Blog Archives

Chapters 6 & 7

7/18/2015

I am thrilled to be participating in this summer's online #cyberPD conversations about Franki Sibberson and Bill Bass's book Digital Reading - What's Essential in Grades 3-8. Click on the link above for more information. I believe that this is a very timely conversation to be having. I also work with K-2 teachers and students and know that there is much that I will be able to share with them!

Chapters 6 & 7 focus on Assessment and Connecting Digital Reading at Home and School; both are important as I think about challenges that Digital Reading brings.

Thoughts from Chapter 6

Assessing in the library is a little different than in the classroom, but I am learning that it is still an important part of helping students learn and grow. I have interviewed students about their reading habits in the past based on Steven Layne’s Igniting a Passion for Reading. I can’t wait to make some changes now to include digital reading. I also am excited to share with the classroom teachers and reading teachers with whom I work.

What a great list of digital tools that could be used for assessment! I thought it was important that they use such a variety of artifacts including audio recordings, photos, and print. My son is the kind of student who types better than he writes and because he is quite verbal, will often give a better oral response than written. The more variety you have in your assessments, the better you can see the growth and learning that is happening, instead of relying on just one type.

Snagit is one of my new favorite screen capture tools. It is a Chrome extension and the kids love it! I do wonder what type of audio recording tools people use? I have used Audacity, but am always looking for other suggestions.

Thoughts from Chapter 7

Connecting parents, families, and also the community is so important. I find that the more we can have students share, the better. But any communication that we can do as teachers helps too. In the library, I share a great deal on Twitter and hope to begin having a Twitter account for each of my libraries and involve the students in sharing. Blogging has been another great way to share about student learning and my learning too. Recently, each of our schools has gotten Facebook accounts, so in addition to Twitter, Powerschool and my blog, the post goes to Facebook too. That move came from a parent survey which let us know that Facebook was the preferred social media. I also still use paper to share. A few times a year, I send home a paper "bookmark" type handout that tells what each grade is learning about in library, favorite books we have read, and any digital tools students have been using. The ideas shared on pages 106-7 help me know I am going in the right direction. I have to say however, that sometimes, keeping up with these takes a lot of work. It's worth it, but I do get behind. It is challenging in the library because I feel like I have such a short time with the classes each week. I would love to have students be responsible for deciding what is shared, I just need to figure out how to work that out.

In order to have a whole school event such as the one described on pages 102-3, a lot of planning needs to happen. But when a shift occurs, such as really incorporating digital reading into your practice, it can really make a difference in the understanding the community has about what students are doing.

What a terrific read this was. I am excited to reread certain parts and really think about how I will incorporate digital reading into my libraries. Thank you to all of you! I am loving learning from everyone and can't wait for our chat next week.

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#cyberPD 2015 - Chap. 3, 4, 5

7/14/2015

3 Comments

As I was reading these chapters, I was observing my own children, ages 10 and 8 and how they navigate their world. For huge chunks of the day, my 10 year old son is completely absorbed in his print books - he is a reader and will read several books at the same time, swapping out depending on his mood or what room he happens to be in. For other chunks, he is on YouTube, learning something about Minecraft. He is participating in Camp Wonderopolis and therefore reads the nonfiction text associated with each area of camp so that he can collect his Wonder Card. When it makes sense to him, he uses the Epic app on the iPad to read his favorite Big Nate books. And because he is going into 5th grade, this summer he uses Wandoo Reader to record the books he has read and the minutes. My daughter does much of the same. She has several print books going on, but also loves Makercamp and is excited to watch the new video for the day so that she can learn something new. She too is collecting Wonder Cards in Camp Wonderopolis. She sketches and creates comics in her many notebooks. They both move from device to book to whatever site they need at that moment.

On page 28, Franki writes about how Ben’s booktrailer experience was far different from her own. I feel that the key to this was what she highlighted - that he chose to share about his book that way. This is important for me to keep in mind in library - to be sure students have choice. A further point is that I hope that when students do choose to share their learning, that others actually look at it, comment on it, and learn from it. Because if not, then it ends up as being that “doing school” again.

