Chapter 6: Summarizing and Note Taking

Two important and related learning strategies are summarizing and note taking. These two processes are higher order thinking skills because they require learners to synthesize information and put it in their own words. With the help of technology, the practice of note taking can be turned into a learning experience in and of itself. Technology also offers support with the skill of summarization.
Word Processing Applications are one technology tool that provides learners with an avenue to strengthen summarization and note taking skills. Summarization is a vital learning objective in the language arts classroom, so the features that word processing applications offer can act as learning aides to help students master this often challenging skill. I like the concept of rule-based summarizing because it gives learners a process and structure to follow when trying to distill the important points of a chunk of information. The Track Changes feature of Microsoft Word allows users to follow the steps of rule-based summarization while visually seeing the changes that are made. I think that this will prove to be an effective way to help students see how the summarization process takes them from a lengthy chunk of information into a more concise form. I didn’t know about another feature that Word offers--the Auto-Summarize tool. This, too, can be utilized in the classroom. Students can be given a piece of text that the teacher has already entered into Word and be asked to summarize it on their own. They can then see what Auto-Summarize comes up with and compare it to their summary.
Technology also gives us many Web Resources that can be accessed to assist with summarization and note taking. Most of these websites use a collaborative approach that allows students to work with one another when practicing these skills. This approach offers a valuable perspective because many educators approach the concept of summarization and note taking as an individual endeavor. Research tells us that students can increase their sense of understanding of difficult concepts when they work through them collaboratively, so using these web resources really offers educators an opportunity to more effectively teach concepts. Some of these resources are free, so all that the classrooms need are computers with internet access. Students can be divided into groups and then guided to these web resources. One website that I like is NoteStar because it allow students to take research and information from the internet and assists them in organizing it; the MLA or APA citations that it offers are also a valuable asset to student research because it shows them the proper way to cite sources. Think Tank is another free resource that educators can use to help students gather information and summarize it. Students can be introduced to the web resources at the beginning of a study or research unit and then allowed to explore and choose the one that is best for their project.

Chapter 5: Nonlinguistic Representation

I was very interested to learn about nonlinguistic representation as it is not a concept that I was all too familiar with. According to the text, knowledge is stored in two forms-- linguistic (language) and nonlinguistic (images and sensations). Most often, new information is presented in linguistic form. With the help of technology, educators can facilitate students’ use of nonlinguistic representation, thereby having a positive effect on student achievement.
One technology tool that can be used to access nonlinguistic representation of concepts is Multimedia Applications. Multimedia applications such as movies/videos and presentations are frequently used in classroom instruction. Most often, however, they are teacher created and presented to the students. Research tells us that if we can flip that process and have the students actually create the presentations they are more effective. In the library, I can envision students creating presentations over books that they have read. Student-created presentations in any curriculum area involve research, so this would present an opportunity for the library to provide a lesson on information literacy and copyright. The Power Point program is installed in all of the computers at our campus, so the students have easy and available access. Multimedia applications also give educators the opportunity to engage students in nonlinguistic representation via student-created animations that can also be done on PowerPoint. I think that this particular application would be appealing to many of our students with an interest in art and graphic design. I have never considered using Power Point to create animations, so I am excited to play around with it and see what I can do. Movies and videos can also be created to formulate nonlinguistic representation of a concept. I like the idea of students creating “movie trailers” of books as a means of getting the word out about our library collection and inspiring students to read.
There are also many Web Resources that lend themselves to the nonlinguistic representation of concepts. There are many sites that offer computer simulations of concepts. It seems that the majority of such websites are geared towards math and science, but there are some applications for the library program and language arts classes. One resource that the book lists is Surviving Everest, an interactive site where students can explore what it’s like to climb Mount Everest. In the library, such a site could be used to promote adventure books such as Peak by Roland Smith. As the librarian, I could introduce the site to students and allow them to explore it. Then I can follow up their multimedia simulation with a short book talk about a variety of adventure books in the library. Language arts teachers could similarly use such sites to introduce novels that are read in class. Other web resources offer resources on Clay Animation in Power Point and Digital Storytelling, both which offer valuable opportunities for nonlinguistic representation.

