Decluttering Data

As a science teacher, I am all too aware of how frustrating looking at large amounts of data can be. I teach high school freshmen, and a large part of freshmen year is devoted to teaching kids how to analyze data that is presented in various forms. I also spend time teaching them how to create tables and represent data in meaningful forms. I think it is important for students to realize the impact that visually appealing data can have. Whenever students are presenting information in my class, there is a good chance that they are being graded on its ability to engage the reader. I think there are a couple of different ways that students are better able to do that using technology today.

First, as a scientist and a teacher, I think it is important that there are programs out there that will arrange data for me. Google Forms is an easy way for students to create a survey and then be able to view their data immediately in the form of graphs. For a student doing their own research, they would be able to simply copy and paste this data into a document to share with their peers. Google Sheets and Google Docs also have the ability to produce graphs and charts with data input. I think using these programs just to generate data is a good start. But there are now various programs available that make the presentation of this data more appealing.

Infographics have changed the way that people view information. We live in a society where massive amounts of information are thrown at us each day.

When people view an information graphic (infographic) they are viewing a very concise version of a huge topic. I think infographics reinforce the “Magic Number 7” theory proposed by psychologist George Miller. This idea states that our short term memory is capable of holding only 7 pieces of information (plus or minus two) (McLeod, 2009). This doesn’t really sound like a lot, but “ if we can “chunk” information together we can store a lot more information in our short term memory” (McLeod, 2009). I think we can really use this with infographics. I could definitely see using this rule of 7 to have students create an infographic study guide for their test.

The choice of statistics used in the infographic can create a powerful argument for its subject. Scientists are required to be able to interpret data effectively while evaluating the credibility of its source. With a well researched infographic, succinct information can be shown using only the most credible sources. The whole point of an infographic is to make sure that you present the most powerful information quickly and effectively. I think it’s important to note that the most powerful information that you can use is generally quantitative in nature. I would argue that it’s just a poster and not an infographic if you are not presenting quantitative data.

There are several tools available to students today to create infographics. Piktochart is one of my favorites. It gives you various templates in which you can present your information and it’s pretty user friendly if you pay attention to the tour when you sign up. This article provides a list of tools that you can use to create an infographic. It is interesting because about four years ago, the only tool I knew of to create an infographic was Piktochart. This article talks about what infographics are in general, why we would use them, and how to create them. Furthermore, it introduces the readers to different types of infographics that exist. Finally, I have included an article that discusses some innovative ways to use infographics in the classroom.

Reference

McLeod, S. A. (2009). Short Term Memory. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/short-term-memory.html

Effective Search Strategies  

There are a lot of good strategies both in the reading and on the web for helping students search appropriately and accurately. The internet today has morphed into this complex world of knowledge some of which is accurate and credible and a lot of which is not. Reading Literacy 2.0 was particularly interesting because some of the strategies discussed were strategies I had never heard of or used. For example, advanced search operators are particularly useful to limit the search either to a site, links to a site, having the keyword within the url, or having the keyword in the title of a particular article or page all  (Frey et. al., 2010, p. 40). Boolean search tools is another strategy I had never heard of before and have never used. Boolean operators help students really narrow down their search.

I really liked that the authors in Literacy 2.0 outlined a necessary skills checklist  to help students learn how to search effectively. From their list and the chapter reading, I have determined that there are some basic skills that students should have to make sure that they can pinpoint the specific information they need for their research. Those skills include:

• Knowing that there are multiple search engines available (not just Google)
• Knowing that there are specialized search engines available. These are usually focused on academic sources of information like research articles. This is particularly important for science courses
• Knowing how to do more precise searches using Boolean operators and more advanced operators

In order for students to develop those skills, teachers need to have the resources for incorporating the skills into their lessons. I don’t think this is a particularly difficult task. Doing research particularly at the collegiate level can be very frustrating, so I think students will be more engaged. I find they are good listeners when you introduce any information with the phrase “I am trying to make your life easier”. Teachers can model how to do effective searches and use handouts to help remind the kids how to use specific strategies like Boolean operators (because frankly that is some lengthy information).

