1. What am I learning about the new literacy I am researching?
I am learning a lot of new content, as I am exploring numeracy. First, I learned the definition of numeracy, which is using mathematical concepts and processes to solve everyday problems. Therefore, people who are numerate know about various math ideas (e.g., place value) and processes (e.g., addition), AND they can apply this knowledge to help them solve problems in their world. Second, I learned numeracy involves more than just numbers, which surprised me. Before researching this new literacy, I thought it would only involve numbers because the word "numeracy" makes me think of numbers. Third, I learned there are 2 types of numeracy. The first type of numeracy involves math in the everyday world (called colloquial). The second type of numeracy involves the math that is done within the classroom (called literate). Fourth, I learned that more than just the learner themselves can be involved in becoming numerate. In fact, the learner, teachers, and parents can all help the learner become numerate. Finally, I learned there are several negative impacts on a person who is not numerate. The person can feel embarrassed, skip school, become unemployed, and so on. In addition, people with social, emotional, or behavior problems are more likely to have poor numeracy skills. Thus, numeracy is an important new literacy because it involves the ability to solve math problems in everyday life, and it can cause serious negative consequences to those who are not numerate.
Also, I am learning about skills and strategies that can be used to help a person develop numeracy skills. For example, for a person to be numerate, he/she must have three skills: mathematical know-how, contextual know-how, and strategic know-how. Therefore, the person must have the background knowledge to be able to solve the problem, understand the context of the problem, and determine/use a strategy to solve the problem. Another example is the 5 steps that a student should know to be able to solve a written math problem. The student must read the question, understand what the question is asking, determine a strategy to use to solve the problem, solve the problem (using the strategy), and write the answer. In addition, there are strategies that teachers can use to help students develop numeracy skills (e.g., include context, integrate math into other subjects, etc.). Finally, there are strategies parents can use to help students develop numeracy skills (e.g., be positive about math, allow the problem to be solved in many different ways, etc.).
However, just because numeracy involves mathematics, this does not mean one does not need other traditional literacy skills to become numerate. First, people need to be able to read and/or listen to a problem that is presented to them (especially when in school). If someone does not know how to read or listen, then he/she will struggle with the problem because he/she will have no idea about what is being asked of him/her. Also, some people need to write out the solution to a problem, especially if it is long or complex. Therefore, they need the ability to write to be able to do this. Finally, people might be in a situation where they need to present their solution to others. In this case, they must be able to speak or write because others cannot read their minds.
In my field placement, the students are learning about numeracy skills. However, much of the math they do is literate, or school, math. Therefore, the problems they solve often do not involve any type of context. Also, they use a lot of symbolic tools to represent math problems. Therefore, to become fully numerate, my students would also need to engage in colloquial, or everyday, math. For this to happen, my MT might need to use a different math lesson structure to allow for students to be involved in everyday math. In addition, she could integrate math ideas into other subjects, and she should include context with problems to make them more meaningful to the students. If my MT takes these few simple steps, my students would become even more numerate than they already are.
2. What am I learning about my digital technology?
Using Prezi can be useful in teaching because it allows for the teacher to create a digitally engaging lesson. With this technology, the teacher can add multiple types of media into her lessons. For example, you can add text, videos, pictures/comics, hyperlinks, and so on. Also, Prezi is engaging for students because it is like watching a moving picture throughout the presentation. Typical presentation medias (e.g., PowerPoint) go from slide to slide in a uniform, and sometimes boring, way. However, Prezi allows the teacher to move around the screen as the slides continue. Finally, Prezis are fun to create, so it allows the teacher to be entertained while creating it, and it allows the students to be entertained while watching it.
In addition, there are various ways to communicate information to an audience by using Prezi. For exmaple, the teacher can include typed text, but use text features (e.g., size, color, font, etc.) to convey certain ideas to her students. Also, videos can be added to the presentation, so the teacher does not have to flip between screens when teaching her lesson. Usually, videos are useful tools that allow the teacher to display certain ideas to her students. Additionally, pictures can be added to the Prezi to better show or explain ideas presented to the students. The teacher can also include hyperlinks in the Prezi, which allows the audience to go to various Web sites. Finally, the teacher can be creative about the path of the presentation (how the Prezi moves) to help convey information to the students. For instance, one can zoom in and out, move sideways, and so on. All of these help promote interaction with the audience becuase the presenter does not have to be in the same room as the audience, yet the audience feels a connection with what the presenter is conveying to them.
Also, using Prezi has allowed me to use my literacy skills in new ways. For instance, I am writing in a different way because I am making ideas concise and to-the-point. In Prezi, each slide is not very large, so you have to consolidate your thinking to be able to convey the big picture to the audience. Another reason I had to write to-the-point is so the audience does not get bored during the presentation. If there is a lot of writing for the audience to read, they will likely skim over it, and not comprehend the ideas presented. Also, I am viewing in a different way because Prezis are not linear displays of information. Therefore, I have had to figure out what is the best way to view this Prezi so the audience can understand what is being presented to them. So, Prezi has allowed me to view and present information in a nonlinear way.
However, there are also challenges to using Prezi. First, the only videos that can be inserted into a Prezi are those saved to the person's computer or from YouTube. However, our group had a particular video from a Web site that we wanted to use in our Prezi, but we could not save it to our computers, and it was not a video on YouTube. Thus, we could not add this video to our Prezi, even though it was a short and excellent display of the steps students should take to solve a word problem. Second, it is hard when you want to do something with the Prezi, but you do not know if you are able to do this with Prezi, or how to do this with Prezi. Our group was playing around with our Prezi to try to get it to do certain things, such as add text along the side of a circle. We have seen this done in other Prezis we have watched before, but none of us could figure out how to do this when editing our Prezi. So, we have figured out a lot about how to work with Prezi, but there are some things we cannot figure out how to do just by exploring the technology. Finally, the coolest type of Prezi costs quite a bit of money. Since we are all college students, we did not want to have to pay for the technology, so we signed up for the free version of Prezi. However, the free version of this does not allow us to do as much special effects as the other versions of Prezi that you pay for do. Therefore, it would be nice to just have a free version of this technology that was capable of doing everything, so nobody would have to pay to use it.
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