Lately I have been trying to figure out my next steps. I really want to start adding in all of these resources that I am learning about into my classroom. So what's stopping me? Well time is one of them. My students have been really busy with their service learning project, Coins for Critters. We just finished it on Friday when we went to the Suisun Wildlife Center and presented them with an $800 check that my students worked hard to raise. Now that we are done with that (which was a lot of time and effort) I can start moving on to incorporating more digital tools for my students to use. My driving question has changed slightly to "What are the effects of digital tools on reading comprehension?" I really want to find digital tools for my students to use to help retell their story using the story elements. I changed it from "digital storytelling" because there are not a lot of computer based tools to use for my purpose. I found a lot of apps, but I do not have Ipads.  Now that I took that out I can broaden my scope of digital tools. I'm sure I'll change my question a couple more times before I'm happy with it, but for now I'm working with that. 

The SITE model  stands for Sociocultural, Informational, Technical Education. These 3 subcontexts (socoiocultural, informational, and technical) all surround the learning making this a learner centered model. For the sociocultural subcontext of this model, the teacher needs to understand the student as a whole person. There are many factors in a person's life, family, peers, role models, mentors, or community. The technical subcontexts determines the ways and means in which the learner learns. This will effect how the teacher will teach. The informational subcontext is the information that exits for the learner. After reading about the SITE model I am looking at my students closely. I understand that I need to use what motivates them, and that is why I am trying to make a plan to incorporate more technology in my classroom. They get so excited when it is time for computer based lessons. I am also motivated by technology and that is why I want to make sure that my students are not falling off the wagon because I am not using all of the tools in my tool belt. I want my students to be motivated and engaged throughout my lessons. I feel that in the spring time this is less and less so now is a perfect time for me to try new things. 

Clark Key Ideas:

• Is training needed?- When reading this part about is training needed or can other motivations change the behavior, I felt that this can be applied to my driving question. My driving question needs to be something that is needed and can be used to possibly change teaching practices. I do not want to do things/change things within my classroom if there is not a need for it. Can small changes be made or do I need to do a "training" on it?
• Learning objectives- Clark states that we need to state the objective of our lesson. Most of the time in class I state the objective of my lesson (mostly in math) but I need to make sure I do it in every lesson. Students want to know what the end result is.
• Application level- Clark mentions that the bulk of the presentation needs to be guided to the application level. This means that students need to show that they understand the teaching not just recite what was being taught but actually apply it. 

Dervin Key Ideas:

• Sense making-as teachers we need to help students make sense of things. We need to help them "bridge the gap" and cross the bridge.
  
• Experiences- Experiences help students bridge gaps. This helps remind me to make sure I'm having meaningful experiences for the students to learn.
  

Baggio Key Ideas:

• Trilogy of the Mind- Baggio believes emotions and natural instincts play a part in learning. How you feel, how you think, and how you naturally do what you do, all are part of learning. This makes sense to me. If students do not feel interested in a subject they might have trouble learning it. Some students are natural or have a talent for doing things. If something comes natural to them, they might learn it faster. 
• Prior Knowledge- This is what they already know. Sometimes before I start a lesson (especially in social studies, grammar, and science) I ask students what do they already know about the topic. This helps me get an idea of where my lesson should go. Do they already know a lot about a topic? Do I need to give further information? Do they have wrong information that I have to help them "unlearn"?
• Visual learners-85% of people are visual learners. Knowing this it is important to use visuals during my lessons to help students better understand the topic. I feel that videos, posters, graphics are important when presenting information. After taking the test in Baggio's book I learned that I am one of the 85% of people who are visual learners (I always thought I was kinesthetic). 

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I changed my driving question only slightly. Before my driving question was: How does digital storytelling affect reading comprehension? Now I have changed my question to: What are the effects of digital storytelling tools on reading comprehension? I want to know if students use digital storytelling tools to retell a story, will it affect their comprehension of the story they read. I might want to change my question to: "What are the effects of digital tools on reading comprehension?" and take out the storytelling part completely. I need to know what tools are out there for students to use in second grade. I also need to know what kinds of tools my students have used or are comfortable with.  
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My main focus as of right now are my students. I feel that their learning is my number one priority. This time of the year they are beginning to become unfocused and it is becoming harder and harder to keep their attention. I want to find ways to motivate them and help them grow as learners. I feel technology is something they really enjoy and it grabs their attention, so my goal is to find new ways of incorporating new technology into my classroom to keep them engaged. I understand that my colleagues are also my audience. As I continue my research, I will keep in mind that my goal is to influence change in my colleagues and my practices. For now, I will focus on my students. After researching the ARCS model, I think I will try to use that to guide my teaching practices more. Without realizing it, I somewhat used this model as I teach but now that I see the model I can use it as I lesson plan.