May 25th Assignments

1. What are the new literacies and why are they important in the K-12 classroom?
The new literacies are multi-faceted: included is the acquisition and application of skills necessary to navigate through our technologically-advanced society (such as the ability to use the Internet and the Read/Write Web,) also the knowledge of the technology that is available, the knowledge of social constructs surrounding usage of these new skills (such as understanding that using all capital letters in a chat room is considered shouting and just not polite,) and also the ability to acquire new languages & terms associated with technology (such as usage of emoticons, text abbreviations, etc.) They are important in the K-12 classroom because our students are now technology natives and are coming to us with these new literacies. If we don't understand them, we will not be able to understand and/or teach our students appropriately.


2. Does your school district have a policy about posting student work online? What does the policy state?
Our school district (Wallingford,) does have a policy about posting students' work online. Ultimately, it must be advised by a staff member, administration must be aware, any work that the students produce for a class project must only be on our internal district server, work must be edited/updated periodically, and the advisor is responsible for checking and verifying content so that it is appropriate, does not violate copyright infringement, and is true and accurate. It cannot be personally identifying, contain threats, violate copyright laws, link to students' personal sites, contain advertisements, links to corporate sponsors, and/or be for-profit or link to profit-making companies.

3. What is a weblog? How might it be used to improve/informate teaching and learning?
The short of it is that a weblog is a piece of work on the Read/Write web in which an author posts information and viewers can interact and add/edit information within that work. It chronicles an author's experiences, however also contains links and/or other interactive features so that readers are involved in the production/editing/life of the weblog.

This is a great tool for the classroom as it can have students invested in their learning by being creators for what they learn. Also, it is a fun way to teach students in a mode that they understand: technology. Most students find using technology not only fun, but also easier in some ways (particularly students who have learning challenges because technology can make information more accessible.) Furthermore, teachers who use weblogs in their classrooms expand the walls of their classroom beyond the school. Students can access assignments from home and parents are able to track what their children are learning simply by clicking on their computers and pulling up a website!