Cycle 3 Action 2 Teaching Points

• Good website developers create a home page for our site. Sometimes it is helpful to include a bit of general information, pictures and links to other pages that contain the topic's subtopics.
• Good website developers create websites/wiki pages that are multimodal texts, by including such things as pictures, charts, graphs, maps, text, video, audio, links to other pages and sites, etc...
• Good website developers choose multimodal forms of text that fit a particular subtopic or page content. We often choose pictures, videos, maps, etc... that go along with what we are writing about.
• Good website developers include links to other websites, by making sure the links are relevant to the information on the page.

Cycle 3 Action 1 Teaching Points

• Researchers analyze the purpose of a particular website. It sometimes helps to ask ourselves what we think the author's perspective might be and what the site is make us think and feel.
• Researchers understand that different features are used on websites for different reasons. We analyze those reasons by thinking about how the author or web designer used the features such as photographs, videos, and links.
• Researchers figure our how a website is best structured. One way we do this is by analyzing how certain websites are organized. We then ask ourselves what is organized well and what is confusing or hard to use on the site.
• Researchers begin to think about ways they may someday develop a good website, by taking the knowledge from their analysis and deciding what would make a good website.

Cycle 2 Action 3 Teaching Points

• Readers of blogs think critically when reading, by asking ourselves, "What is this blog really saying?" "How is this blog making me feel?" "What is this blog making me think about?" "Do I agree with the author of the blog? Why or why not?"
• Readers of blogs begin an online conversation by posting a comment after we have read a blog. Sometimes we post our agreement or disagreement with the author.
• Readers of blogs deepen our online conversations by backing up their comments with facts or research of our own about the topic.
• Writers of blogs keep the online conversation going by responding to comments left. Sometimes it's helpful to start by saying, "I understand your feelings/thoughts about that..." "So it seems to me that you are saying..." whether we disagree or not.
• Commenters and writers of blogs must often keep multiple online conversations going in just one blog. Often times we may respond to a few commenters in one comment.

Cycle 2 Action 2 Teaching Points

• Blog writers choose topics that will get a reader to think and feel. Sometimes it is helpful to look back at our research and think about something we feel strongly about and brainstorm possible research details we can use to persuade our readers to our point of view.
• Blog writers learn to navigate a blog site such as www.blogger.com. To do this we read appropriate blogs on the site itself to get a feel for format, and click on the various links to grasp the layout and content of the site. It might be helpful to take notes along the way.
• Writers understand the blogging is a process that needs to be followed. It helps to follow directions provided by the teacher until we become familiar with the process.
• Blog writers create and post blogs as multimodal text. We do this by finding pictures, videos and/or sound clips that support our topic.
• Blog writers persuade readers to see and often times take on our points of view. One way to do that is to predict what the reader's counter view might be and validate the view before exposing them to our own.

Teaching Points Cycle 2 Action 1

• Readers/researchers differentiate between informational and persuasive types of blogs. It helps to ask ourselves, "Am I just learning about a topic, or am I starting to feel or think about my own idea?"
• Readers of blogs identify the perspective or point of view of the author. We do this by asking ourselves, "What is the author trying to get me to think or feel about this topic?"
• When we read blogs we need to make sure that we are not reading them in a neutral way. Sometimes it is helpful to put on a critical reading lens searching for specific examples in the text that helps us think and feel a certain way.
• Digital literacies, such as blogs, help us to partake in a global education and communication process by noticing the various perspectives of blog writers all over the world, and in turn using those perspectives to reflect on our own points of view about the topics.

Cycle 1 Action 3 Teaching Points

· Researchers of digital literacy report our findings in a variety of ways. One way we can do this is to compile a report of our findings in an information book.

· Researchers notice that authors, especially of digital media, have specific points of view on the topic they are presenting. Sometimes it is helpful to ask ourselves, What does the author want me to think and feel about this topic? What is he or she doing to get me to think/feel?, as we navigate through the websites, podcasts, blogs, etc…

· Researchers develop our own perspectives about the topics in which we research, by looking closely at the points of view of different authors and identifying with a certain perspective, forming our own judgments and opinions based on the evidence.

Cycle 1 Action 2 Teaching Points

· Researchers use social settings to process the information we acquire from digital media sources about our research topics. Most of us find it helpful to meet with others researching about the same topic and use accountable literature talk strategies.

· Researchers utilize our team talks to develop new ideas about our topics. Sometimes it is helpful to record notes during our talks, using boxes and bullets, to develop main ideas and the details that support them.

· Researchers evaluate ourselves, and our teams to make sure we are getting the best out of our inquiry. One way we can do this is to listen to transcripts of our talks to make sure we are staying focused, or to come up with ways to make our inquiries and talks more effective.

· Researchers learn to engage in strong inquiries by standing on the shoulders of others. Listening to podcasts of other research teams conversations can help us to uncover the correct and sometimes incorrect ways of focusing our research.