Chapter 4: Cues, Questions, & Advance Organizers

Once educational goals have been established along with methods of giving feedback and recognition, it is time to design the means of facilitating learners in their acquiring and integrating of knowledge. it is recommended that advance organizers be used as an effective way of doing this.
One technological tool that can be used to create such organizers are Word Processing Applications. I particularly like this tool because it is so readily available and accessible on school computers. Nothing fancy or expensive is needed; all computers, both student and teacher, already have the software for Microsoft Works, PowerPoint, and Publisher--all tools that can be used to create advance organizers. In the library and language arts classrooms, these tools can be used to create expository advance organziers such as brochures to advertise novels. They can also be used to create narrative advance organizers in the form of articles or book reviews; graphic advance organizers can also be created by designing book covers or posters (akin to movie posters) that advertise the book. I also see potential in using a word processor's table-feature to create note-taking organizers. A template could be created that lists the important literary elements that need to be defined in a novel (e.g. setting, conflict, characters, etc.) that the students fill in as a novel or story is read.
There is also actual software that is designed to organize information: Organizing and Brainstorming Software. This technology tool is especially useful in allowing educators to give explicit cues to learners when introducing a new concept or beginning a new unit of study. The value of giving an explicit cue is that it essentially tells students what they are about to learn. Such software, such as Kidspiration, can be used to cue and question students, thereby effectively introducing a novel. My school's 8th grade language arts classes all read the novel Night as part of a unit on the Holocaust. Kidspiration could be used to cue students about the unit and then ask essential questions that prompt students to give their background knowledge on the Holocaust. As such software enables educators to give students a sense of what they are about to learn while offering visual aides and multimedia resources to address a variety of learning styles, it can be a very powerful tool in learning. The biggest obstacle that I see to implementing such software is that it may be cost prohibitive in some schools.

Chapter 3: Providing Recognition

Along with issuing feedback, it is important to provide recognition to learners as they work towards their educational goals. One technology tool that helps educators provide recognition to students are Multimedia. Research shows that teacher-issued recognition is most effective in positively influencing students' attitudes when it is both concrete and personalized. Technology gives us tools to do just that. There is (oftentimes free!) software available that easily creates personalized certificates, banners, and cards--all concrete forms of recognition. In my opinion, the simplest method would be using the free templates available for Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. I could create a different template for each accomplishment (Reading Team member, Reading Point Goals, etc.) and then it would be as simple as entering the student name into the template and printing it. I have the software on my computer at school and with access to a color printer, attractive personalized and concrete recognition can be issued to my students when they achieve certain goals. Teachers in any subject can use these tools to create concrete forms of recognition that are unique to their classroom goals.
Alongside using Multimedia to create concrete and personalized forms of recognition, Web Resources are another technology tool that can be used to provide recognition. Once these certificates are created, electronic copies can be e-mailed to parents as a form of parent contact. All too often, educators find themselves only contacting parents when there is a negative issue that needs to be addressed. E-mailing parents these certificates or cards provides educators with a quick and easy way to establish positive contact and let the parents know about the successes of their children. Next year, I plan to create a certificate for students who make the Reading Team; I'll give the student the hard copy and then e-mail a copy to their parents to let them know the good news. Another web resource that lends itself to providing recognition are the web showcases and picture galleries. On the library page of my campus website, I am going to list students who have made the FIS Reading Team. Classroom teachers can also use these resources to display electronic copies of their certificates and showcase exceptional student work along with photographs of student projects.

