Persistent Pondering http://persistentpondering.posterous.com Where do social action, art, music, technology, media, pop culture, and most importantly, student needs intersect? posterous.com Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:58:00 -0800 What is Digital Learning? http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/what-is-digital-learning http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/what-is-digital-learning

Happy Digital Learning Day Eve! I hope you enjoy some reflections from my students on:

Digital Learning Is....

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:12:00 -0800 Digital Learning Day: A Call to Action http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/digital-learning-day-a-call-to-action http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/digital-learning-day-a-call-to-action

Sitting at a district meeting yesterday, I heard more of an all too widespread and alarming discussion. “Our students aren’t interested in learning like we were.” “The kids today are distracted by gadgets. They would rather text than talk.” “Our kids don’t have a long attention span.”

All of these rumblings have a common thread. Yes, our students for the most part, are quite different than us, their educators. They are interested in technology. They do like to communicate digitally. They do multitask.

I felt so uncomfortable hearing our district leaders finding so many shortcomings in our students---especially since what these teachers were critical of can be such assets. What people were complaining about are very important skills in the 21st century.

Don’t get me wrong. I, too, have been frustrated by a student slyly texting a friend to socialize instead of completing the class project. I, too, have wondered why I constantly have to switch gears in a single class to engage students. I, too, have wondered how someone can spend hours and hours playing a game and not ten minutes on a journal assignment.

But, after years of wondering and researching and collaborating and analyzing and experimenting, I know one thing. I have more questions. I also know that our students have a cultural wealth that demands our attention and respect. Their knowledge of building and sustaining community, creating and collaborating on multimedia projects, their hunger for information. All of this makes them candidates for being exceptional students.

Then, what’s the problem? Why is the United States lagging behind other countries in education? Why are some schools now being named “drop-out factories”? Why do some teachers perceive our students as being deficient learners rather than remarkable ones?

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It’s not the fault of the teachers. It’s not the fault of the students. It’s not the parents. It’s not the media. It’s not the technology companies. It’s not the video games.

It’s the educational system in the United States. We operate in an antiquated context far removed from the realities of today’s society, its demands and its challenges. We want our students to fit into some educational paradigm that was conceived eons ago.

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, so much has happened to transform our landscape. Technology has developed. There are now so many digital advances making once impossible things everyday common occurrences. Every day, there is something new, something that ups the stakes, something that creates another challenge to our obsolete educational system. One thing, however, that is not changing, not transforming, not responding---fast enough anyway---is education.

Today’s learners are different. They learn differently from most of their teachers. All true. I get it.

When, then, do we respond to these differences? When do we take into account these inconsistencies and make systemic changes that embrace our learners and all their skills? When do we create an inclusive environment to fit their needs instead of forcing them into an educational box where they must abandon so much that is part of their culture? When will we demand an education that our students deserve, one where instead of failing, they will thrive?

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Technology is not the enemy. It is not gadgets OR lessons. It is not cell phones OR learning. It is not social networks OR accountable talk.

On the contrary, we have the opportunity to use these powerful tools and many more to truly reform our classrooms. We have a chance to show our students how much we do respect and admire their skills by stepping out of our comfort zones to learn from them.

So for today, our first National Digital Learning Day, I ask what you can do to help these changes happen and happen sooner rather than later? Each day we do not advocate for our learners, each day we do not rally around this type of reform is another day where technology leaves education further behind.

Digital. Learning. Digital + Learning. Digital Learning. 

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence
Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:02:00 -0800 From Engagement to Equity: Bridging the Digital Divide http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/from-engagement-to-equity-bridging-the-digita http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/from-engagement-to-equity-bridging-the-digita

For many students, school is the only place where they can be on even ground with the rest of their peers. When implementing digital tools to learn, it becomes more than just a question of engagement and participation. How is digital learning an equity issue?

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence
Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:29:23 -0800 No Literacy Left Behind: Why use digital tools in literacy instruction? http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/no-literacy-left-behind-why-use-digital-tools http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/no-literacy-left-behind-why-use-digital-tools

It's common sense. We have to meet our students where they are. We have to know our students and the cultural wealth they bring to our schools. Using what they already know as a method of mediating new learning is just good teaching. So why not meet our students in a mileu that they already know?

Using digital tools, thus, capitalizing upon a student's digital literacy, will facilitate literacy instruction.

How do we do this? How can we make this a campus-wide practice? How do we sustain it?

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence
Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:26:34 -0800 A Whole New World: Addressing the Literacy Needs of the On Demand Generation http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/a-whole-new-world-addressing-the-literacy-nee http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/a-whole-new-world-addressing-the-literacy-nee

"That's how I was taught, and I turned out okay." 

Who hasn't heard that before in schools across the country? Well, that's not going to work. Or more truthfully, it might work for some, but teachers will lose multitudes of teachable moments with that type of mantra.

Instead, we would better serve today's students by really considering their cultural wealth. What differences and simiarities do they bring with them to the classroom that can be supported by learning? What types of practices do they have in other areas of their lives that may need addressing and mediating for meaninful learning to take place? What role does identity play in literacy instruction?

 

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence
Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:54:00 -0800 Creating a Community of Readers and Writers http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/creating-a-community-of-readers-and-writers http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/creating-a-community-of-readers-and-writers

Digital Learning Day is February 1, 2012. Although I will also be exploring the best way to get my students to write/read digitally for that day, it dawned on me that we, as educators, need to continue to learn in the digital milieu. In response, I have decided to take a step back and blog about what literacy instruction means to me in hopes that these posts serve as resources for other classroom practitioners. 

This activity has also enabled me to revisit what I believe in as an educator. I have been able to reflect what pieces contribute to the whole of my teaching. In doing so, I am able to become reacquainted with some of the principles that keep me motivated. I'm able to articulate what I do, not only to refocus my practice but to also share it with a wider audience. At the very least, this may invite others to revisit what shapes their teaching.

Enjoy!

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence