Media Studies Blog Post
October 6 2016
Matthew Vukusic
8P24
Media
literacy is a topic that I feel passionate about mostly because the opportunity
I had with media studies when I was in school was (most of the time) lost
because of the way it was presented. A word that caught my attention was “predgital”
that came over in the readings. A lot of the ways I was taught, and at the
time, learned, was very obsolete and old fashioned. Media was not presented very well, and a lot
of the time it was read this, write that, for no reason and was not relatable
to anything relevant in my life. As a
teacher I want to learn from my past teachers and take what they did well and
what they didn’t do so well and make sure the learning environment I create is suitable
for all individual learners.
The
Ontario Curriculum has media literacy defined as a study of art and messaging
through different forms of media text. Students should be able to view, interpret,
analyze and discuss all forms of media texts and then relate them to everyday life
and situations. That’s something important; relating a topic to everyday life
gives work a meaning and creates interest allowing for learners to expand their
minds and actually enjoy the work they are doing.
coolcatteacher.com
The
resource above is a great for teachers and parents when it comes to all topics
of the school curriculum, this includes media literacy. The website was created
by Vicki Davis as a way for teachers, parents and learners to use to find
different ways on changing class work and the learning environment to benefit everyone. The blog site includes posts regularly,
podcasts, an online store, and speaking topics, keynotes, spotlight sessions
and webinars. Overall the website in
general has everything a teacher could use to create a great classroom
environment. Not only did it have posts on what is positive about certain media
topics or devices, it also had the negatives which I found interesting
especially because if you use the resources on the site, it provides
substitutes and tells you what really doesn’t work.
While I
was browsing through the resource, I found one article that can be related to
media literacy:
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/12538-2/
This
post discusses strategies for students who are struggling with reading and
writing. Now there could be a million strategies such as using physical tools
and media devices to help or creating goals which is touched upon in the post.
What I really like about this post is at the end, during the summary there are
notes that ask questions such “How can we help students become more
self-regulating and self-assess their own work?” What these questions do
is get you as the reader and teacher thinking, am I able to answer this or do
my lessons support the question? It gets you reflecting on your own work as a
teacher which is important. Goal setting is a big topic on this post which I think
is also a great strategy, since goals are more personal, it helps create a
relationship between the learner and the reading and writing tasks.
Online Image. Retrieved from: http://www.newslettereuropean.eu/wp-content/uploads/Media-Litteracy-for-all.jpg
Reading Blog Post
October 28 2016
Matthew Vukusic
In the recent weeks of literacy class we have been discussing the reading strand of the curriculum. We looked at many resources in class to make teaching the reading portion of literacy easier.
The Reading strand has four overall expectations, as follows:
"Students will: 1. read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning; 2. recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning; 3. use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently; 4. reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading."
As long as these expectations are met, this strand of the curriculum helps students learn to read with understanding, read critically, become aware of various text forms and their characteristic elements and recognize their functions.
"The Ontario curriculum focuses on developing the knowledge and skills that will enable students to become effective readers. An effective reader is one who not only grasps the ideas communicated in a text but is able to apply them in new contexts. To do this, the reader must be able to think clearly, creatively, and critically about the ideas and information encountered in texts in order to understand, analyze, and absorb them and to recognize their relevance in other contexts."
Now the real question is what can we do to help one become a effective reader. We used various resources to find different strategies to meet these expectations mentioned above. The websites EduGains and ReadWriteThink have various lesson plans and strategies to incorporate in your class room. Some strategies these websites came up with are shared vs independent reading, using online games or podcasts as a read along tool. I find these strategies very useful.
Another resource I used was "Beyond the Sticky Note and Venn Diagram: Comprehensive Strategies for 21st Century Schools" an article that incorporates the facts and ideas about technology replacing old habits of teaching in the classroom. The article goes into detail about how technology can be used in the curriculum to help teach certain aspects of different subjects and creates an alternate learning tool when introducing new topics in class allowing for different ways of engagement for the different learning styles. The article mentions web-based learning through tools such as the internet, applications or Google Docs for communication. The internet and technology creates new ways to find research, provide engaging topics, and new means of communication between peers. When there is communication between students new ideas can generate through common interests leading to more conversation and group sharing which can then be further explored through the applications or internet. When you think about it, reading does not have to been done in the form of a book; texts online in groups or individually on topics that the students have interest in is just as good or even better. It is really important to incorporate these different learning tools and technology in the class to accommodate all learning styles.
Quotes and curriculum retrieved from:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf
Writing Blog Post
November 13 2016
Matthew Vukusic
November 13 2016
Matthew Vukusic
Writing is the way one person is able to express their thoughts on paper or other tools and is essential in the Ontario Curriculum. Not only does writing express their thoughts but the writing skill also encompasses how clear and effective these thoughts are expressed. Writing is an essential skill to learn as it provides an alternate way of comprehension and communication which is important in life whether in the classroom or in the real life situations. In order for our learners to understand writing, we as educators need to find the best way to teach our learners based on their learning style, not all of our students will be pen and paper writers. Some will resort typing or using other learning tools to express their writing skill.