Chapter 2: Providing Feedback

Once educational goals are set, an important step to reaching those goals is providing feedback. When learners are given information regarding their performance and progress, they are better suited for improvement. Timeliness is a vital component to feedback: its impact is greatest when it is more immediate. Technology gives educators many resources to facilitate immediate feedback; two of these are Data Collection Tools and Communication Software.
Data Collection Tools are very valuable because they enable one teacher to simulateously give immediate and personalized feedback to a classroom full of students. The Data Collection Tool that I see the most potential for is the Classroom Response System that collects student responses (and data) via the students' use of clickers. Even though they rely solely on multiple choice questions, the questions can be written in a variety of different ways so that all skill levels and information can be assessed. I envision using a Classroom Response System in the library to survey readers' interests and assess student knowledge on research strategies and information literacy skills. One thing that I really appreciate about the Classroom Response System is the anonymity that provides the learners. I imagine that using this tool would be much like watching a game show on television and playing along. Once the students' answers are submitted, they are immediately shown the correct response and they can compare their response to the correct one.
A second technology tool that provides timely feedback are those that fall under the category of Communication Software. There are many types of communication software and it is easy to see why they are called that--they all facilitate communication among people. I particularly like the idea of using blogs in an educational setting. Because their nature encourages readers to leave comments and replies to individual posts, they are effective in providing feedback. I think that a "What I'm Reading" type of blog would be an effective way to spread the word about new books in the library; readers could post reviews to the books that they've read, thereby providing feedback. Such a blog could also be used as a forum to recommend different book titles; students could post what types of books they like and readers could leave feedback about other books they've read that may be of interest. Blogs could also be implemented in our language arts department as many of the classes require students to keep a Reading Response Journal that contains responses to open-ended questions about the books that each student is reading. Rather than use an "old fashioned" journal, students could post blog entries that other students and the teacher could respond to. I also like the use of wikis in educational settings because they are so collaborative in nature. Teachers can oversee student group wikis and chart their progress while seeing first-hand each person's contribution. On a professional level, wikis are also very valuable in that they can be used as forums for discussion. There are two big obstacles, however, that I see to fully implementing blogs and wikis in our district. The first issue is that of availability of computers. The second issue is that many blog and wiki sites are blocked by the district filter.

Chapter 1: Setting Objectives

In a learning community, it is important for both educators and students to set goals and objectives that establish a "direction for learning." Just the act of setting goals and following steps to realize them provides a valuable life skill. Technology offers educators many tools to facilitate the setting of goals and objectives.
One of these tools are Word Processing Applications. Creating a document electronically (as opposed to manually) allows it to be disseminated electronically via e-mail, a website, etc. In the classroom and library, learning contracts, classroom/library policies, and classroom/library procedures can be made accessible to both parents and teachers on the web or through e-mail. This is a valuable option because most educators realize that most hard copies of important documents have a way of getting lost or misplaced between the school and the home. I also like that word processing applications give educators the option of creating a standard document template (such as a learning contract or KWL chart) that can be saved on the school server for students to access, modify, and save as a new document for the teacher to access. This helpful feature can also be used in the library. A template for book reviews, library expectations, feedback, etc. can be placed on the server for students to complete and e-mail or post for the librarian.
A second technology tool that can be utilized for the setting of goals and objectives are Data Collection Tools. This particular tool particularly speaks to me as a librarian because an ever-present goal of mine is for our school collection to provide quality literature that is appealing to my students. Surveys, such as those available on Survey Monkey (the survey website that I am personally most familiar with) can be valuable tools for me to assess the student needs and wants of my collection. I could set up a survey that students take on their library day that collects data regarding aspects of literature that they are interested in--things like genre, current events, social topics, etc. On the other end of the spectrum, data collection tools like surveys could be created to help students identify the types of literature that they may be interested in. One of the challenges of my position is to inspire a love of reading; I sincerely believe that students who don't like to read just haven't been matched up with the right book. Data collection tools can help me assess the interests of my students and allow me to make that perfect match.

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

As a digital immigrant, it always helps to be reminded of the needs of our students-- the digital natives. Because they were brought into a world with such a ubiquitous digital landscape, their expectations and needs are fundamentally different from the needs and expectations of my primary education.
As educators, most of us are digital immigrants--we weren't born into such a digital world but we have had the awesome experience of watching it come to be. Unlike my students, I can remember a time when there was no internet and the only phones that we used were connected to the wall by a three-foot cable.
This, however, does not excuse my obligation to them. As an educator, I must stay current on technological trends so that I can speak their "digital" language. Particularly compelling to me was the part in the video that said that most of the jobs my students will have have do not even exist yet. Wow!
The only way to properly and effectively educate our 21st century learners is to teach them to use the myriad technological tools that they have at their disposal.