I think Pernille Ripp said it best in her presentation at ISTE when she spoke about making sure her students’ voices were heard outside the four walls of her classroom. They need real audiences, not just hers as the teacher. She blogs with them, uses Twitter hashtags such as #commentsforkids, the Write About it site and much more. Her students are making choices and are empowered and their learning shows.

The last section of Chapter 3 where Franki writes about how her literacy work is integrated with the tool that matches it best (p. 42) really made me stop and think. This is a pretty simple idea, but so often, my first instinct is to do a mini-lesson on how to something instead of just using the tool as part of the reading or writing that is being done together.

Chapter 4 made me smile because I loved how the authors are writing about digital reading, but do not simply include texts with writing. Our world and students use media of all types - images, video, audio, texts - and synthesize all of these as they learn. I believe this is another area that many of us need constant reminders about, because print texts are what we are accustomed to and it will take a fair amount of reflection and intentionality to include them all as we work with our students.

Chapter 5 - Connectedness - my students expect it now. If they have a question about a book, they know we will tweet the author. Flipgrid is another terrific tool (see Andy Plemmons’ website http://expectmiraculous.com/ for amazing uses) to connect. Here is an example I did with my Kindergarteners this fall: http://bit.ly/1V0K8K1.

Digital Text Sets - What an interesting way to think about being connected. Franki’s description of her community study was amazing. So many different resources used and so many experiences because of the choices she made.

Resources:

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#cyberPD 2015 Chap. 1 & 2

7/9/2015

7 Comments

#cyberPD 2015 : Digital Reading - What's Essential in Grades 3-8

Response to Chap. 1 & 2

As a library media specialist, I am especially interested in digital reading not just in terms of learning occurring in the library, but in classrooms as well. In what ways can I support teachers and students, as well as families, for whom the idea of digital reading may be very new and overwhelming.

I was struck immediately with a line on page 5 about whether “we’re discounting much of the reading they will engage with in the future” followed closely by the next section about the disconnect between school-life and out-of-school-life. I hear from my students that they are already doing a fair amount of digital reading out-of-school, even many of our younger readers and very little digital reading in-school. When I look at my own reading life, it is a wonderful mixture of print and digital media. Whether students are reading “with intention” or not, they are reading digitally (and will do more of it in the future) and it is up to us as educators to help students learn best practices. It reminds me of those “avid readers” who will read for hours at home with books of their choice, but don’t want anything to do with the books they are asked to read in school. I especially was struck by Sara who was reflecting on her experiences. Her thoughts made me wonder: Why is research done at home so different than research done at school? Why is it that learning feels more real when it is their own and done outside of school? How can we change how learning happens in school so that it is more authentic?

Intentionality and the need for it also is critical. Teachers need to be intentional in their teaching of digital literacy and I think this brings out a need for reflection of our own digital reading. Do teachers use technology effectively in their own lives? Is their usage not intentional? If not, it will be incredibly difficult to help students learn. I think right now, for many teachers, digital reading is seen as a separate entity. There is little intentionality or thought about its purpose. When I talk with teachers about digital reading, they are often very afraid that it will take over print reading. I am hoping as I read this book to find suggestions for them.

On page 14, the idea that students do not have to be proficient with traditional texts before they have opportunities with digital texts is brought out. I think this is a place where some fear of the unknown happens. We would never tell kids that because they cannot read that they cannot look at books. Figure 2.3, where some of the differences between Reading Workshop and Digital Reading Workshop are outlined, clearly shows me some of the benefits. I love how the digital aspect adds to the quality reading workshop already in place. Now the types of texts used and the options for sharing and connecting for all texts are increased which seems to me allows for all kinds of learning.

As I was reading this section, I was thinking that it is interesting that digital writing appears to be integrated more easily (this is something many teachers do already), but not digital reading. What digital reading that does occur is not intentional and certainly not with any specific teaching. Sometimes the how to do it is taught, but not the why. This is an area I would like to focus on this year in the library.

“It’s about changing the way we think about interacting with ideas and content.” p. 23 I love the questions for students in figure 2.4, as well as the questions seen in figure 2.2 about the role digital texts play in the reading workshop. This is a big shift to make, but exciting too! In the library, I would like to help students and teachers become more intentional in their choices about what they are choosing to read, in what format, and thinking about how we use what we have read.

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