Cadence Academy’s Book of the Month Challenge
Social Media Campaign —
Presentation —
Reflection —
When we started this class, I was a little intimidated. Other than short, 60-second videos on Instagram or TikTok, I didn’t think of myself as a digital author. For most projects throughout my time in the master’s of education program here at the University of Rhode Island, I was completing many lesson plans, assessments, presentations, and papers. I never had to make videos or social media campaigns where I even considered myself a digital author. This semester was tough because I definitely went outside of my comfort zone. Yet, it was rewarding because I learned so much and will take this information into my future classroom.
Throughout this course and even in this final project, I learned that I’m very hands-on even when it comes to media work. Additionally, I learned that I work well in stressful situations because I figured out that every situation will be solved in the end. Once the directions for the final project was posted, I was incredibly stuck. Normally, when it comes to papers, lessons, or projects, I will have some sort of idea of what I want to do. This project, there were so many options. First, I thought writing a paper may be best for me because I can do more research on “technology among children” which is something I’m passionate about. But, I thought to myself, “I want to do something different!” I wanted to go out of my comfort zone and do something I haven’t done before. I work in social media. I create and post photos, reels, or commercial type videos everyday. But, I’ve never done it in an educational setting. I had this idea, but then now what? I went to my other job at the preschool for some inspiration. When one of my pre-kindergarteners came up to me and returned a book to me, that’s when the light went on.
The Cadence Academy Book of the Month Challenge allowed all families to read one specific book to their children at home. My school provided the same book to every family. Once families finished reading the book, we talked about it, added it to the list, and completed activities about it (e.g., painted or colored worksheets about the book, or wrote journal entries). I truly love this project because during these years, children make connections to everything around them. When they read these books at home or at school, they are connecting with family and the school community.
We incorporated digital literacy in a couple of ways. One of my favorite ways to incorporate digital literacy is through read alouds. In my classroom, there are students at all different levels. Some students can sit through me reading a book while others can’t. Some students are engaged when I’m reading to them and can answer comprehension questions. Others stare out the window and have no idea what I’m saying. When I show them a video version of the book where it has cool images that move around, that is where those students thrive. These students can sit still, pay attention, and even answer questions at the end.
When I was creating the actual project, the social media campaign. I came into a ton of technological issues. In the prior leaps, I recorded my presentation through Microsoft PowerPoint. For some reason, that app crashed on my computer. I had to find different ways to record audio over a presentation. Canva is the website that I use to create flyers for work. I noticed that there’s features where you can create presentations and record your voice. After stressing, this resolved some problems. Overall, through the excitement and stress of this project, I’m glad I got to share my school’s literacy challenge with you all.
