Penguin fun!

Club Penguin is a really fun way for kids to learn appropriate internet behaviour (before you can play you have to agree with the rules ie. No bad language) and not to provide personal information. It's a fun, safe site where kids can create their own penguin to waddle around with online to interact with other penguins. A site I wish I'd known about when I was assisting in grade 2 and taught a whole unit on penguins!!

www.clubpenguin.com

Silly Squid

WOW! What a wonderful example to promote the effective teaching of new literacies! Because there is so much information readily available on the internet we, as educators, need to ensure that students are critical about any and all content that they are exposed to and seek out authentic information.

New Literacies

As the world around us becomes increasingly connected and digital, teachers new and old are faced with the challenges that come with 'new literacies'. Traditionally, literacy is broadly defined as understanding the written word through reading and writing (McDougall, 2007, p.130).

'New literacies' take reading and writing beyond the confines or a pen and paper and demand that students and teachers alike, become fluent in navigating complex digital media that are commonly used to communicate in addition to a textbook or a letter.

McDougall, J. (2007). Engaging the visual generation : some Queensland teachers come to terms with changing literacies. Screen Education(46), 130-137