New Literacy Research Portfolio (10 Recommended Resources)

10 Recommended Resources

1.    Newsela.com

Over the last month I have been introduced to many new digital tools that I definitely could see me using in the classroom and I have gotten most familiar with Newsela.  This is a great tool for any teacher that would like to incorporate both current and interesting nonfiction articles into their classroom.  Newsela offers articles to be adjusted according to a student’s Lexile level and some articles can be converted to Spanish

2.     Goodreads.com

I love Goodreads!  I highly suggest this website for any reader as it helps you find books in a number of different ways.  You can search genres, lists, or find books that they recommend based off your interests.  The reviews can be very helpful and offer readers the ability to rate the book if you are into making sure you are getting the right book for you.

3.     Padlet

This is a digital tool that I feel is perfect for the 21st century classroom.  If you are not familiar with this tool it is basically an interactive digital notepad that can serve numerous purposes in the classroom.  Teachers could ask students to answer a question, write a sentence demonstrating proper grammar usage, ask their own questions, etc…A great tool for formative assessment that could also be very engaging for students.

4.     Plicker/Kahoot

I paired these two digital tools together because they are very similar.  Both Plicker and Kahoot are digital tools that allow students to answer questions in a fun and engaging manner.  Plicker is great because only the teacher needs a cell phone while Kahoot requires students to use their own device.  Regardless of which tool you use students will love answering questions and hopefully learn a thing or two in the process.

5.     Twitter

Most people I feel should be aware of twitter but personally I never had one until recently.  I was required to create one in class and it served as an effective personal learning network.  My experience with social media is limited to mainly just Facebook and Instagram but I have heard of many other outlets as well and for classroom purposes I feel twitter is the best and most professional to use in a classroom to stay connected.

6.     Google Docs/Slides

Both google digital tools are awesome!  To me these are the modern day Microsoft word and PowerPoint but with a significant advantage.  That advantage being that multiple authors could be on the same document or slides at the same time.  It is a great tool for students to work together and it is also great for working on the same piece of work even if everyone is not together.

7.     WeVideo

This is another digital tool that I was new to but used in class recently.  As one would assume this is a digital tool that helps uses make videos.  Although I admit that there are probably better sources out there this one did work and the best part is that it is free.  This could be an exciting alternative to assessing students understanding of a concept that I highly recommend using in the classroom.

8.     WordPress

I have had a WordPress account for a few months now and I have had a positive experience using this blogging website.  You can create a personalized page, stay connected, and use this website in the classroom.  Having students create their own space to share their work can be both fun and rewarding for students.

9.     YouTube

This may be one of the most popular of all the tools that I have already mentioned but one that needs to be on this list.  YouTube is a video sharing digital outlet that can be useful for finding videos for any purpose whether it be for the classroom or personal enjoyment.  Often times YouTube videos can enhance any lesson plan and offer an engaging way to cover various topics in the classroom.

10. Pinterest

I choose to include Pinterest separate from other social media outlets because I feel Pinterest serves a different purpose that I highly recommend for teachers and even students.  Pinterest to me is all about finding inspiration and new ideas that one can use for a number of reasons.  If you ever want to jazz up a lesson or find something new to add to your classroom go to Pinterest and I am sure you will find something.  Students on the other hand can use Pinterest when they find themselves in a slump especially for writing or organization.

New Literacy Research Portfolio (Resume and About Me)

Click on this link to view my resume –> Resume

Hello WordPress readers and welcome to my blog!  In this section of my New Literacy Research Profile I wanted to take some time to let you know a little about myself.  I am currently studying at the University of Central Florida to become a secondary English teacher.  It is now my fifth semester and I still have about a year left but I am confident that I made a great choice in choosing to teach.  Some might be surprised to hear that I still do not know which grade I would like to start teaching but as of right now I am leaning towards ninth graders.  For the past year I have been a substitute teacher and have made sure to sub in as many different grade levels in as many different classes as possible and I think this experience has helped me see have a hands on approach to experiencing what my classes cover.  Unfortunately I still have to wait until next fall until I can start my teaching experience in my own class but along the way I have learned so much and have been encouraged to try many new things to make me that much more prepared for my own classroom.  Outside of school I enjoy my precious downtime because recently time has been limited.  When I can relax I like to spend time with people in fun places, play sports, and explore the world.  Thanks for reading that’s just a glimpse of who I am and I hope you enjoy my New Literacy Research Profile!

