Internet Access in Different Countries

Teaching Visual Media in class

REFLEXION
Now a days the variety of media for children is amazing and very vast, but it can also be very dangerous. We decided to introduce billboards to our children because in the country and city we live in, we are surrounded by them everywhere. Not all of them are intended for children, but they still have access to them when they are walking in the streets or in their cars, looking out the window. Billboards are an excellent example of visual media, because they are intended to have very little writing or none at all and a lot of color and images because there is no time to take the time to analyze them, so the message is delivered pronto! I think that by doing this kind of activities at a very early age, having them try to interpret visual media, question themselves about its existence and purpose, will help develop visual skills. As I mentioned before, the dangerous part of this kind of media. is and has always been, subliminal messages. Its easy to hide pictures within the images to manipulate their thinking process and as we found out in many web pages, there is a lot of hidden, inappropriate things, even in Disney movies. It makes me sad but also aware of how careful I need to be displaying images in my classroom.

LESSON PLAN: CRITICAL THINKERS = VISUAL LITERATE CHILDREN

Objectives: 

Students will learn what ads are.

Students will recognize content of commercial ads.

Preparation:

Before going out on the next field trip, (TURIBUS),  teachers will show several pictures of ads to students. 

Teachers will initiate inquiry through questions such as: 

Do you see pictures? Which?

Do you see animals? Which? Do they look real? Are  they cartoons?

Do you see colors? Which?

Do you see letters? Big? Small?

How does this ad make you feel?

What do you think they are advertising?

Activity:

The day of the field trip, around the city, children will take pictures of ads they like.

Will discuss and reflect back in the classroom.

Culmination:

Class will be divided in three groups. Each group will create a collage with pictures they took during their field trip.

Each group will share with other two groups.

Reflection on Chipp Kidmann: Designing book covers is no laughing matter.

I really enjoyed Chip Kidds TED video.  He is a funny man that has a very interesting and challenging job. I think it is very important how books, even music discs covers, are presented. I am addicted to reading and addicted to music and after watching this video, I gave it a thought on  how much I am influenced by front covers. Not much, I really don't judge a book by its cover, at my age I care more about the title or the author. I am definitely more attracted to the covers of cd and vinyl's because its an art. People have collected  them for years and really talk about the front covers, sometimes, even more than the music.




As adults, we tend to have an idea of what we want to read, we might have an author in mind or even a topic, we browse the books, take a quick look at the title and immediately read the back cover. That small summary is what makes us take the final decision.






For children's books its another story, the front cover is very important. It has to be attractive, colorful and fun. They do choose the books they want to read by looking at the book cover. The pictures, the handwriting and the order of it. It needs to make them feel something, has to create an emotion in their heads. Thats how important the front cover is for them.







BOOK COVER ANALISIS

This book cover makes me think of a girly theme. The petals make me think someone goes through a very big change in life, that she sheds layers of problems until she can feel reborn again. The colors make me think the character its a woman, an adult and the font, the size and color make me think of a little pain.

 By looking a this book cover I think the book might be about a girl and her experience in love. I don't really like it.

 By looking at the book cover I can tell that time is involved in the story but not how. I needed to read the title and the subtitle to get an idea of the book. I was not attracted to the book cover.

Traditional Media and New Media

When I read the background and rationale of Module 6: New and Traditional Media from Media and Information Literacy the first thing that came to my mind was "out with the old, in with the new". Traditional media has been around forever; newspaper, television and radio have been part of us, our parents and grandparents lives. It has been the way all of us have heard or found out of something important. We have been addicted to one of them at least, and know, in a sudden wink, everything changed. For older generations, it has been a huge challenge to update their knowledge and change their ways from their usual traditional media to new media. Some people decide to stick to the old and easy but others have no choice. For me, it has been a must. As a teacher, new media provides amazing tools to teach children everything, from letters and colors to current world events and social skills. The challenge for me as a teacher,  with this constant change, has been preparing myself, learning how to use and apply new media to my teaching, my daily tasks and over all, my lifestyle. I teach kindergarten so its the best moment for me to introduce to this new generation many skills that will eventually allow them to have the abilities to be global citizens as well as to be information and visual literate people. 

