Literacy Quiz Results!

I am so excited! The results for my literacy quiz are all in! And although I can't post all the comments made, I did have a surprising amount of teachers respond based on the amount of them I sent it out to.

So here is the quiz (I tried to keep it brief):

1.When you hear the word “literacy,” do you:
a. associate the definition with being able to read and write text.
b. associate the definition with being able to understand, interpret and communicate with technology i.e. the internet, Smart Boards, IM, etc.
c. both

Answer:

2.On a scale of 1-10, 1 being not important and 10 being very important, how important is educating students on using technology e.g. web searches, text messaging, posting home movies online, etc.?

Answer:

3a. What forms of technology do you have in your classroom? b. Do you think they make a significant contribution to student's education? c. Why or why not (you can be brief)?

Answer:


...and here are the results:

out of 11 responses,


for number 1, there were:

6 C's
5 A's
1 B

showing that the teachers were split overall on whether or not literacy is a technology issue or not. One interesting thing I noticed here was that those teachers I knew who had completed a higher level of education (Master's, PhD) always answered "C" except for one teacher (but keep in mind this still didn't account for everyone who answered "C").


As for question #2, the average score came out to be 7.8. This shows that teachers viewed educating students on technology as very important, especially when you take into consideration that those who didn't see it as important did so because they thought students already knew about technology or knew more than they did. Two of them gave ratings and stated:

"7 - While I feel this is important, I believe my students already know much more than I do about the use of technology. That's not what I'm there to teach them, but they are extremely useful tools."

"4, most students know how to use modern technology."

Interesting!!!

On the other end of the spectrum, some of those who felt a strong "10" stated:

"10 (high school is about preparing kids for life-life in the US means technology"

"Children born after 1993 are "Digital Natives". They use digital technology for most forms of research and communication. It is up to us to make sure they are literate in this domain."

And as for question #3:

The type and amount of technology available in the classroom seemed directly related to how much of a contribution the teacher felt the technology provided, meaning the less of a contribution the technology provided, the less amount of technology that was available to students in his/her classroom and/or vice versa, since it is hard to say which came first.




I tried not to post a lot of what I concluded on here because I am hoping those that view it will come to their own conclusions. So please post on here and let us know what you think!

My Mom Topped the Fax Machine Story!

I was telling my mom today about how I posted the story of my step-dad and the instructions to using the fax machine (see "How to Send a Fax") and, once again, we laughed and laughed over it (I don't know why it never gets old;)

And then I asked her if she remembered how she wanted to buy another computer so she could have two pages up at the same time (yes, you read that right!), despite my attempts to explain to her how to highlight, copy and paste on a separate page, only to hear her ask, "So...why do I need to know this?!" Ugh.

I thought this was taken care of when my brother visited my parents and explained how to use several programs running at one time.

BUT then my mom answered my question by telling me that she really does use two computers at once!!!!!?!?!?!? She reads the information on one computer and then types the text into the other, reading a sentence, typing it in, reading another sentence, typing it in. And then she actually said that she was happy that they had a third computer, so she could, in reality, have three pages up at the same time to work off of.

By now I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! I told her that technology was there to make things faster and easier, not slower and more complicated.

Forget the fax machine! My mom has that one beat hands down! (Don't kill me for posting this, Mom;)

Shake Those Midwestern Hips!

Some people have been asking me what Zumba is, so here is a sample of what I teach at least 8 hours per week, every week:



It's a big mix of women, every age, ever shape, ever size, getting together and having some fun while we sweat a lot.

And I can tell when someone is new because either they will come up to me before class starts and apologize for "not being a dancer," or they will hide in the corner. And I tell them every time that it's not a dance competition, it is an exercise class that has dance moves. In the end, I look to see if people were sweating and smiling. That's it.

The other day, I had two Latinos come to my class. It was their first time doing Zumba and I have to admit that I was pretty intimidated, so I would up the routine to include a little more complicated moves here and there, and they not only got everything I gave them, they changed the moves on their own and did their own new moves! They outdid me. It was obvious this is in their blood.

And not only that, they had it going in their hips! They shook their hips! I would be mortified if anyone from my classes read this but overall I can't get them to shake their Midwestern hips! I guess it just isn't in our blood;)

Minivan Support Group-Go MSG!

