Abstract
Participatory literacy practices include the ways in which individuals interpret, make, and share as a way of connecting in our digitally mediated culture. This chapter is a culmination of an across-university partnership created between the two authors and the pre-service teachers that collaborated online about teaching and learning. Three threads of participatory literacy practices are shared within the chapter including 1) the use of blogging across university settings, 2) the implementation of digital professional learning communities (PLCs) to connect and collaborate with other pre-service teachers, and 3) the formation and participation in digital literature circles to co-construct meaning from children's literature. This chapter includes the authors' attempts at collaboration across university settings using different tools, platforms, and resources. This work is an example for other teachers and teacher educators to consider how we can help pre-service teachers be part of the participatory culture and provide an even wider community of learners.
TopBackground
Our chapter rests on three important concepts: the use of digital literacy practices, the TPACK, and the use of professional learning communities. These three models work collectively to provide an important foundation for the ways in which teacher educators can and are preparing future teachers for authentic classroom practice with digital literacies.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Seesaw: A digital portfolio app where educators can post student artifacts for others to view and to comment (including other students and parents).
Yammer: An online platform that is similar in appearance to Facebook, yet it is a controlled digital space for educational institutions and professional organizations to connect.
Digital Literature Circle: Moving a traditional literature circles that includes multiple individuals responding to a shared reading of a text to a digital space.
Blogging: Posting reflections and ideas in a shared digital space for others to view and where responses are able to respond.
Flipgrid: A website that allows the (teacher) user to post prompts for students to reply to using brief (selfie) videos.
360-Degree Video: Panoramic video that places the viewer in the center of the video, with the capability to focus in on any aspect of the surrounding environment.
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs): Groups of professionals meeting together with a common goal and with the intention to improve their professional practice.