All of this might seem overwhelming, as I have mentioned on each of my posts before, but when done slowly and thoroughly, changes like browsing the web for world news instead of reading a newspaper, feel good. We need to be also aware that we cannot participate in all of mass media changes. We need to understand that not all of what it is produce its intended for us, for the children in our classrooms. We still need to campare and contrast information available to select what we truly need. Not all of the apps available simplify our lives. Not all the information and news out there are true. I believe that sometimes going back to basics its not so bad, but I also know sometimes leaving a comfort zone can take you to incredible places and can help you make the best out of you, so, HELLO NEW!!!

Innovation through Technology

Cheryl Lemkes  21^st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn, chapter 11, Innovation through Technology  has really had an effect on my way of thinking about technology. Even as I began taking several courses on technology, I was still not very convinced on how much should we expose children to social media. I was reluctant to so much change and information, mostly because it was overwhelming to me to digest so much. As I read, it came to me that its true how important it is to prepare children not only to use technology wisely but to understand the importance that it has in their lives and how threatening it can be when not used correctly. Just reading the statistics on pg.. 243, it was mind blowing.
So what is left to teach in schools if everything can be found on the web?? How can you engage children inside the classrooms without losing them to their mobile devices? It has become a mayor challenge due to the rapid pace of technology and it has left teachers wondering what to do to engages students in school. 

I completely agree with Cheryl when she cites Richard Meyer on "people learn better by combining visuals with text and sound". As a kindergarten teacher I get to see how children that are exposed to this in class response much better than just being expose to one practice. As teachers, we need to be careful at this age because children are just like sponges and any misleading information can harm their learning. Its a challenge to lead a healthy learning environment in class and having them understand, at a very early age, the importance of being critical thinkers, able to discriminate useful information from just nonsense. 

Visual Literacy in our lives...

learntecnology.com/blooms-taxonomy-mashups.html

After reading Hattwig et al.s article, ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards For Higher Education , I was not sure if visual literacy was now clear to me or if I was a bit more confuse. To be honest, I have always considered myself visual in many ways. I am good at remembering faces, but sometimes I forget names. I am terrible at remembering songs, but if a see the lyrics its easier for me to learn them. When given an instruction on how to do something, if I see how it is done I can do exactly the same as if the instructions are written or said it is difficult for me to accomplish the task. But is this ability of mine considered being visual literate? Hattwig defines visual literacy as “a set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media”, and as I read this definition over and over again it makes me believe that I lack some skills. I know that maybe, as a kindergarten teacher, I try to find many images and visual aids that will help me support a topic I am teaching, but do I do this effectively??? I think not anymore. I believe sometimes, because we are use to having no time for things, we use what we first see and convinces our eye, instead of taking the time to see if the image we have will reproduce the idea we intend to teach.

A few years back, I remember watching a movie called “What the bleep do we know” released on 2004, and it mentions how there is a moment in our lives that we are so saturated with all the information (ads) we see on TV, billboards, flyers, newspapers, magazines and internet, that instead of having a personal point of view of things we have a manipulated opinion, the same as everyone else. This stuck to me all of this years because its true, I sometimes believe in things I see without taking my time to interpret the information or take the time to investigate its purpose.

I believe that almost every individual has been exposed to visual media, in many ways, and it is not how much we see but how it affects our lives, our learning, our behavior and our knowledge. Younger generations are exposed to this in a much greater way than my generation did 30 years ago but I do believe, that born into a digital era, I was definitely taught certain skills in interpreting visual media.

At the ECC, kindergarten teachers constantly expose children to visual media; posters everywhere, pictures and drawings, and now that some schools have integrated mobile devices, this opens a whole new world of possibilities. Our role as teachers is not to expose them to even more media but to teach them how to develop skills that will help them interpret the information, to use it correctly and also to be able to create their own. Lets not forget that visual literacy "is a collaborative endeavor, involving faculty, librarians, visual resources professionals, and learning technologies."

