We created a short video using iPad to encapsulate the opening scene of Stormbreaker, a graphic novel based on the first book of the Alex Rider series, by Anthony Horowitz.
A long shot from a low angle in which the teacher character is outlining the family-themed lesson.A thought provoking still, leading to Alex’s dream sequence.Alex’s uncle is approach by plain-clothed enemies.Alex’s uncle dramatically jumps in an attempt to run away from the enemy who are chasing him.Bomber plane’s swoop in, narrowly missing Alex’s uncle as he jumps past.Alex is awoken from his dream sequence.
As a group we had limited experience with constructing videos of this nature, however we were all quickly able to work out what to do. The storyboarding element came quite easily, although having been shown a prior example we struggled to differentiate our story from that.
With a class of children, an interesting addition could be to get them to change the story in some way or construct a second scene before reading it.
I have found through my professional experience and additional SLSO work that integrating technology in to the classroom routine motivates children to a much higher degree and an activity such as this, where they can play with special effects and the like will achieve that. The danger is that they focus too much on special effects and not enough on meeting the literacy outcomes so classroom management is essential.
Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) can be both a blessing and a curse, but there is no denying their ability to increase student involvement and participation in lessons.
Word Sort Activity
A simple way to encourage student participation in IWB activities is to create a word sort activity. Whilst the student participation element is simple as kids can drag letters in to the white space to form 2, 3, 4 or 5 letter words, it was quite a fiddly process to create in the first place. However, the fact that this was my first time creating such an activity should be taken in to account. I’m sure if I were to do it again the process would be faster and easier.
This lesson is focused on time within the mathematics syllabus. Following a quick review of the types of clocks, the lesson practices telling time to the hour, half hour, quarter hour and nearest 5 minutes.
I think the major downside to the lesson is that it is very broad. Time is present in the mathematics syllabus in every stage and specifically this lesson has telling time to the hour in early stage one, telling time to the half hour in stage one, and telling time to the minute in stage two. Thus, it is not clear whether the lesson is designed for a kindergarten, year one, year two, or year three class and it would score poorly on the IWB evaluation rubric when it comes to pedagogic principles. The lesson would also score poorly on its notes and sources as there is no explanation for teachers on how to conduct the lesson and no citations are present.
Despite these obvious pedagogical flaws, the lesson allows for student interaction to a good degree. It is very colourful and students are able to drag times to the correct clock and on one slide draw the hands on some analog clocks. Hence, it would score well on design and layout, scaffolding learning during the lesson and being interactive.
There is a lot of information available online that can be very easily accessed, but whether this information is reliable is another question. What this blog post aims to do is provide a guide to some online resources – two websites (one good and one bad) and one video – and that teachers can use on the topic of Australia, relating them to Salyer’s (2015) eight questions to ask about their reliability as sources:
Does the website have a clear purpose?
Does the website have information needed to answer the reader’s questions?
Are the language and concepts within the reader’s control, or nearly so with appropriate support?
Will the organisation of the website be clear to the reader?
Is the navigation reader friendly?
Will the graphics be accessible to the reader?
Do the dynamic and interactive elements support the purpose of the website?
Are there short bursts of text, or can the text be easily segmented to manage and differentiate the reading?
For Teachers for Students fact page on Australia, accessed through the above link, meets all eight of the above criteria to a good degree. It is well set out and the text is presented in short, easy to understand paragraphs, meaning it meats criteria 3, 4, 5 and 8. It has a clear purpose (criterion 1), to provide facts about Australia, though could easily be moulded to be more specific under the headings of ‘Australian States’ or ‘Australian Symbols’, depending on the questions asked (criterion 2). Whilst its map of Australia is good and accurate, the website’s downside is in criteria 6 and 7 as the majority of the pictures are cartoon depictions and there are not any interactive elements.
Website 2 – Video
This video accurately explores lots of the geographical features as well as land area and population statistics of Australia and some other interesting facts throughout. Whilst there are no interactive elements (criterion 7), the maps that are displayed throughout give a good description of Australia’s surrounding waters and the placements of Australian states and territories (criterion 6). With this in mind, it has a clear purpose (criterion 1), would be able to answer questions (criterion 2), and is well set out and easy to understand (criteria 3, 4, 5, 8).
Unlike the previous two website, this one fails to meet a number of of Salyer’s (2015) criteria. It has no clear purpose (criterion 1) as it simply presents random facts, so of which are incorrect such as Australia’s main religion being Roman Catholic. It would not be able to answer a logical sequence of questions (criterion 2). It also makes a lot of assumptions and is very colloquial (criterion 3). The big slab of text at the beginning does not make sense and that is followed by a long series of dot points that don’t follow any sequence (criteria 4, 5 and 8). There are no interactive elements and the only image is a stock one of the Opera House (criteria 6 and 7).
Developing Photography Skills
(Parkarklis, 2011)
Rule of Thirds
Using the rule of thirds, this photo places me in the top right of the four gridline intersections. The most prominent lines in the the photo, both the top and the bottom of the bridge, also lie along the horizontal grid lines.
