Developing
Research Skills in
the Language Arts
Classroom
UC Irvine Libraries SPIRIT Program
Instructor: Melanie Sellar

What are our objectives today?
By the end of today’s class, you will:
• Have a greater understanding of online information materials
and their relation to today’s learner and classroom
• Acquire some basic understanding of various online tools with
potential classroom (and professional devpt) applications
• Learn the mechanics of finding, setting up, and posting to blogs
• Acquire some ideas and strategies for integrating blogs into the
language arts classroom

Match the Icon to the Product or Service!
RSS feed
SlideShare
del.icio.us
TeacherTube
Technorati
Wikipedia
EduBlogs
Flickr

Understanding Digital Natives
What does today’s student look
like and what are their learning
preferences?
(video from teachertube.com)

What tools and strategies do you use for
teaching these Language Arts standards?
Reading Writing Strategies
Comprehension and Applications
(Focus on Informational
Materials)

Why use online technologies in
teaching Language Arts?

Why? Motivates Students
• Community development
• Engage students in the learning process
• Access to a wider audience than within the classroom
• Opportunities to share learning (e.g. parents and others)
• Moving learning beyond the classroom walls
• Not just one way communication: participative, two-way
• Feedback mechanisms available
• Sustain attention with varied instruction
• Opportunities to create and collaborate
• Stimulate curiosity

Why? New Types of Info Materials
Traditional “Information Materials”:
Textbooks, other books, encyclopedias, maps,
newspaper articles, brochures, advertisements,…
Digital “Information Materials”:
e-Books, collaborative web sites, blogs, Wikipedia,
interactive maps, open access journals, search
engines, podcasts…
With these new forms of publishing, students need to become
familiar with their structural features and know when and how to
use them.

Why? Literacy Development
Information literacy: Ability to ask questions, formulate research
strategies, use appropriate information tools, evaluate and analyze
data, use and incorporate information ethically, and synthesize
information.
Digital literacy: Ability to use digital technology, communication tools,
or networks to locate, evaluate, use, and create information.
Media literacy: Ability to communicate competently in all media forms
– print and electronic – and to think critically about messages
inherent in new media.
Computer literacy: Ability to effectively and efficiently use computer
tools.

Why? Connected to Standards
English Language Arts – 2.0 Reading Comprehension
• Focus on structural features of information materials
• Assess adequacy, accuracy, and appropriateness of the author’s evidence to support claims
and assertions, noting instances of bias and stereotyping
• Identify topics; ask and evaluate questions; and develop ideas leading to inquiry, investigation,
and research
• Understand how text features (e.g. format, graphics, illustrations, charts..) make information
accessible and usable
English Language Arts – 1.0 Writing Strategies
• Choose the form of writing that best suits intended purpose; create multiple-paragraph
expository compositions, use a variety of effective and coherent organizational patterns
• Use organizational features of electronic text to locate information
• Compose documents with formatting by using word-processing skills and principles of design
English Language Arts – 2.0 Writing Applications
• Write research reports; develop note-taking skills; compile evidence from different sources

What’s Different about Web 2.0?
Web 1.0 = read only web Web 2.0 = read & write web
• Enhanced interaction and sharing
• Communication was one direction
between users
• Author/publisher held right to
• Greater focus on social aspects and
publish
enhancing social networks.
• No ability for the user to interact
• More content creation by users, and
with the content (e.g. no
often done collaboratively
opportunities to respond to it, edit
it, add to it, or re-use it…). • Encourage user contribution, e.g.
reviews, recommendations, and
comments
• Ability to re-use and re-mix data
• Personalization and customization of
experiences.
• Community and sense of ownership

What’s the Deal with Blogs?
Video: Blogs in Plain English
(courtesy of CommonCraft.com)

Take a Tour of Blogs
Features Types of Blog Posts
• Easily created and updated; if you can e-mail,
you can blog! • Diary / journal entry
• Posts are listed in chronological order. • Opinion / editorial
• Edit posts in a similar manner to MS Word • Reviews, critiques, analyses
• Include links to other online content • How-to / tutorial
• Each blog post has a “comments section” for • Interview
readers to offer their opinion or feedback
• Breaking news
• Each post has its own URL, so that other
• Video entries
online writers can easily link to it from their
own sites • Surveys
• List of resources
• Can include images, videos, and audio files
• Homework assignment
• A new blog is being created every second, on
every topic imaginable! • Publish creative writing

Using Blogs in School
Some ideas:
• Class portal (assignments, syllabus, class rules…)
• School website
• Class newspaper
• Online portfolio of work – post for teacher and peer review
• Collaborative space – students can collaborative with others online
• Communicate internally and externally with colleagues
• Post prompts for writing
• Encourage discussion and debate on subjects
In order to:
• Widen potential audience of student work
• Expand the walls of the classroom
• Archive the learning that students do, facilitating reflection
• Support different learning styles
• Teach new literacies
• Teach students how to interact in an online environment

Find a Blog!
www.edublogs.org
http://blogsearch.google.com
www.technorati.com
www.bloglines.com
Post your findings at http://ucispirit.edublogs.org/

Get Blogging! The how-to’s
1. Go to http://edublogs.org/
2. Click on “sign up for free”
3. Fill out the registration form
4. Check your e-mail to activate it
5. Visit your new URL!
6. Log in to EduBlogs to write a post

Getting Started Using Blogs in the
Classroom
Get into small groups with others of similar grade levels:
1. What steps/concerns need to be addressed when considering
launching a blog for school or classroom use?
2. How would you introduce the genre of blogs to your grade
level?
3. What kind of activities could you use blogs for? (Create new or
update existing lessons)
4. How would you assess blog use by students?

Tips for Keeping Up
• Focus on one new technology to learn at a time
• Don’t feel you have to roll it out right away in your classroom,
give yourself time to play and get familiar
• Set aside some regular time to “play” (e.g. 15-30 mins/week)
• Follow the online learning program “Classroom Learning 2.0” –
it’s a tutorial blog that introduces you to one new technology
each week, followed by a short set of exercises. You can do it
alone or with a group: http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com/

Thank you for
coming!
http://spirit.lib.uci.edu
All clip art used in this presentation was licensed from
the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com.