CURRINS 545 Post #2

    

    My current understanding of literacy would be ones ability to read and further engage with what they're reading. This engagement could relate to a critical analysis, a literature circle/club, a school project/essay, or even just a conversation with a friend/teacher. It's one thing to be able to read a book or text, but it's another thing to then be able to transmit that information into further conversation with another person, whether by questioning, criticizing, analyzing, reinterpreting, etc. Accessibility on the other hand is a vital aspect to reaching equity, as in giving access to a high quality education to everyone by meeting the needs of individuals regardless of their background or economic status. These two topics are easier said than done, and require a lot of work to accomplish successfully, but here are a few resources I've found which might help make them a little easier. 

    To start, Saint Mary's University has a great short article which establishes some fundamental aspects of achieving a literacy-rich classroom. The main pillar of which include access to books for teachers, classroom environment curation, and family/community involvement tips. I particularly found this resource valuable for its aid in finding books without breaking the bank. Though I hope to have a large classroom library, I worry that costs will add up quickly, especially if it's coming out of my pocket. 

    Another resource pertaining to literacy would be the Penguin Random House book finder. I'm sure there's many resources similar to this one, but I like this one because it's made by a popular publisher. I think book finder/surveys would be a great asset to help students find books which might interest them. If anything, these kinds of resources can help students really think about what they want from a book. Another resource which I use which is kind of similar is goodreads, which I personally use quite often. It's a great resource for keeping track of books you've read/are reading, and is full of lists and other ways of discovering new books/authors. 

    Shifting over to accessibility, the first resource I found was this edutopia article, which highlights accessibility stratagies across multiple kinds of technology commonly found in classrooms. For example, the article discusses the availability of text-to-speech, proofreading, captions, and even translation for Google, Microsoft, and Apple products. Author of the article, Tolulope Noah, states "If we view accessibility features through the lens of Universal Design for Learning, then we realize that accessibility features are one way to promote access and minimize barriers for the wide variety of learners in our classrooms."

    Lastly for my resources is this ReadSpeaker article. Compared to the edutopia article, this article discusses resources and tools which more heavily involve the teacher, for example, the article introduces Bloomz, a software which allows teachers to "capture trends in student behavior, which can be an indicator for accessibility needs. Bloomz can also support parent-teacher communication, allowing parents to be collaborators in bettering their children’s education" (Foxwell). The article also highlights the utility of Google Forms in getting student feedback, which I have found success with using in the past, both as an educator and as a student. 

Questions I have for further exploration of the topic of Literacy and Accessibility include:

• How do I ensure that I am providing tools and resources which ensure every student in my class can be successful?
• What are some resources to further practice literacy in all disciplines and genres? I love to read fiction and creative works, but I find more analytical and scholarly writing to be hard to follow. How do I get a better grip on these genres to better serve my students?
• How do I know that I am actively challenging my students in regards to literacy? Alternatively, how will I know if I am assigning them readings which are too complex? 
• How do I assign readings and texts in a classroom which has students with varying reading abilities and preferences? Is student choice always the answer or should I also consider a class-wide novel?

 

CURRINS 545 Post #1

 

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Seth Kaplan and I'm currently in my last year at UWM for my Secondary English Education degree. This year, I'm fortunate enough to be working under Mr. Timmons at Golda Meir High School, doing fieldwork in his Communications Media class this fall and then student teaching a Science Fiction class in the spring. I'm looking forward to getting a feel for working in the classroom as an educator, especially because I feel I've been a student for so very long. That being said, though I am pursuing a career in teaching, I like to think of myself as a lifelong student first and foremost.  

For my image, I revamped and edited an old jamboard which was used in last spring for a class which taught about how to incorporate the internet into teaching. Throughout the course, we used jamboards all the time, so it's only fitting to keep them in mind for future teaching activities! This specific jamboard exemplifies me, combining all of my favorite things into one image, from music, to books, to art.

The website I'm sharing for this blogpost is squibler.io, which is a plot generator used to start writing with simple, yet intriguing prompts. Oftentimes as a high schooler, I found the hardest part of writing to be simply starting, and squibler does that for you! I've seen my cooperating teacher use it in his own classroom to get his class started thinking creatively, and I personally find it to be a lot of fun. 

Thanks for checking out crummy cradle, and I hope your semester has gotten off to a good start!