Fifth Graders Thoughts on Edmodo

   The number one reason fifth grade students liked using Edmodo to publish their writing was having other people read their stories. They liked the fact that their friends could read their stories and give them advice on how to make their story better. The students liked the collaborative writing activity the best. It seems to me the students really enjoyed having us Fairmont State students read their stories and add our own thoughts to them. 

   I thought the Edmodo project was enjoyable and interesting. I loved being able to hear what kinds of stories are in the minds of a fifth grader. Also it was fun seeing how fifth graders reacted to what college students thought about their stories. This was a great learning experience for me because I was able to hear straight from fifth graders what they are looking for in a teacher. This will help me greatly as I continue my journey of becoming a teacher.  

   Collaboration projects that I might be able to implement in my future classroom using a microblogging tool like Edmodo would probably be very similar to this project. I like the idea of students communicating with people or students of different backgrounds or ages and being able to hear their thoughts on matters. I think it might be a fun project to team up with a class in a different country and see what my students and those of a different country had in common. We would be able to learn about new countries and have fun while doing so.

President Obama picture comparison of the Gulf Coast Oil spill

I think Obama looks more concerned in this picture because he looks very serious and worried. He looks as if he is deep in thought figuring out what words to choose for a difficult speech. Maybe he is preparing for a television interview or press conference. You can tell from the background that he looks like he is inside which is normally where interviews or conferences happen. His facial expressions and body language give away that something is wrong. His eyes are serious and posture is tense. Also the camera angle is right in his face, like nothing else matter except what he is going to say.   

In this picture Obama looks more in control. The background tells us that he is in the Gulf Coast with people working on the oil spill. This picture would be the one that makes people feel confident in Obama's abilities to respond to the disaster. If you look at his facial expression he is smiling. He does not look nearly as tense as he does in the other picture. It looks as if he feels that everything is going to work out and the people should feel the same way. The camera angle here is from a distance giving Obama his space. His arms and hands look relaxed; he almost looks like he may be walking to just enjoy the scenery with coworkers or friends. He may be thanking all the workers for their hard work and encouraging them to keep it up. That would put a smile on all their faces.   



Media and Traditional Literacy

In the article “Teaching Media Literacy” by Jane L. David it is discussed how schools in the United States do not teach enough about media literacy. I do not know exactly what goes on in the schools these days but I know when I was growing up we did not have many classes where we did work on the computer. We mostly worked on traditional literacy skills. As much as I want to say yes we really need to step up our game and teach more online, we also need to work on the basics still. I believe it is important to stress both media literacy and traditional literacy skills in the school system these days. Both are needed to understand each other. If we do not teach kids to read and analyze things how are they going to go online and know what they are looking for or reading? Both types of literacy skills are very different but both are needed to survive in this world. It is true that most people and kids now a day spend a great deal of their time online and we need to start preparing them with information they will need to know to make good decisions on the internet.

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Digital Story Learning

I think that Digital Stories are great but not quite the same kind of learning as an essay or research paper. I like digital stories and think children would love to have projects involving them, but I would not have it as a substitute for an essay. Students need to learn how to write a good paper. Just because their teacher this year believes digital stories are a better way to get your point across does not mean next year’s teacher will be. I can see some students figuring out shortcuts to get the information they need without having to research their topic. Granted students can do the same with an essay, but in an essay it would be stealing another person’s paper or plagiarizing. If teachers want to use digital stories instead of research papers they will need to create a system of steps for the students to show that they have researched their topic and understand what they are presenting. That seems like a lot of work that is not necessary. I think digital stories are great and should be taught, but not in place of writing papers.     

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