Educational Technology in Creative Story Writing

        In today's world education, teachers have decided whether they still want to apply the old-fashioned traditional approach with children by having them repeat and write everything they say or letting them use their creativity and innovative ideas to perform an activity by incorporating digital tools that will raise their interest and motivation in their writing skills. Likewise, there are a variety of tech tools and methods out there for teaching writing that can make the process easier and more fun for both teachers and students. Therefore, when it comes to writing, we can facilitate students' needs to use their ability to think. In fact, students are now used to new forms of text like images, videos, hyperlinks, infographics because these are the main components of their digital world. In addition, as teachers, we need to make sure we include these components into teaching not only writing but any other skill.

         To begin, the main development method for human society before of writing was storytelling. At the same time, it is virtually encoded in human genes and cannot be separated from human cognitive learning. “John Debes, one of the most important figures in the history of the International Visual Literacy Association, first coined the term visual literacy in 1969 as “a group of vision-competencies a human being can develop by seeing and at the same time having and integrating other sensory experiences” (Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009). Therefore, storytelling  Storytelling is also a common practice shared in every culture and society as a means of entertainment, education and even is used for moral education at times, such as Aesop’s fables. Students can apply their own values and beliefs into creating a moral for an original fable written by them.

        On the other hand, we must know that bringing up helpful tools that might activate students' learning interest and increase their motivation will be very beneficial to them as well as to us, the teachers. For instance, one of my best digital tools I have used so far is Storybird because it can help students bring abstract thoughts in their mind to life and adds a dynamic, digital component to traditional storyboards. Thus, digital storytelling teaches skills that fit well within common learning guidelines set forth by many school districts. By working with students, teachers can use digital storytelling as a fun and engaging learning activity for students. Obviously, in order for teachers to be able to implement these programs, they must have the skills to create a digital story by themselves (Czarnecki, 2009). Furthermore, implementing Storybird in a lesson is easy and fun for both the teacher and students because we are able to learn how to use Storybird to create our own stories.

   

        According to Cohen & Riel (1989), most writing happened in the classroom has two physical audiences: the writer and the teacher; yet when students write for a larger audience, they are much more motivated to write and tend to do their best work. Also, teachers announce an increase in student motivation to write when they know their writing will be published on the Internet (Karchmer, 2001). When students are proud of the work they have done, they love seeing it in published. Additionally, knowing something will be published for others to see that it can motivate students to produce better work from the beginning. There are a wide range of publication options online that teachers can use to promote student work. Students can be featured on a school website or blog, but there are other websites that provide different options.

    In conclusion, using digital tools that boost students' creative writing is a good way to improve their grammar as well as their point of view and reflections. Likewise, it will help students develop creativity, innovation, and also will help students to learn effective communication and collaboration. Students will also have fun in cooperative learning and their meaningful contribution will help them develop self-concepts and social developments. Therefore, teachers must find different ways to motive their students to learn, and the usage of Storybird is a good example of a learning tool that will encourage students’ creative thinking and bring more fun into their classroom.

References

Sylvester, R., and Greenidge, W (2009). "Digital storytelling: extending the potential for struggling writers: digital technologies can motivate struggling writers and scaffold understanding of traditional literacy." The Reading Teacher 63: 4. Educator's Reference Complete. 

Czarnecki, K (2009). How digital storytelling builds 21st century skills. Library Technology Reports 45: 7-15. Educator's Reference Complete. 

Cohen, M., and Riel, M. (1989). The effect of distant audiences on students' writing. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 143-159.

Karchmer, R.A. (2001). The journey ahead: Thirteen teachers report how the Internet influences literacy and literacy instruction in their K-12 classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 36(4), 442-466. 

Building Community in the Classroom

       In the last twenty years, I have considered that building a strong community in the classroom is an effective strategy for classroom management. When students come into a classroom and start taking pride in learning and collaborating with each other without judging, they are contributing to learn things step by step. At the same time, they are encouraged to use their abilities to manipulate a digital or electronic tool in order to be creative, spontaneous, and original. Additionally, misbehaviors and disruptions are significantly reduced. Therefore, young learners begin to use their previous knowledge to carry out activities that might awake other students' interest and motivation in learning new stuff every day.

