Choice Lit Topic: Digital Literacy
Thoreau once wrote we are in danger of becoming the “tool of our tools,” but it’s doubtful he envisioned a day when there would be so much technology hardware and software to distract and empower us at the same time. Teachers who are grappling with iPads, laptops, kid blogs and cellphones in classrooms share their triumphs and struggles here.
Results
Student Writing, Filters, and Social Media
As I’ve thought about how social media affects the stories we tell, I’ve started to consider the earliest lessons writers need. One of the first things today’s writers need to...
Bringing Writers’ Voices Home with QR Codes
I love the feeling of wrapping up a unit of study in writing. I love watching my students choose a favorite piece and prepare to make it public by adding...
Using Webcomics in Classrooms
I’ve always been a supporter of graphic novels in the classroom for a variety of reasons. Graphic novels can support your struggling readers, but they are more than that. They...
“Are We Gonna Watch the Movie?”
“Are we gonna watch the movie?” What English teacher hasn’t heard this question at least a thousand times? Whenever I begin a whole-class study of a novel, I am invariably...
Technology Is Not a Reward
Do you remember the first time you actually got on the internet? That very first time you connected to the web? Maybe you were in high school or college; maybe...
Figuring Out Social Media Together
My teenage daughter Stephanie sits across the table, and the phone sits in neutral territory between us as we enter another discussion about digital responsibility . . . or do-the-right-thing-with-your-tech....
Getting Started with Digital Portfolios
A student portfolio is a collection of student work that is compiled for the following reasons: to create a snapshot of a student’s learning over the year, to evaluate the...
Launching Student Data Binders
Student data binders are an invaluable tool. I do not know how I ever taught without them. The purpose of data binders is to drive student performance, to teach students...
Digital Literacy Workshop
Pencil vs. typing. Writer’s notebook vs. Word document. Paper book vs. Kindle. Realizing it is not about the pencil, app, or an Internet address is the first step in transitioning...
Video for Last Days of School
Last week, Christine Holley, a Teachers College Reading and Writing Project staff developer, worked with our primary teachers on improving talk in classrooms. In the classroom, she showed first-grade students...
Using Padlet with Students
Technology is something I am constantly exploring in my classroom. New websites, tools, devices—all have their place in our classroom. One website that has been integral to our classroom this...
Using Google Earth to Support Readers
Reading is supposed to take us places we’ve never been and show us things we’ve never seen. But does the image we create in our mind match what the author...
Webquests with Middle School Students
We recently wrapped up our study of Native Americans in North and South America. It's a tall order to sweep your way through both Americas and hit the major Native...
Teaching Search Skill Basics to Students
One of the most amazing things about living in the digital age is the fact that information is everywhere. With a few clicks, keystrokes, or taps I can get most...
The Power of a Hashtag
A lot of teachers around the world have begun using Twitter and creating class Twitter accounts so the outside world can glance into their students’ learning experience. Many have even...
Twitter in the Classroom
When I tell people—parents, students, and colleagues—that I have a class Twitter account set up for my students to use, I always see puzzled expressions. How can 10-year-olds possibly be...
Choosing the Right Tool for Your Message
As I become more and more proficient in the kitchen, I find that I need different tools to help me get the best results. It didn’t take me long to...
Integrating Short Videos into Minilessons
Our classroom was quiet and dark. The students who had started our minilesson by being spread out and relaxed had pulled closer to the screen and were leaning in. I...
Shallow Books? Learning from a Reading Celebration
I remember my first children’s literature class as an undergraduate majoring in elementary education. I had always been a reader, but hadn’t really thought much about children’s books since I’d...
Rethinking Technology: The Power of Student Experts
I am not a tech native as my students are. I grew up in a time when typewriters were common and computers were the size of a bedroom. I still...
Reader Response in the Digital Age
I recently finished the book We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It is an amazing young adult novel with an ending that begs to be discussed. I knew I couldn’t...