New Literacy Research Portfolio (Classroom Procedures for Using Technology Letter to Parents)

Hello Parents/Guardians,

Welcome you to the new school year.  I am excited for the upcoming year and for the opportunity to be your child’s English teacher.  As an English language arts teacher I will be responsible for teaching, improving, and challenging your child’s literacy skills.  Traditional views of literacy include skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.  Yet as 21st century learner’s literacy has grown to include being digitally literate or in other words students are being expected to effectively use and navigate digital tools.  These skills are critical to a student’s success both in and out of the classroom.  To most effectively improve your child’s literacy skills as 21st century learners I find it important to incorporate digital tools into the classroom.  Please take the time to review the contents below as it will cover my rationale and teaching policy’s with using technology in the classroom.

Rationale

Students learn better when what they are learning relates to prior knowledge and past lived experiences.  As 21st century students, it is no secret that our students interact with technology almost every day if not every day of their lives.  Children have grown accustomed to using technology and use digital tools for a wide variety of reasons from reading books, watching videos, playing games, communicating, and following the news.  So to effectively be able to teach these 21st century students it makes sense that teachers use these digital tools to keep students engaged.  Also using these digital tools will help students practice using digital tools for more academic purposes.

Classroom Technology Policy

Technology will be used by the teacher and students in this classroom to enhance classroom instruction.  At times students will be introduced to new digital tools but learning English content will have precedence over learning digital tools in this classroom.  Safety and privacy are taken very seriously with me when using digital tools, technology, and the internet.  I plan to cover safety prior to using technology usage before using any digital tool and students will learn about digital citizenship throughout the course of the school year.  To this point students will be responsible for what they put on the internet and still must abide by the school rules.  Using technology in the classroom should be beneficial, engaging, safe, and fun and I will work hard to create a learning environment that allows for these elements to be present in my 21st century English classroom. Thank you for reading!

Recommended Sources

Digital literacy and safety – http://www.themoreyouknow.com/topics/digital-literacy/

Highlights the benefits of using technology in the classroom – http://www.nms.org/Blog/TabId/58/PostId/188/technology-in-the-classroom-the-benefits-of-b

Thank you,

Brandon P

New Literacy Research Portfolio (Research of an Essential Digital Literacy Question)

In this section of my New Literacy Research Portfolio I researched an essential question I had regarding incorporating digital literacies in the classroom.  Within this article you will find my essential question followed by 5 sources that I briefly summarize and explain how they relate to my essential question as well as how the article impacted my pedagogy.

NLRP – Annotated Bibliography

New Literacy Research Portfolio (Pedagogical/Content Knowledge)

For the next few blogs I will be sharing various pages of my New Literacy Research Portfolio.  In this particular posting I have shared 3 lesson plans that I have recently made that attempt to showcase how I would use a website called Newsela that is great for incorporating interesting and current nonfiction articles into any classroom.  I still would consider myself relatively new with creating lesson plans but this is what I came up with.  Let me know what you think!

Lesson Plan 1

Lesson Plan 2

Lesson Plan 3

Just click on the above links to access my lesson plans.

Reflecting On My Blogging Experience

It’s been several months since I first wrote my first blog now and it seems like overnight I saw my page get flooded with new posts and encouraging comments from my peers.  So if you can’t tell just yet in this blog I am going to reflect on my blogging experience by answering some questions related to my experience.

What you learned about yourself as a writer?

In writing you are always taking time to write down your thoughts which tend to be a reflection of who you are.  In taking time to write on this blog I have learned that I can actually have fun with writing, reach people with my writing, and even at times make people smile with what I write.  The impact that I feel I had on others and the numerous comments I received reassured me that what I write matters and can even serve purposes that help others improve as teachers, people, or just feel better.  Although I want to teach writing I will be the first to admit academic writing can be overwhelming and tedious but being allowed to have the space to write in a relatively low stakes environment has truly helped me to find a place to write for pleasure.  The entire class has helped rekindle my interest in writing and has definitely inspired me to make sure to have my future students engage in “fun” writing and low stakes writing at times.

What you learned about digital writing?

