New Literacies

Online Tutoring

2011-03-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

Bravo

I am currently teaching an online course as part of the Online Degree Program in Literacy Studies offered by the Open Campus of the University of the West Indies. Although I am no stranger to the virtual classroom, this is my first experience working with other e-tutors in delivering a course.

I look forward to working and interacting with the students.

Goals for 2011

2011-01-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

There are several pedagogical practices that i have been experimenting with for the past two years as a way of ensuring both self and professional development. Some of these practices worthy of replication include online discussion boards, blogging, web quests, video clips of micro teaching lessons, Alpha box activity, double entry and reflective journals, PowerPoint presentations and videos/documentaries in instruction.

On a more professional level, one of my goals for 2011 is to publish my own research and a long term goal is to publish my own book on "Family Literacy in a Caribbean Context". Currently, I am working on my manuscript for submission to a regional and international teacher education journal. I hope that my work will meet the acceptable standard required for publication.

Another area of interest that i would like to explore relates to the manner in which facebook users utilize this site for social networking

Amazing blogs

2010-07-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how teacher education programs across the globe are making a pedagogical shift in response to the changing needs of education in the 21st century. Imagine lecturers who are not even assigned or qualified to teach the "technology in education" course are now required to infuse new technologies as part of the course modality. Research has consistently shown that 'stand alone' courses such as technology in education do not adequately prepare student teachers to effectively use technology in their classroom practice. So here I am.

In this Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum course that i am teaching this summer, student teachers are to expected to identify strategies for using technology to enhance content area literacy instruction. Rather than creating their personal blogs, students were encouraged to retrieve the blog they had maintained in their technology in education course. I used the work they had done to discuss possible ways that they can incorporate blogs in content area instruction. It was enlightening to see that students had already embedded videos that focused on relevant content they are expected to teach.

I also introduced them to another web 2.0 tool- the web quest. They looked at a few, however they need to continue their search to identify appropriate existing web quests that they can adapt/use in their lessons. Here is one web quest they found quite illuminating and appropriate (left).

Exploring the Potential of Blogs in Effective Content Area Literacy Instruction

2010-07-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Incorporating Web 2.0 tools in teacher preparation programs has become an imperative for effectively preparing pre service and in service teachers for practice in today's digital world. The proliferation of a wide range of technological tools has made it possible for both teachers and students to collaborate on projects, share ideas and experiences and develop their analytical and critical literacy skills beyond the walls of the classroom.

This week I intend to help primary school student teachers develop greater familiarity with a few tools such as blogs, web quest, wikis etc and to explore the potential that these tools have in enhancing content area literacy at the elementary level. They have been participating in an online threaded discussion board, as seen in the link on the left

Today, they will be setting up their personal blogs and hopefully create their first post.

Web 2.0 Making its way into DTEEA

2010-03-15T03:48:00.000-07:00

Teacher educators, teacher trainees as well as classroom teachers have demonstrated a keen interest in exploring the potential that blogging and the discussion board have in enhancing their pedagogical practices and student learning. This mounting interest in web 2.0 tools is imperative to teacher preparation programs such as ours at the Division of Teacher Education and successful classroom practice. Ultimately the goal is to equip both teachers and learners with the requisite skills needed for life in this ever changing digitized landscape.

Meanwhile some teacher educators are going the 'blended' way (incorporating both asynchronous and the traditional face to face teaching methodology). students in training are experimenting with the affordances provided by blogs to enhance their learners' traditional reading comprehension and writing skills and at the same time developing their digital literacy skills. The new literacies are gradually taking center stage at the Division of Teacher Education and in some of our primary and secondary schools.

Research Results

2009-11-29T15:35:00.000-08:00

Well, the results are in and I obtained a creditably 80 for the dissertation that i carried out in the content area reading and writing methods course. I thought that was pretty ok. So this brings closure to the MA in New Literacies program. The skills and knowledge gained during these two years have been extremely beneficial to my practice.

The Wiki

2009-10-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

Another Web 2.o tool that I am currently experimenting with. It is a useful tool tool that teacher educators can utilize particularly when students are working on group projects. Take a look.

Google Docs

2009-10-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

A new way to share and collaborate on documents, presentations and spreadsheets. Go the Google doc way! Take a look

Teacher Education for the 21st Centruy

2009-10-06T05:30:00.001-07:00

I must admit that the MA in New Literacies adequately prepared me for this Online Course that I am currently pursing designed for teacher educators from the Caribbean Latin and Central America. The course seeks to expose teacher educators to methodologies that put student teachers in charge of their learning with the use of new technologies. The ultimate goal I suppose is to initiate the paradigm shift in preparing teachers for practice in the 21st century and beyond.

It is a very short course - 11 weeks long which i am already finding so captivating.

It's OVER

2009-09-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

Now that i have completed this acadmenic journey I am ever so grateful to all those who made the research a reality. To the research participants i owe a debt of gratitude.

The research was a major breakthrough for me as a new teacher educator. I did not realize that this undertaking was so engaging. I did learn quite a bit however as some of the findings have informed my pedagogical practices at the teachers' college where i currently lecture.

