New Media & New Literacies

  Seesaw :  Seesaw is a communication, learning tool geared toward elementary aged students. It allows direct communication between parents and teacher, parents and administrators, and teacher and students. Seesaw also provides learning tools and assessment features for teachers to assign to students. Lastly, it is an online digital portfolio of a student's school year, where both teacher and students can post work, pictures, and updates throughout the school year.  Seesaw provides a safe and secure place for teachers to effectively communicate with families. This is done in the messenger part of the app that is user friendly. Parents sign up through a QR code at the beginning of the year using their email. Message notifications are sent to seesaw directly as well as email. The easiest way for parents to engage with this program is through an app on their phone. Parents are also able to engage with this through a desktop computer. Students and teachers are able to post p...

    A topic that interests me is the use of digital literacy and digital resources in the elementary classroom to support literacy learning. I find this interesting as an educator that works with many students that are reading below grade level. I am interested in the idea of using different digital literacies available to students today to enhance my literacy instruction to support my students' needs, as well as teach them using more relevant resources. I am also very interested in using storytelling and drama/theatre education to support students' literacy education. I believe there is a way to combine both digital literacy and theatre education to help support students' literacy and digital skills in a modern age. The resources below center around digital literacy in early-intermediate childhood education.  Cahill, M., & Moore, J. (2017///Spring). A Sound History: Audiobooks Are Music to Children's Ears. Children & Libraries, 15 (1), 22-29. https://sunyem...

          This week I was very inspired by many of the articles. I particularly enjoyed reading the articles, Reframing the Medium, from Literacy Today, and Expanding Early childhood Literacy Curriculum through Play-Based Film-making and Popular Media. These articles go beyond students using technology in solitude and discuss ways to use technology to improve curriculum.  There are many opportunities that technology can provide for our students. The idea of using film and film-making in the classroom is one that is very interesting to me. I have a lot of struggling readers in my classroom that could benefit greatly from this switch in media to learn various standards. I love the idea of teaching storytelling and story elements both through paperback books and movies. (Hernandez, 2017). There are so many books that have been adapted into movies too, this could be an opportunity to watch some of those, and engage students through multiple mediums. Intr...

     Before these readings I was not very sure what Digital literacies or multiliteracies were but now I feel like I have a good base of understanding. There were a lot of things that surprised me while reading these reports. I think that's because I grew up learning or teaching myself a lot of what is being discussed and a lot of it comes as second nature.            Something that stood out to me is the idea that anyone can create content, even our students. For example, “In the modern society, large amounts of information online, such as YouTube videos, is not produced by monopolies but by ordinary people who only have cell phones or cameras that are connected to the internet.” (Yang, 2017). I use a number of YouTube videos in my classroom, whether it be a multiplication skip counting song, or a video about nouns and adjectives. It is interesting to think about how finding these videos is a digital literacy skill. Anyone could make a ...

    I grew up with the emergence of Digital Literacy. When I was an elementary school student in the early 2000s, I remember countless assemblies about digital citizenship and eventually many lessons on using databases as our only sources on the internet. I find these readings interesting because I think literacy is growing even broader from where it was when I was elementary/middle school. As each of the articles said, we are in a rapidly changing world and are constantly in the process of adjusting and learning new ways of communication and collaboration.      According to Constance Beecher, “literacy is not just the ability to read and write. It is also being able to effectively use digital technology to find and analyze information. Students who are digitally literate know how to do research, find reliable sources, and make judgments about what they read online and in print.” (Beecher, 2023). There is so much information online for our students to consu...

Hello! My name is Gracie Mulville. I received my Bachelor's Degree at SUNY Fredonia in Childhood Education and Special Education (grades 1-6) with a concentration in Social Sciences. I am currently a 3rd grade teacher in a small rural district near Buffalo, NY. This is my fourth year teaching, second year in third grade. I have always been interested in the development and implementation of curriculum within schools, which is why I decided to pursue a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. I am looking forward to having a deeper understanding and scope for what makes effective curriculum.  In my free time I love to crochet, craft, read, and play with my dog, Tilly. I am excited to take this course and collaborate with you all! I saw this meme the other day and it felt fitting for this program!