Is a common curriculum possible in any country?

http://www.zeroatthebone.com/

Yong Zhaos chapter , The Wrong Bet, Why Common Curriculum Standars Won't Help from his book "World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Learners" tells us how there is two educational systems in the world. One where the government is in charge of deciding what students should be learning and another where there is no control of what students are learning mostly because that education is decided by the state or even the school.  Every child is different as every country is different. I understand the importance to set common standards because it is important for all children to be prepared for a competitive world but world wide standards are impossible when its almost impossible to set them in a same country, even the same city. We need to respect students styles of learning, the way they process information and the environment where they are growing up in. Government needs to understand that education in not only teaching math and spelling and maybe science. Educating a child is teaching them skills that will help them solve problems, be critical thinkers and also global citizens. Every child that we teach will develop a style, a need and a belief of what the world is and how they want to form part of it.

Working for an international school in Mexico City has also taught me the importance of giving children tools to enhance their learning experience. Unfortunately in Mexico, education, good education, costs, and even if Mexico has common curriculum standards for primary years in school (Secretaria de Educacion Publica), not every child has the opportunity to go to school and learn. In Mexico, most children will grow, abandon school, find a job that pays them little and live day by day.

As for me, the challenge I face in my class is to teach my children to be global citizens. To be humble enough to help others. To teach them values that will help them be prepared for a competitive world.

Taking Notes

In class we had to watch a video and takes notes on our mobile devices. We were given the option to use different apps to take notes such as Evernote, Skitch, LucidChart or Conceptboard.
I used my ipad and downloaded Skitch. It was slightly complicated, considering that I have 5 year olds in my classroom. The good thing about this app is that you can draw and scribble instead of actually typing the notes.  By using a mobil devices children with be able to save the information they created and share with others. Its very important as a teacher to investigate the difference between apps, some might be easier for the children to use, and if its easy for them to manipulate the app and understand the information they are given it will be easier for them to collaborate in different activities.

Thinking of 2020

As soon as I started reading Future Working Skills 2020 I wanted to be part of the research group at the Institute for the Future (IFTF). I mean, how cool is that!!! I find amazing how in 2012 the necessity of learning what jobs will be available or needed in 2020, conducts mayor research. What really calls my attention is that its not as  important what jobs will be available but what skills will be needed for future positions. The six drivers of change makes it easier for this grkup to forecast and predict what will be future requirements and necessities. So for those requirements and necessities its important to focus on the 10 skills for the future workforce. This is what makes it challenging for us teachers. How are we going to start developing this skills in the classroom. Have we, as adults and teachers, developed this skills? I guess, we are developing this skills ourselves and learning how to teach them. We are experimenting in the classroom and letting the children experiment so they can surely acquire this knowledge. The key is not to fear, not to stop and to keep learning and practicing, because if we let ourselves fall behind we will no longer be needed.

NMC Horizon Report

The NMC Horizon Report 2011 K-12 Edition is a very interesting document where I was albe to understand a little bit more how exposed we are to emerging technologies. This are having a very big and positive impact in education. Each generation is being taught digital literacy skills but every time with many and more advanced mobile devices.

In Africa, mobile devices are changing the way students and teachers learn. By sendijg SMS teachers and students communicate with each other and get the information they need to complete their tasks.  In many countries in Africa, the challenge is not only owning a mobile device, but being able to have an Internet connection. Yet, they understand the importance of being able to prepare themselves and learn how to use the different variety of mobile devices, thay understand that this will, sooner than later, help them get better opportunity of getting a good job. (http://www.elearning-africa.com/)

In Mexico, many school are trying to implement mobile learning in their classrooms, expecting children to develop technological skills and become digital literate at a much younger age. The problem can sometimes be, not the children, but the teachers, having the be open and willing to learn and teach this skills and also be able to use different devices and programs within thair lesson plans. Game-based Learning or Digital Educational Games is good way to have children practice their digital skills by being creative and collaborative by communicating and solving problems and also an easy way to introduce digital learning to students and teachers.
(http://www.ruv.itesm.mx/convenio/catedra/recursos/material/ci_39.pdf)

Creating a PLN for yourself as a teacher and a PLE for the children inside the classroom is very important for success. Helping your students not only develop this skills but polish and master the way they use them in their life will be a good way to prepare them for the future (even though it changes every minute, and we never know what is going to be new and happening or out and old!).

