Speak

 

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. NY: Penguin.

 

This book tackles the difficult and disturbing topic of rape and its devastating effects.  Laurie Halse Anderson focuses on her character, Melinda, as she is raped at a party and is ultimately blamed for breaking up the party.  Melinda has to deal with the effects of what happened to her and losing her friends, especially, Rachel.  Melinda feels as though her voice is no longer important and begins to slowly dwindle away.  David, her lab partner, encourages her to speak up about what happened to her.  Melinda once again encounters her attacker, Andy, and it is finally discovered about what he did to her.  Melinda begins to find her voice, in every way.

Havighurst’s Developmental Tasks would be addressed as the reader sees the relationships between peers and the main character’s personal relationships.  The book is realistic fiction and deals with real world problems and its effects.  The book centers around finding the courage to move forward after a devastating act.  Readers who are more mature would benefit from reading this book and might enjoy similar books such as, The kite runner, Perks of being a wallflower, Staying at for Sarah Byrnes, or Big mouth and ugly girl.

Final Reflection

            Digital Technology for School Librarians: that alone made me terrified.  The use of technology was never my strongest area and to think that I had to complete an entire course scared me to the point that I almost gave up.  I mentioned before in my previous blogs that I would have to take every assignment one step at a time.  I had to remind myself that as long as I could follow directions, I would be okay.  Throughout the course, there were various assignments using different methods that I’d never even heard of.  I took the leap and decided to work one assignment at a time and one step at a time.  I had to convince myself that I could do it. 

            What I found tedious was creating social media accounts.  I didn’t see the need for them until I actually decided to pay attention to those people I was following.  I found useful articles, great pictures, and exciting news that was coming our way as librarians.  I already had a Facebook account, so following others was easy enough.  Twitter and Instagram was more foreign to me, but easy enough to find my way. 

            What I actually enjoyed working on were Infographics.  This opened a new world to me for working on presentations for work and school.  I was fairly familiar with them, but didn’t really create them frequently.  I had more time to explore the different formats and use what I liked. 

            I also enjoyed creating accounts for the online book communities which I had no idea existed.  My eyes were opened to a whole new world of possibilities and although I felt a bit exposed, I was glad I had that experience.  My absolute favorite assignment to complete was using Animoto.  I was able to play around with that for my class and for my students.  My students loved it!  They became so interested that they asked if they could start using it.  Of course I said yes.  We're in the process of creating some fun reading activities for the holidays.  

            Another fun technology based site we enjoyed as a class was creating comics and cartoons.  I was able to use this for lessons regarding behavior and discipline and had great success with it.  The students became excited and worked in groups to create a group project which they had to present for the class.  This was very successful and I will continue to use this in the future for my upcoming classes and sessions.

            What I found most difficult at times was embedding videos into the blog.  So, basically blogging!  I'm not a blogger, by any means, so writing out what I thought and putting in information was more of a challenge than I expected.  I did a bit of research before starting my own blog and found a bunch of nonsense that people write about.  I found a blog of people pretending to be cats and speaking as a cat, go figure.  Plus, I found blogs that were very helpful and well written.  It took some getting used to, but I was able to muster up enough of an opinion to blog about it.  

            I've had several people ask me what this class was about and if it was difficult.  My response was yes and no.  Yes because I spooked myself into believing that it would be hard and no because I learned to go with the flow.  We often fear what we don't understand and at the end of the day, I can say that I understood a lot more of this new world we live in.  Technology, although intimidating, is actually meant to make things easier.  It takes some getting used to, but it's quite exciting to use.

Teaching Writing with Technology-PEW

                                                                               

Purcell, K., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., "The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools." Pew Research Center, July, 2013. 

      http://pewinternet.org//Reports/2013/Teachers-technology-and-writing

As a veteran teacher of 14 years, I am always looking to find new and innovative ideas to teach critical content.  Teaching 1^st grade is obviously not as rigorous as teaching writing in 4^th grade, but it is a true foundation for what is to come.  In reading the article, The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools, I asked myself a multitude of questions and kept an open mind.  I found myself interested in finding out what other teachers thought about integrating technology into the writing process. 

