Blogging, BRB!

Authors Hicks and Turner state, "We have heard teachers, parents, and media criticizing “texting language,” or what Kristen has named “digitalk”. However, this digital, linguistic phenomenon shows a complex understanding of language". This part of the article stood out to me the most through out the reading because I for one have been told a number of times that using "digitalk" is bad or wrong and should stop. According to the text however, it is stating that research has actually proved the contrary. It actually improves children's linguistic ability and children develop an understanding of audience, purpose, and voice in their digital writing communities using it. Rather than telling your students that using "digitalk" is wrong, encourage the code-switching and digital literacy that students bring to the classroom with this form of communication. Looking into my future as a teacher, I do plan on encouraging students to use different forms of communication as long as the time for it is appropriate. I hope to give my students the right tools and freedom to grow to their fullest potential.

After digging deeper into Hicks and Turners thought process on literacy in technology during class, I was introduced to the SAMR Model. The model goes into detail on technology integration within a classroom. Some examples of Collaborative Mind-maps are Loomio, Bubble.us, and Popplet. These apps/websites give colleagues and students a easy and fun way to communicate. For example, Loomio is a site where individuals can talk privately or publicly on a topic to come to a group conclusion using everyone's intake and graphs that show the results. This site is not only beneficial for teachers, it can be used in a classroom so students can interact with one another and come up with a solution or agreement. Using sites like these will only expand the classrooms learning on technology while building their capability of resolving problems as a group. Looking deeper into the SAMR Model was an eye opener on how technology can really benefit a classroom setting.