Techie in Primary

Image by iStock/axel2001 What is Media Literacy? Media literacy is a term that describes a set of skills needed in order for individuals to access, understand, and decode media messages. This involves critical thinking skills, as well as having an understanding of how messages shape who we are and how information bias works. Media literacy does not just involve the consumption of media but the creation of it as well, which comes in a variety of forms and often combines text, images, video, or sound.  Why is Media Literacy Important? These skills are more important now than ever before in the 21st Century. It is estimated that the average person consumes over 7.5 hours of media in a day. What we know about the creators of media is that very few companies are in charge of a large percentage of the media we consume daily. According to Tech Startups 37 years ago 50 companies controlled American media but today 6 "media giants" control 90% of our media - what we watch, listen to,...

Looking Back This week I am finishing up my first class for my technology specialist degree at Dominican University. Before starting this class I was a little nervous. Do I know enough about technology? Will I be able to keep up? How much of it will go over my head? Am I flexible enough in my thinking and teaching to try new things? I thought back to last school year when my kindergarten team was piloting the 1:1 device initiative in our school district. I was terrified! My students didn't touch the iPads until October and every time they did I was filled with anxiety, expecting something to go wrong. I can say with confidence that I have come a very long way. Those devices really changed my teaching and my students learning. Creating, explaining their thinking, and sharing was really transformative for my students. That experience encouraged me to start my technology specialist classes at Dominican. This first tech class allowed me to try so many new things: my first blog, T...

Social Media This week in Edu 776, I learned about using social media in the classroom and reflected on my own use of social media. I read David Geurin's blog post 7 Reasons to Use Social Media in Your School . Here is his awesome infographic that summarizes his points. Infographic from DavidGeurin.com Social media is definitely not going away and to ignore it as an educator is to do a disservice to our students. Through my reading of various articles this week, one point was really hammered home: social media is generally safe for our students! Our students are more likely to be abused by someone they know in their real lives than they are to be attacked online. I think that teachers can feel comfortable using social media in our classrooms. Teachers can guide our students to make good choices, show them how to be responsible, but help them to see it as a great tool for learning and sharing. I think the opportunity to make connections outside of your building is one of ...

My Experience with Twitter This week in Edu 776 I participated in some educator Twitter chats. I have been using Twitter in a professional way for about a year. The school district I work for really encourages us to use Twitter to share our classroom activities with our community. At first I was really leery of joining Twitter. I wasn't sure how much I was going to get out of it. However, I have really enjoyed being part of Twitter. I love seeing what other educators are sharing. Follow me on Twitter @MsRzewnicki . Participating in Twitter Chat There are a couple things to remember when participating in a Twitter chat to help keep everything organized and easy for participants. When you respond to a question, put A1 if you are answer Q1 (question 1) so on and so forth.  Add the hashtag of the Twitter chat you are participating in at the end of each answer you tweet.  When participating in a chat, search for the hashtag and then make sure you are following the Lates...