Article Assessment #3

I. Your Info:

Your Name: Ashley Norman Email: ashleynorman3@gmail.com Date: 11/24/09

Article Title: Orchestrating the Media Collage Author: Jason Ohler

II. Overview of article:

Literacy is a complex term that is constantly evolving. The use of technology demands new forms of literacy.

Todays students are faced with massive amounts of media. Advents such as the Internet have not only allowed students to consume all kinds of new media, but create it as well. Educators must be aware of technology and help to give students the tools they need to be literate in the digital world.

Writing media can help students reflect on the media they have been exposed to. This article discusses eight guidelines to help teachers promote skills associated with digital literacy. Teachers should use a wide range of new media to enhance digital literacy. Students should be writhing, making art, working independently and collaborating to become digitally fluent.

III. Bulleted Reference Points:

• The digital society values individuals that actively create rather then passively consume new media.
• Media literacy is the ability to recognize, evaluate and apply the use of media persuasion.
• The eight Guidelines for Teachers include: shifting from text centrism to media collage; valuing writing and reading now more than ever; Adopting art as the next R; blending traditional and emerging literacy; harnessing report and story; practicing private and participatory social literacy; developing literacy with digital tools and about digital tools and pursuing fluency.
• In this era we need to look beyond general literacy to fluency
• “Fluency is the ability to practice literacy at the advanced levels required for sophisticated communication within social and workplace environments.”
• Some teachers are so overwhelmed by digital tools that they have been prompted to leave the profession.
• Teachers need to teach their students how to be digitally literate in order for students to succeed in todays society.
• “focus on expression fist and technology second- and everting will fall into place."

IV. Reflection and significance to you:

I liked how this article broke down the idea of literacy and gave practical suggestions for teaching literacy in todays classrooms.

Technology has changed the way people learn and how they take in information. As educators we must be aware of this and teach our students how to become literate in the digital world. If we do not give students technology skills they may not succeed in the future.

In a place like Alaska technology is often undervalued. However, many jobs even in a rugged place like Alaska require the use of technology. Take fishing for example, technology has drastically changed the way we fish. There are depth sounders, sonars, GPSs, radar, computers, radios and all kinds of gadgets that help us catch fish.

I would like to try blogging with my students or making a class web page. The internet is such a powerful tool and can help me communicate with students. The internet is also a great resource. There is so much information online that I plan on sharing with my students. I strongly agree that in todays society students must become digitally literate to fully succeed.

My Energy Project

My presentation was not all I hoped it would be. Unfortunately there were very few things I liked about my presentation. One strength I did note was that I seemed calm and confident. I spoke clearly and articulated the points I wanted to make. Watching myself teach was a true eye opener.

I noticed throughout the presentation that my voice changed. I started off very bubbly and enthusiastic and by the end my voice was calm and almost normal. I also used a lot of hand gestures when describing things. Some of my gestures made sense and added to the presentation. However, others were very distracting. I fidget and move around a lot. I also stumbled over several figures and words throughout the presentation.

Although it was necessary to read some things directly from the PowerPoint, I do think I spent too much time looking at the screen. This is defiantly something I plan on doing again. Being evaluated and told the things I need to change differently is not as effective as witnessing them myself.

You can view my video, it did not turn out the way I had hoped and I was rather disappointed. However, I enjoyed the project and thought evaluating myself was a very valuable experience. If you would like to view my Excel spread sheet or my research write-up click on the links!

My Energy Powerpoint

My energy project looked at money saved by riding my bike instead of driving to and from work. My Powerpoint presentation discusses the methodology used during this experiment including what data was collected and how long the research lasted. It also discusses the errors and limitations of my experiment. I included a spread sheet from Excel and some figures that were calculated using the data collected. Although I only rode my bike to and from school for one week I calculated monthly and yearly savings.

In order to compare my data I went online and saw what kinds of research was already out there. Surprisingly, there was a lot of information on this topic. I was able to find statistics and many articles that discussed riding bikes instead of driving. According to statistics put out by ABC News I drive 11.8 miles less one way to work than the average American. I also looked at strategies for saving gasoline including: driving less, car pooling and using public transportation. In the future I would like to explore other benefits of riding bikes instead of driving and collect data that factors in gas price and gas millage fluctuation. To see my Powerpoint presentation click on the link!