The new technology that my partner and I chose to use was that of graphic organizers. Graphic organizers can take many forms as seen in our presentation of this new technology. The concept of graphic organizers is not new as graphic organizers have been around for many many years. However, graphic organizers have been reinvented. Instead of the traditional pen and paper graphic organizers, graphic organizers can now be done on the computer and have become interactive. My partner and I were not able to explore graphic organizers online or easily on the computer because the downloads cost money, but we were able to make our own through the use of power point. This might not be the most effective way as it took much patience to use and to make, and it was frustrating trying to use power point. However, there are more effective and easy to use programs available. While the idea of graphic organizers was not new to me, using them on the computer was. Being able to make a graphic organizer online or on the computer brings a whole new meaning to the word organized. Many times, at least when I was younger, when making graphic organizers I would erase or start the organizer over many times. With a computer, this can be done with a click of the button. Another possibility for graphic organizers is to do them as a whole class to organize class ideas. This can be done with the use of a smart board. There are endless possibilities for ways to organize one thoughts, and this became easier with graphic organizers.
The knowledge needed in order to use graphic organizers is that of knowing how to read, write, use a computer, and to know how to use the graphic organizer. The students in my field placement are only learning to begin to read and write. They do know to read and decode some words, but for the most part, reading is a long process for them still. They are also learning how to write. Even though the students are just beginning to read and write, they use graphic organizers a lot in their class. The graphic organizer takes the form a concept map most times or a web and is often made by the teacher with a marker and paper. But, graphic organizers made on the computer can be used in this classroom if the proper technologies were available to this classroom. If the teacher had access to a smart board or a large projection screen to project the computer screen for the whole class to see, the teacher and students can work together to create their own classroom graphic organizers. Since the students are so young, pictures can be used along words so that students will remember what the graphic organizer is representing, and since there will still be text on the organizer, students will still have the opportunity to practice their reading skills.
In terms of my concept of literacy, it has grown greatly since I have been in TE 402. While in TE 301 I learned that literacy is just not learning how to read and write but also to be able to communicate, but in 402, my concept of literacy has greatly expanded. My concept of literacy has now expanded from reading, writing, and communicating, to that of obtaining skills and knowledge in any area that will allow a person to become successful. This could include literacy in certain types of technology, science literacy, math literacy, cultural literacy, religious literacy, music literacy etc. The concept of literacy in endless. In order to foster the development of literacy in the classroom, we as teachers need to be open to these types of literacy. Of course, we need to still teach the basics of literacy such as reading, writing, and communicating, but we can do this in the context of the new literacies such as technology, cultural, etc.
Until next time,
*Lisa*
Friday, March 21, 2008
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I really like graphic organizers and think that they are very beneficial inside the classroom. I like how graphic organizers come in SO many different forms- teachers can adapt the graphic organizer to whatever content/lesson they are teaching. I really like graphic organizers because they can be used across content, regardless if it is reading, writing, social studies, science, etc. I have seen graphic organizers used in math- a tree map and in writing- a web in my placement just the past couple weeks. It concerns me that many of the graphic organizers online cost money… I feel like this wasn’t always the case and it worries me that in the future nothing will be free online anymore! It’s sad when this happens, since the Internet provides so many good ideas, especially regarding graphic organizers. It’s not like you would need to print out the organizers, but it would be nice to be able to get ideas.
I am not sure if I would be able to use the computer in order to make a graphic organizer~ I feel like I would be able to make simple organizers that are really basic, but I don’t really think I’d be able to make a very complex organizer. I am in the kindergarten next door to Lisa and my kids also use graphic organizers, even though they are still in the process learning how to read and write. My students have been creating web writing before making their journal entries- this is a graphic organizer that helps them organize their thoughts and a main topic and some details about this topic, before actually having to write the sentence. This just shows that the graphic organizers are very multipurpose learning tools.
Nicole Lendo
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