New Literacies

Where to even begin? 


I chose this as my article discussion for a number of reasons, but mostly because I'm in a brand new school, with access to loads of technology resources, and I want to rock my students' worlds. 


I know that's silly, but it's true. I want to work their digital native brains into a frenzy. I want them to realize that the world is quite literally at their fingertips and they will be able to do so many incredible things... 


but...


I want it all to make sense, be organized, and easily understood. This means that I've got to go step by step and have a gradual rollout that isn't just a barrage of stuff they'll never remember. I've been on the receiving end of training sessions like that and all I have to show for them are vague ideas of how cool ActivInspire could be if I only knew how to use it properly.


Here's a quick list of resources I'd like to regularly use in my classroom:

• Promethean board - I turn this on everyday. That's a step in the right direction. 
• ActivInspire - Basic use. I throw together un-fancy flipcharts.
• Activotes - I don't even have these registered to our board yet.
• ActivSlate - You mean, I wouldn't even have to touch the board?!
• ELMO - I only use this for worksheets and watching mealworms morph, but I know it has scanning capabilities.
• Computer - Window to the world (well, the unblocked world).
• Shelfari - Virtual bookshelf and book review hub.
• Natural Reader - Would love to use this more with my at-risk readers.
• Glogster - This is so happening. 
• Weebly - Create private, class web sites the students can upload work and projects to. 
• FlipCams - The opportunities are endless.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. I've decided to choose one and begin my rollout. My choice is Shelfari! Shelfari is a virtual bookshelf you can use to list books you've read as well as review them. My purpose would be to use Shelfari to build a class-wide (and potential grade-wide) community of readers. I can use my account to create a private group where only invited members are allowed to contribute and view content. 
I don't expect the students to be able to just start typing up a review, so I would create a book review questionnaire sheet they can use as a rough draft. We could use a half hour of our computer lab time each week to update our Shelfari group page. 
I will use Shelfari as a strategy to motivate my "non-readers" as well a means for encouraging rich discussions in reading group. The kids are always curious about each other and being able to see what their peers are reading will hopefully bring about quite a few conversations. I'm excited to start using Shelfari in our classroom. It's one very tiny step into the world of new literacies, but it's authentic and purposeful-- which has been my goal from the start. 


Here are a few other uses for Shelfari from The Teacher's Buzz:

• creating relevant opportunities for students to write summaries, reviews, opinion pieces and make recommendations in writing
• to give students the opportunity to practice writing for an audience and to receive feedback from peers on their writing
• to integrate technology into the reading/writing content
• provide students with opportunities to summarize fiction and non-fiction works they read
• provide students with a record of their own of the books they’ve read and the various genres, authors they prefer.
• To provide students with the incentive to try reading material that is new and different from that which they usually choose.
• electronic book reports instead of the reviews: e.g. the assignment could require that the child record what happened at the beginning, middle or end, or the assignment could ask the child to compare/contrast the main character to him/herself.
• provide opportunities for children to learn about technology, internet safety and courtesy in a safe and controlled setting
• Provides documentation for the teacher as to the amount kind and genre of books read
• Provides information and assessment for the teacher as to the child’s level of engagement with the books they are reading.

And another great site for integrating Shelfari into your classroom (as well as a permission slip for parental approval for usage): Digital Teaching and Learning