       To begin, I will recall a brief summary of how important is for educators to build a motivated and active classroom community who struggle to become original in their work as they use digital tools to create a masterpiece. Likewise, these learners will be interested if they show empathy, collaboration, and honesty with their classmates because they think in a different way. We want encourage our students to live in a safe and secure environment without rejections.

     Firstly, the beginning of the year is a time for creating a sense of community, and our learning room is the gathering place. Here, all children can feel secure, nurtured and supported by the environment, each other, and us. This new group of individuals bring with them divergent interests, abilities, cultures, and families. Each child arrives at our door with a fertile background of experience that enriches our program. By demonstrating our loving acceptance of all children's backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints, we can create an environment that says, "Everybody is welcome here." At the same time, we are modeling just how we want children to be with one another. Thus, the goal is to celebrate individuals while creating a sense of community.

      Secondly, when educators meet students’ basic needs for close, caring relationships and a sense of influence and contribution (Deci & Ryan, 1985), they help their students become committed to the school’s values and goals. Likewise. students strive to fit in and to succeed in such schools, just as they try to emulate parents to whom they feel close. When a school engenders a sense of community, peer group dynamics tend to work in support of its goals and values by increasing the likelihood of positive effects.

     There has been major studies in building communities in a classroom. A large-scale comparative evaluation of CDP (Children Development Project)  was conducted from 1991 to 1996. It involved 12 CDP program schools and 12 matched comparison schools in six school districts nationally. Additionally, these districts ranged from large and urban to small and rural in character. Therefore, the major results from this evaluation demonstrated the importance of building community in school for students’ overall development, and CDP’s effectiveness at building sense of community when it was well implemented (Schaps et al., 1997; Watson et al., 1997; Battistich et al., 1999).

      On the other hand, children's "world view" expands to add a greater understanding of the relationship between oneself and other. Studies also tell us that some of the most important skills children need for school readiness and success are the "people skills" of social interaction, communication, collaboration, and problem solving. Booth (2003) states that building a strong and motivated classroom community is an essential way to succeed in our activities. For instance,  teachers build community through trust. However, in order to feel part of their classroom community, children need to feel the same sense of trust in school as they do at home. Their calm acceptance of children's feelings during the transition from home to school goes a long way towards letting children know that it is safe to express their feelings and building their sense of trust in them. Therefore, we should reassure children by making eye contact, listening to what they need to say, and acknowledging their thoughts and feelings.

         Lastly, students must start creating an online blog where they can share their learning experiences and personal viewpoints with their families, friends, and relatives. We all learn from each other and we must accept it no matter how old you are. What matters is that you keep learning new things and start putting them into practice by using digital and creative tools that might help you move on with your creativity. Thus, creating an online blog is a good way to share stories, activities, relevant news, and the latest trends in educational technology. Building meaningful, offline relationships is essential to engaging in digital spaces. Students must understand that a friend is not simply a button you click to accept, and a conversation is not always typed into a small box. Technology can do great things for our lives and bring us all closer together. Nevertheless, it should not isolate us from personal relationships.

          In conclusion, building a strong community in the classroom is essential for educators to keep changing the learning environment as they incorporate the use of technology with learners. In fact, the essential element to creating a sense of community in our classroom is us, the teachers. It is not the number of toys and materials or the size of your space that really counts, but your loving, compassionate attitude towards the children in your classroom family that creates a joyful community.



References

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.

Booth C, E. (2003). Best-Ever Circle Time Activities: Back to School. Scholastic Inc.

Schaps, E., Watson, M., & Lewis, C. (1997). A sense of community is key to effectiveness in fostering character education. Journal of Staff Development, 17, 42–47.

Battistich, V., Watson, M., Solomon, D., Lewis, C., & Schaps, E. (1999). Beyond the three R’s: A broader agenda for school reform. Elementary School Journal, 99, 415–431.

