Module 4

This unit focused on analyzing and discussing literature using online resources. I have had some experience with using forms of electronic reading workshops, but I have expanded my knowledge on them.

Electronic reading workshops are pretty simple. It's everything you would do in a normal, traditional classroom setting with having the students read novels, respond to them, talk with their peers about them, and create projects. The only difference is that it takes place online or uses technology. These workshops are very open-ended, so a teacher can use a variety of different resources to implement them. In this module, we discussed twitter, digital literature circles, and blogging. One point of value that really stuck out to me about doing things online is that it gives students the opportunity to speak their minds and branch out. The student who may not feel comfortable speaking in a traditional classroom setting can feel comfortable participating in an online class discussion. There's not as much pressure, so these students can thrive behind their computers.

I found Hyler’s digital literacy circle to be particularly interesting. For this activity, the students each choose roles to play, such as a summarizer, illustrator, or connection maker. While these seem like juvenile roles, they can certainly be altered for higher-level students. Each student has their own job to do regarding a certain reading, and they come together to discuss. I like this because it gives the students the opportunity to play to their strengths, and it allows students with different experiences and backgrounds to discuss literature from different viewpoints. However, I think these different roles can have varying difficulty levels, and some students might have to do more work than others.

We also briefly discussed using Twitter in the classroom. Twitter is great because it emphasizes quality over quantity. When you only have 140 characters to work with, you have to be concise but still impactful. I don’t know how to implement it in a normal middle or high school, but I found the Twitter co-lecture to be valuable. For this, the students simple tweet using the same hashtag in a real time lecture. There’s a constant stream visible to the teacher and students, and they can tweet responses or questions about the lecture. I feel this is useful to both the teacher and students because it allows everyone to get on the same page, and the teacher can see what the class might be struggling with.