The Morning News - Elementary Style

As an EIP teacher, I am usually already working with students when our school’s Morning News Program airs, but when I do get the opportunity to watch it I am always amazed with what I see. We have come a long way from listening to the announcements presented by the principal over a staticy intercom. Of course in the school setting, the concept of a News Program starts with a staff member or members with a vision for the possibility and a commitment to a huge project. In my school, the vision was begun by a former Media Specialist and continues with the current LMS and three other teachers. They manage five different teams of fifth grade students who are responsible for one show a week. The students, under the direction of the teacher advisors, write, design and create the show. The News Crews were selected based on applications they submitted along with teacher recommendation.

The benefits of a school news program are many. Let me just take a minute to brainstorm a list – build writing, verbal communication, technology, research, reading and media literacy skills, as well as editing and revising skills, promote teamwork and development of collaborative skills, sharpen problem solving, decision making and critical thinking skills, encourage interest in current affairs, build self esteem and, on top of everything else, create a great sense of community within the school. When you think of the impact this type of program has on the students involved, the benefits become immeasurable.

My school news program includes a segment on Fridays called Super Science. A group of students are filmed conducting a simple science experiment, usually using common household items, and then they explain the scientific principle behind it. This feature alone has ignited a school wide interest in science and illustrates the power behind the media – even at an elementary level. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have our national media embrace the notion of this “positive power?”

Submitted by Diane Brannen

YES...to Social Networking in Schools

Yes…Yes…Yes…Social network sites should be used in schools. By integrating social networking technologies into educational environments, teens have the opportunity to learn from adults how to be safe and smart when participating in online social networks. There are a tremendous amount of activities that students/schools can take part in to increase participation in learning.

Social networking gives teens meaningful ways to use and improve reading and writing skills. A school can use blogging software to publish its newspaper. The blog format allows for timely publication and the ability to make updates easily. Publication costs are minimal and there is no limit to the length of the paper. Check out this school’s newspaper, www.uni.uiuc.edu/gargoyle/ . Another example I found described two biology teachers in different parts of the country working with students on the topic of water quality and ecology. The teachers create a joint wiki for the unit of study. As students find information on the topic, they post to the water quality wiki findings, observations, and useful resources. As a media specialist I liked the idea of an author creating a MySpace account as a way to keep in touch with teen readers. The author’s space includes biographical information, book information, and reflections on reading and writing. These are just a few of the ways that social networking can be used in schools.

As a high school media specialist, I feel that it is my responsibility to attempt to teach students how to use these social networking tools. There are some wonderful resources at http://www.opal-online.org/archivelis.htm . The Federal Trade Commission also has an article on safety tips for tweens and teens, this article can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec14.shtm .
Unfortunately, my school does not allow for the use of social network sites. I hope that someday, soon, I can help lead the pack in allowing this useful teaching tool to be used in our schools.

Media Web

I posed a question to one of my kindergarten students last week. His response to me was, “I don’t know but we can Google it.” That is proof that kids, even very young kids, are using the internet to get information. For this reason, Media Center Websites are an essential part of today’s technological advances, benefiting students, teachers, parents and more. A website dedicated solely to the school’s media center not only makes resources easy to access, but also affirms the important role of the center as a part of the school, and more importantly a large part of a child’s education. The key however, is to make sure that the website is done in a manner so that is easy to use and visually appealing. A website can say a lot about what it is representing, so it is important that the website is efficient and intriguing.

An important thing to remember when creating a website for a media center is that it must be done with a specific population in mind. For example, an elementary school website should be sure to use terminology that younger students can comprehend, as opposed to higher education level jargon. I am at the Elementary level so I see an ideal site as having a splash page that will draw students inside and then having lots of useful links and games. There should also be a link for teachers to follow that would provide lots of useful information on lesson planning, curriculum development, classroom management, calendar pages, and a launch page for carefully selected web resources. In addition to those two audiences, I think the Media Web page should include information for parents. After all, parents are the biggest influence on the students and will be the ones to encourage the at-home use of the page. The parent link could include a school calendar and a place for homework and parenting tips.

On a negative note concerning Web pages, I’ve seen a lot of teachers get excited about creating a web page (or be required to establish one) and then once the page is created, get busy and never update it. It reminds me a planting a great garden and then neglecting it. The potential was great for producing good fruit but because it requires time to maintain, and time is something we seem to have less and less of, the sites are abandoned and become eye sores. I hate to follow a link only to find it is totally out of date. If you cannot dedicate the time for weekly updates then the page should consist of information that is not time sensitive. Even then, links should be checked often as they frequently become obsolete.

There are a lot of paid sites to help you build a web page but here are a few free ones that I was able to find-

http://teacher.scholastic.com/homepagebuilder/
http://www.classnotesonline.com/
http://www.educatorpages.com/Home.aspx

Wow for the Wiki!

I have so many thoughts about the wiki and how it can be beneficial for the students, teachers, schools and districts. It seems to be a bit overwhelming! Wikis are a means of giving students the opportunity to author in a collaborative environment. Benefits from this collaboration range from learning from others to developing higher order thinking skills. I also believe that ease of use is a benefit worth mentioning. One aspect that caught my attention while researching is the collaborative textbooks. As the media specialists at Jordan I have also been given the job of textbook manager. This can be a full time job, itself! California has begun an initiative to create online textbooks using wiki software. This initiative is known as the California Open Source Textbook Project (COSTP). COSTP will save California time and money.The founder of the project contends that most of the information in K-12 textbooks is in the public domain. The project aims to help California slash its $400 million dollar textbook budget.The founder of the project contends that most of the information in K-12 textbooks is in the public domain. The project aims to help California slash its $400 million dollar textbook budget.

There are two drawbacks that I feel are worth mentioning. One is that users can modify the content of a wiki. Modifying means adding, editing or even deleting material. Another drawback is the amount of time necessary for monitoring and/or updating the content.

Visit the following wikis for highlights:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/presentation+tools

Wow for the Wiki! Wikis are a powerful yet flexible collaborative communication tool for educators and beyond.