Spooling- 5:3

October 6th, 2012

When & Where:

So I came across this word when I was trying to set-up my classroom printer about a month ago. At that time, I just ignored the word because I was busy setting up everything for the new school year. But the problem was, my classroom printer just kept “spooling” and it would not properly re-start…

After I called technology support, I realized I am totally printer illiterate! Apparently, I forgot to remove the slip off the ink cartridge when I attempted to replace the ink.  

Definition: According to http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/spooling.html the definition of the word spooling "refers to putting jobs in a buffer, a special area in memory or on a disk where a device can access them when it is ready."the definition of the word spooling

My Level of Familiarity: . Initially when I saw the word, I thought the word sounded kind of dirty (lol). Then I realized I have heard that word used before in another context. I believe the word "spooling" was in one of my history textbooks. I just could not remember what it meant. As I searched for images to represent this word, I found thousands of images. There were various representations of this word and many of which applied to different disciplines. For example, I found pictures of "printer spooling" and military personnel spooling trackways for soilders to walk across.

 

Reflective Commentary: Then as I went through pictures, I realized how "easy" this word really is. Spooling can also refer to a basic thread and the spool used to hold it. What is most fascinating about this revelation is how this basic concept of "spooling" has been carried over to so many things; for instance systems that hold rope, thread, ribbon jumper hoses, fishing reels, and even wires.

 

Indemnify- 6:1

October 7th, 2012

Indemnify- 6:1

When & where: This past week I was reviewing a legal document and I discovered this word, indemnify.

Definition: According to  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indemnify the word indemnify can either mean “to secure against hurt, loss or damage” or to make “compensate to for incurred hurt, lost or damaged.”

Level of Familiarity: Because meaning was not interrupted by the word “indemnify” in the sentence I was reading from, I didn’t feel like I had to know the exact definition of the word.

Reflective Commentary: What I am finding most fascinating about this process of blogging my vocabulary words in my search for images. Through this navigation, I found many images pertaining to each word. Indemnify was no exception to that. I found lots of pictures of ways people would be compensated (pictures of cash, car insurance policies, repairs on vehicles, etc.)  if they were perhaps “indemnified.” I also found cartoon images represented court cases disputing whether or not employees were properly indemnified (an injured person’s right to claim reimbursement from his/her company).  But I picture I selected represents a movie titled “Double Indemnity.” I chose this picture because I was interested to see how this movie symbolically protrayed this meaning of indemnity. When I searched various websites, I found the reason behind the movie title on wikipedia.org. Apparently, there are some life insurances policies that offer double the insurance payout to the widow if the cause of death is accidental. The premise of the movie is based on this promiscuous house-wife attempting to have her husband murdered. I felt like using this digital narrative text, I was able to support my learning.

Google Chrome: 5-2

October 6th, 2012

Google Chrome

When & Where: So last month I created an iMovie of my students and I wanted to upload the video to youtube.com so we could make the video public. After several attempts to successfully download my content, I kept getting messages that my “upload failed.” After hours of trying to troubleshoot myself, I decided to look at the “Having Trouble Uploading a Video” FAQ Sheet. One of the recommendations on this sheet was to use a quicker web-browser. The first choice under that suggestion was “Google Chrome.”  

Defintion: Google Chrome is a new “fast, free web browser that is built for the modern web” (https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome).

 

Level of Familiarty: In terms of using google, I am very familair with the search engine and it is always my number 1 choice when it comes to searching for content. Google Chrome however was completely new to me. I have used other web browsers that have claimed to be faster such as mozilla firefox but never Google Chrome.

Reflective Commentary: Now that I know that Google Chrome is, I have already downloaded the app for my iPad to speed up my video uploads. I have not yet explored the browser to see if it offers other unique features.

PR- Personal Record:5-1

October 4th, 2012

“PR”- Personal Record- 5:1

When & Where: Since I've joined my cross-fit (an exercise program that combines various forms of fitness) gym back in May, I have been exposed to so many words that are completely foreign to me!

Level of Familiarity: The acronym “PR” I first saw on the daily whiteboard next to people’s names. The first time I saw it, I just ignored it because I was so overwhelmed with doing the work-out correctly. But then overtime, I began to hear people say when they were lifting “I PR’d.” After a few exposures to the acronym, I realized people were referring to beating their previous weight for lifting and setting a new personal record!
 

Defintion: The definition really speaks for itself. When a person sets a “PR” that means that they have exceeded their previous weight with a lift and he/she set a personal record.

Reflective Commentary: Now that I am familair with the acronym "PR," I have already used it appropriately this week. I achieved my first "PR's" with schoulder press and a clean lift (types of weight lifts regularly appearing in cross-fit workouts).

 

Ecumenical- 4:2

Ecumenical- 4:2

Monday, October 1st, 2012

Where & When: The word, ecumenical, appeared to me when I was reading my favorite text The Handbook of Reading of Research (2000). In context it appeared as "Whether we have come very far in our efforts to offer a more balanced ecumenical view of academic contents remains to be seen" (Alexander & Jetton, 2000, p. 288).

Defintion: According to dictionary.com , ecumenical (ek-you-men-i-kuhl) is an adjective and it means to be general and or universal. The defintion also provides about 4 other meanings that are mostly synnomous with the defintion mentioned above but they rest seem to tie in an element of christianity. For example, "promoting or fostering Christian unity."

