1. Workshop by: Emilie Jacumin-Simmons July 13, 2013 VSU CIED 7601

2. WHAT IS DIGITAL LITERACY FOR COMMUNICATION? Plainly speaking it is knowing how to talk to one another in a digital environment. When applied to an educational setting, the technology facilitates the communication between instructor and student, student and student, or even instructor and parent. 3. Do you know the answers to each of these questions? If so, click at the bottom of your Wimba classroom screen. If not, or if you are unsure, click the at the bottom of your Wimba classroom screen. 4. HOW DO WE ENGAGE STUDENTS AND OVERCOME SPECIAL NEEDS CHALLENGES? 5. BRAINSTORM OVERCOMING SPECIAL NEEDS Using the e-board, type in any ways you have used communication tools to overcome the challenges of students with special needs: 6. BRAINSTORM IDEAS THAT USE COMMUNICATION LITERACY TOOLS TO OVERCOME SPECIAL NEEDS CHALLENGES: 1. E-mail Works for communication purposes, but is not conducive to keeping all threads in one location. 2. Podcasts For auditory learners, podcasts reinforce what the student is visually looking at or studying. (I.e. Students with ADHD that need additional incentive to focus.) 3. Vodcasts For visual learners, vodcasts show the content that is being communicated to the students. (i.e. Students that have auditory difficulties can benefit from these.) 4. YouTube Video sharing tool that instructors can utilize to teach information and students can use to demonstrate their understanding of the content (i.e. Students that are kinesthetic learners and need to do or see something being done to understand better.) 5. Wikis For classroom participation, wikis allow students and teachers to communicate back and forth and build on those ideas or information banks. 6. Blogs For classroom participation, the weblog or blog is used to journal information, like an online diary where others have the capability to post their responses. 7. AESOPS FABLE - THE LION AND THE MOUSE Although communication is generally thought of as a two-way means of communication, instructors must first get the information out to their students in order for the learning to take place. Once students have received the information, the other digital communication tools may be utilized so that the student can demonstrate understanding of the material. The following slides show how Aesops Fable of The Lion and the Mouse can be disseminated to students that are challenged with accessing the content. 8. FABLE PRESENTATION - STANDARD Many classics are archived for computer access. This version came from URL: http://www.aesop fables.com/cgi/ae sop1.cgi?3&TheL ionandtheMouse 2. A similar site for access is URL: http://classics.mit .edu/ 9. FABLE PRESENTATION HEARING IMPAIRED For a student that is hearing impaired, accessing text can be difficult, particularly if the student is not a fluent reader. Here is an example of how YouTube (a communication tool) is used to alleviate some of the struggles for a student with special needs. 10. FABLE PRESENTATION VISUAL LEARNERS Students that have difficulty attending or need multiple modalities to reinforce learning, benefit from videos of stories or fables being narrated and simulataneously acted out. 11. FABLE PRESENTATION KINESTHETIC LEARNERS Certain students learn best by active participation in a text. Readers Theater is a great way for students to become a part of the material. In Readers Theater, students listen to the story and then write out a script with each student reading the role of a narrator or specific character. 12. CREATION OF A BLOG SITE Once students have received the information via any number of methods, the instructor is charged with assessing the students understanding of the material. We have seen the potential for disseminating information with technological communication, but getting responses and giving feedback are equally as important. The giving and receiving of information is the very definition of communication. As a part of this workshop, we will now go through the process of creating a blog site. 13. Link to the PDLM Blog - URL: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3928780724393553266#templ ate 14. EVALUATION OF WORKSHOP Using the blog that the group created, participants will be asked to individually submit a post stating two examples of how they plan to use communication tools in their classroom. Additionally, each member needs to reflect on the workshop and give feedback to the instructor. 15. TEACHING TIPS Depending on the students, it might be prudent for the instructor to use an application such as Blogmeister. Blogmeister allows the educator to review students blogs before they are posted for the general public to read. URL:http://classblogmeister.com/blogmeister_instruction s.pdf 16. RESOURCES AND LINKS E-mail servers: GMAIL.com, YAHOO.com, HOTMAIL.com (provide free accounts) Podcasts: www.speedofcreativity.org/2006/02/28/podcast37- effective-school-podcasting/ Vodcasts: www.youtube.com http://www.macworld.com/article/1046066/howtovodcast.html Wikis: http://pbworks.com/content/edu+overview http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com Blogs: www.blogger.com Blog Classroom Management Tool: http://classblogmeister.com/blogmeister_instructions.pdf Blog tutorial: http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Blog-on-Blogger