Sara Manchak 6/19/14

LITR 630: 21
st
Century Literacies and Technology
Connection to the Standards and Research
International Reading Standards (IRA)
1.2 Candidates understand the historically shared knowledge of the profession and changes over time in
the perceptions of reading and writing development, processes, and components.
The teacher realizes the need to link students awareness to the fact that books they see and hear in
class, can also be seen and heard on the Internet and other digital devices. These two forms are similar,
yet different. This is addressed by the fact that the lesson asks the students to analyze both forms and
identify the similarities and differences between the two.
2.2 Candidates use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word
recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.
Terms such as online, Internet, digital are used with students in the lesson to familiarize them with the
technological vocabulary. Student responses recorded on an anchor chart in the form of a box and T
chart link reading and writing. Students are required to think about and use complete sentences to
share their ideas using the thinking stems provided by the teacher.
2.3 Candidates use a wide range of texts (e.g., narrative, expository, and poetry) from traditional print,
digital, and online resources.
The lesson compares and contrasts traditional print to digital/online resources hard copy of The Very
Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and several YouTube videos depicting the same story.
4.2 Candidates use a literacy curriculum and engage in instructional practices that positively impact
students' knowledge, beliefs, and engagement with the features of diversity.
The lesson is connected to the Common Core ELA standard RI.K.9: With prompting and support, identify
basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations,
descriptions, or procedures). Again, students are developing their literacy knowledge and beliefs about
literacy by engaging in the comparing and contrasting component of the lesson.

International Society for Technology in Education Student Standards (ISTE)
2. Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a
distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

The lesson allows students to analyze and evaluate online technology and traditional print media
through collaborative discussion. Students think, pair, share their ideas with one another and use
thinking stems to express their evaluation of the various forms of media.

4. Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and
make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

In the lesson, students are required to think critically to compare and contrast the traditional and digital
texts. They also use their new information about the digital technology to make decisions about and
express which they prefer, traditional or digital, and why.

Kentucky Teacher Standard 6 (KTS)

6.1 Uses available technology to design and plan instruction.
6.2 Uses available technology to implement instruction that facilitates student learning.
6.5 Demonstrates ethical and legal use of technology.

The lesson utilizes the SmartBoard, projector, and various video versions of a familiar hard copy text,
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, from an online, Internet site YouTube. Students are able to
learn about the possibilities available to them online to enhance their reading/literacy experience. They
are able to analyze and evaluate their thoughts on the various media and extend their learning in this
way. The lesson is safe and ethical because it is based on standards for learning; the videos were
previewed and are age appropriate for students, posing no threat or harm.

Research-based Connections

Much of the literature and research on literacy in technology discusses how students need to be taught
how to be responsible consumers of technological information. At the kindergarten level, this is a little
more difficult since they have to be guided more, but the lesson lends itself to helping the students to
understand several things. One, traditional texts are different from digital texts. Second, there can be
many versions of a traditional text. Thirdly, they will see technology used in order to deliver the digital
text with the involvement of the SmartBoard, projector and Weebly with the links to the videos of the
text. When students are asked to evaluate which version they prefer, they are learning to think about
the choices they have in their consumption of the material. Leu states that:

the reading ability required to search for and locate information on the Internet may very well
serve as a gatekeeper skill, because you will be unable to solve the problem if you cannot locate
information (Leu, et al., 2011).


Relation to the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK)

As the teacher in the classroom, it is important to know the content and standards that students are
expected to know and learn. Students in kindergarten are required to compare and contrast various
versions of the same text in their reading standards (RI.K.9). They are also expected by the ISTE and IRA
standards to be able to become responsible consumers of technology and be able to have dialogue
about its possibilities. This will lead to better navigation and consumption later. In thinking about the
pedagogy of this lesson, kindergarteners are just learning about the responsibilities of the Internet and
technology use. They require more teacher guidance. Therefore, the lesson only requires students to
watch, think and discuss as the teacher does most of the navigation and leads them to merely begin
thinking about the possibilities of the Internet and online exploration. Blending the knowledge of
content, the knowledge of age-appropriate pedagogy, and knowledge of the Internet (terms and
navigation), the teacher can successfully link students reading with technological literacy and help them
to grow in their learning and understanding of 21
st
century technologies.

References
Kereluik, K., Mishra, P. & Koehler, M. (2011). On Learning to Subvert Signs: Literacy, Technology and the
TPACK Framework. The California Reader, 44(2), p. 12-18.
Leu, D. J., McVerry, J.G., OByrne, W.I., Kiili, C., Zawilinski, L., Everett-Cacopardo, H., Kenedy, C. &
Forzani, E. (2011). The New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension: Expanding the Literacy
and Learning Curriculum. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(1), p. 5-14. International
Reading Association.
Read Oregon. International Reading Associations 2010 Standards for Reading Professionals. Read
Oregon. The Teaching Research Institute. 2011. http://readoregon.org. June 22, 2014.