New Literacies

I took Dr. Dana's New Literacies class last year so one would think I should have a fabulous grasp on what New Literacies. I understand that literacy has to do with any type of reading or writing and when you look at the "new" part to me it implies that this reading and writing can be found through different medias or multimodal texts. Examples can include blogging, fan fiction, social networking sites, and electronic games.

In my school students are using new literacies all the time. Last year my students wrote fan fiction stories. They typed them into their own blog page and then I posted their blog page to a class blog page. The project was successful and the students had fun doing it.

Everyday students in our school are using compass learning which is a web based site where students learn and practice skills for every subject. The students in my class seem to like and usually stay on task. I assign them tasks based on their reading levels and what skills they are deficient in. Students will continue to learn using these and other new literacies. It can even be said that they might learn more from these new literacies than the old school way of a text book.

Are Video Games A Waste of Time???

I continued playing Harry Potter today. I am advancing in the game but I'm not all that interested in the game. It's seems like a children's game. I had a hard time remembering which button controlled which skill because as I advanced I learned more skills and needed to use more buttons. I was trying to think about how the game involves strategy or problem solving skills. I will have to keep thinking about that. The game does involve teamwork. During the cup matches I play with my team mates of Hufflepuff. I pass the Quaffle and try to shoot and score.

Video games is a new domain for me. I am not familiar with this domain. I am learning but I'm not convinced yet of the value of the learning. If I wasn't playing my video game I would be watching TV so I'm not sure how much learning takes places while I'm doing that either.

I like Video Games!!!

Well I just started playing Harry Potter on Play Station 2. I played for an hour and my thumb started to get sore b/c i'm not used to playing video games. lol I picked the Hufflepuff team b/c I like the name "Hufflepuff". When I picked up the controller I was a little frighten that I wouldnt know how to use it b/c it has so many buttons. But when I started each practice activity it explained which button did what. I only had to use 2 buttons and the left joystick nob so it wasn't too bad. I won my first Quidditch match because I caught the seeker but i didn't score the most goals. I did much better in my second match. I scored 23 goals in the second match. In the first match i was confusing the two buttons. The circle button is for scoring and the x button is for passing and tackling. I beat Ravenclaw twice and now maybe I will "be allowed" to play in the Quidditch cup against another team. Hopefully I will have more time to play 2moro. I doing a snow dance!!!!!

How Do I Learn?

I have always been an auditory learner. When I was in high school my mother read me Lord of the Flies because I just couldn't get through it reading it silently. When in college I always went to class and took notes that was how learned. If the teacher is talking I can be listening and playing on the computer at the same time and still remember what she said. When I need to memorize something I say it out loud over and over again. When I try to read something my mind just wanders. I often need to reread paragraphs or sentences b/c I realized that I had no idea what I read. I just can't stay focused. It doesn't matter if it is educational or reading for pleasure.

I would have to agree with Vygotsky's theory of social learning. I am definitely a social learner. I learn through my experiences of going places and talking to different people about different things. In elementary school the teachers would tell my mother that if they went out the room for a minute I would be able to report to them everything that happened in the classroom while they were gone. I am always aware of everything and every conversation that goes on around me. I don't have the ability to block things out.

When it comes to my classroom I would say that I teach to the auditory learner. We read just about everything aloud in my class, that is for 2 reasons: low readers and I want to make sure they are actually reading it. My students lack prior knowledge about many different things. I try to provide prior knowledge and connect it to something they know about. I am not well connected to the rap world so it becomes a little difficult sometimes. I try to make connections to sports to spark their interest. We have 10 minutes of silent reading everyday so I hope that I am able to meet the needs of all my students in one way or another.

MEDI 506

Yesterday was the first day our Evaluating Media course, I didn't really know what to expect. When we arrived Dr. Dana explained that we will be taking a closer look at video games and evaluating their academic qualities as well as looking at other media sources. I'm not exactly sure what academic qualities the video games will have but I'm eager to find out. And when I tell my students that video games can be learning tools they are probably going to be mad. Then when I tell them that I support them playing video games they are even going to be more shocked (as long as their homework is done of course).

I will admit I dont have alot of experience playing games. I played my cousins Atari when i was real little. Then we got our own Nintendo but that was the only gaming system i ever really played. My sister and her husband have a wii and I have played it a few times but that's it. I think I would like the waitressing game that Dr. D mentioned.

I would like to respond about the video we watched in class also. I don't think the parents in Jessica's town should have called the principal. It is not the school's business. I think if the parent was that concerned then they should have contacted Jessica's parents. I don't think the provocative pictures should be on her site but I also dont think her parents should have made her take down the website maybe just some of the more risque pictures. Jessica's parents should monitor Jessica's site and allow her to photograph herself but in the pictures she should wear a little more clothing. She can still express herself wearing whatever she would like just not lingere. I am interested in watching the rest of the video clips b/c it is so real to me b/c the footage is from kids around here.