            Advanced Placement middle and high school teachers were surveyed to find out if using digital technology was looked upon as favorable or troublesome.  A total of 2,462 teachers were surveyed as part of the National Writing Project and the majority favored the use of digital technology for instructional purposes.  Teachers were able to see a growth in student performance when it came to Writing.  They agreed that students were doing more and using various formats including social media outlets. 

            There were a variety of pros and cons when using digital technology for writing purposes.  One major con was that teachers now had to find new and interesting ways for better educating students against plagiarism and fair use.  On the other hand, a major pro is being able to share written formats in a variety of ways with a greater audience and more participants and engagement. 

            96% of teachers surveyed agreed that a broader audience is beneficial and 78% agreed that digital technology encourages creativity and personal expression.  Some teachers stated that the quality of written work is suffering due to the various use of digital technology that tends to auto correct misspellings, etc.  They reported seeing fair or poor ratings when using a more traditional written format. 

            The major areas of concern included fair use, copyright, plagiarism, and citation.  Teachers mentioned that despite the challenges, digital tools make teaching writing easier.  Students were avid users in whiteboards, wikis, websites, or blogs.  They use these formats to share their work with other students and teachers.  Of those surveyed, 94% said they still encourage students to write by hand. 

            In reading the article, I wanted my own views to not cloud the findings.  As an elementary teacher, I feel that the foundation needs to be strong in order to fully scaffold the learning throughout the years that come ahead.  I partially agree that the technology is vital in communication and definitely aids in the sharing of information, however, I also feel that if students cannot write an essay by hand then we have not done our students any justice.  First, build the foundation and teach the proper use of grammar and spelling.  Only then can we feel comfortable enough to allow students to venture onto using digital technology to share information. 

            As educators, we look for different ways of approaching content in a way that is enjoyable and engaging to students.  We’re not necessarily looking for easier ways or shortcuts, but a smarter way of teaching content.  As students leave our classrooms, we are hopeful that they have learned the necessary tools to succeed in their upcoming journey.  That journey now includes ways to communicate via digital technology and social media.  It’s fascinating to know that they will venture into blogs and websites to voice their opinions regarding something they’ve read or written.  Let’s get them ready for that.

114 pages

Total PEW pages-189

Instagram and Vine

Instagram is a photo sharing app that can connect to other social media outlets.  You can snap a picture and instantly share the photo using Instagram.  At first I thought this was an app especially made for celebrities since this is all the rage with the celebrity community.  Why would we use something like this in a school setting?  I thought about that and then had my famous a-ha moment.  I asked administration if we could incorporate Instagram to promote our school's celebration of Mickey Mouse's birthday on November 18th.  This idea was instantly approved and we began posting pictures of Mickey Mouse asking the question:  How old am I today?  This, of course, meant that students would have to visit our library to find out.  Instant success using Instagram...get it?  So clever.

How old am I today? Visit the library to find out!

A photo posted by Melisa Lopez (@mlopez473) on Nov 19, 2015 at 3:29pm PST

Vine is a video sharing app that you can share using social media outlets such as Twitter.  There is a continuous loop effect that is constantly playing.  There is a serious disadvantage to using Vine and that is that it's a very short loop.  It totals 6 seconds and it's hard to say that the full effect can be absorbed in 6 seconds.  It serves as a teaser and everyone knows that curiosity brings in the kids to find out more.  As we continued our celebration for Mickey Mouse's birthday, students were encouraged to enter their guess for Mickey's age.  As students wrote down their guesses, they gave their submission to the librarian and if the age was correct, they were instructed to press play on the library counter computer.  Students were then give a prize for their correct answer.  All the prizes were Mickey Mouse related and students enjoyed the research.




https://vine.co/v/iupm6jnlXdV

You never know with these blog posts, so I included the link as well.