Leading Lines
The leading lines in this photo are created by the multiple pillars located to the left and the wall to the right which makes the tree at the end of the passage much more prominent than the student walking towards the camera.
Non-centred Subject
This photo places the main subject, the bike, slightly off centre. This puts more emphasis on the bike and brings together the other elements of the image.
Social Media, News and Critical Literacy
What follows is an analysis of three websites and the ways they could be used to teach stage three students about the reliability of sources when conducting research.
Zapato brands itself on its home page as “the source for conspiracies and other diversions”, which does not seem a reliable source from the beginning. However, when delving deeper in to the website, particularly the hyperlinked page on the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus (pictured right), there is a certain conceivability about it. It provides superficially believable facts, such as the fact that the animal has the largest brain to body ratio of any mollusk, and includes a map and photoshopped magazine articles. Yet a simple cross-check reveals the site is fake news. A daily news article details how the story was created by a US researcher called Donald Leu in an attempt to prove that Facebook users will believe anything. (Daily News, 2011) This website would be a great example to show stage three students how easy it is for anyone to place anything online, and that using only one source is a non-feasible way to conduct research. All it took to disprove this article was a 30 second google search.
The Onion is a household name as a ‘satirical news site’ but one cannot assume that students will know that. I have chosen one article which, similarly to the Zapato article described above, seems superficially believable, but does not take much time to disprove. The new satellite that NASA claims to have launched lacks the 22’000 mile cable the article explains. Another simple search can find that the circumference of the Earth is a shade under 25’000 miles (Rosenberg, 2017) so this supposed cable would almost reach around the length of the entire planet, quite clearly something that is not possible. A google search of ‘NASA satellite cable’ brings up this very article on its first page, reinforcing the requirement for students to investigate multiple sources before deciding on its reliability and validity.
The difference between this article on Vaccines and the previous two articles is two-fold. Firstly, the previous two were written comedically by authors who clearly did not believe what they were writing whereas it appears that is not the case with this one; and secondly, this article has big health ramifications if anyone were to read it and believe it, far beyond a school assignment. The article lists complicated jargon, which only medical professionals would ever have the chance of properly understanding and despite explaining the supposed risk to people never actually cites a real-life example. The most damaging thing about the article is that is clearly does not consider both sides of the argument. This is a very difficult thing for a child to judge so teachers would need to ensure that strategies such as Internet Guided Reading (Salyer, 2013) would need to be used for an article such as this.
David Buckingham’s article outlines the grave problem the world is facing with fake news. On the surface, sites like the onion are seen as comedic and the vast majority of people are easily able to assess their credibility. However, he cites two examples which demonstrate the danger of such news.
The first of these is an Onion article made a satirical post about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un being named sexiest man alive. The vast majority of people would have laughed it off, but it was actually read a true by a major Chinese newspaper who published a 55-page spread on their website on the topic. (Buckingham, 2017)
The second is perhaps a more worrying example. The ‘pizzagate’ saga stemmed from a fake news story that Hilary Clinton was involved in a paedophile sex trafficing ring run out of a Washington restaurant. Clearly designed to be a funny story, yet less so when a Trump supporter turned up at the restaurant firing an automatic weapon. (Buckingham, 2017)
Thus, the key point that examples such asthe two cited above and all three aforementioned websites posit is that students need to develop skills in source analysis and cross-checking. Part of this can be done by providing students with the sources they need, as Salyer (2013) proposes, however, this is not a feasible long-term solution. Students and teachers alike need to develop habits in source analysis as issues such as fake news are not showing any signs of diminishing.
This is the first blog of a new site dedicated to the use of Digital Media in the Primary Literacy setting.
This post looks at some of the key considerations when implementing ICT in to the NSW syllabus for the Australian Curriculum through an investigation in to Gus Gordon’s Herman and Rosie. These key considerations are as follows:
Play & Creativity Opportunities
Pedagogical Choices
Relevant and Engaging Content and Skills
Literacy is Enhanced by Technology
Multimodal Features
Access & Technical Considerations
Herman and Rosie
Herman and Rosie (Gordon, 2013) both live on Manhattan Island, New York City. They live in apartment buildings and both enjoy watching films about the ocean. However Herman and Rosie have far more differences than they have similarities. They have very different jobs, Herman sold ‘things’ in an office, whereas Rosie sung at a small jazz club. Gradually the two characters begin to develop a connection without even realising it as they listen to and appreciate each others’ music. They simultaneously loose their jobs and fortuitously run in to each other at a hot dog stall on a long walk around Manhattan. A connection builds and a musical act is born.
Setting the context
Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) – uncover images and discuss city and names.
Music – play some jazz using Jazz cats app. Have you heard this type of music before? How does it make you feel?
The above activities foster relevant and engaging content and skills by eliciting students prior knowledge of both the setting (New York City) and one of the book’s central themes (jazz music). Students are then able place the story in a context that they understand and have discussed.
