can provide for response to literature and utilized Voki for demonstrating The Gingerbread Man's perspective.  Voki Gingerbread Man Response Link After sharing my example in a small group setting, I will provide heavy teacher support for recording student responses to the story. These links can be shared with family via email in order to provide school to home connections.

# data[].attributes.headline
Response to Reading with the Doodle Buddy app

# data[].attributes.subject
Response to Reading with the Doodle Buddy app

# data[].attributes.body
Following the vocabulary lesson for the word enormous, students used Doodle Buddy to draw something that could be bigger than the watermelon. I provided an introductory tutorial in a small group setting and the students independently created their responses. Based on the students' work, a mini lesson about spacing and punctuation on an iPad will be the next step. Credit: Kinsley, age 6.

# data[].attributes.headline
Response to Reading: Sequence of Events utilizing traditional print materials

# data[].attributes.subject
Response to Reading: Sequence of Events utilizing traditional print materials

# data[].attributes.body
This example of a traditional response to reading reinforces my belief of providing a balanced approach to instruction. This student was able to convey her knowledge of the sequence of events concisely using paper and markers. The usage an of online tool may have provided unnecessary constraints and frustrations. I appreciate Hutchison & Colwell's Technology Integration Planning Cycle for Literacy and Language Arts as it takes into account possible constraints to digital tools and helps a teacher consider the contribution the tool may or may not make to an assignment. "Although it is important to integrate digital tools into instruction, it is also important to be sure that the tools help meet the instructional goal rather than distracting from it." Hutchison & Colwell, 38.

credit: Jenna, age 5.5

# data[].attributes.headline
Digital Texts and Images in Mrs. Huerter's Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Digital Texts and Images in Mrs. Huerter's Classroom

# data[].attributes.body
Students are pictured utilizing the Storyline Online website for Listen to Reading Center. Following teacher instruction and modeling of the usage of the site, students are able to self-select books chosen by the teacher, thus reducing the amount of teacher interruptions as compared to the usage of CD players.

# data[].attributes.headline
Traditional and Digital Texts In Mrs. Huerter's Classroom 

# data[].attributes.subject
Traditional and Digital Texts In Mrs. Huerter's Classroom 

# data[].attributes.body
I am pictured instructing a small group lesson comparing and contrasting "The Three Little Pigs" traditional book and a story book app with literature extension activities. Within this lesson, I also reinforced the usage of the digital tool, thus meeting the following Kindergarten 21st Century Literacy Iowa Common Core State Standards:

21.K–2.TL.3

Essential Concept and/or Skill: Utilize predetermined digital resources and tools to answer questions or solve problems.

21.K–2.TL.6

Essential Concept and/or Skill: Understand basic technology hardware and software and their application.

# data[].attributes.body
Currently, I am a grade level literacy leader who helps present new literacy initiatives and curriculum to my team. Digital tutorials would be beneficial in this role as well as in an instructional coaching role for introducing new tools to a team. Digital tutorials are helpful both during and after Professional Development as the link can be provided for teachers who wish to go back and review the steps prior to implementing the tool in the classroom.  Teachers may also choose to provide screencasting or digital tutorials for students who were absent or wish to review the introduction of a new concept. "Screencasting takes place when a user captures the action on a computer screen while narrating.", Hutchison & Colwell, 127.

The digital tool, Popplet: http://popplet.com/ could be presented to K-3 teachers wishing to utilize a digital tool for graphic organizing and could meet numerous strategy and comprehension skills as well as CCSS. Tools such as Popplet are also user-friendly avenues for providing multi-modal texts which allow the writer(s) to include hyperlinks, videos, and pictures.  "The proliferation of new communication technologies has shifted capacity for combining representational modes in a wide range of sites, from technical specialists to contemporary students' households and classrooms. This is the basis for the ubiquitous spread of multimodality, or the capacity to mix modes. Meaning is made in ways that are increasingly multimodal." Kalantzis, Cope, & Cloonan, 62. Here is profile link to kindergarten teacher who utilizes Popplet with her students: http://blog.popplet.com/popplet-people-claire-brown-kindergarten-teacher/

In the following link, I screencasted a tutorial for utilizing Popplet in an elementary classroom:

