Research Synopsis
This is the final part of the reading review assignment, in which I will share my understandings and insight of the resources I collected pertaining to my topic of using technology to collaborate with teachers and getting students hooked on reading.
First of all, research is difficult. There is so much information out there that it becomes overwhelming and frustrating trying to narrow down a topic of interest. I spent more than an hour and several evenings reading journal articles, books, blogs, and watching videos. Several times while researching, I ended up reading about something completely off topic because links lead me astray (although they were interesting sites, it was not what I needed to focus on right then). Therefore, teaching research skills to students is highly important so that they are not left feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with research. Teaching students about information literacy is just as important in order for them to be able to judge a website as having valid authentic information.
The first resource that I would like to elaborate on is the book written by Beverley E. Crane, titled "Using Web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools in the K-12 Classroom." I haven't had the opportunity to read the entire book yet, but what I have read so far is closely related to my topic of using technology to collaborate with teachers and students. In particular Crane writes that the four goals of this book are:
1. To describe Web 2.0 and social networking tools to educators new to the technologies so they can discuss them intelligently with students and other colleagues,
2. To model Web 2.0 tools and social media through classroom examples,
3. To explain to beginning users how to get started with each tool and
4. To present practical unit and lesson plans illustrating the use of Web 2.0 and social networking in the K– 12 content-area curricula (Crane, p.xvii).
All four of these goals are exactly what I am looking for as a beginning user of such things as blogs. Crane has an entire chapter about blogging. She talks about why and how blogging works in the classroom and best of all, she defines blogging terms that I am still learning about. This resource will be very useful for me as I continue to become more comfortable with using technology, but also to help me collaborate with teachers using technology. I will definitely use this resource as a reference when talking with teachers and hope to implement some of these new practices for me.
The next resource that I would like to elaborate on is an article by Emy Nelson Decker and Monya D. Tomlinson, titled "Using Blogs in the Library to Reach Diverse and Non-Traditional Student Groups." This article talks about using blogs to keep students and readers informed about the library and encourages readers of the blog to leave comments and share with others. After reading this article, I am inspired to create a blog specifically for my school's library and encourage students to comment on the blog by adding a book review or recommendation. The current website I use for my school library is very difficult to navigate and add new content. With a blog, I would be able to easily add something new by posting and publishing. This article will be useful for me to highlight to my administrator the importance of starting a library blog.
The last resource that I would like to elaborate on is an article by Lane W. Clarke titled, "Reader Response 2.0: Using Technology to Support Literacy Growth." Clarke states that "by purposefully choosing technology tools in our literacy classrooms, we can enhance engagement, support literacy development, and develop meaningful digital literacy skills"(p.44). He also suggests that we should be integrating digital literacy into our reading and writing lessons (p.45). More specifically, Clarke uses Bloom's taxonomy to give examples of each level of thinking and matches these up with technology tools. For example, the first level of Bloom's taxonomy is remembering (p.46). Clarke pairs up this level of thinking with using the tool Wordle for students to highlight the most important words in a particular classroom text (p.46). Continually, Clarke gives examples of tools to use for each level of Bloom's taxonomy. He has examples for understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. All of Clarke's examples can be easily applied in the classroom. Even if I don't get a chance to use all the examples he has highlighted, Clarke has made sure to find technology "tools that are free, easy to use, and appropriate for the classroom" (p.46). I look forward to trying some of these tools with teachers and students at my school.
Overall, I have found many useful resources, but the three mentioned above will help me reach my goal of using technology to collaborate with teachers and engaging students. This is a great start for my research, but it is only the beginning. I will continually add to my resources and better my understanding and knowledge of using technology in the classroom.
References:
Clarke, Lane W. Reader Response 2.0: Using Technology to Support Literacy Growth. University of New England, Portland, ME: The NERA Journal. Volume 50, Issue 1, 2014. p.44-50
Crane, Beverley E. Using Web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools in the K-12 Classroom. Chicago, IL, USA: American Library Association, 2012. ProQuest ebrary. Copyright © 2012. American Library Association.