Although this blog and the posts that I made were for class I took this opportunity to live as a blogger, something I may not have ever done unless I was required to do so for a class.  I do have a Facebook and an Instagram but honestly I have pulled back significantly from writing on those websites for various reasons.  My primary reason is probably that I have no time and my posts about how I’m always swamped with homework wouldn’t accumulate the likes that are sought after.  Jokes aside I have learned through blogging that there are more mature audiences out their even in the vast realm of the internet.  I still am a firm believer that the internet is the most difficult platform to express yourself and to be quite honest say anything.  When you expose yourself in the form of thoughts in the words you write for others to see on the internet you truly do share your words with so many people and with that comes some great response but also the not so great response in the form of trolls, spam, rude comments, ignorance, attacks etc…Please go see any post on any social media outlet on politics or current hot topics issues and you’ll realize my point that having an opinion on the internet is scary.  Again I have learned that there are safer places where people can express themselves and share their thoughts comfortably.  With blogging in particular where the majority of my audience were my classmates, I felt comfortable writing freely because I knew they were going through the same thing and would be supportive.

Additionally I learned that digital wiring can be outstanding for my future students as well.  In reading my peers posts I have seen so many of them flourish with blogging and have a place to share things that mean a lot to them or just things that were on their mind.  This can be powerful for some people and digital writing can have all the same beneficial effects as writing on paper.  Plus I think blogs are a great way to get to know your teacher, students, and peers better while allowing a place for students to turn in assignments just like what I’m doing.

What lessons you can take to classroom or share with future teachers about integrating blogging into instruction?

I was starting to touch on this idea in my last answer so I had to cut that short.  Truly blogging grew on me this semester because of its practicality especially for future teachers.  I would share this idea with other teachers and I would not limit my recommendation to just English teachers.  In fact I think other subject area teachers could have great success in incorporating blogging into their classrooms.  Math classes could have a place to help each other with homework and science and history classes could be led similar to how my blogging experience was but could be focused on topics specific to those subject areas.  Again I stress how blogging could be a great way for students to want to write in class, at home, and in their free time.  At times blogging even helped me talk with my peers in class as I would ask them about things related to their blog, thank them for the kind response, or comment to them face to face when I did not have time to respond on my blog.  These experiences clearly helped me and I am sure my future students could benefit from the social benefits that blogging has especially in a classroom setting.  Teachers could also use blogging as a way to reduce paper consumption and confusion as it is all digital and assignments could be turned in on the blog instead.

Challenges? Successes?

If you can’t tell by now I really enjoyed my blogging experience even though that was not always the case.  In the very beginning I admit I was reluctant to get started as I just thought of it as more homework.  I even remember the early open posts discouraged me because I saw examples of others posts from the past and felt that my life seemed really dull.  For clarifications I do not think I am a dull person but I could admit my current student lifestyle has been very busy and not the best for one who enjoys doing things.  It’s not that bad but you get the point.  Yet even as I answer this question you can see one of the success I’ve had in blogging and that is I feel in control of my writing and if I want to go on a random personal tangent that is exactly where the blog is going to go.  That freedom has been refreshing and has really helped me care more about my thoughts.  As I mentioned earlier I have been successful in helping people and even inspiring them with some of the thoughts that I have choose to write about.  In return I have felt this blogging has been personally rewarding for me as well even when only a few people comment.  I am proud to say that I now understand the lure of blogging.  In my opinion as with anything in life it takes a little to get started and even longer for some but if you stay with it your page and experiences could truly start to be a part of your life and change you for the better.

Thank you for reading!

 

Professional Book Post

For this blog posting I am going to reflect on and talk about the book Teaching Arguments by Jennifer Fletcher.  As with most informative books I have read in college related to the profession of teaching the book had much of the same concepts that get thrown around in my classes, experiences, and conversations.  Yet books of this nature always do an excellent job at taking a known topic such as in this case “argumentative writing” and taking a deeper look into the concept.  From the beginning it was evident that Fletcher wanted to conceptualize argumentative in a different manner.  At the very least she was interested in dissecting the various elements needed to effectively engage in argumentative writing.

First and foremost, before one even wants to take a stance on an issue at hand Fletcher explains the importance of familiarizing oneself with what is being discussed.  Fletcher cites Rhetorician Charles Bazerman who tells students “You have to read well enough to see what people are really discussing, what the real issues are.  You need to understand what has already been written to decide intelligently what you can contribute” (2015, p. 64).  This is something that I would think most writing teachers would agree with and even embody themselves but Fletcher’s take on truly understanding an issue before taking a stance on it is crucial in the argumentative writing process.  Often times Fletcher reminds readers to be open minded when reading and to make reading almost game like as you try to understand the author’s point of view.  The game takes the form of doubting and believing various concepts which she eventually wants to transform these initial thoughts into your own perspective which will transform into your argument.  Breaking down the process in this manner helped me personally as a future writing teacher as it reminds me that often time’s people let alone students in my class do not know much or anything about topics that they are reading about.  Yet the only way to truly take a stance on something and respond in argumentative writing is to try and understand where the author is coming from and how that varies from your own perspective.

