I chose environmental
literacy because it was something that I thought sounded the least bit like
typical literacy to me. It sounded to me like it should be considered science
more than anything. I also really liked how relevant it seemed, as the top definition
was that it was exploring the connections between nature and human-built
systems. We always talk in school about the “real world” and how we want to
bring that into the classroom to make what kids learn in school relevant. To
have kids learning about these systems that their parents and community work in
and build in relation to the environment is extreme “real world.” I loved how
it started out with a quiz, which is incorporated into my Prezi. It not only
helps to explain what environmental literacy is, but it is engaging right away.
I loved how the links aren’t to boring text, but they are interactive like
“find your ecological footprint,” or sites to real organizations that have
dedicated their work to protecting the environment and educating people. These
sites require a lot of reading and listening, as well as giving a little
writing input, as well. In regards to the original definitions of literacy that
our class put down, many of the definitions were really shallow, describing
literacy as “reading and writing,” but others got deeper, more at what
environmental literacy is. Natalie’s definition was “competence in a specified
area.” This is more than just learning how to read and write, it is being
informed about a subject and able to apply it to life. This hits the nail on
the head for environmental literacy. I am feeling way more competent in this
area as I am exploring the different websites and doing the different
activities. I’ve only vaguely paid any attention to things in the environment
before, but I find myself thinking a lot more about how the decisions I’m
making are affecting the world around me. I am learning that this kind of
literacy is way less about sitting on my butt and learning about it, but rather
being motivated to go out and explore and be inspired to change my actions
based on what I am learning. It definitely surprised me at first that this was
considered literacy, but as the literacy definition has been now expanded in my
mind, one can be literate in almost anything. Exploring environmental literacy
has definitely expanded my view on literacy at large. In regards to my
students, if they were learning about environmental literacy, there would need
to be a lot of hands on activities as well as stepping outside the classroom to
explore what is out there. I think kids would need firsthand experience with
observation of the environment. I would hope that how I present the information
would inspire students to want to start a coalition or join one of the
organizations that we research in order to help do their part. I do not think
that this type of literacy is already in the curriculum, with the exception of
maybe some in science class. I think this type of literacy would not only be
engaging, but very applicable to my students’ lives and in preserving our world.
I have very much enjoyed exploring this content, and I have tons of ideas for
how I could incorporate it into my future classroom.
Regarding my digital literacy that I am
using for this project, Prezi, I have learned a great deal about this
technology, as well. I have always wanted to try Prezi because it looked really
cool and engaging when I had seen my peers use it. My roommate has also had
professors use Prezi and she said that it makes lecture more interesting. I
definitely really like how engaging it is. There are so many different formats
that I am able to use for free, and the formats differ depending on what type
of presentation I want to make. I am still choosing between two different
formats because they are both cool for environmental literacy – a tree
structure or an island treasure map structure. Because I feel like I am a
digital native, I was able to pick up how to use the technology pretty quickly
and add more branches to the trees and more spots on the treasure map. It does
take a lot of time to perfect the design that I want to make, which is a
drawback. I’m not sure if I could see myself making Prezis for every single
presentation that I want to do in my classroom. What makes it useful, however,
is that it is online, so I could access it from anywhere. This is also a
drawback, too, because you have to have Internet to work on it. I did see an option
to download Prezi onto my desktop, however, but I’m not sure if that one costs
money. Prezis are also a little bit more difficult to promote interaction.
Observers only have the option to scroll through the pre-made presentation, but
a treasure-map structure where they are following a sequence could make it more
interactive. Putting links in the Prezi that lead to multimedia quizzes and
videos as well as including pictures can help, as well. This technology
definitely has me using writing, viewing and listening in different ways that I
have before, but not so much with speaking. I am learning to make my thoughts more concise
when putting information into the different sections, as well as using a
variety of resources to explain my type of literacy. It has definitely been a
challenge for me, but an enjoyable one, as I am wading through the new
technology. If my students were learning how to use this technology, they would
definitely have to learn about design and how to make something aesthetically
appealing but make sense and have a flow, as well. They would have to learn to
use a minimal amount of words in each of the sections, and to make it
interactive by using questions, videos, pictures, and other things like quizzes
or surveys, depending on the audience. I could definitely see myself
incorporating how to use this versus PowerPoint and talking about the
similarities and differences. My students would also have to learn about how to
sift through information to develop their own original piece of work. This is
an important strategy, in finding the most important parts of a website or
section of information. There
are a lot of skills like these specifically required for online literacy versus
print literacy that I would definitely want to have a unit about. It has been a
stretch for me to use a new technology, and I always want to be challenging
myself and my students to explore new ways to do the same things.
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