Miniscule

An example of a form of new literacy - text without words!

Powerpoint Text Innovation - I Went Walking by Sue Machin

Our last assignment for week 2 is to create a text innovation using powerpoint, convert it to jpeg images and stick here on our blog.

I decided to use I Went Walking by Sue Machin to create a text innovation for an Early Stage 1 or Stage 1 classroom. I have included written instructions to extend reading abilities where possible however early readers would need verbal instructions. Advanced computer students could begin to find their own pictures and more advanced students in reading or writing could begin to adapt and develop the written story. Pictures can be replaced with more familiar animals/objects depending on the school environment or location. Particular focus could be given to themed topics, such as underwater, and the task could be adapted to develop other language forms, such as, "I Went Walking, _____ (i.e. under) the bridge... and I saw a goblin looking at me".

Please see examples of this form of text innovation below:

This activity could also evolve to include photos of students, or students could be asked to write a story connecting a number of images together.

Copyright at university and schools.

To make sure I don't breach copyright laws in future posts I read through the Australian Copyright Council Information sheet G53v07 (fascinating read by the way) and answered the following questions:

Can I copy material from the internet for research?

Yes, as long as you are using material for 'fair' research or study purposes you will not infringe copyright laws.

What constitutes research and fair use?

Fair use is usually stipulated as either 10% or one chapter of written materials. For other materials, such as photographs, the rules are less black and white and you need to consider all aspects such as how you will use the material, whether you are gaining from the use of the material, for example, financially and whether it is a significant or important piece of material to the author.

'Research' in this circumstance means any cultivation of a particular type of knowledge and you do not have to be enrolled in a formal course to qualify as 'studying'.

If you would like to read more (or if you need help falling asleep!) check it out at:

http://www.copyright.org.au/pdf/acc/infosheets_pdf/g053.pdf/download

Happily Blogging @ Belmore South - Review

I recently read an article called Happily Blogging @ Belmore South which presents a quick overview of Belmore South's Assistant Principal, Kim Pericles', methods of utilising blogs in her 4, 5, 6 classroom.

Her classroom represents a learning environment which is embedded in new literacies and celebrates skills in Web 2.0 technologies. The three ideas that Pericles has implemented that I think are the most exciting are:
1. The use of the blog to share student work with other students (both locally and internationally). An example of this is showing a class overseas a science experiment via a short video clip and including written instructions.
2. Using the blog to gain peer feedback - such as the student who was writing a story which would be uploaded for peer review from primary students at other schools as well as for constructive feedback from highschool students.
3. The use of the blog as a way for students to, not only celebrate achievements, but also ensure a high standard. The children in this classroom were developing their own sets of criteria based on their assessments of other blogs. This was enabling students to develop, utilise and check their work based on obejctive criteria.

Overall it seemed like the use of the blog in the classroom provided motivation as well as an extended means of communication and expression and provided a sueful model for implementing blogging practices in primary classrooms.


Reference:
Pericles, K. (2008). Happily blogging @ Belmore South. SCAN, 27(2), 4-6
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/