Level of Familiarity: My level of familiarity with this word is very minimal. I honestly think this is my first encounter with the word. So if I had to place my "stage" of word learning according to Dale (1965) and I would say that I fall under "(1) Never saw it before" (Handbook, 2000, p. 270).

Often times, I am able to gain some level of understanding of a word by seeing it used in context. But usually, this occurs when I have had other exposures to that word. This idea is acknowledged by Nagy and Scott (2000) in their research relating to gaining a vague understanding of a word through "incidental word learning" (Nagy & Scott, 2000, p.270).

To be quite honest, even after I looked up the definition and read the word in context. I still felt a little puzzled to what the word ecumenical actually meant. At that point in my journey, I did not feel comfortable with using this word in a sentence. When I browsed through pictures, I found myself feeling more comfortable with this word and it's meaning.

Reflective Commentary: As I preparing this last blog post, I was thinking "Oh geez, I'm going to have to say this word aloud to my classmates tonight." Luckily, I was able to find the pronunciation on a dictionary.com smart phone app. What I found most interesting about my journey to obtaining full word knowledge was the process I took. I felt as if I was "code switching" between the internet, my Handbook (a printed text), and even my smart-phone app (Alexander & Jetton, 2000, p. 294) to gain full understanding of the word.  Although I was not switching disciplines, I was switching to and from various resources to help me define the word, ecumenical. As I navigated through these resources, I found myself using different cognitive processes to identify the information I needed. For example, when I used my handbook, I used the index to find the chapter on vocabulary processes. I didn't encounter any pictures/or visuals to help me within this text. The genre of this text is expository in nature in that it seeks to "inform readers by presenting information that explains principles and general behavioral patterns" (Alexander & Jetton, 2000, p.290). Then as means for gaining for word knowledge, I used the internet to find a concise defintion. While I probably could have used that very same website, dictionary.com, to pronounce the word, I switched to my phone because I knew I had an app that pronounced words for me.

Discourse Consistency- 4:1

Discourse Consistency- 4:1

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

When & Where: I discovered this word/concept in the Friendly Texts and Text-Friendly Teachers article by Mariam Jean Dreher and Harry Singer (2001). Although I have encountered the word discourse in multiple texts, particularly those texts relating to my graduate literacy classes, I have not seen these two words grouped together. With only 4 classes left in my graduate program of Literacy, I was very intrigued to find a concept that was unfamiliar to me.

Definition: "A uniform style of presenting information is referred to as discourse consistency" (Dreher & Singer, 2001, p.99). Specifically, this concept relates to how an author organizes his/her text and whether or not it's format provides for a consistent, predictable order.

Level of Familiarity: Like I mentioned previously, I have knowledge of the word "discourse." I have even used this word in speaking and writing. My level of familiary of this word is based on my background knowledge from the course LTED 609. In that course,  we explored the defintion of "Discourse" (with a capital D) and little "d" discourse, both of which were defined by James Paul Gee (prominent literacy/language researcher). Based on the context of the article Friendly Texts and Text-Friendly Teachers, the idea of discourse consistency pertains to James Paul Gee's (1990) idea of little "d" - discourse- which means one's language-in- use.

Reflective Commentary: This concept, discourse consistency, really struck a chord for me in terms of my teaching experience. I believe that texts come in multiple formats. The idea of text can include movies, games, music, profiles, powerpoints, and even podcasts. Although the article focused on traditional written texts, I believe there is something to be said of the idea of discourse consistency among all types of texts. This year, I have decided to make an iMovie at the end of each unit to share on my webpage but to also summarize our monthly unit. I decided to stick with one multimedia format for consistency and to also faciliate more learning. Additionally, the layout/organization of the iMovie will be similar each month. I will seek to define tier 2 vocabulary words that pertain to our unit in each iMovie. Last month, our theme was on school rules so the entire movie sought to define the words: respectful, responsible, and productive. As opposed to images I found on google, I used real pictures of the kids being respectful, responsible, and productive. I then had the kids record their voices to the criterion of being respectful, responsible and productive. What I found most promising about this activity was that the process we used facilitated learning.

 

Ubiquitous - 3:2

Ubiquitous – 3:2

Monday, September 24, 2012

When & Where: I came across this word, ubiquitous, while reading  Fisher and Frey’s (2009) beliefs on comprehension and what critical piece is missing in reading instruction (background knowledge).  In context it appeared as “Although ubiquitous in the educational world, terms like reading comprehension, inference, and cognitive ability represent the type 0f academic language unique to our profession” (Fisher & Frey, 2009, p.12).

Definition: As defined by dictionary.com, ubiquitous means “existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time.”  

Level of Familiarity: : Although I know I have had exposure to this word in other texts, I really had no idea what it meant. My comfort with the word is minimal even in terms of pronouncing it. Despite me looking up the definition, I still really didn’t have a grasp on what “ubiquitous” really represented. What helped me to grasp the word meaning was searching through the wide of array of ubiquitous images.  

Reflective Commentary: Now that I have some level of meaning with the word ubiquitous, I will definitely use when trying to describe a concept or idea that is widespread or appears everywhere. I particularly like the picture displayed above because it really speaks to the definition of ubiquitous. When searching for images to represent this word, I found a variety of images all illustrating this word meaning. More interestingly, I found that this word could be used or seen in a variety of content disciplines. While undergoing my search (through the google search engine)for the perfect image, I found diverse disciplines using the word “ubiquitous” to describe an area of their field. This word really speaks to Fisher and Frey’s (2008) category of Tier 2 words, “those high-utility words that often change meaning in different contexts” (p.12).