Students were encouraged to wear their favorite Mickey Mouse attire and were given Mickey gifts including folders, pencils, and pencil sharpeners.  Overall, it was a fun day using new picture memories and making kids smile along the way.  Happy Birthday, Mickey!!

Enjoying her new folder for knowing that Mickey Mouse turned 87 on November 18th.

A photo posted by Melisa Lopez (@mlopez473) on Nov 19, 2015 at 4:17pm PST

I think what I enjoyed using most was Instagram.  It was very new to me and as I mentioned before, I'm not a celebrity.  However, we were able to get the word out quickly and we were able to flash the photo throughout the campus using the classroom computers.  We service very low income families, so asking them to create an Instagram account seems a bit out of the norm.  What I thought would be fun to do with Instagram and Vine would be a monthly scavenger hunt and have contests using different graphic ideas through Instagram and Vine.  We would need to use our school computers in order for our students to completely get the idea.  

Screencasts

Screencasts are a fun and easy way to allow people to actually "see" what you're talking about.  I am a notorious visual learner and need to see something in order for it to completely process into my brain.  When asking for directions, don't tell me to travel North or South, please just tell me where to turn once I reach the corner McDonald's.  Because of this fact, I was excited to learn a little more about Screencasts and how to use them.  I started off by using Screencast-o-matic.  I'm not thrilled about the name, but it was by far, my favorite.  I was able to quickly record myself and get my message across and it gave me a good 15 minutes to explain what we were going to do using Animoto.  I truly believe my students can navigate Animoto and create book reviews or book reports.  It would take some time, but with Screencast-o-matic, we can do anything.

Now, for some reason which befuddles me, I cannot use the embed option when inserting into Blogger sometimes.  I have tried over and over again and finally just uploaded my videos onto YouTube and embed from there.  I've become aware that I'm not the only one with this problem, but it is what it is.  I included the link when I created the second Screencast using Jing.  While using Jing seemed liked a good idea, I was a bit concerned that I needed to create another account using Screencast.com in order to share the video.  First, I had to upload the video and then try to share it via link or embed.  The dreaded embed option.  Jing is constantly reminding me that it's there...staring at me with its big yellow eye in the middle of the screen, very Sauron-esque like.  That's a major difference between Screencast-o-matic and Jing.  Screencast-o-matic is that faithful friend that hangs out when you want it to, it's not lurking around watching what you're doing every second of the day.  It's kind of a creepy stalker.  Either way, Jing gave me 5 minutes to record my website explanation and I felt a bit rushed and definitely needing to do more.  I realize that in explaining the website, Biblionasium, I was going to require more screencasts or perhaps use Screencast-o-matic since it will give me more time to explain it thoroughly.  After 3 hours trying to upload my Screencast using Jing, I finally had to insert the link.  There were countless ways I tried to embed the video on the blog, but no can do.  This was terribly frustrating.

Jing through Screencast.com

http://www.screencast.com/t/A67DH3QRYKj

Sadly, I did not get to use Screenr.  It seems I got to it a little too late and received this message upon opening the site.

I think I might have liked Screenr. 

Regardless, I prefer Screencast-o-matic.  The name could be better, but it was easy and convenient and maybe a bit simple, but it definitely does the job. 

Cartoons and Comics

Creating a cartoon or comic strip for teaching purposes sounds like a pretty good idea.  However, no one tells you how much work actually goes into creating such cartoons or comic strips.  Luckily, we have a couple of options these days.  I was able to create three comic strips using cartoons to tackle a very important and meaningful theme, bullying.  I am currently dealing with this type of behavior as it entails my daughter being picked on and I've tried to use these strips to help her get through this time.  In doing so, I thought about the countless others that have to deal with this type of bullying behavior in schools.  Maybe if we can create these types of cartoons and comic strips, students will feel more at ease in talking about the severity of the subject.  I would personally like to use this type of format and help students create comic strips to bring to light subjects that may be hard for them to talk about.  On the other hand, these strips can be used for humor and can be used as a writing center where students can create for the sake of creating.

