Response to New Literacies Project

When reflecting on my own learning, I noticed one dramatic change that I had while using the new technology I chose (blogs). I am typically a formal writer: careful not to use pronouns, using the thesaurus to look up words, making sure to not say “said” too many times, etc. However, when writing on my blog for the project, my writing became much more informal and expressive. In addition, I enjoyed that the blog project showed growth in my learning and was a continuum of my thoughts. Instead of having to have everything together at once, I could look at small pieces of information and move between topics. It was refreshing and more enjoyable to have the freedom with this technology as I felt that I was less inhibited and more eager to share my ideas because I knew they didn’t have to be perfect or I could change my mind.

While creating my blog, I noticed that (as I mentioned in my reflection on Melanie’s blog) that blogs can be anchors for many technology related experiences. It would be interesting to have a classroom blog and be able to access classroom projects from the blog. Furthermore, I found the blog easy to navigate; I was able to include a video bar and “link” list to enhance my blogs. As a teacher, I might use this resource to link the blog to student work or sites that students may use for projects or personal exploration.

After reviewing the GLCEs for fourth grade (my current placement), it is clear that many of the goals correlate with the learning done through technology. For example, I feel that using technology to read and write would enhance student attitudes of both. Students could use digital story telling to share a story; this would be much different than writing a story on paper and would allow students to develop skills with technology as well as writing. In addition, using a blog would encourage student’s growth in terms of discourse in both speaking and listening/viewing. Students have to read their peers responses in order to provide an appropriate and connected response. Furthermore, students have time to formulate their ideas and responses; which may lead to more authentic and meaningful discussions.

Overall, I thought this project allowed me to explore technology in a new way. I am excited to browse through my peer’s projects and learn from their experiences. I feel like I am more prepared to use blogs in classroom and am excited to make it a reality in the future.