Decker, Emy Nelson and Tomlinson, Monya D. Using Blogs in the Library to Reach Diverse and Non-Traditional Student Groups. Atlanta University Center: Journal of Library Innovation, Volume 5, Issue 2, 2014. p.60-70.
The first resource that I would like to elaborate on is the book written by Beverley E. Crane, titled "Using Web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools in the K-12 Classroom." I haven't had the opportunity to read the entire book yet, but what I have read so far is closely related to my topic of using technology to collaborate with teachers and students. In particular Crane writes that the four goals of this book are:
2. To model Web 2.0 tools and social media through classroom examples,
3. To explain to beginning users how to get started with each tool and
4. To present practical unit and lesson plans illustrating the use of Web 2.0 and social networking in the K– 12 content-area curricula (Crane, p.xvii).
All four of these goals are exactly what I am looking for as a beginning user of such things as blogs. Crane has an entire chapter about blogging. She talks about why and how blogging works in the classroom and best of all, she defines blogging terms that I am still learning about. This resource will be very useful for me as I continue to become more comfortable with using technology, but also to help me collaborate with teachers using technology. I will definitely use this resource as a reference when talking with teachers and hope to implement some of these new practices for me.
The next resource that I would like to elaborate on is an article by Emy Nelson Decker and Monya D. Tomlinson, titled "Using Blogs in the Library to Reach Diverse and Non-Traditional Student Groups." This article talks about using blogs to keep students and readers informed about the library and encourages readers of the blog to leave comments and share with others. After reading this article, I am inspired to create a blog specifically for my school's library and encourage students to comment on the blog by adding a book review or recommendation. The current website I use for my school library is very difficult to navigate and add new content. With a blog, I would be able to easily add something new by posting and publishing. This article will be useful for me to highlight to my administrator the importance of starting a library blog.
The last resource that I would like to elaborate on is an article by Lane W. Clarke titled, "Reader Response 2.0: Using Technology to Support Literacy Growth." Clarke states that "by purposefully choosing technology tools in our literacy classrooms, we can enhance engagement, support literacy development, and develop meaningful digital literacy skills"(p.44). He also suggests that we should be integrating digital literacy into our reading and writing lessons (p.45). More specifically, Clarke uses Bloom's taxonomy to give examples of each level of thinking and matches these up with technology tools. For example, the first level of Bloom's taxonomy is remembering (p.46). Clarke pairs up this level of thinking with using the tool Wordle for students to highlight the most important words in a particular classroom text (p.46). Continually, Clarke gives examples of tools to use for each level of Bloom's taxonomy. He has examples for understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. All of Clarke's examples can be easily applied in the classroom. Even if I don't get a chance to use all the examples he has highlighted, Clarke has made sure to find technology "tools that are free, easy to use, and appropriate for the classroom" (p.46). I look forward to trying some of these tools with teachers and students at my school.
Overall, I have found many useful resources, but the three mentioned above will help me reach my goal of using technology to collaborate with teachers and engaging students. This is a great start for my research, but it is only the beginning. I will continually add to my resources and better my understanding and knowledge of using technology in the classroom.
References:
Clarke, Lane W. Reader Response 2.0: Using Technology to Support Literacy Growth. University of New England, Portland, ME: The NERA Journal. Volume 50, Issue 1, 2014. p.44-50
Crane, Beverley E. Using Web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools in the K-12 Classroom. Chicago, IL, USA: American Library Association, 2012. ProQuest ebrary. Copyright © 2012. American Library Association.
Decker, Emy Nelson and Tomlinson, Monya D. Using Blogs in the Library to Reach Diverse and Non-Traditional Student Groups. Atlanta University Center: Journal of Library Innovation, Volume 5, Issue 2, 2014. p.60-70.
Great work on your final summary post for this review. You reflected well, learned a lot about the research process and have come away with some very useful resources to help guide and inform you moving forward. Overall, a strong post and good writing.
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