Reflection on the Implementation

1. The outcomes of the implementation: student learning outcomes and technical procedure outcomes

·      The students will demonstrate their ability to create an online book using bookbuilder.cast.org.

·      The students will be able to identify the key components of bullying such as an intentional effort to harm one or more individuals, may be direct or indirect, is not limited to behaviors that cause physical harm, and may be verbal (including oral and written language) or non-verbal.

·      The students will be able to explain their ideas on how to combat bullying by creating the book.

2. The adjustments you had made to accommodate students with special needs

During our sessions we were working with two students with special needs.  One student had vision impairment and needed to have a magnifier attached to his screen.  Another student had attention deficient disorder and needed to be constantly reminded to stay on task. At first we had a hard time trying to keep that student focused.  We decided to pair him up with another student and allowed them to collaborate on their project.  That seemed to work well.

3. The adjustments you had made for the effectiveness of classroom management

I was lucky enough to be working with a group of 12, fourth grade students.  There really was to many issues that had to be addressed.  Mrs. Mitchell and I were able to situate ourselves at opposite sides of the room, which gave us the ability to handle issues before they arose. 

  

4. The questions asked by the students

           I tried to keep track of my student’s questions as they arose.  Here is the list I compiled:

·      How many pages does the book have to be?

·      How can I record my voice to a character?

·      How do I get from page to page?

·      Can I use clip art or do I have to create my own pictures?

·      How am I being graded?

·      Does other fourth graders get to do this?

·      Why are we doing this?

·      Who is going to see our books?

  

5. The problems students had encountered during the implementation process

            There were several problems the students encountered during the implementation process.  The first problem was logging into the laptops.  For some strange reason, a few students login information wasn’t working.  We had to have our tech person reset passwords.  Also, login into cast book builder was a bit of an issue.  When you create an account via cast bookbuiler, they sent an email to the account in which was used to set it up. Those emails took over 40 minutes to be received and when they were finally received; they were sent to the junk mail box. 

6. The feedback from the students

           The students were so excited to create the books.  They couldn’t wait to share their books with their classmates.  It was amazing to see how excited they were to view the final project.  

7. The timeframe (was there enough time as you planned for)

             Mrs. Mitchell and I planned to meet with the students 12 times for 45 minutes each time.  The first three classes were supposed to be writing the stories.  The next three classes were supposed to be for illustration and editing. For classes 9 – 11, was supposed to be for using book builder and putting it all together.  The 12 classes were supposed to be for presentations.   

         We did not allot for enough time to complete all the projects. There were several problems that held the project back.  One week I was absent from school because I had to sick children home.  That set us back significantly.  Secondly, we had issues with the technology.  There were network issues and login issues.  Also, we had scheduling problems with the computer labs because of testing. 

8. What you learned from the implementation including proposed changes for future lessons?

            There are few things I would do differently when implementing this lesson.  First of all, I would work collaboratively with the technology teacher and ask her to have the students create the book builder accounts during their technology special.  I would also like to give students the opportunity to record their voices as the characters.  In the beginning of the unit, I would send home permission slips to the parents so we could post the books on our district site.  I KNOW the kids and parents would LOVE that!

Reflection on Foundational Print Literacy and "New Literacies"

Reflection on Foundational Print Literacy and “New Literacies”

            Foundational print literacy and “new literacies” are both important in this technologically evolving world.  Foundational print literacy, traditionally, played a major role in education and the ELA classroom.   From printed materials, students would read poems, books, and informational text.  The purpose of ELA is to develop students’ abilities to communicate orally and literally and prepare them for the job force.

Foundational print played an important role in education because that was type of media that was available.  However, the needs of society have changed due to the development of technology.      As the world continued to develop technologically, ELA classroom and education has changed dramatically.  Students needs have changed.  Currently, they need to be able to become literate with not only the foundational print literacy but also the technological components. With the development of the internet, the world has become dependent on technology and continues to engulf its self with it. 

            Today’s students have the luck to be surrounded with such a diverse literate environment and are able to produce and publish their work through many different types of medians.  For example, they have the ability to blog, create movies, write/publish online books, and so much more.  The possibilities are endless!