I think I can tell what the hot topic of conversation is: minivans!

Every time I post something about minivans, good or bad, I get the most reactions from people. And it seems as though based on the number of comments from my last post on getting a minivan, along with the amount of support and justification for getting a minivan in those posts, and the amount of reaction I get from people I tell that we (or Jordan) got a minivan, it lead me to think that I could start a minivan support group or MSG (I know, that has a negative connotation to that-anyone have a better idea?).

Minivan Support Group is for those people who know that minivans have a certain stigma to them, but they love them and want to keep driving them just the same. They could share what they love about their minivans, how they use them to get the most benefit out of them, which color they think looks best on a minivan, etc. I know Jordan would join;)

Hey, we might even be able to make minivans the hottest thing;)!

So join MSG everyone! Post your support comments, stories, points of argument, etc. here! Before you know it, I will be putting MSG on Facebook and Twitter so you can follow up;)

Yay. We Got a Minivan:( ;)

I never wanted a minivan. Still don't. Yes, I know there are many who will argue that minivans are the greatest things ever, that they make life so easy, that the storage space is so nice, etc. I have heard it all before, and I can completely understand all the benefits of having one.

BUT now that I am officially a "soccer mom," getting a minivan on top of that threw me over the edge.

It was actually Jordan who wanted one more than I did. He is selling more equipment now and needed the room, not to mention the two kids, etc. So he requested to trade in his Chevy Malibu company car for a minivan, and low and behold! He got one this weekend.

My reaction to it was mixed. I was happy to have all the convenience-automatic doors, cargo space, etc., yet, again, I am now going to be riding around in (sigh) a minivan.

So what is it about getting a minivan that is scary, uncomfortable, etc.? Is it that a minivan sybolizes the end of all youth and the transition into middle age? Is it the idea that you are putting out the image that you can only be as "stylish" as a minivan?

Maybe. Who knows for sure? The point is that, at least on the weekends, every weekend while Jordan is home and we have the minivan to drive, I am reminded to never say never.

Twitter at the Craft Fair

I went with a friend (Beth!) tonight to a local craft fair, and while there, we found a booth advertising "Healthy Harvest Gardens," which are kits that help you set up your own organic garden. There was a friendly couple behind the table who struck up a conversation with us and told us about their product.

Then I said I just had one question for them-were Healthy Harvest Gardens on Twitter? The husband slowly answered, "Nnnnooooo," while the wife burst out, "Yes! See? I tooold you!"

Oh no, I think I just ruined this guy's night...or maybe his life altogether. I sure didn't mean to cause an argument! But the good thing was that we had a small conversation about Twitter and how to use it for business. From this, we got that Twitter for business was good to drop hints, get the word out, etc., but that you still needed email.

Yes! More points for Shannon in her literacy class!

Literacy Quiz for Educators Update

I have gotten a few results back for my literacy quiz I sent out to educators. The results have been interesting, and though I am going to wait until Monday to see if I can get any more to post those results, I have found thus far that those who are currently teaching or who have taught in the past, but are not pursuing further education on their own have a very different view of technology and literacy in the classroom...more to come on that.

Identity

I come in contact with other women all the time, and sometimes I ask them what they "do." And sometimes they answer that they are moms. This lead into a conversation with one of them where we discussed our identity. Is that how we define ourselves now that are at home with our small children? Are we "moms"?

I am not saying this is a negative thing to be. In fact, it is just the opposite. But that is beside the point. The point is that moms need an identity outside of momhood. We need something of our own. We cannot work our jobs literally 24/7 (ok, so there are a few exceptions to that, but they are few, and I, for one, am not included in that group).

We need something that helps define ourselves when we are "on break." This may include hobbies, side jobs, relationships, etc. For example, one of my friends does hair out of her basement, and it is not only a job, but a hobby for her because she loves it so much. Another friend heads up a charity organization, I take classes online, another friend is one of the queens of blogging, the list goes on.

And when our kids are grown up and move out, we won't be left wondering who we are or what we are to do with ourselves, we will just let these identities take more precedence...though it may not necessarily be easy to do so.