Anyone reading this book when asked about it probably would address Fletcher’s fascination with a Greek term Kairos.  Fletcher explains that Kairos is an element that is seen in the writing portion of argumentative writing after the information gathering and opinion formulating stages are complete in where you as the writer, choose the “appropriate” time to argue your perspective (2015).  Kairos deals with the concept of occasion in argumentative writing which has to do with one of the many ways in which Fletcher encourages students to think about argumentative writing.  In her book Fletcher brings up the idea of encouraging students to think rhetorically about argumentative writing as seen with Kairos.  In Kairos analysis one would typically look for the timing and place in addition to the social expectations in context to who the author was writing to and why they were writing (Fletcher, 2015).  Personally I feel that having students analysis argumentative writing with a questioning or rhetorical mindset would be highly beneficial for them as argumentative writers themselves as they can ask the same questions when writing their own arguments.  Additionally, Fletcher shares her opinion on audience and purpose which I tend to value in all forms of writing.  Overall she highlights how these terms work together and when students work with these terms they become more strategic in their own writing (Fletcher, 2015).

In the last chapter of the book Fletcher switches gears and offers a chapter on Aristotle’s Guide to Becoming a “Good” Student.  This chapter was interesting in that it took the concepts of the book and applied them in ways that teachers can motivate students.  For example, Fletcher states, “When it comes to increasing students’ motivation, engagement, and self-efficacy, pathos and ethos can be more persuasive than logos, especially for our most vulnerable students” (2015, p. 182).  This statement captures one of the key reasons as to why she wrote the final chapter in that she wants teachers to remember that at the end of the day none of the information in her book or any professional book for that matter will be beneficial if teachers do not remember to capture the interest of all of their students so that they see the purpose of writing.  Overall she explains tendencies of the “good” student and stresses the importance of getting students into a routine of actively practicing the art of writing as being necessary, overcoming the negative associations tied to writing, and helping students find that writing high of sorts similar to that of a runners high as Fletcher puts it (2015).

For those that have not read this book these are some of my main takeaways that I find important from Fletcher’s book on argumentative writing.  It is not an overwhelming book and she does not try to reinvent the wheel but rather she just wants to encourage both students and teachers to look at argumentative writing in a deeper way.  In her writing it is clear that she believes in the potential of students of all levels and offers numerous activities that you may want to consider implementing in your future lessons.  As always, thank you for reading my post and I hope you have taken something from my reading experience.

References

Fletcher, J. (2015). Teaching Arguments Rhetorical Comprehension, Critique, and Response. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Mount Rushmores Everywhere

I’m sitting here doing homework diligently…okay so what’s really happening is I am about to sit back and have my laptop open while I try to do homework and watch the college basketball national championship.  My team (UCONN) didn’t make it to the final game and I’m not that into the game but thinking of basketball inspired me to write this blog posting.  In basketball analysts love discussing their Mount Rushmore of best basketball players.  Making a Mount Rushmore of something is basically a fancy way of making a top 4 of something.  These top four represent the model of greatness in what ever topic the Mount Rushmore is about.  So with that I decided to make my own Mount Rushmores related to some topics that I find interesting including my favorite movies, best actors, favorite characters,  countries I need to travel to, and best Will Ferrell movies.  Yes, I realize that most of these have to do with movies but I figure that movies are always fun for people to talk about because we all know them and we all have opinions about movies.  I may be modifying the Mount Rushmore method slightly with some of these topics but it’s my blog so that’s what we’re going to do.

*Side note for all my teacher readers.  As I was thinking about the Mount Rushmore idea I got to thinking that this could be used in the classroom.  Some of my initial thoughts include sparking argumentative writing ideas as students discuss why they fell certain items belong on the Mount Rushmore and others do not.  The Mount Rushmore method could be really beneficial in students getting to know their peers and teachers better early in the school year.  Additionally since this practice asks you to list the 4 items that represent the topic the best, then one could take their list and practice their comparing and contrasting skills.  To add to this point this practice could also help students identify what qualities of an item make it worth being on this list.  Clearly teachers need to be creative with approaches like this but I think there may be something here that can be used in the classroom.

