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How do we make digital literacy interest-driven for students?

I think Kristen from the book did a great job making digital literacy interest-driven. She made it relevant to them and gave them the freedom to explore and be creative. VoiceThread was an extension of learning from their community walk.

We need to know the interests of our students, their families, and the communities they come from. By knowing these things, we can create lessons and activities that are interesting to them, thus motivating them to learn. I would also ask the students what they would like to learn and picking certain topics that can be covered through digital literacy.

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In what ways do student identities related to race, class, gender, and multilingualism, etc. impact writing instruction?

So much of what we experience impact how we choose to express ourselves. We talk a lot about discourse communities and how they can affect the way we communicate with each other. The way I write to my family is different from the way I would write to a class discussion post. The way I write to my coworkers are different from the way I would write to my colleagues in grad school.

Each of these identities shape our writing instruction because these identities often open up (or close) certain opportunities. These opportunities provide experiences that allow us to learn and grow as human beings.

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I TRIED USING THE DRAWING TOOL HERE BUT IT WOULDN'T ALLOW ME TO SAVE...?

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Consider: What did you learn from the process of creating your digital response? What got in the way of your learning? What helped your learning? How did you feel at different parts of the process? How could you imagine using this digital tool with students?

Through creating this response, I learned that there are so many possibilities to personalize your padlet. There are different themes, backgrounds, stickies layouts, etc. You can add images, links, and can take pictures from your laptop. I realize how different all of our padlets can be and how awesome it would be as elementary aged students to get to be creative.

As an indecisive person, something that got in the way of "learning" was choosing which background I wanted (first world problem)! It sounds silly but because there were so many options, I had a really hard time choosing what I liked. Possibly a downfall in technology is that there are too many options? But that's also a good thing, so I guess it depends on what you are working on.

The website was really easy to navigate and the directions were clear. I also appreciated the screencast and how the professor helped us through each step. I was mostly excited to begin my "stickies" because that was the step I was most familiar with. I feel like as someone who's already created so many different accounts (Facebook, Google, YouTube, Moodle, etc.), creating a page/account for Padlet was super easy. It was helpful that I've already used the tool in class and that I've created different accounts for different pages, so the process for those things can become similar.

I really like the idea of using Padlet for our book reviews. I could also see students using Padlet for things like current events (weekly or daily) and sharing it with their classmates. I can also see Padlet used as a weekly journal or response to prompts.

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Consider: What questions surfaced from the reading? What connections did you make to your teaching or learning experiences? How does this reading challenge you? How does this reading excite you?

I thought it was real neat that Kristen was able to introduce and teach 4 year olds computers. I'm a preschool teacher and currently teach 3 year olds. I cannot even imagine guiding my students through VoiceThread, let alone teach them how to use a computer. Kristen had a well-thought out plan that I believe executed real well. I really like that she put dot stickers on certain keys she wanted her students to be familiarized with. One thing I've also done in my experience with teaching preschoolers is talking about rules/expectations before doing an activity. For example, before my students and I go to the music room, we talk about what's okay and not okay to do. This helps eliminate most behavioral issues that may arise.

Although I understand the importance of being digitally literate, I'm kind of sad that that's the direction our children and grandchildren are heading towards. I first got to use a computer in 4th grade. Now, my son could start using one as early as 3 or 4 years old. I don't think that being introduced to computers at such a young age is a bad thing, but I think parents/teachers should find a balance in technology use and other ways of learning (i.e. outside time!). It's inevitable and I understand the importance behind the push for technology use, I just wish other ways of learning could also be pushed.

The thing I'm most excited about though is using technology such as VoiceThread to motivate my students! I think it's a neat tool and I would love to see my students be creative, innovative, challenged, and excited about learning