Below I have listed some links that describe advanced search operators and Boolean operators:

Using Boolean Operators

http://library.albany.edu/subject/tutorials/education/boolean.html

Student Handout for Boolean Operators

https://www.d.umn.edu/~kheltzer/sw5095sp08/handouts/student_handout_5.pdf

Using Advanced Search Operators

http://searchengineland.com/top-10-search-modifiers-why-they-matter-what-they-are-how-to-use-them-173343

Reference

Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Gonzalez, A. (2010). Literacy 2.0: reading and writing in 21st century classrooms. Moorabbin, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education.

Literacy Instruction Across Content Areas

In a previous blog, I had talked about how literacy is much more today than just the teaching of reading and writing. Rather than just reading and writing skills on paper, literacy today involves being efficient in various modes of communication. This modern take on literacy has been dubbed “Literacy 2.0”. In Literacy 2.0, the authors explain that literacy in the 21st century “...assumes that students learn vocabulary, comprehension, creative and critical thinking, writing and so on, but that they do so in different venues” (Frey et. al., 2010, p. 1). Literacy today involves being able to interpret information in various forms as well as presenting information in various forms. Because of this broadening of the definition of literacy it’s not only possible for all content areas to teach literacy but it’s also appropriate.

It’s obvious that the English content area lends itself well to teaching literacy skills. What has changed are the various media available to create and present information. English classes understandably can and will continue to teach literacy skills via paper and pencil, but I think it’s appropriate for English teachers to explore different ways to write and present information. There are lots of different tools available for presenting information like presentation tools, infographic tools, story-writing tools, etc.

I think History also lends itself well to teaching literacy skills. I remember in high school lots of different writing assignments. I think the use of different media in History allows for history teachers to teach literacy as far as becoming efficient at communicating. Videos, radio shows, or even publications can be made to reflect the period the students are discussing.

Math and Science are kind of tricky content areas for incorporating literacy. Math has me stumped. I do not recall ever using any sort of writing skills in my math classes. I would imagine that project based learning or problem based learning could lend itself to incorporating literacy into math. Students could solve practical real-life problems and present their findings.

I have found as a Science teacher that teaching literacy skills is really important. Students have to be really good at reading comprehension in order to interpret problems on the ACT and the EOC. They also have to be able to comprehend scientific journal articles. Along with comprehension, students need to be able to communicate using academic language. Like History, science classes can incorporate different media to present information. What the focus is for me is having students present information in the correct format for science, while also using academic language and grasping the vocabulary.

For teaching literacy in the 21st century in general, I think project based learning has a huge role. For PBL, students are creating products or artifacts that they can share with an actual audience. When we teach literacy, we are teaching students to be self-sufficient in different modes of communication. For PBL, we are gradually relinquishing the control as teachers so that students feel confident working and creating independently. PBL involves the framework of relinquishing responsibility so that eventually “‘students assume all of the responsibility’” (Frey et. al., 2010, p.11). It is important for students to develop solid communication skills for their continued education and careers.

Reference

Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Gonzalez, A. (2010). Literacy 2.0: reading and writing in 21st century classrooms. Moorabbin, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education.

Tools for Reading and Writing

This week I am evaluating two online tools to determine how they can be incorporated into reading and writing curriculum. I evaluated Actively Learn and BibMe. I am going to talk about each tool one at a time and discuss how I could use each to emphasize reading and writing in a science curriculum.

Actively Learn-

Actively Learn is a website that allows students to read through content and engage with the information in various ways. Some of the features of this site include polls, in-text questions, definitions, translations, auditory aids, and opportunities to interact with the teacher and each other. The teacher’s side of Actively Learn includes a work space in which you can upload your own documents or import articles. You can also create classes within the site, so that you can assign work to individual classes.

I would use this to have my students read articles from the news involving science. I would have them answer questions on the topic as they read. I could also use polls to determine their opinions on different viewpoints. Actively Learn also allows you to make quizzes. I like the idea of questions within the text, followed by a quiz. I really like that Actively Learn allows students to define words that they don’t understand. If I print out articles then they would need further resources for finding definitions. Using ActivelyLearn, they could define key terms within the text easily, and I can also require that they define it as they are reading. It also allows students to translate. I think it easily lends itself to accommodations for students with the translate feature as well as an option to have the program read words out loud.

In Technology to Teach Literacy, the authors describe a variety of different tools and group them according to their function. I think that ActivelyLearn functions as both educational software in the form of a writing aid and a communications tool in that it allows for comments between classmates and teacher (Anderson et. al., 2008). It seems that my favorite technology tools today are the ones that kill two birds with one stone (like Edpuzzle that allows me to assess within video).

