Week 3- Minds-on “New Literacies Definition and Components

1. I interviewed two ELA teachers, one in elementary school and one in high school. The elementary school teacher has just a couple of computers in his classroom. He occasionally uses recorded books and music on CD with his students.  He is open to the use of technology but says the district does not have the resources to do more. He also says he is so busy with testing and working with students that he does not have the time to investigate the possibilities. The second teacher has four computers in her room. She has a reading lab and teaches students who are in the special education program. These students struggle with reading and do not like or want to read. She has them do some word processing on the computers but that is the extent of the use of technology in her classroom. I believe the biggest road blocks are the perception that there are no resources to provide for new technology and they believe the learning curve is too daunting when they are already so busy.

2. I think the first job we as technology specialist have is to facilitate the process of acquiring the technology tools the teachers might use. For example, when I  approached the high school teacher that I will be collaborating with about having her students do some podcasting, she was open to it but did not know how to start. I placed a call to the person in charge of computer technology support in our building and asked him to install Audacity on the four computers in her room as well as on the teachers computer. It was done remotely and within the same day. Next I requested three microphones and he will have them delivered on Monday. So, though it may have seemed like a big process, in actuality it was rather easy to facilitate and get the project going.
Next I will meet with the teacher and help her in developing a lesson format for introducing podcasting and having her students write and produce each other podcasts. I will need to teach her how to use the software and hardware and be present when the lessons are delivered. So as I see it, facilitating with the acquisition of software  and showing teachers what the possibilities are is how I can help change their instructional practices.

3. Teachers will need to know clearly what the process is for requesting new software and hardware for their classrooms. They will need in-service classes to learn to use the tools that are available to them. They will need a support person to help them when they are first using new technology in their classes. Most importantly they need the ideas. They need people to model the use of new technology and they need to see how it can motivate and inspire their students.

4.  In classrooms with limited computer access there is a challenge when it comes to allowing all students equal access to the technology. By creating a workflow in the classroom which is designed to have the students placed at different "centers of activity",  they can have access to different tools on a rotating basis. I also believe in allowing the use of cell phones in the classroom for educational purposes. If students can get onto Facebook, they can get onto their blogs and write. Additionally I would assign the option of doing work from home in the evening so they can be doing work that involves technology from their own computers. This would include things like watching a teacher produced video-cast or lesson, Ted Talks, listening to educational podcasts on their iPods or blogging from home.