Reading Response 2/4

Leu 2

This chapter gives strategies on how to navigate the Internet with critical analysis and efficiency.
It gives examples of Internet usage with Mr. Montero's class. Students share navigation and searching strategies with each other and take notes so they remember what they have learned
for the whole group Internet workshop that takes place later.
Different browsers were identified and the features of each one were discussed.
Browser tools such as designating a start up page, replacing commercial links with educational links, organizing bookmarks, sharing bookmark collections, downloading plug-ins and installing them, and saving webpages were discussed.
Strategies and search tools for teachers were explained. Using central directories with links about topics were endorsed. A list of central directories were given.
Search engines were identified and directions given on how to find images, audio or other types of media besides text.
Copyright issues and web sites were listed.
Four keyword search strategies for teachers included putting quotation marks around phrases to narrow keyword searches, searching for certain phrases, typing a topic plus keyword to narrow searches, and using electronic spelling to make sure words are spelled correctly.
Child safety issues and encouraging schools' acceptable use policies were strongly cited.
How to get around internet filtering tools for teachers was interesting.
The authors were in support of having students earn an Internet driver's license before they are allowed to use the Internet without an adult's supervision. When a child encounters a site they are uncomfortable with they may hit the back button to escape and tell an adult.
Instructional strategies for students were demonstrated such as searching vs. browsing, selecting keywords, understanding search results, critical analysis, reading in a website, and managing advertisements.
A list of navigational resources on the Internet were provided at the end of the chapter.
This chapter gave me many ideas and strategies to use with elementary school students on the Internet. The websites have given me invaluable resources to check into when planning units for my Kindergartners.
I didn't know how to find out who has set up the URL addresses or how to do bookmarks until I read this chapter.
Our school district has an Internet acceptable use form that parents and students are required to sign before they can use the Internet in our computer lab. However, I feel that having each student go through a computer training on privacy and safety issues would be very important. I liked the idea of giving each student an Internet Driver's License.
I don't have much experience with the Internet so this chapter gave me lots of useful information and was very user friendly!

Xu 1
Literacy as social practice is only meaningful when it is in specific contexts. Reading and writing are more effective when they have a specified purpose.
Domains and discourse are also related to literacy as social practice. School and home are two different domains where literacy is used and learned. Discourse involves ways of behaving, thinking, reading and writing that are accepted by certain groups of people.
Literacy shows a power relationship between individuals and organizations such as between students and schools.
Critical literacy practices should include delving beyond surface text, looking at text in a wide social and cultural context, and explore meanings and what the text is saying to the reader.
Multiliteracies involves other forms of media beside the printed word. They include visual meanings, audio meanings, gestural meanings, multimodal meanings, and spatial meanings.
Literacy changes within our society and new forms of literacy emerge.
Research on popular text shows that students who engage in it learn new forms of literacy that are not learned in school. If students are directed they can become critical thinkers.
The four approaches to using popular culture texts are banning popular culture, critically analyzing popular culture, celebrating popular culture, and celebrating and analyzing popular culture. The fourth approach is the one Xu endorses. However, teachers predominantly use the third approach.
I feel that there needs to be more purpose communicated to students when they engage in literacy activities. Students do learn more if they can see the purpose for an activity at school.
Children learn different things at home than they do at school with multiliteracies like video games, movies, cartoons, etc.
Teachers need to purposefully plan to include popular text inside the curriculum to promote more current, engaging, and critical thinking literacy endeavors.