I think that students' participation in blogs and the discussion board was impressive. Their interactive and collaborative participation that took place over the semester-long course contributed to their reflexivity and their understanding of content area related concepts. Furthermore students built communities of practice as was evident in the nature of interaction, their interest and the knowledge and repertoire of instructional strategies that they learned and developed to enhance content area instruction at the secondary school.

Data Analysis

2009-06-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

oh wow! I am currently analyzing data garnered from the data collection methods. It is so much, I am getting a bit overwhelmed by the amount of data i have to deal with. I just have to reassure myself that i need to take it one step at a time and focus on each research question in turn.

Just can't wait to get to the end of this academic journey. Meanwhile I work tirelessly.

End of Course

2009-04-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

I breathe a sigh of relief at this moment, now that the semester-long course has ended. All students were able to upload the video of their micro-teaching lesson into their blogs as can seen if you just click on one the links in the list on the left. This exercise proved to be extremely useful as it provided other students who were absent an opportunity to view the lesson taught by their classmates and comment. It also encouraged repeated viewing and deeper reflection.

...An Update on Micro Teaching

2009-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Students are currently doing their Micro Teaching exercise based on a Unit of work that they prepared as part of a group assignment. Initially students were asked to prepare a 30 minute lesson but it was necessary that some modifications be made to allow us sufficient time to complete the course. Four students have taught and the reamining three students are expected to teach a 15 minute lesson.
One student withdrew and the other student who as asked to audit the course has now rejoined her classmates.

All lessons are being videotaped and students are expected to upload their videos into their blogs to encourage deeper reflection. This approach provides me as the course lecturer with another opportunity to review the lesson and to capture areas that i may have missed during the execution of the lesson. In some cases I had to record the lesson so it was not possible for me to evaluate using the prescribed teaching practice assessment tool.

Making Progress.......

2009-03-25T03:31:00.000-07:00

Well, we are approaching the end of the semester and by then I am hoping to collect all data that are germane to the research. So far the students are doing quite well in publishing their blog posts and commenting on each other's blog. One of my major concerns however is their inability to use the lab at the school to access the discussion board and their blogs. It means that they are left to participate in this online learning activity at home. This is a major constrain.

Right Trip

2009-03-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

I had no idea that I would have seen and felt snow since I was traveling in February, a time when many states in the US particularly Georgia rarely get to experience snow. Well I almost missed it since I had to return home the Sunday morning. On arriving at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport I was told that my flight had been cancelled due to inclement weather conditions. Oh no! I thought but my positive outlook on life was unshakable and instantly I thought about the silver lining that was seemingly hiding behind this grey cloud. The answer was clearly revealed in the afternoon around 3 pm when i was called to the door to witness one of my greatest moments of nostalgia. It was such an illuminating experience and a spectacle as I gaze at the falling snow in awe. Take a look

Of course I did go out to grab some and to get a few photos as seen on the left. Was it one of these fairly tale stories that I had read before? It had indeed come true.

Virtual Pet

2009-02-07T03:10:00.000-08:00

I have been taking care of my virtual pet cat Katsumapopo. He feels really drowsy now and needs to engage in some activities. He loves having fun.

My real cat Frisky was hit by a pick-up and sustained serious injuries to the head, so I have been nursing him for the past 2 weeks. Now he is able to eat and drink. He can also walk but sad to say that he is blind. That makes me soooo sad.

New literacies in Methods Course

2009-02-07T02:21:00.001-08:00

It seems that things are winding down for me in the MA in New Literacies course. I am in the process of refining my research questions and looking at a theoretical framework for the research. Not sure what the final product will be .

But i have something interesting going on with student teachers in my methods course. They seem excited about new literacies that i have incorporated in the course. Students are expected to participate in an online discussion. A discussion board has been set up for them. Consistent with the philosophical aim of the Associate Degree in Education Program i am making a deliberate attempt to develop the teacher as a reflective practitioner. So students are to engage in ongoing reflection through blogging. I am looking forward to the valuable lessons that this intervention will teach us.

Apologies but ........

2009-01-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

I feel awful! Yes I do. It's been a while since I created my last post. I have been unbelievably busy with community projects during the summer and planning for a workshop for second year students as they get ready for teaching practice (seen in in the picture. Planning for the new course that I am teaching this semester has also taken much of my time. Oh, it promises to be an exciting one and I am rising to the challenge. Yes, I have decided to incorporate an e-learning element in a methods course to develop in pre-service teachers new literacies that they need to teach effectively in this multimedia and technologised classroom. I have no doubt that student teachers will learn quite a bit from this novel mode of delivery.

Role of Popular Culture in Literacy

2008-06-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

The pervasive use of popular cultural texts and artefacts by young children and the role they play in the development of children's literacy has been receiving attention in the research community. A number of studies have explored the potential of televisual texts on writing (Parker 1999) and remixing(Belton 2000) as a new literacy practice. The findings of both studies have been phenomenal.

