Week 6-Visual Literacy

Visual literacy is the ability to understand a message conveyed
through an image or images. Just as you can be literate with books or reading, you can be visually literate. In this
information age, it is becoming increasingly important to promote the learning of visual literacy. Many educators and education programs are focusing on these skills as indispensable in the 21st century to help communicate and understand our complex world. As most of our communication is shifting to the internet, visual literacy is becoming more and more important to stay caught up with the technology of our time.

In my major, I will be required to teach visual literacy skills to my students. I will need to not only understand visual literacy but also be able to communicate how to apply those skills to life. Students can increase their visual literacy skills by creating visual projects to express their ideas. I also think it is important to expose students to photography that challenges them and motivates them to draw their own conclusions about what they are looking at. Visuals can also engage students in subjects such as history, that are oftentimes looked down on, as they are hard to make modern and find an interesting take on. They are difficult to make seem relevant to students, but if students are engaged visually, then they can learn much more and receive great benefits from the knowledge.

For my source, I chose photos that show a great amount of emotion and passion. They depict famous moments in history that help people connect to the emotion behind the history. These pictures make history real, painful and beautiful all at the same time. Students can feel drawn to the images and may want to know more. It also makes it easier to remember and more interesting for them. With the internet making these photos available, it is an incredible resource for students and teachers.

Week 3-Web 2.0

The term Web 2.0 refers to web-based applications that facilitate peer-to-peer interactions. Some examples of this include Facebook, Myspace, Blogs and Wikis. Web 2.0 sites are able to be changed and/or modified by the user. The internet has gone from being read-only to a way for people to not only read, but interact, comment, change, upload and integrate into their everyday lives. People have social networks to meet friends, wikis to collaborate on and blogs to spill their darkest secrets. The boundaries of technology are slowly being broken down as we are able to put more and more of ourselves online. The world is changing and it is becoming especially important for educators. Students are surpassing teachers in their understanding of technology, and it is our obligation to catch up and harness the power of Web 2.0 for the good of our students.

As a student in the college of Education, Web 2.0 is a great tool for me to expand my resources and integrate other forms of educational technology into my lesson plans. Before taking this course, I was not aware of how many tools are available on the internet that can assist in teaching or communicating with students. These tools can revolutionize the way to engage students, especially since many students are very tuned in to the internet. This way, students are presented with a new way to connect with the teachers and materials and can meet the needs of students with completely new methods.

This funny video describes Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0 and the to be defined Web 4.0. It gives a humorous take on all the changes that have been occurring with the internet and helps to extend your understanding. I think that a video posted on Youtube, a Web 2.0 device, and then embedded in my personal blog account, is quite appropriate for this subject matter.

Week 2-Web Technology Concepts

This week in class, we watched a few presentations and videos that showed how web technology is evolving and affecting students. The presentation that really stuck out to me was Frontline's "Growing Up Online". It had 7 different chapters that showed different aspects of life on the internet, and I found it extremely engaging. They showed that most students live a huge part of their lives on the internet, and much of that is hidden from the view of parents or teachers. They highlighted a few different personal stories that illustrated this. They showed a girl who was able to find a second life for herself online. She lived her alternative life through photos that she posted, and gained a following while her parents knew nothing of what was going on. Another girl had an eating disorder and she used the internet to find support to help her keep up with it. She would go online often and read things that would motivate her and it was not necessarily healthy. One story that really stuck out to me was about cyberbullying. A young boy was bullied so much by his peers online, that he eventually committed suicide. It made me feel so angry and upset that things like that could go on without parents even noticing. Many children are living a double life online and it can be positive or negative.

Since I am studying education, it is important that I am aware of what is going on with students and their online behavior. The amount of time that students spend online means that their internet usage is directly shaping who they are and what information they are gaining on a daily basis. If I want to be able to impact the lives of my students, then I need to understand and embrace the importance of the internet to students. Also, there is a lot of danger on the internet and if I do not understand that, then I may not be doing the best for my students.

A website that illustrates this concept is a newly popular website called ChatRoulette. This website links random strangers by webcam and has a "Next" button for the user to shuffle through video feeds. This concept is meant to link people around the world and provide a wordly view and integrate diversity, however, it can be very inappropriate depending on who you stumble on. This website is becoming very popular with college students and now even younger children are beginning to go on. This great tool, which can stimulate such interesting, diverse conversation, can also be used in a very negative way. This is being done with many different tools on the internet, just as the young boy who committed suicide was bullied on a basic online chat. If you do not have an unbiased, fair view of the internet, then you may miss some of the dangers and let students misuse the tools that are available online.

Week 1-21st Century Skills

As our society grows and changes, our children need to learn new skills to adapt to the unique environment in which we live. 21st century skills are the skills that let students master critical thinking, collaboration, communication and problem solving. Students must become literate in more than just the core subjects of school. It is important to have a comprehensive understanding of technology, but also to be prepared to be an adult in our ever-changing world. Students need to be able to understand technology, but also basic ways of coping with conflict and problem solving. By mastering life and career skills, learning and innovation skills and information, media and technology skills, students will be fully prepared to tackle most conflicts that arise within our time.

I am currently studying Early Childhood Education, and when I graduate college, I hope to teach young students, possibly of kindergarten age. 21st century skills are so essential, that it is necessary to begin integrating that type of learning into the education of children at the youngest possible age. It is always harder to learn something when you are older, and I am a strong believer in getting to children when they are young. Through early intervention, especially in high-risk classrooms, we can improve the lives and futures of our students. It is important to begin molding the minds of children as soon as they can understand you. We can prepare children for jobs in all sorts of fields that are going to be essential to our world in a few years. I am striving to learn more about 21st century skills because I want to be able to pass those skills on to my students when I teach.

The YouTube video I attached shows how students are a part of a world that is completely different from what they are being taught in schools. It was made to motivate teachers to integrate 21st Century Skills into their teaching. It has a huge focus on technology and does not really focus on the other skills that are a part of it. It applies to the subject directly because it shows the huge disconnect that is occurring in classrooms.