New Literacy Project

The new technology that I used was websites. This was new to me because I have never created a website before. I am around people everyday who create websites, but never have I done one. I am pretty familiar with the old literacies, such as reading and writing and how to accomplish both. I am familiar with how to navigate my way around websites, but never have I created one.
To create a website you have to know where to begin. Here at MSU we are all given a website (www.msu.edu/~username). I know about Homestead and DreamWeaver, but I have no clue on how to use them. You need to understand what is important and what should be included in a website. What information will be important for people and what will they want to gain from your website. I had to figure out how to guide myself through the process of creating a website. Creating a website is a huge commitment because you are putting your name on something that can be seen by people from all around the world. It took time to find all of the resources that I wanted to include in my website and make it what it is. I would say that the commitment to website is huge because it is a big project.
The knowledge that students are suppose to have about websites is how to use one. Students will have to guide themselves through a website to find the information they need. Students also have to be aware of what websites are educational and helpful and which ones are not. Students will have to use their reading skills, writing skills, and computer skills. Their capacities will be using the computer and if they are creating a website their typing skills. The commitment would be that students are positive that they can rely on the information they are collecting from the website or they are committed to the website they are creating. They are proud of their accomplishment. With websites, students need to make sure the information they are looking at is accurate and/or they are using accurate information in their own website.
By learning this technology is was important for me to understand how hard it is to create websites and to find out if the information you are getting from your sources is accurate or not. It is also hard work because you are putting something up on the world wide web where everyone can see it. Not only do you have to write the website, but you have to proof read it too. I think that websites are an effective way to teach literacy because for one, you can have students read websites, find, and determine if the information is reliable or not. Students can also create their own by researching information and writing the website themselves. Students can use the traditional reading and writing in creating a website of their own.

How has you conceptual understanding of literacy changed since beginning this class and how does the technology you explored inform your thinking?
When we started this class I saw literacy as reading and writing. I saw it as reading books and writing stories. I now see literacy as all around us. It is much more. I learned that literacy means "the competence "to carry out the complex tasks using reading and writing related to the world of work and to the life outside of school"" (Tompkins 11). Literacy is how we interpret the world around us. It is the way we think, speak, and write. It is important for students to exposed to all of the different forms of literacy and that there are many more than just reading and writing. The different literacies are cultural, emotional, environmental, numeracy, print, social, visual, and digital. I would never had thought of all of those things being considered literacy. I feel like I can better teach language arts now that I am aware of all of the different literacies. I feel I can make the class more interesting and I can better get students involved. Exploring websites made me realize how hard it is to create websites and how much time and effort people put into them. I know people who work on websites everyday, but I never realized all the work they did to keep it up to date. I now know to make sure that my students know how to tell if a website is educational and the information is reliable. Websites are very informative and can teach students a lot about the world around them.

What does it mean to provide "effective literacy instruction" to diverse learners and how does the particular technology you explored inform your thinking?
Effective literacy instruction begins with a good classroom community in which all students feel comfortable to speak in front of each other. The class can hold classroom discussions. It also means engaging students into the lesson. Make the lesson interactive in which students can participate such as creating PowerPoints, websites, or interactive maps. When students are hands on they become more engaged and they get more out of the lesson. Teachers should allow students to participate through reading and writing activities that they can do independently, provide opportunities for experience in reading and writing, and provide practice for students in reading and writing (Tompkins 28). It is important for a teacher to give students the tools for success in reading and writing and that can lead to an effective literacy instruction. If students were creating websites they would need to know how to pick out information that they know is creditable. They will also have to be able to write in complete sentences. Students will have to proof read what they write because people from all over the world will be reading it. It is important for students to look at other people's work and decide what to use and not use. Students need to be able to use computers and their typing skills. Students will have to use their technology skills in creating websites and today's students know how to do that. A website is a huge commitment for students because it is something that they will call their own. It is something that people from around the world will see and use. Students will have to put in the time for research and putting it all together. Students will have to view other websites to get ideas of what they would like and not like to use. If students use their knowledge of technology, their computer skills, and time they will create successful websites. I can bring websites into my classroom and instruction by having students research a topic and turn it into a website like I did for this assignment. This is a hands on assignment that students will enjoy doing because they will be able to control and have a say in how it is created. Also, they can create their own personal website. By working with a website I am more informed about how hard it is to incorporate all the different information on one topic into one website. It is hard to figure out what is important knowledge that people should know and take away from the website. Websites are very informative and I am glad that I got the opportunity to work with one.