 

The first comic strip I created was using ToonDoo.  ToonDoo gave me an option to create my own "toon" and have it express emotions and fill in either a dialogue or thought bubble.  This was very helpful, but I had trouble loading images as I would see gears turning as it generated and took a while to do so.  There were backgrounds that could be adapted to the situation, but again, it was hard to get all of them to load.  Overall, I would say it was easy to use, it is easy enough for students to use as well.  ToonDoo also allowed me to save the strip as a download, i.e. JPEG and was exceptionally easy to upload to this post.  There was plenty to choose from, just make sure you have time to wait or have an amazingly fast Internet provider.  I would definitely allow students to use this site as it easy to save and share with the rest of the class or even share with our school's Facebook page.

 

The second comic strip was created with Pixton.  Pixton made it easy to choose the characters, but they seem to lack "personality."  I wanted to express the same theme and create a dialogue between two characters and I was a bit limited with space and could hardly manage to get the scene to change.  It appeared that the only thing I was able to control was moving the standing character closer or further away from the character that was sitting.  This was easy to use and I would allow students to use Pixton, but it's for very basic usage.  I would see the benefit being for a writing center and having students create what they've read and bring it "to life" in comic strip form.  I did not like that it was limited and had very little variety.  The other concern I had was the inability to save the strip in JPEG format, which seems to be the quickest way to upload into my posts.  I was being asked to pay in order to save the download.   But, I had an a-ha moment and realized that my new favorite toy, SKITCH, could help me out once again.  I was able to use SKITCH to "copy" the screen and save it in JPEG format.  Pretty nifty, if I do say so myself.  I would have to show students how to use SKITCH and/or use the traditional Windows Print Screen option.

 

My final comic strip was created using MakeBeliefsComix.  This was probably my favorite.  I was able to definitely apply the background of a school setting, which was what I was going for to tackle the theme.  I also liked that there was a variety of "students" that could be inserted into the strip easily.  I had a bit of an issue with the dialogue boxes since they took up a great deal of space.  Space is definitely an issue when writing a comic strip.  I wanted to convey the look of a "bully" and I wanted the dialogue to be quick and easy, but substantial for the amount of boxes I chose.  Like the other two, I would allow students to use this site to create and this was also able to saved via download into a JPEG format.  I would incorporate MakeBeliefsComix into a lesson because I found that it was easier to create, save, and share.  I also think students will like the graphics and not have to put too much into the characters.  If they prefer to create from scratch, then ToonDoo is the site for them.  I like the idea of using writing centers with these and tackling touch subject matter.

 

 

https://tellagami.com/gami/WSHRQ2/

 

Finally, I created a gami!  I said this at school today and people thought I was strange, but I was actually pretty excited about this process.  I was intimidated by the idea, but realized it took less than 5 minutes to create.  I had already been reading this book to my students, so it was easy to access.  I liked that I was able to upload a photo of the book and review it.  It was quick, easy, and I used the voice recording instead of the text writing.  It was a quick recording option and gave me a few seconds to complete, but that was all I needed.  I loved it!   I will definitely keep using this and put it into a lesson where students have to create their own gamis. 

Online Book Communities

How do you rate sites which you’ve never visited before?  You do it with lots and lots of time and patience.  I began working on one site at a time and tried my best to navigate every aspect of the site.  I began thinking about two things while navigating the sites. One being how I could use it as a teacher and the other was how could my second grade daughter use these sites?  Basically, I approached this assignment as an adult and what I think a child would like.  Both drove me a bit crazy because of the amount of information that was so readily accessible, but it was interesting to break the sites down.  

Goodreads

*Place to discuss favorite books with other readers online. 