Popplet Tutorial: Huerter

Popplet Tutorial Notes: Popplet Tutorial Notes: Huerter

# data[].attributes.body
Prior to this course, I had a narrow definition of literacy and basically defined it as the ability to read, write, and comprehend traditional text.  While I frequently utilized and acknowledged digital texts as forms of literacy and communication, I hadn’t considered the varying aspects of digital literacy or the differing cognitive processes that take place within digital versus traditional texts. I am much more aware of both the benefits and impact digital text can have when appropriately and effectively implemented in an elementary classroom. Digital literacy reaches far beyond storytelling apps or vocabulary games into the comprehension of various text representations within links, videos, images, and language. The following article provides practical advice for teachers desiring to balance both traditional and digital literacies while meeting literacy goals and standards.

Supporting New Literacies in Your Classroom

Throughout this course, I also became more aware of the social nature of learning and debunked my own myth that technology tools cause us to be less social or interactive with one another.  Quite the opposite can be true and my online courses and discussion groups have become my ultimate points of proof.  Being a highly relational person, I was initially concerned about the authenticity of the relationships in my courses, but I have been amazed by the levels to which I’ve come to ‘know’ classmates. Honest dialogue, video posts, group projects and reflections have all contributed to my change in thought. While I still highly value face-to-face meetings and discussions, I no longer view technology tools as promoters of solitary experiences. When productively and purposefully implemented, classroom teachers can also provide these important collaborative skills for students while incorporating digital technology.

In his “situated-sociocultural” approach to learning, James Gee merges the practices of literacy and technology. “These practices almost always involve more than just using a digital tool-they also involve ways of acting, interacting, valuing, believing, and knowing, as well as often using other sorts of tools and technologies, often including oral and written language.” Gee, 172. Gee reinforces the importance of shared learning experiences for comprehension and meaning, which can happen in both traditional and digital environments.

The first grade teacher in this YouTube video demonstrates the ability to merge traditional and digital literacies in the elementary classroom and I appreciate seeing students working both independently and collaboratively with both types of literacies. While his classroom is more technologically integrated than the average first grade classroom, I believe this is a picture of what most elementary classrooms will look like in the near future. iPads in the Classroom:Crouch

As teachers continue to merge traditional and digital literacies, implementation can become overwhelming and instructional leaders need to provide practical ways to assist their colleagues. “As the landscape of Web 3.0 is realized, educators must remain mindful of how quickly technology changes and how new envisionments for literacy learning develop. One can never know everything there is to know about technology. Instead, we encourage you to focus your efforts on your own professional development by maintaining a finger on the pulse of technological advancements.” Karchmer-Klein, R. & Shinas, 289.  As I process and implement literacy technology integration within my classroom and guide colleagues, I will keep this advice in mind while striving to meet the needs of 21st century learners.

-References-

Baker, E.A.; Pearson, P.D.; Rozendal, M.S. (2010) Theoretical Perspectives and literacy studies. Baker, E.A. (Ed) The new literacies: multiple perspectives on research and practice. (pp. 1-22). New York: Guilford Press.

Gee, J.G. (2010) A situated-sociocultural approach to literacy and technology. Baker, E.A. (Ed) The new literacies perspectives on research and practice. (pp. 165-193). New York: Guilford Press.

Hutchison, A. & Colwell, J. (2015) Bridging Technology and Literacy: Developing Digital Reading and Writing Practices in Grades K-6.  Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

Kalantzis, M.; Cope, B.; Cloonan, A. (2010) A multiliteracies perspective on the new literacies. Baker, E.A. (Ed.) The new literacies: multiple perspectives on research and practice. (pp. 61-87). New York: Guilford Press.

Karchmer-Klein, R., & Harlow Shinas, V. (2012). Guiding Principles for Supporting New Literacies in Your Classroom. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 288-293.

McGrath, A. (2015) CI_568 ISU Blackboard Discussion, Group 3; Weeks 9/10.

Petersen, J. (2015) CI_568 ISU Blackboard Discussion, Group 3; Weeks 13-15.

Ugie, J. (2015) CI_568 ISU Blackboard Discussion, Group 3; Week 2.