Second Annual Digital Literacies
Summer Institute Continues to Help Educators Integrate Technology
in K-12 Classrooms
Date:July
28, 2012
Time:8:30
AM-3:30 PM
This July, New York City’s public and parochial school
teachers will learn new ways to engage students with
21st-century media and technologies during a one-day
institute that boasts in-depth, hands-on workshops at St. John’s
University’s Staten Island campus.
The
Digital Literacies Summer Institute 2012 features “practical,
hands-on experiences” that shows K-12 teachers “what it really
means to teach, guide, and communicate with students, helping them
to make meaningful connections between their school work and their
digital lives,” said
Sandra Schamroth Abrams, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in The
School of Education at St. John’s. “The workshops will
demonstrate ways for teachers to integrate technologies using the
range of resources available at their schools.”
Along with
Dr. Aliya Holmes and
Dr. Deborah Greh, Dr. Abrams is directing this year’s
Institute, to be held at St. John’s Staten Island campus
from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 28,
2012. The workshops focus on the knowledge and techniques
that current and aspiring teachers need in today’s digital learning
environment. St. John’s University students and faculty also may
register. In addition, students who enroll in the Teaching
for Technology Literacy in Regular and Special Classroom Settings
(EDU 7266/7267) on the Staten Island campus will be able to attend
this event as part of the course this summer.
Participants select one morning and one afternoon workshop, and
each session provides teachers with instructional “tools” they can
take away to use in their own classrooms. “Not only will
participants gain knowledge,” Dr. Abrams said, “but also they’ll
leave with ‘artifacts’ — models — from the workshops that they then
can take back to their classrooms.”
The workshops are designed to help teachers overcome the lag
between new instructional technologies and the way they are used in
the classroom. Sessions will cover Smart Board techniques, Arts and
STEM education (SteAm), Video gaming and Learning, and Web 2.0
tools and resources.
Dr. Abrams developed the program with Aliya Holmes, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Educational Technology; Deborah Greh, Ed.D.,
Professor of Communications and Director of the Communications Arts
Program, Staten Island campus;
Regina Mistretta, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Education;
Rosette Allegretti, Ed.D., Assistant Dean for the School of
Education, Staten Island, and
Steven Kuntz, Ph.D., Associate Dean for The School of
Education, Staten Island and Manhattan campuses.
“Though we are over a decade into the 21st century,
educators continue to grapple with the integration of digital
resources, and many are left to explore digital learning on their
own with minimal collaboration or feedback. Ultimately,
educators need support to draw upon 21st century literacies in the
classroom,” said Dr. Abrams. “On- and off-line technologies can
enhance learning, but only if they are used in ways that resonate
with students and teachers.”
Those interested in this hands-on program can
register using the forms found online at
www.stjohns.edu/godigital. The fee is $95 for one day
(with a 10% discount for groups of four or more). A light breakfast
and lunch are included. For more information, please contact Lynn
Bosco at (718) 390-4577, boscol@stjohns.edu.