Reflections from Chapters 3, 4 and 5 - Digital Reading by Tammy Mulligan

Ideas for Teaching Digital Tools in the Classroom

tbmulligan — 2015-07-08 21:52:06 UTC

Franki uses Genius Hour and indoor recess to let students explore
Ann Marie Corgill teaches technology tips and techniques during morning meeting
We want to remember Franki and Bill's message, "... It is more powerful if all of the literacy work is integrated with the tool that matches it best."

p.29 "Authenticity means that readers own the reading decisions they make; they are not doing things for the sake of an assignment or project."

tbmulligan — 2015-07-08 21:56:48 UTC

We want to remember this quote as we explore new digital tools with teachers and students. The decisions need to stay in the hands of the students so that learning is meaningful.

p. 31 "The computer isn't what gets in our way. It's that we don't know what you want from us. We know how we use the tools, but we don't know how you use them."

tbmulligan — 2015-07-08 21:59:19 UTC

It is important to remember that students often know how to use the tool but don't understand how to use it as a reader or as a writer. This is why we are exploring Padlet right now. We have to be able to show students how to use the tool. The technology is secondary.

p. 48 "Their tech comfiness allows them to dig in fearlessly and learn quickly."

tbmulligan — 2015-07-09 11:37:01 UTC

We love this quote. We can use our students' strengths to build on what they need to learn to become digitally literate.

Ways to give Students Choice with Digital Tools

tbmulligan — 2015-07-09 14:29:49 UTC

We know authentic choice is an essential element of effective instruction and chapter 4 is filled will ideas for providing choice. Here are a few ideas we want to remember:

Have "go to" websites that students can use to search for information. As students learn about websites, they have more choices for their own research. p. 51 - Great list of websites
Look for ways that students can use technology to enhance literacy goals. p. 56 - Tony Keefer's "book hook" projects brought a personal touch to book trailers so students could learn about new books from each other.
Teaching students to evaluate websites is an important part of choice.

Immerse Students in the Genre

tbmulligan — 2015-07-09 14:41:56 UTC

Just like reading any other genre, students need to time to fully understand the genre. In Figure 4.2, Franki and Bill share online text attributes that students need to know. These text attributes are important for students to explore:

To understand the purpose they serve
How we use them as a reader
When we want to choose to access information in links, etc.

Digital Boards

tbmulligan — 2015-07-09 14:47:26 UTC

On p. 62 Katharine Hale talks about the ways digital boards have helped her students organized their thinking. We can see this come to life as we take these notes on Padlet. All of our notes are in one place, rather on many different post-its. It is easy to sort our notes and notice patterns that emerge.

p. 64 "Instead, we want students to make decisions about the things they consume and create because they want their messages to be powerful, because they want to make a difference in the world."

tbmulligan — 2015-07-09 14:50:55 UTC

What an important quote. We want our students to know what they are making, why they are making and how this work will help them achieve their goals. Purposeful learning keeps students engaged.

p. 72 "We have found that when our students have lots of ways and reasons to connect, their stance as learners begins to change. They think hard about purpose and audience and realize that learning is never-ending."

tbmulligan — 2015-07-09 16:29:57 UTC

Using social media has exponentially expanded our learning community. We now learn with educators all over the country and we can do this learning at any time of day. When Franki and Bill talk about the power of "connectedness" we completely agree. When students know how to use digital tools to connect, the lines between home and school begin to blur. Connectedness also fuels learning. Now readers have a reason to share their ideas because they know that others are listening and learning right alongside them.

Ideas for Supporting Connectedness in the Classroom

tbmulligan — 2015-07-09 16:38:45 UTC

Show students how Skype, Facetime, Google Hangouts can be used for learning.
Show them how to read posts like writers and learn from ways that others use digital tools. We don't only learn content online, we also learn new ways to structure our writing.
Use digital tools in the classroom during shared reading lessons so students understand how to participate in an online community as a learner.