I have always been interested in young children's emergent literacy and reading studies which have focused on research in this area continue to precipitate my interest in emergent literacy.

I find the 4 theoretical models (utilitarian, cultural capital model, critical and third space/recontextualization) quite useful in explaining the use of popular culture in the literacy curriculum. The Utilitarian model has its roots in the philosophical principle that the right action is the one that brings about the greatest good for the greatest number of people. This model argues that the use of popular culture in schools can familiarize/orient students to school literacy practices although it has come under attack by critics.
I find the cultural capital model consistent with the principle of the New Literacy Studies and ideological literacy. This model views the use of popular culture as a bridge in the gap between young children's home and school literacy practices and knowledge. Certainly the cultural capital model does recognize and appreciate children's cultural knowledge and experiences.
The critical model focuses on the use of popular culture as a way to develop critical readers and writers. whereas the 'third space' model perceives this a providing young children with an opportunity to create/generate new knowledge and discourses from hybrid popular cultural texts and practices.

See side link for a comprehensive reading on the role that popular culture plays in the literacy curriculum.

Emergent Digital Literacy

2008-05-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

I am really fascinated by this unit - Emergent Digital Literacy. Jackie's report on two studies regarding children's media use illuminated my understanding of the concept. Digital literacy as defined by Merchant (2007) refers to those literacy practices and events that are mediated by new technologies. Jackie argues that young children engage in a myriad of literacy related activities from birth which are crucial in setting the foundation needed for later success in literacy. These activities revolve around media (such as books, magazines etc), popular culture (such as toys, games, artefacts etc) and new technologies (such as TV, films, computer, mobile phones, console/video games etc) Although I never thought about research in this area but having read this research report as well the one on Digital Beginnings, I recognize the need for educators to be adequately trained in the use of media and new technology to augment instruction and to meet the needs of young children in a rapidly burgeoning technological society. My interest in research pertaining to young children has grown stronger now that I have been introduced to research which focuses on young children's use of popular culture, media and new technologies and the implications this has for curriculum development for young children.

Memes

2008-05-21T03:19:00.000-07:00

I find this one extremely fascinating.....

And even more humorous.....Yes, yes! This is Delcious!

Remixing as New Literacy Practice

2008-05-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

The concept of remix as a new literacy practice is a fascinating one. Digital remix is a practice that has been receiving much attention. It inolves the mixing of digital images, texts, sounds and animation Lankshear & Knobel (2006) to create something new. The following series shows how memeticists have remixed digital images, content and graphics

And... what about this? Dog talking to me?

Memes

2008-05-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

The concept of memes is a new yet interesting phenomenon to explore. The work of Richard Dawkins in 1976 was influential in helping us understand how memes are replicated. Check out the link on the left for a better understanding of memes.

New Module

2008-05-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

This module- Media Culture and Digital Text seems to be quite an interesting area to explore. The readings and discussion on issues pertaining to popular culture have been so illuminating. I get the feeling that the pursuit for larger profit margins by manufacturing industries and consumerism appears to be at the helm of the production and consumption of children's popular cultural texts.

Research Project

2008-04-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

Ah..h...h. I breathe a sigh of relief. I have just completed my small scale research project investigating the online reading and writing activities of two 10-year old girls and the advantages of involving them in blogging. It was an enlightening experience for all of us. I am new to blogs and the participants had never heard of the world 'blog' prior to the project.

They were really motivated to read and respond to the story "Little Claus and Big Claus" by blogging. I have just learned how to include links in my blog so the blogs created by both participatns over the two week period can now be accessed on the left. Have a look

Error

2008-02-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

Just playing around with my website to learn the features offered by blogsopt. Just created a link although it was not the one that I wanted to include. But I was successful at creating a link! Wow! I am learning all of this on my own.

Please be tolerant of my errors. I will get better at it.

Conducting the research

2008-02-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

I think I am ready to begin the reseach. I am investigating the use of blogs to motivate students to read and write. All ethical issues have to be addressed. I think the letter to the parents and the consent form takes care of that.

http://www.wesfryer.com/teaching/

New Literacies: It's a Bloggy Ting

2008-02-21T03:31:00.000-08:00

New Literacies: It's a Bloggy Ting

using blogs to improve literacy skills

Alternative to Reading Logs

2008-02-01T14:51:00.000-08:00

"Web logging or Blogging" exemplifies a new literacy practice that is relatively new to me and the education system in my country. Educators and policy makers have seen the need to equip schools with computers and other new technology in order to meet the growing demands of this digital landscape. However I do not think that much is being done to effectively improve our pedagogical practices with the use of these technologies.

It's a Bloggy Ting

2007-11-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Wow! I am in a new space called blogosphere! I am feeling a bit dizzy now because I feel like an alien! Ha ha! I really do not know what to say, I am instantly lost for words, something very unusual because I can be very verbose at times.

Hey Daryl and other colleagues, you need to check this "bloggy ting" out too. I am very grateful to Julia and her team for introducing this new literacy to us. This new space makes me a bit cold now..... oh oh Have a good laugh!