*Adult users with no kids section so people connect with all age groups.

*Communication is primarily about reviews. 

*When you first log in, the site walks you through how to create a library and rate books.

Goodreads
Likes	FAQ is extensive and well organized
Dislikes	People connect with all age groups
Advantages	Open discussions on favorite books
Disadvantages	No kids section
Ease of Use	Easy to navigate with Tips section
Pleasing to the eye	Very simple design, somewhat bland
Thoughts	Allows for constant updates, but somewhat hard to access on tablets

LibraryThing

*Puts you in touch with people of similar taste and browse their collections.

*See reviews and author information.

*Simple way of using Tags.

*Simple way to create username and password.

*Simple creation of collection.

*The site generates book recommendations.

*Can be made private or public.

*Post for free up to 200 books, but requires payment for yearly or lifetime membership.

LibraryThing
Likes	“What’s good” section allows for site help and navigation
Dislikes	Fee for a year or lifetime
Advantages	Tracks recent activity and “On this day” section
Disadvantages	Takes time to learn how to navigate
Ease of Use	Easy to sign up and create
Pleasing to the eye	Enjoy seeing my collection upon signing in
Thoughts	Easy to read member recommendations

Shelfari

*3 tabs including Profile, Books, and Community

*Tabs for Readers and Reviews, Discussions, and Editions

*Books can be purchased through Amazon and shared on social media

*More scholarly design

Shelfari
Likes	Various tabs including a Community tab
Dislikes	Takes a while to get your profile 100% complete
Advantages	Join groups to discuss books
Disadvantages	Connecting through Facebook or Twitter for friends
Ease of Use	Reading timeline is great to have
Pleasing to the eye	Brown overload of color
Thoughts	Didn’t’ like some stranger adding content to my wall, need to set up privacy

Booklikes

*Had to update Java just to answer that I’m not a robot.

*Verification code is crazy long.

*Paid theme backgrounds are super cute.

*Geared towards book blogging and reviews.

*Dashboard page has an abundance of Tumblr style posts.

*100% free-no limit to the number of books on the bookshelf.

*Connects with social media.

Booklikes
Likes	100% free with lots of Tumblr type posts
Dislikes	Verification code was extremely long
Advantages	Geared towards book reviews
Disadvantages	Blogging format
Ease of Use	Had to update Java, somewhat tedious
Pleasing to the eye	Lots of brown looks, have to pay for nicer theme backgrounds
Thoughts	Accessible to all but more for older teens and adults

Biblionasium

*Social networking site that lets younger readers log and share their books.

*COPPA compliant

*Kids talk to other kids and teachers.

*Simple to use.

*Provides reading challenges.

*Coach Chip Manzee supports children.

*Design is colorful and kid friendly.

*Kids can share their opinions.

*Signed in as a parent and was constantly asked to create a username for my daughter.

*There were limited books-not all books from a series.

Biblionasium
Likes	Very kid friendly
Dislikes	Connects with all age groups
Advantages	COPPA compliant (Child Online Privacy Protection Act)
Disadvantages	Felt I had to create user access for my daughter with Parent sign in
Ease of Use	Lacks more books
Pleasing to the eye	Extremely kid friendly
Thoughts	Easy and a good starter for books reviews and discussions

I would definitely have to say that Biblionasium is the way to go for younger children and students.  I would recommend the site to parents to create with their children and I would definitely take advantage of the reading challenges that are presented on the site for kids.  The site is extremely kid friendly and is easy to navigate.  It is a good starter site for reading books reviews, creating bookshelves, and having discussions with either younger children or teachers.  This site was by far my favorite to use with my students and my own child.  


**On another note, I used SKITCH for the first time and thought it was easy to use.  I used both the Microsoft Print Screen option and SKITCH.  Both ways were easy to use, so I can use either one with ease and comfort.  Obviously, SKITCH is more advanced and it will take me more time to feel comfortable using it with more mastery.