New Literacies In Education

1. New Literacies In Education Bryce Ortega, David Lopez, and Britnie Jones “Technology is a means for empowering students and teachers; it is a method for communication and socializing, and a ubiquitous, transparent part of educational lives. It gives both educators and learners a public voice and a means to reach beyond the classroom for interaction and exploration.” -Laurence Johnson. EDUCATION DIGEST. September 2010

2. The Gateway Project http://www.thegateway.org/ What does it provide? Searching the Gateway • So what makes this online database so appealing to educators? Its’ method of search. • The Gateway uses a new, advanced retrieval engine its’ name is Seamark and it was developed by Siderean Software to help you find resources that meet your needs. • The resources are organized around specific characteristics that educators find useful, Gateway refers to these as facets. • These facets offer users “faceted searching” which combines the processes of searching for specific words and browsing pre-made site "facets." Examples of these include: arts, health, science, etc. The result of these joined methods is a powerful new interface that supports exploration and discovery of resources. • The Gateway to Educational Materials provides educators with easy access to thousands of educational resources. • Some items include activities and lesson plans to online projects and assessment items. Materials included on the Gateway are only those appropriate for classroom instruction. “As of May 2009, educators can access over 50,000 records from over 700 Consortium member collections.”

3. The Gateway Project “Success for today, preparation for tomorrow, learning for a lifetime.” Membership is free. • Mission • The Gateway Project's goal is to improve the organization and accessibility of the collections of materials that are already available on various Internet sites. • With a vision of being the world's leading digital library and metadata cooperative, Gateway will not only serve to help educators teach students by providing access to educational knowledge but also through cutting edge innovation and collaboration. • Membership • Becoming a member is easy and free! You simply fill out the registration page and you have access to all materials as well as the ability to comment on those added by other users. Learning resources from PBS.  Boston’s WGBH (a producer of education programming for PBS) has partnered with to deliver a new collection of learning materials from popular PBS TV programs which will highlight activity guides, lesson plans, and more from these popular shows. Gateway columnists Peggy James and Joann Wasik will be providing reviews of these resources and tips for using them in the classroom.  New Resources to come in the Future… Gateway has even made an appearance on our own University of Arizona Library webpage Database by Subject: Education

4. Empire High Schoolhttp://ehs.vail.k12.az.us/ • Vail, Arizona (suburb of Tucson) • Opened in 2005 • First textbook free comprehensive public high school in the nation.

5. Purpose of Empire High School • Getting kids more involved with technology to prepare them for this technology driven world • Kids find it more motivating than books

6. iclickerhttp://www.iclicker.com/dnn • Interactive classrooms • Classroom attendance

7. Effectiveness of iClicker • Students can not skip class without going unnoticed • With interactive classrooms and class participation a part of your grade, students are accountable to paying attention in class and answering questions for points via the iClicker