Prompt: Please do your final blog entry as a reflection on how the concept of transliteracy has influenced and informed your thinking around your Capstone Project message and your craft as an education innovator.
Response: I think transliteracy became an integral part of my project. Whats interesting to me is the fact that I used tactics and processes within my project to promote transliteracy with my students, yet I have been learning and engaging in transliteracy myself in trying to create the compenents of my Study. Over this last year and half I have been surprised by how much I have learned about transliteracy. I feel as though promoting transliteracy is important. I always have. That aspect hasn't changed. What I think has changed, is that I have learned skills and discovered tools that would help be actually implement practices to succeed at fostering transliteracy in the classroom. I think that this has been my big "aha!" moment. I didn't expect my perspective to change much, becuase I already found this topic to be vital. What makes sence to me now is why we do not see more transliteracy in classrooms. I used to be baffled. Every educator I talked to seemed to be on the same page as me with regard to understanding its importance. Now I see that it isn't becoming a "norm" in classrooms because teachers do not know how to. Without this program, neither would I. This is not to say that I am an expert. But I definitely have more tools in my belt than I did before.
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Prompt: How are you doing with making progress? Where do you need to manage your time and energy resources? How will you complete everything by the end of class? What organizational strategies are you using to get things done on time? How can you translate those strategies to your students in the classroom? Where do they struggle with time or resource management? What lessons might you need to develop to help them cope with classroom assignments?
Response: I am behind... like SO behind. That seems to be a theme here. That being said, I hope that I not saying that this time next class- or even next week. To say life has been crazy would be an understatement. I am optimistic about my ability to complete what needs to get done because this perfectly placed Spring Break(which started today). I am hoping that this week gives me the time I need to complete a big chunk of what I have been falling behind on. "Time" is the illusive commodity here. It feels like this lack of time is not only causing me to fall behind, but also creating disorganization. Again, I am looking forward to this week so I can catch up and get my "ducks in a row". This blog also requested to share certain strategies that I will use to complete everything by the end of the semester. My motto is "just keep going". I have a lot left to do. My goal is to just keep chipping away. If I look at what I have left as whole, it makes me freeze up. Small steps. Prompt: How was it to be in front of the camera? Where was it challenging? Where, in your classroom, do students encounter these same challenges? What strategies did you use to overcome your obstacles? How can those strategies be applied in the classroom?
Response: I don't mind being in front of a camera. I think is something that distance learning really helped with. I have recorded lessons many times at this point, and have voiced over lessons as well. I think that the difference in this case is that it feels as though there is added pressure. Don't get me wrong, I take pride in the videos that I have produced for students, but this is different. Not only do I want it to look professional in structure, but I want to make sure that the content is actually getting my message across clearly. I want to make sure it is truly exemplifying the work and research I have done. Currently, I have not hopped in front of the camera yet. The fears and concerns expressed in my last paragraph come from the feelings that have a rose as I have attempted to brainstorm what I am going to say and how I am going to structure my videos. Overall, I think that fear of getting a certain message across is something that students can relate to when it comes to fears of recording ones self. More so, I think that the lack of public speaking, presentations, and overall large scale interactions with peers over the pandemic has really affected my students with regard to the level of hesitation I see when going into those types of assignments. Prompt: Give us an honest appraisal of your journey around trying to produce your Capstone Project. What problems have you encountered? How will you solve them? What aha’s have you encountered as you watch mini-documentaries and past capstone videos? How are they different? Think about who you are creating the mini-documentary for? What essential points will be most important to them and how will you address them in your storytelling?
Response: Life is busy- like super busy. I feel as though I would be on a time crunch under normal circumstances, but with all that is going on, this process can seem overwhelming. I have typically felt as though I am behind and can't quite catch up. That being said, what has gotten me through is the simples statement, "It will get done". Really, that what has me holding on. I keep chipping away(though slower than I would like), and I have to trust that it will all get done. I think my biggest "aha" has been that less is more. I tend to like to through everything but the kitchen sink into ideas, projects, endeavors, etc. But as I browse past projects and videos, I am finding that the ones that are simpler and more focused are the ones that grab my attention and pique my interest. I am hoping that I am able to really take that revelation and run with it. Creating "simplicity" is easier said than done. With regard to my mini documentary, I am aiming it towards High School teachers. I really want exemplify how engaging the process of PBL can be, but I do want to high light some "road bumps" as well. I think that student centered methodologies can be so effective, but like anything, they take practice. The process of trail and error. So I think that I want emphasize my own experience and draw the conclusion that I am still an advocate for this style of learning. Prompt: Write a blog review of the logo making software you chose and what hurdles you encountered and your overall experience.