One of the most powerful sentences I read this week in the text Literacy 2.0 said that “technological tools…need to be continuously considered against the backdrop of old literacies: reading, writing, listening, and speaking” (Frey et. al.,2010, p. 72). I think Actively Learn supports old literacies. Students are actively reading. They are writing about what they read. They are able to listen to each other’s opinions, and they are able to speak their own opinions all through one tool.

BibMe-

I was really hoping this tool was more useful than easyBib or Citationmachine. It has some really helpful features BUT they are not free. BibMe has the ability to download your bibliography as a word document (instead of copying, pasting, and reformatting) but you have to pay for that. The plagiarism checker feature is also not free, which is pretty strange since there are so many free plagiarism tools out there anyway. I did notice that BibMe does allow you to make a title page. This feature is convenient although making a title page is usually not a stumbling point for most students. Furthermore, most of my students are not creating papers that require a title page. It would be good practice for college or just a good resource for them to be aware of. That was all the negatives. It is free for APA citations which typically cost on EasyBib. It allows students to make annotations which is convenient for them if they are producing an annotated bibliography.

In science, it is important for students to become familiar with APA format. I would use this tool to have them create annotated bibliographies so that I know they are truly reading the sources they cite for projects in my class. The practice with APA format would help prepare them for college as well as having them practice digital citizenship.

Reference

Anderson, R. S., Grant, M. M., & Speck, B. W. (2008). Technology to teach literacy: a resource for K-8 teachers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Gonzalez, A. (2010). Literacy 2.0: reading and writing in 21st century classrooms. Moorabbin, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education.

The Evolution of Literacy

It has been a long while since I have visited my blog! This week I will be reflecting on how literacy has changed to better support today's classroom.

Literacy in general has been defined as the ability to read and write. Historically speaking, classrooms have focused on literacy that dealt only with physical paper. When I recall my own high school experience, I remember lots and lots of textbook reading supplemented with lots and lots of worksheets. New and emerging technology when I was in high school was simply the wonders of Word processing. Literacy when I was a student was encouraged through learning how to use the tools we were working with, and this mainly consisted of textbooks (which meant we learned how to use an index and glossary), and word processors (where we spent hours in a computer lab hoping we could figure out how to properly format a paper).

Literacy today is fundamentally the same. "Educators realize that electronic communication has become a requirement for students' success in the 21st century" (Anderson et. al., 2008, p.6). When we teach literacy to our students today, we are teaching them how to navigate information in its most prevalent form: electronic communication. Electronic communication has created the challenge of "expand[ing] our definition of literacy" (Anderson et. al., 2008, p.7). This expansion means that we have to take into account all of the different communication capabilities that exist in the electronic world.

Students today communicate through various media including texts, discussions, chats, blogs, Wikis, videos, and audio clips (just to name a few). It is imperative as teachers that we are teaching them how to use those tools appropriately to convey their thoughts and show what they have learned. It is an interesting role that teachers now find themselves in. I do not recall my science teacher ever teaching me literacy, but now I find that it is necessary as a science teacher for me to do so. The future for my students requires them to be able to effectively use technology to succeed, and I think it would be a disservice not to prepare them for effective communication in the digital world. So I think literacy has mainly evolved in the classroom from paper/pencil literacy to technology literacy. This is so much more than just reading and writing. One author defines technology literacy as "the ability to understand and evaluate technology" (Keller, 2010). So on top of just making sure that my students understand the information, I also need to make sure they can navigate through the various means of communication.

In Technology to Teach Literacy, the authors spend a little time talking about a paradigm shift in teaching. Teaching today pushes students to become problem-solvers instead of regurgitating information (Anderson et. al., 2008. To me, this shift from behaviorism to constructivism sounds like a shift toward more project based learning approaches. I have had a little experience this year with PBL, and electronic communications and technological literacy played a large role. My students throughout their project used several different media to convey their information including: google docs, twitter, google surveys, radio, and video. I expect to see more PBL incorporated into the classroom, so I think this class comes at a very opportune time for me.

References

Anderson, R. S., Grant, M. M., & Speck, B. W. (2008). Technology to teach literacy: a resource for K-8

teachers (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Keller, H. (2010, August 22). Technological Literacy: The Key to Education Reform. Retrieved May 03,

            2017, from https://etcjournal.com/2010/08/22/technological-literacy-the-key-to-education-reform-2/