I wasn't aware but I am impressed...

It was the first thought that came to my mind after watching Did You Know? (http://youtu.be/FjrWRLWnZaI)   on youtube.com. I have this overwhelming feeling, because even though I am drenched in technology, I am surrounded by it every single day I was not aware of things such as it took the ipod 3 years to reach 50 million people when it took radio 38 years! As a kindergarten teacher and being 29 years old I can say I am "in" with technology, I do own an ipad and a Mac and I was born in the digital era but I feel a complete digital immigrant. Every day something changes, something is new and something is old and out. I sometimes feel that I can not keep up with the rapid change in technology and sometimes I feel I can conquer the world with my ipad. Working with small children in an international school I see how mobile learning is just one of the best things that is happening in the classrooms. Teachers will have to keep up with the rapid changes, we will have to sit down and learn and learn and then learn some more. It is not about how much you know of this changes but as how to apply them in an every day lesson plan. Teachers have to be committed yet willing to open their eyes and make changes inside their classrooms. Children will soon know much more than we can think of  (the are A.G=after google) and we still need to direct that learning into positive ways. I also think that even though we are surrounded by ultimate wonderful devices and apps and mobile learning ways we have to stop and make sure, every single day in class, at home, in the world, to teach children to think and to be creative. They will have so much more tools than we did years ago and so many more possibilities than we did but also they have the power to become complete idiots if we don't teach them how to explore, investigate and read! I think that the video Above and Beyond (http://youtu.be/7KMM387HNQk) makes it clear that we want children to go out of their way to be creative and to go old school and have fun investigating and making mistakes and putting things together. I promise to always have this in mind, and as important it is to teach my young kids in class the wonderful things we can do with and ipad I will also make sure they always find themselves putting together puzzles and experiencing boardgames!

mobile learning...is that what I need?

"People are desiring new things when they are moving to new technologies". This is my favorite part of Bill Rankins Mobile Learning presentation. It makes me think of myself. Technologies have changed over time, and I never imagined myself being part of those changes. We think technology and communication and social networks are difficult and complicated but they aren't. Technology is here to solve problems, make our lives easier, and to help us be less complicated and more accurate. But why are we needing to change constantly if technology is solving problems. Is it not enough?
Well, Bill Rankin says that what people have always wanted is to have the ability of carrying stuff with them and get to what they want ,when they want it, wherever they are and I take some time to reflect upon this, and guess what I came up with?! IT SO TRUE! I bought myself an Ipad, thinking it would be a very good tool for me to use in my afternoon classes. Believe me, I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought, simple and light. I got amazing and remarkable. I can do everything with it. I have downloaded tons of apps, educational and for entertainment. It has become my new best friend. It knows everything I don't. It helps me with everything I need. It has never let me down, maybe once, but it was my fault, I did not charge it and did not carry a charger with me. What I mean with all of this is that Rankin is right, mobile learning is necessary. Not only with children, but with adults. It does solve problems, it creates a new culture around the successful technology and it will also, eventually, create a new problem, mostly because what was new yesterday, today is old. But I don't care, I am ready for it, I have an Ipad and a lot of credit on my itunes store account. Bring it on!!!
http://youtu.be/sSPA641oc5Q

First Lesson Plan on paper

So this was the first time I actually sat and jotted down all my ideas, created a lesson plan for a unit of inquiry and reflected on it. It wasn't hard, but it was challenging. I was very confused at the beginning and then I was excited and I then I felt pressured by time but at the end I enjoyed every minute of it. I did't get to complete it as I would of liked to, my lack of experience made me go slow and it was hard because all of my ideas where everywhere, making it hard to land and work. I know that with time I'll get better at doing this, I will learn more about applying Super 3! and Digital Taxonomy into a lesson plan.

It is fun to integrate information literacy skills into a lesson plan because, even though I work with 5 year olds, they are more digital aware than me and this keeps them engaged with activities while it also develops their skills of finding, processing and evaluating information.