Using Technology in the Classroom: Video games for Educational Purposes

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

-William Morrow

Educational technology has become a great breakthrough in many schools, colleges, and institutions.

     In today's world, technology keeps updating its programs, operating systems, hardware, and software to promote a meaningful change for the future. Likewise, many schools stopped using paper when they have to prepare school material for students and keep it for future applications. Additionally, they contribute to protect the green environment by saving trees from being chopped down. Teachers are still trying to give classes by themselves. Everything has to be done according to what the teacher says. However, this time, children who are very talented and intelligent in doing such good work have changed their learning style by using their previous knowledge to perform an activity  instead of listening to what the instructor has to say. As a result, they become more independent of their own learning style and creative with their tasks. In fact, they take advantage of their time to use digital tools that will help them keep practicing their skills at home while they are outside of school. At the same time, more teachers are beginning to incorporate technology into their curriculum to stimulate learner's abilities and prove worldwide educators that technology is essential for the young children's future. 

Many schools have already gotten on board with educational video games and homeschoolers can do the same. 

     To begin, we must know that teachers who use technology frequently to support learning in their classrooms create greater benefits to students' learning, engagement, and skills from technology than teachers who spend lees time using technology to support learning. Likewise, many teachers and instructors let their students navigate through the Internet to prepare projects, do assignments, and discuss relevant topics about education with online forums. Nevertheless, some educational instructors incorporate video games with their students in order to let them reinforce their learning and cognitive process through a series of games that will stimulate their knowledge and increase their level of interest along the way. Can video games offer more just than entertainment value? Honestly, I believe that video games can become a great distraction for children because they become addicted to them, but if we know how we can manage them appropriately, they will be concentrated on the areas they need to improve by following the dynamic of any educational video game.

      Firstly, video games can evaluate students' knowledge through questions, riddles, and so on. For example, jeopardy enhances students' knowledge effectively. Furthermore, it becomes very beneficial for students because it motivates them to actively participate in class and assume more responsibility for learning. Besides, it reinforces students' learning of information that were previously taught. Moreover, it adds variety to class sessions by providing a fun environment for instructor and students alike. Thus, teachers are always trying to incorporate technology into lessons and have discovered that using Jeopardy is an easy way to address the use of technology in their classrooms.

     Secondly, educational video games can also provide fun and entertaining readings for children who enjoy reading all the time. In that way, their vocabulary increases as they acquire new words or phrases that might help them with their writing, listening, and speaking skills. One example of a good  video game is the Reader Rabbit. It has reading educational games that touch a variety of learning levels and topics. Additionally, it allows the student to get involved in reading through a series of fun mini-games. This is mostly for early beginners who like to read basic stories with images and pictures.

     Lastly, in today's world education, there are benefits of using video games in the learning environment during class activities. For instance, when we are dealing with students' motivation, we can help young children boost their self-esteem and help them learn the value of persistence. By providing immediate feedback, players can learn to see themselves as having skills and intelligence to perform interesting activities. In their emotional learning, some video games can help them reduce their stress, anxiety, and at the same time, they become more relaxed. 

       In conclusion, using video games in our classrooms allows us to teach our children how to make sense of the world, how to think about knowledge and information, and how to relate to themselves and to one another. Likewise, we are giving the freedom to use their previous knowledge and creativity to boost their performance. Furthermore, the positive emotions that can result from becoming immersed in video games on a regular basis may also increase awareness and encourage a more original outlook on life. Moreover, in students' emotional learning, we can clearly see  that there are video games that can lead to positive feelings, reduced anxiety and stress, and become more relaxed. 

Sources

Vitelli, R. (2014). Are There Benefits in Playing Video Games? Media Spotlight Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201402/are-there-benefits-in-playing-video-games 

Shapiro, J. (2014). You Are Asking The Wrong Questions About Education Technology Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/09/20/you-are-asking-the-wrong-questions-about-education-technology/