Without further ado my Mount Rushmores

Favorite Movies

Gladiator, Titanic, Lion King, Rocky IV

Best/Actors

Bryan Cranston, Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Leonardo Dicaprio

Favorite Characters

The Joker (The Dark Knight), Gustavo Fring (Breaking Bad), J.D. (Scrubs), Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones)

Countries I need to travel to 

Italy, Australia, Japan, Ireland

Best Will Ferrell Movies

Step Brothers, Anchorman, Elf, Blades of Glory

Please feel free to leave your own Mount Rushmores either related to some of these topics or create your own and tell me what you think about incorporating this in a classroom and how you would think about incorporating it.  Thanks for reading!

Tech Creation

For this blog I was instructed to produce my own tech inspired creations as the title suggests.  I have always wanted to create my own memes and now I finally had an excuse to do just that so needless to say I was pretty excited about this one.  Let me point out that it turns out making memes is actually pretty complicated but it is a really fun activity to engage in.  When making memes I try to really get into character and it really frustrates me when I get stumped because I feel so familiar with many of the characters I’ve seen in memes that I always felt it would come so natural but it really takes a lot of thought to put together a witty or well put together meme that matches words to a photo.  I will definitely try to implement a lesson that utilizes the power of memes and the critical thinking skills associated with the skill of making memes.

As for the memes you can see my mind was all over the place.  The first one deals with my frustration with Hollywood only appearing to make super hero movies now a days.  This is far from a big deal but I thought of it as I worked with the meme template so I went with it.

My second meme was inspired simply by Will Ferrell who is one of if not my favorite comedians in film.  I just tried to get into character and yeah I’m pretty sure this is something Buddy the elf would say.

Finally I had to do a SpongeBob “how tough am I” inspired meme and well it appeals to how I work through my essays.  I am sure I am not alone.

Again I really enjoyed this blog posting and I hope you did as well.  Feel free to let me know your thoughts, I know I can do better but I was pretty satisfied with these three fun memes.  Also if you’d like to share some of your own memes that you have created also feel free to leave them as well!

Scrubs, More Than a Comedy

If there is one thing that I have time for in between homework assignments and whatever else I do in life watching TV shows with my girlfriend is one of them. First I must clarify, I do not find myself to be lazy but when I want to relax especially to take a break from life I just sit back and watch a TV series with. I am a relaxing pro. Life does not allow this to happen that often and I could not possibly sit and binge watch as there is this thing called a sun and fun things tend to happen when one decides to go out in the sun. Alright enough justifying I think you guys get the point.

Today I just wanted to talk about the show I am currently watching which is Scrubs. I’m not going to assume everyone has watched or even heard of this show but I found out that my girlfriend had not watched it and I figured she would really like it because it is hilarious. This is only the second series that we have watched together and this one is much different than the first show we watched together which was Breaking Bad which can be funny like Scrubs but in the chemistry teacher turning into a drug lord kind of way. I love that I am able to re-watch Scrubs with someone who has never seen it before because I watched this years ago with my dad and I thought I would never watch it again. The nostalgia hits me in every episode and it just really serves as a relaxer for me.

As for the show itself, I think the writing is diverse, creative, and absolutely hilarious as noted before. In my opinion the acting is superb as well and this show does an excellent job at building characters. I will say that the show at times repeats many of its set-ups and jokes but I feel that at times repetition just makes you appreciate how creative the writing is in that they can make you laugh with basically the same thing just by tweaking it just slightly. On a side note, yes this is how I tend to watch things at my age now, like I am a critic for the New York Times. I especially love how this show is highly relatable at least for me. I find similarities between myself in the main character and his mentor which is interesting for me that I see myself in both ways but it works for me.

This parody of Grey’s Anatomy also catches my attention because just as well as this show hits on comedy it can equally pluck your heart strings.  Many life issues that we all deal with are taken on in the context of the hospital Sacred Heart and I feel that many issues are portrayed and experienced by the characters in extremely relatable and realistic manners.  They touch on death numerous times, stress, marriage, divorce, loneliness, friendship, and pretty much everything that us humans have to deal with.  The balance of comedy with meaningful life issues makes this show very fun for my girlfriend and I to get to know each other better as we use the show sometimes as a catalyst to talk about many of these themes and its just really interesting.

So far I must say this blog has lived up to my attempted play on words with the whole stream of consciousness idea where I just talk about whatever is on my mind because truly this post is random I’ll admit. For those that take the time to listen to my rants thank you and for those of you who have watched Scrubs and know who Dr. Cox is you may appreciate my rants but we all know who the king of rants is. Whether you have seen Scrubs or not I left a video that we all can enjoy that will make you understand why I choose to write about a series. Enjoy and thanks again for reading!