Webquest, Running around the school

After a quest we had in ADE 634 course, I learned the importance, mostly, of teamwork. We needed digital devices to find clues, we needed to run around the building to find them, we needed to download a scanner and use it (never had done that before), we looked for books by their location, and also investigate how to citate a magazine. All of this would of not happen if we hadn't listen to each other and used the different abilities we had as individuals in the group. Some of us had the digital devices needed to scan the codes and get the clues, others were good at getting all of us together and focused and there was always one willing to type, seek and gather the information we got. At the end it was a very fun activity, I learned how to scan codes (not difficult at all) and how they work, and how much fun it is when we work together for a same purpose, doughnuts; and guess what?? WE WON!!!!

Google vs. Database, which one works better

Google vs. Databases.

We typed the exact same key words on Google and on Ebsco database in order to evaluate the top five hits on each one.

From our research we conclude that both databases and Google offer informative and useful results.  However, both have positive and negative characteristics when using them as research tools.  The positive characteristics in using Google are:

·      Internet sites offer attractive layout and color, which if used properly can make the user feel motivated to keep on reading.

·      Many sites offer useful links that may enhance your search while making it interactive.

·      It is fast and simple to use.

Some negative aspects of Google could include:

·      Large amount of unreliable or unaccountable sources.

·      Different layouts may confuse navigators.  (Too many ads, crowded information, too many colors, popups.)

Databases pros:

·      Information is reliable and accountable.

·      Results may be more specific for certain topics.

Databases cons:

·      Results are very limited to specific areas and may not necessarily cover what we are searching for.

·      Databases are not very attractive to read and may discourage users from even reading the article.

Do elephants swim???

That was the question one of my 5 year old student asked me last week. I was sitting in the front playground watching them have a discussion next to the see-saws. I decided to approach them after a while and investigate what was happening. As I got closer, one of them told the rest of the children that he would ask me and I was going to solve their problem. I was very sure I could help them, I mean, they are 5 year olds after all. Antonio came close to me and said "Miss Mariana, we want to know if elephants can swim". I smiled. I had no clue. It was a simple question, nothing out of this world. I did a quick mental review, I could even see the elephants playing next to a river, in the middle of Africa, but as much as I tried I could not come with an answer. I took a deep breath and told them the truth. "I have no idea, that is a very good question, I had never thought about it before, but I guess we will have to find out". I quickly went and got an ipad and told them that we would research their question in internet. They all looked at me while I typed the question. As soon as I got to the web page Google sent me to, I read it out loud. "Yes,   elephants do swim, almost all of the mammals have swimming skills. Elephants love swimming. They can swim long distances and  they can do it fast. " They all smiled. I even showed them videos of elephants swimming. We decided we needed to learn more about elephants so we went to the library and checked some books out about elephants and other animals so we could compare. At the end of the day, they seemed satisfied and I was relieved. We both learned something new that day.

Info Lit, Media Lit, What the Lit???

UNESCO's Media and Information Literacy Curriculum and Competency Framework is very interesting and more than thinking that they blend together I think they go hand in hand. For us to be able to use and understand media literacy we have to have previous information literacy skills.  We need to read, listen, watch and inform ourselves not from one source but from many. We cannot expect that all media can positively direct information to all of us in the same way, and for us to be able to interprete all of the information that is constantly given to us through mass communication, we need to have info lit foundations.

I do think that information literacy skills have to be acquired at an early age, so they become a habit, to analyze and evaluate information before using it or even believing it.

What is Information Literacy???

Easy way to understanding INFOLIT

Do I want to do this...Info Lit?

I have been very confused with Information Literacy since day 1. I've read articles and I read different meanings but I am not completely sure I still understand it well to be able to think on how to teach my classroom children how to apply it.  I still don't understand if it’s a skill, or is it a requirement or an ability. I do know and confess, that I, as a student, as a teacher, as a person, have used information, whatever I find first, instead of taking my time to read, to browse, to highlight and bookmark from many websites and blogs and articles available. So that said, how can I teach my children not to be lazy and to take advantage of all of what there is available for them to learn. Taking technology courses has opened my eyes and my mind to many ideas, to many thoughts, to many conclusions on what I need to do. I work with small children and I think it’s the right age to begin with. They are so open to learn, they are sponges; they actually want to learn as much as they can, (as much as their attention span allows them). Having technology since a very young age is changing the way they learn, the way they explore and also it changes their expectations; their isn’t anything us teachers cannot know. And that is because we have absolutely every way to investigate, not only to find an answer, but also to find examples, videos, pictures, links, we can Skype experts, we can travel anywhere we want without even moving and we can expand our knowledge in so many ways.