Play and Creativity can be fostered by allowing students to remove small segments that cover a picture of New York City and take guesses at what the city may be; or ‘tap in’ jazz musicians in Jazz Cats to further discover the components of jazz music.
Setting the context of the stories in this way elicits prior discovery which allows students more freedom to analyse the literary and visual features of the story during an initial reading. (Jacobs, 2013)
Story Reading
Ipad – ibooks – Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon
The communication mode of presentation (Shrum et. al., 2010) in particular is being explored through the narration and presentation of Herman and Rosie via eBook. The multimodal features of the book itself – that includes various forms of visual and literary art – and the eBook presentation of the book – that includes an authentic narration and appropriate diction – engage the listener to a high degree.
Explore character and theme
Comprehension; Word level activity; Character development
Explain Everything app
Characters – Read through first pages and find their favourite things – what does this tell about their characters? Similar or different? Create a Venn diagram that identifies the similarities and differences.
Words words words – what do we learn about the city from the words in the beginning of the story? Explore noun groups and list – are they effective?
Herman and Rosie lose their jobs: Explain Everything –
How do we know what they are feeling? Words and pictures – same or different? Add some words to Rosie’s page to show what she might hear.
The visual presentation of a Venn Diagram, for example, is a great way to represent one of the main themes of Herman and Rosie: similarities and differences. By means of a pedagogical choice, children can easily be involved in the use of technology by brainstorming some of the similarities and differences of the characters and personally writing them on the Venn diagram through a central iPad. (Ewing et. al., 2016)
Similarly, by opening to the double page spread that occurs just after both Herman and Rosie lose their jobs students are encountered with a scene where Herman hears many sounds and Rosie does not hear any (according to the text). After a discussion about how both of these characters may be feeling, children can enhance they literary skills by hypothesising what Rosie could be hearing that we, as the reader, are not privy to. They could electronically add this to the book as a class, or even individually or in small groups.
Visual features
Discovery Chart – keep track of each new discovery every time you read the book e.g. find the treble clef, inclusion of real items in the collage . List under headings
Map – draw lines for labels. Discuss use of collage, map key, angle, media choice.
The map which details the paths that Herman and Rosie took around Manhattan Island provides great opportunities for children to easily access the technology in a safe and supported way. The class can discuss the visual features of the page and children can click and drag labels to the various features among the picture, i.e. labelling where the key is, and where there are real photographic images. This is an activity that resourceful teachers can make engaging even with only the one class iPad, as such an image with maleable labels can spark great, meaningful discussion.
Response activity
Creating – In pairs – Put yourself in the picture. Using the ipad, take a photo and then put yourself in the cityscape while Herman plays.
Whole class – paper based. Create a map showing Herman and Rosie visiting Sydney.
An activity where children place themselves in Herman and Rosie is a fantastic pedagogical choice that allows children to demonstrate their skills in digital manipulation. By breaking up in to small groups children can take pictures of their classmates and experiment by placing them at various stages of the book. They can then discuss what effect different facial expressions, picture size and picture angle can have on the story should those pictures become part of the story.
Further to this activity, students literary skills can be enhanced by creating their own map where Herman and Rosie visit Sydney. They can add all the elements that are in the map of Manhattan but using their knowledge of the city and perhaps even photos they or their parents may have taken.
Book reviewer provides a great overview of the book as well as some thoughts in to its strengths. It also delves a little in to the references to Jacques Cousteau.
Bibliography
Ewing, R., Callow, J. & Rushton, K. (2016) Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood. Sydney: Cambridge University Press
Gordon, G. (2013) Herman and Rosie. Penguin.
Jacobs, G. E. (2013) Multi, Digital, or Technology? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 57(2), 99-103
Shrum, J.L., Glisan, E.W. (2010) Three Modes of Communication inTeacher’s Handbook: Contextualized Language Instruction. 4th Ed. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.
as the fact that the animal has the largest brain to body ratio of any mollusk, and includes a map and photoshopped magazine articles. Yet a simple cross-check reveals the site is fake news. A 
The Onion is a household name as a ‘satirical news site’ but one cannot assume that students will know that. I have chosen one article which, similarly to the Zapato article described above, seems superficially believable, but does not take much time to disprove. The new satellite that NASA claims to have launched lacks the 22’000 mile cable the article explains. Another simple search can find that the circumference of the Earth is a shade under 25’000 miles (Rosenberg, 2017) so this supposed cable would almost reach around the length of the entire planet, quite clearly something that is not possible. A google search of ‘NASA satellite cable’ brings up this very article on its first page, reinforcing the requirement for students to investigate multiple sources before deciding on its reliability and validity.
Thus, the key point that examples such asthe two cited above and all three aforementioned websites posit is that students need to develop skills in source analysis and cross-checking. Part of this can be done by providing students with the sources they need, as Salyer (2013) proposes, however, this is not a feasible long-term solution. Students and teachers alike need to develop habits in source analysis as issues such as fake news are not showing any signs of diminishing.
Digital Media in the Literacy Classroom 