Monday, February 16, 2009

Also a Digital Immigrant

Nichole, I too am a Digital Immigrant! I also have a facebook, and just recently deleted my myspace page. I finally realized I don't need TWO social networking pages..... at least not at the moment. I too do my banking online, and can not remember the last check I wrote. I pay all my bills online, and prefer to talk to my friends via text messaging. I also have a phone that connects me to the internet and sends 2 of my 3 email accounts to me, and updates every 20 minutes. Even with all this technology integrated into my life, I still consider myself a digital immigrant.....maybe I have an educational visa?! :)

I can not create a webpage, but did figure out a blog. I still prefer to take notes with paper and pencil, and read articles from class in a paper format. I still do not quite understand what the Wiki is, although I am huge fan of wikipeida. I was unfamiliar with terms like Smart Mob, and modding and did not know what this was. I also agree with you Nicole in that using scaffolding is the best way to introduce myself and my students to digital literacy tools.

I really like the idea of the new literacies project as well because I love to experiment with new techniques to keep my students engaged and participating. In one of my special education ( my major) classes last semester, I made a digital book using power point. In using power point I was able to record my voice so the student only had to click on the icon and hear me read the text. In using power point the students were able to move from page to page with ease and at their own pace. I would like to create more of these books ( over summer break?) and compile them on a CD and have that available in my classroom. I showed the power point book to my 5-9 year old siblings and they loved it. Every time they see my laptop, they ask me to turn it on and play it for them. I am still thinking about the new literacies project because I want to create something that I will use again and again, especially in my first year teaching, so I have not decided which tool to use. any suggestions?

I think that as new professionals we should view digital literacies as an amazing tool that will help our students develop and be ready to join our ever so technologically savvy community.

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