So my advice is to incorporate this into our lives. As adults we CAN still learn, we can still improve, we can still grow. We need to accept that we are in a new era where most of our excuses do not apply anymore, we have million of options and ways to always be on top of it. We just have to want to!

Time for PLN or me...

Trying to find time for me to build my PLN has been overwhelming. I love to read, and I love to learn but my attention spam is the same as a five year old. As soon as I sit down and start reading a blog, I open a new window and check my emails, and I open another window to check my Facebook. So as I am reading my email I remember I was reading a very good blog on something I really like so I go back, and then a take a few minutes to reflect on how will I use or apply my new knowledge, meanwhile I decide to answer any mails I've got or comment on pictures or friends status' and go back and forth back and forth. I look at the time and I see that I have been on the computer a couple of hours and have not accomplish all I had intended to at the beginning, so my challenge is not making time for me to create my PLN, but to learn how to do one thing at a time so I can get the best out of it.  I need to take my time, because now I have Facebook, Twitter, 2 blogs, and access to many other social networks. I know this will help me in many ways to become a better teacher, maybe also a better person but I refuse completely for it to take over my life. We all have to learn to take time to learn, to experience, to grow by using networks but we also have to remember not to be on it all the time. Lets not forget to enjoy life and not overlook something important or simple things because we are on twitter or checking Facebook or reading emails.

Why would it be important for me to have a PLN???

Yes, that was my first impression. I own a computer, so I can Google whatever I don't know, I have a facebook account and a blog ( with 2 entries) from a previous class I took on technology, so I thought I was pretty much a digital native. Was I so very wrong. Let me tell you why, within days I learned I had very little or no knowledge at all of social networks. I'm just starting a course on technology named "Adult Learning at the Workplace" and when I started reading the pre-assignments I started to freak-out. There was so many things I didn't have a clue about, terms I had not heard about, programs, social networks I didn't know existed, apps on google?? OMG!!!! I felt very overwhelmed. So little by little, with a lot of Google-ing, and emails to my mentor, I kind of got the hang of this. I am no expert yet, I still have to look at tutorials for many simple things, but I have come to accept that I have to dive in. I'm a kindergarten teacher in an international school, where we have access to everything we want, technology included. And to be honest, I see children with ipads, computers, digital devices and I know that sooner than later I will have to teach them, not how to use them, but how to get the best out of those devices. So after reading, typing, blogging, tweeting and google-ing ( I still invent a lot of terms) I have come to good terms with all of these. I want to, more than I need to, learn how to be tech-social network-friendly. I hope that I can keep up with everything, and also encourage others to learn because this is not meant to make our lives complicated, it just gives us an insight to a lot of information available, so we can decide what we need, what we want and what we like. With PLN we can share, learn, and also advice. We can become more natives than immigrants and thats what all of this is about.

How do we educate our children to take their place in the economies of the 21st century?

Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Paradigms

I find it very interesting how Sir Ken Robinson begins his speech with "Every country is reforming public education". I do not completely agree that in my country, Mexico, the government is actually reforming public education with the intention to prepare children for our 21st century economy. The educational standards are set and regulated by the Secretaria de Educacion Publica, a federal government division. The educational division discuses and makes decisions of what are the needs in education and how can they implement different policies, but they do not prioritize the skills children need to develop for their future placement in the worlds economy. Mexico is a country were more than half of the children that actually attend school are enrolled in public education institutes, classrooms have from 30 to 50 children with only one teacher in charge of the group with no differentiation and almost no technology. So my question is, due to poverty in this country, what can we teach children that attend public schools? Survival techniques? Technology? No. We let children play, investigate, be creative. We guide them, teach them techniques that will help them become independent human beings, so they can develop critical thinking and problem solving skills so they eventually become someone, so they can go to college, be able to have better job opportunities, to let them be part of our society. We adults are the ones who have to consider ourselves in our economy, so we can fight for education, for our children's future.