As reading specialists one of our primary goals is to provide our students with the enabling skills required to code and decode information in its various representations. This goes beyond using ICTs to teach the traditional skills of reading which are phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension (NRP, 2000). We also need to do our part in guiding our students to use 'the new literacies' to promote meaningful learning and communication in all subject areas and to be able to function successfully in a global society which is quickly becoming heavily reliant on technology (Tompkins, 2010)
To realise this goal there must be ongoing collaboration with our colleagues for the following reasons:
- To be keep abreast of best practices (what works)
- To maintain harmony with content area objectives
- To design appropriate programmes for teachers and students
Teachers will be more committed to using the material, which they were instrumental in developing. They would also provide feedback and suggestions, for example through blogging. Most importantly our digital citizens (Vacca and Vacca, 2011) will be more than willing to be provided with reasons to use what is natural to their context, for example, the internet and its readily available and variety of applications, their cellular phones, phones MP3s, etc.
Denian,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that ICT in reading is of tremendous importance in today's technology infused world. Teachers using technology to support and guide their pedagogical practices are already are at an advantage using knowledge that students possess and are comfortable with. And yes we as educators must be mindful that the mantra is "collaborate, participate, motivat to educate."
Salisha