Module 4-2 Digital Literacy

Alesha McCall
Module 4-2 Digital Literacy
Summary
March 1, 2010

The video I watched is entitled: “Creating Presentations about Family Heritage”. I chose this video because I love projects that deal with family ancestry. I remember in fourth grade we were given an assignment to interview one of our grandparents (preferably our oldest living grandparent). I chose my grandfather. It just happened to be one year to the date before he died. I still have the project that I created and it has been such a great help to me as I dealt with the loss of him. Thus, I know how important these projects can be.
In the video I saw Nuuanu Elementary School. It started off with the morning announcements. I saw how multiple students were involved in putting on the morning announcements—without adult assistance. Yes, there was a teacher present. However, his philosophy along with the school’s was that students need to learn how to problem solve. Mr. Chung, the teacher, feels that doing the morning announcements without an adult hanging over your shoulder is all a part of the learning process. Students are learning how to problem solve on their feet. It was incredible to watch. I am one of those teachers that tend to be overprotective of my students. Thus, it was neat to see Mr. Chung allow the students to run the announcements without any worry or concern that something was going to break or go wrong.
It took awhile before the movie got to the part about the fourth grade family heritage project. Each student was instructed to create a multimedia project based on their family tree. Students were bringing in old family photos to be scanned and old documents for everyone to look at. It was neat to see everyone so involved in this project. The teachers found ways to connect parents into the project as well. While I am sure some parents probably stressed over finding old photos and letting them go into their child’s hang, I am sure it was great for the parents to see their child learning their family history, and creating a great documentation that can be used for years to come.
Through all the projects I saw from Nuuanu Elementary School I discovered the main goal for the students. Every student is to be an independent learner. At first that scared me a bit. But after thinking about it for awhile I decided that should be the ultimate goal for every student. We all need to learn how to be independent learners. We all need to find that desire to learn and study new things. Learning enhances our lives.
I then moved on to the blog list and chose to look at Stephen Hurley’s blog. I chose a post entitled: “Embracing Entrepreneurship in our Schools”. To be honest the reason I chose this particular post was because I teach Entrepreneurship in my classroom—thus it caught my eye right off the bat. For Mr. Hurley there are two words that define the term entrepreneurship: initiative and risk. I COMPLETELY agree with him in that respect. To be an entrepreneur means you take risks- ALL THE TIME. I put that in all caps because I grew up with a father for an Entrepreneur. I guarantee you; his life defines taking a risk. Then, I look at my own life and I have discovered that I to take MANY risks—healthy ones of course. As I read more deeply I began to feel that Mr. Hurley is encouraging teachers to have an entrepreneurial spirit. I feel that he wants us to bring something new to the table when we teach. Don’t teach the same old, same old. Be bold and try something new. Luckily for me, I don’t have to try very hard in that department. In order to make my life more interesting, I am always trying new things. Ironically enough, I have even taught standing on a science table. Hey, it captured my students’ attention—and they did learn that day!