Response: I Chose a couple of different logo making software options to try. There has been some trial and error, but I suspect that I will continue to have that experience moving forward. I initially chose "Logomaker" but was greatly unsuccessful. I don't mind having to explore websites, but this one did not seem to be extremely user friendly. The esthetic of the site was nice, but finding the right tools was difficult. I ended up getting frustrated and defaulting to Canva. I have used Canva extensively in the past, and though I am a huge fan, I do want to broaden my horizons because I know other quality sites exist out there. That being said, I caved under my frustration and started playing around with logo designs in Canva. So far, I have three drafts of logos and I think I like the one created in Canva the most. It seems to me that what bothers me about Canva is that is rather generic with regard to its options. So even though I really do like the logo I created, I do not think I will be using it as the final logo for my project. With the resurgence of motivation I got from Canva, I decided to dive back into the search for a new logo making site. This brought my to Adobe Express. I like the options that this software provides. Options that do not exist in Canva. I think that as I move forward with this logo process, Adobe Express might be my "go to" due to the varying features. I am still not super comfortable using all of the options within Adobe, but unlike Logomaker, I am okay with spending the time to explore the site. Finally, my third logo was made just by splicing together images within Google Slides. I do not plan on using this logo. I was more of a creative outlet. I haven't figured out why I made it, or why I like it so much, but I will keep it in my slide deck until muster up some answers. Over all, besides stumbling upon sites that were not necessarily user friendly, my biggest issue is that there are tools within the sites that I like that are "premium". These websites do a good job at letting you use the tool, then surprising you with the fact that you will have to pay for it. Other than that, I enjoy creating image based products so this process is very entertaining to me. Prompt: 1) How does transliteracy change your current thoughts on the content you deliver?
2) How do you see the incorporation of transliteracy teaching methods increasing student inclusion and engagement? 3) How does sketchnoting fall into the transliteracy category and how was it for you to process information in this way? How might you use this in the classroom? Please read at least two other blogs and respond to them. Response: 1) This question sparks the memory of a statement that many have heard early in life. When you are growing up, you are presented with the statement, “wait until you get into the real world”. As if what you go through(and grow though) in your early years is somehow something separate from reality. As if all of the experiences you have up to the age of 18 will become invalid the moment you step into adulthood. This is how I think many see education as well. In many ways it is seen as something separate from reality. It makes sense. If this were not true, it would sound absolutely preposterous to assess learning in one single way across disciplines, grade levels, and student abilities. The traditionally accepted “teacher centered” classroom would also fall into the “preposterous” category. This is because, in general, environments outside the classroom do not function in this way. If we are trying to create lifelong learners and foster a successful academic environment, why was it decided to implement an educational system that fails in both logic and empirical results over time? I have some theories, but I digress. Transliteracy is something that is incredibly interesting. I think that fostering transliteracy in the classroom has the potential to transform engagement, access, and overall learning. That being said, I continue to run into the question of “how?”. As educators, we are still tied to the restrictions of our current educational system. 2) I think that it is pretty widely accepted that those who are good test takers tend to naturally excel in school. That is a massive overgeneralization within the topic of student success, but it still holds some truth. I hear students tell me all the time- “I’m just not good at school”. That should never be the thought that students have. I think that incorporating transliteracy gives students the opportunity to excel in an environment that seemed to leave them out. We had spoken in class about doodling notes. If you retain information by drawing it, or even better, if you can show me that you have learned the concept by drawing it, then why is that deemed unacceptable? 3) I definitely think that sketchnoting falls under the category of transliteracy. When it was introduced last class, it got the wheels turning in my head with regard to that technical potential in my own classroom. There is some instruction that I do that involves a lecture. Once the lecture and slides conclude I usually have the student do something with the information that I just presented in order to make connections and ask questions. I think sketchnoting would be a great activity for students to do following a lecture. I also think this would be a great activity to do at the end of a unit so that students can visually connect the dots between separate lessons(within world history) |