Developing Research Skills in

the Language Arts Classroom

UC Irvine Libraries SPIRIT ProgramInstructor: Melanie Sellar

What are our objectives today?

By the end of today’s class, you will:

• Have a greater understanding of online information materials and their relation to today’s learner and classroom

• Acquire some basic understanding of various online tools with potential classroom (and professional devpt) applications

• Learn the mechanics of finding, setting up, and posting to blogs

• Acquire some ideas and strategies for integrating blogs into the language arts classroom

Match the Icon to the Product or Service!

RSS feed

SlideShare

del.icio.us

TeacherTube

Technorati

Wikipedia

EduBlogsFlickr

Understanding Digital Natives

What does today’s student look like and what are their learning

preferences?

(video from teachertube.com)

What tools and strategies do you use for teaching these Language Arts standards?

Reading Comprehension

(Focus on Informational Materials)

Writing Strategiesand Applications

Why use online technologies in teaching Language Arts?

Why? Motivates Students• Community development

• Engage students in the learning process

• Access to a wider audience than within the classroom

• Opportunities to share learning (e.g. parents and others)

• Moving learning beyond the classroom walls

• Not just one way communication: participative, two-way

• Feedback mechanisms available

• Sustain attention with varied instruction

• Opportunities to create and collaborate

• Stimulate curiosity

Why? New Types of Info Materials

Traditional “Information Materials”:Textbooks, other books, encyclopedias, maps,newspaper articles, brochures, advertisements,…

Digital “Information Materials”:e-Books, collaborative web sites, blogs, Wikipedia, interactive maps, open access journals, search engines, podcasts…

With these new forms of publishing, students need to become familiar with their structural features and know when and how touse them.

Why? Literacy Development

Information literacy: Ability to ask questions, formulate research strategies, use appropriate information tools, evaluate and analyze data, use and incorporate information ethically, and synthesize information.

Digital literacy: Ability to use digital technology, communication tools, or networks to locate, evaluate, use, and create information.

Media literacy: Ability to communicate competently in all media forms – print and electronic – and to think critically about messages inherent in new media.

Computer literacy: Ability to effectively and efficiently use computer tools.

Why? Connected to Standards

English Language Arts – 2.0 Reading Comprehension• Focus on structural features of information materials• Assess adequacy, accuracy, and appropriateness of the author’s evidence to support claims

and assertions, noting instances of bias and stereotyping• Identify topics; ask and evaluate questions; and develop ideas leading to inquiry, investigation,

and research• Understand how text features (e.g. format, graphics, illustrations, charts..) make information

accessible and usable

English Language Arts – 1.0 Writing Strategies• Choose the form of writing that best suits intended purpose; create multiple-paragraph

expository compositions, use a variety of effective and coherent organizational patterns• Use organizational features of electronic text to locate information• Compose documents with formatting by using word-processing skills and principles of design

English Language Arts – 2.0 Writing Applications• Write research reports; develop note-taking skills; compile evidence from different sources

What’s Different about Web 2.0?

Web 1.0 = read only web

• Communication was one direction• Author/publisher held right to

publish• No ability for the user to interact

with the content (e.g. no opportunities to respond to it, edit it, add to it, or re-use it…).

Web 2.0 = read & write web

• Enhanced interaction and sharing between users

• Greater focus on social aspects and enhancing social networks.

• More content creation by users, and often done collaboratively

• Encourage user contribution, e.g. reviews, recommendations, and comments

• Ability to re-use and re-mix data • Personalization and customization of

experiences.• Community and sense of ownership

What’s the Deal with Blogs?Video: Blogs in Plain English

(courtesy of CommonCraft.com)

Take a Tour of BlogsFeatures Types of Blog Posts

• Diary / journal entry

• Opinion / editorial

• Reviews, critiques, analyses

• How-to / tutorial

• Interview

• Breaking news

• Video entries

• Surveys

• List of resources

• Homework assignment

• Publish creative writing

• Easily created and updated; if you can e-mail, you can blog!

• Posts are listed in chronological order.

• Edit posts in a similar manner to MS Word

• Include links to other online content

• Each blog post has a “comments section” for readers to offer their opinion or feedback

• Each post has its own URL, so that other online writers can easily link to it from their own sites

• Can include images, videos, and audio files

• A new blog is being created every second, on

every topic imaginable!

Using Blogs in School Some ideas:• Class portal (assignments, syllabus, class rules…)• School website• Class newspaper• Online portfolio of work – post for teacher and peer review• Collaborative space – students can collaborative with others online• Communicate internally and externally with colleagues• Post prompts for writing• Encourage discussion and debate on subjects

In order to:• Widen potential audience of student work• Expand the walls of the classroom• Archive the learning that students do, facilitating reflection• Support different learning styles• Teach new literacies• Teach students how to interact in an online environment

Find a Blog!

www.edublogs.org

http://blogsearch.google.com

www.technorati.com

www.bloglines.com

Post your findings at http://ucispirit.edublogs.org/

Get Blogging! The how-to’s

1. Go to http://edublogs.org/

3. Fill out the registration form

2. Click on “sign up for free”

4. Check your e-mail to activate it

5. Visit your new URL!

6. Log in to EduBlogs to write a post

Getting Started Using Blogs in the Classroom

Get into small groups with others of similar grade levels:

1. What steps/concerns need to be addressed when considering launching a blog for school or classroom use?

2. How would you introduce the genre of blogs to your grade level?

3. What kind of activities could you use blogs for? (Create new or update existing lessons)

4. How would you assess blog use by students?

Tips for Keeping Up• Focus on one new technology to learn at a time

• Don’t feel you have to roll it out right away in your classroom, give yourself time to play and get familiar

• Set aside some regular time to “play” (e.g. 15-30 mins/week)

• Follow the online learning program “Classroom Learning 2.0” –it’s a tutorial blog that introduces you to one new technology each week, followed by a short set of exercises. You can do it alone or with a group: http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com/

Thank you for coming!

http://spirit.lib.uci.edu

All clip art used in this presentation was licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com.