During class time we explored a few resources that explain how to use different tools to help teach students different writing techniques. An unconventional tool would be twitter which I use often and find it extremely useful for many things in the classroom. The website www.teachthought.com/twitter-hashtags-for-teacher/ was the resource I used. It simply explained ways to use twitter in the classroom. Some may say that twitter is useless and is only used by the Kardashian's to tell the world what they had for breakfast. Twitter although it has a limit to how much can be shared at one time can be a useful resource as well as tool for anyone with a computer, mobile or smart device.
There are different ways you can use twitter such as for research or sharing. For the purpose of the writing strand I looked at the sharing ability of twitter. Hashtags are a great way to share information. If there is a topic in class you can create a hashtag such as #sharksimmunesystem. Then you can open it up to the class, have them explain what they learned about the topic or what they have taken away from the lesson, post it on twitter and use the hashtag. Sharing on twitter allows short and to the point posts about your topic (because of the 140 character limit) and tunes the effectiveness and focus of ones writing skill. Also, by searching your hashtag in the search bar you are able to see what others have said using that hashtag. This allows learners to see what their peers have said, creating conversation in things like conferences and allows peers to reflect of the other writing styles and thoughts of their classmates.
Twitter is a resource that can be used for multiple language strands and is a great resource if used correctly. Using it for short writing tasks will be effective in the classroom because it is not tedious (like a 200 word essay) and is a great way for students to express what they have taken away from their studies. We can all learn from social media.
Oral Communication Blog Post
November 27 2016
Matthew Vukusic
Oral communication and skills are essential to be a language learner in the Ontario curriculum. Successful language learners understand that communication is important that is, reading, listening, viewing, speaking, writing, and representing effectively and with confidence. We as educators have to reward students for their ability to communicate as well as facilitate advancements in their oral communication skills. We can use various strategies and techniques in the class in order to guide our students to be better at communication such as conferencing, active discussion in groups and speaking in front of an audience. Relating to engaging and real life topics also contribute to this development. Having an open communication in the learning environment is essential because it allows the students to build the confidence to express concerns, ask questions and make statements in the class. This helps me understand where they are on their path to being a successful language learner.
During our time in literacy class we were asked to review an article that emphasizes the importance of organized debates and public speaking called Debate: Where Speaking and Listening Come First. Public speaking is an essential skill to have in anyone's career path and can be applied to almost anything in life. It is an excellent idea to practice public speaking to build confidence and oral communication skill when speaking aloud. Debates are a great tool to help practice public speaking as they allow you to voice opinion and require you to critically think on the fly in order to rebuttal with a persuasive and confident oral response. A debate is something requires listening and public speaking skills, at lower levels or in a classroom environment it allows you to practice these skills. Debates require organization of ones thoughts and require critical thinking, skills that are beneficial to the student and can be tied into the Ontario Curriculum. It also build self confidence in students which important especially in the adolescence stage of development. This is take directly from the curriculum, "listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes". A debate uses critical thinking in order to respond with persuasive oral communication, perfect for meeting the expectation in the curriculum.
Oral Communication Blog Post
November 27 2016
Matthew Vukusic
Oral communication and skills are essential to be a language learner in the Ontario curriculum. Successful language learners understand that communication is important that is, reading, listening, viewing, speaking, writing, and representing effectively and with confidence. We as educators have to reward students for their ability to communicate as well as facilitate advancements in their oral communication skills. We can use various strategies and techniques in the class in order to guide our students to be better at communication such as conferencing, active discussion in groups and speaking in front of an audience. Relating to engaging and real life topics also contribute to this development. Having an open communication in the learning environment is essential because it allows the students to build the confidence to express concerns, ask questions and make statements in the class. This helps me understand where they are on their path to being a successful language learner.
During our time in literacy class we were asked to review an article that emphasizes the importance of organized debates and public speaking called Debate: Where Speaking and Listening Come First. Public speaking is an essential skill to have in anyone's career path and can be applied to almost anything in life. It is an excellent idea to practice public speaking to build confidence and oral communication skill when speaking aloud. Debates are a great tool to help practice public speaking as they allow you to voice opinion and require you to critically think on the fly in order to rebuttal with a persuasive and confident oral response. A debate is something requires listening and public speaking skills, at lower levels or in a classroom environment it allows you to practice these skills. Debates require organization of ones thoughts and require critical thinking, skills that are beneficial to the student and can be tied into the Ontario Curriculum. It also build self confidence in students which important especially in the adolescence stage of development. This is take directly from the curriculum, "listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes". A debate uses critical thinking in order to respond with persuasive oral communication, perfect for meeting the expectation in the curriculum.
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