New Media & New Literacies

As part of the new standards within science, my students explored climate change in depth. Part of this topic included ocean acidification, in which students discovered how the various spheres that make up the Earth would be affected, including the biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. In this simulation, students manipulate the   model to explore the relationship between atmospheric CO2 concentrations and pH levels. In this activity, students were able to explore current concerns regarding our Earth through a simulation while simultaneously gaining a new understanding and perspective (Bradley & Kendall, 2015). Surface Ocean pH Levels  This simulation was completed during a lab, in which students had prior knowledge about Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP values). One of the huge appeals to utilizing this simulation was the fact that students could manipulate the simulation to explore RCP projections. In doing so, students were able to connect their prior kn...

ParentSquare is a communication tool that my district uses to increase and improve engagement within my district. On this platform, the district can communicate with family members, and teachers can communicate with parents. Teachers can post general messages to the parents of each class they teach, or private message parents directly. There are various modes in which participants can receive messages, including email, text, or just through the app itself.  Through analyzing the data provided by ParentSquare, my district can review how many families are being reached through the platform. If many families are not signed up, guidance can reach out to encourage families to join the app. This way, there are more lines of communication between parents, teachers, and districts. While phone calls are helpful, ParentSquare helps to eliminate the “phone tag” that sometimes occurs between parents and teachers. I usually look to reach out to families on ParentSquare first prior to calling ...

  For this project, I’m interested in examining digital tools and how they can be used to assist and improve student learning within the science classroom. There are various digital resources that can be used to enhance student learning. In the realm of Earth Science, my students often use their Chromebooks in the classroom when looking at simulations, websites, or for collecting information. However, there are far more ways digital tools can be implemented to incorporate digital literacy while also enhancing learning. While some tools may work for some students, they may not work for others. This is why it is important to keep in mind the “partialness of the perspectives” when considering incorporating various resources within the classroom (Gitomer & Crouse, 2017) References: Gitomer, D., & Crouse, K. (2017, November 9). Studying the use of research evidence: Methods and measures in a complex field. William T. Grant Foundation. https://wtgrantfoundation.org/studying-use-...