"Using A Fun And Frugal Approach For Teaching 21st Century Digital Lite" by Rochelle Lockridge

Term

Fall 2019

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAT

Facilitator(s)

Laura Halldin. Jana Lo Bella Miller

Content Expert

Mariana Funes

Abstract

With the high-value placed on digital learning and the consequential need for accompanying 21st-century digital literacy skills, effective teacher professional development is crucial. Surveys report that K-12 teachers are largely dissatisfied with their current training options. They prefer collaborative learning experiences that are energizing, supportive, and hands-on; focusing less on presentations and lectures and more on opportunities to apply learning through demonstrations, modeling, and practice. An underfunded public education system combined with a perceived “tech bloat”, the juggling of too many digital tools, exacerbate training and support issues. The 10-week professional development curriculum designed for this project facilitates the development of digital literacy skills within the framework of a Community of Practice- a shared, contextual and content relevant learning environment. It embraces a Pedagogy of Play within a digital storytelling context with an invitation to play the role of a teacher at a fictional Nissaba School of Sorcery using “digital magic” to develop digital literacy skills in preparation for a lesson exchange program with a non-magical school. Assignments utilize only a small targeted subset of digital technologies that are free and easy to use. Digital artifacts produced are directly applicable to teachers’ real-life classroom activities with the intent of encouraging collaboration in a fun and frugal learning experience that will continue to develop their digital literacy skills beyond the course itself. The goal of this project is to develop a teacher’s 21st-century digital literacy skills to enhance their effectiveness in the classroom by facilitating a relevant and effective professional development experience that both teachers and administrators are seeking.

Project Type

Professional Development

Keywords

Literacy, Staff Development, Teachers/ Teaching, Technology

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

Included in

Education Commons

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