Perceptions of Today’s Digital Students towards learning and the Internet with eight observations (Frand, 2000) in Flynt & (Brozo, 2010):
1. Computers aren’t technology; they are an assumed part of life.
2. The Internet is better than television, because it allows users to socialize with others.
3. Reality is not viewed as being static due to digital and information manipulation.
4. Doing is more important than knowing, and results and actions are more important than accumulation of facts.
5. Learning more closely resembles video games than logic; because gaming requires a trial and error approach to learning as opposed to traditional ruled based approach to problem solving.
6. Multitasking is a way of life; typing is preferred to handwriting, and keyboarding is an essential skill.
7. Staying connected is essential, and there is very little tolerance for delays.
8. Digital savvy students can be a consumer or a creator.
Our planning needs to take these perceptions into account in planning instruction to keep learning meaningful and relevant so that or students will be engaged.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Technology Integration
Technology does not free us from our responsibility of carefully evaluating and assessing our students’ interests, reading level and motivation. In order for students to truly benefit from ICTs in lessons teachers must be active facilitators, providing prompts to scaffold and guide student success. Teachers should not think that they would be passive presenters of technology which will then work some kind of magic on students.
We also need to realistically evaluate the usefulness of the available technology to the instructional objectives which we hope to accomplish.
We also need to realistically evaluate the usefulness of the available technology to the instructional objectives which we hope to accomplish.
Late Introductions
OOPs! I forgot to introduce myself.
Hi, I’m Denise. Most people call me Dee. My blog name is Denian. I have been an educator for the past 19 years. I welcomed this opportunity to become a reading specialist because many of the students at my school are reluctant and/or struggling readers. My concern therefore has always been to help to raise the literacy profile of our students because literacy is knowledge’s highway.
Thus far, I have not been disappointed (in general). I have been trying out some ideas in assessing and addressing student’s individual needs. This course is like the sugar to the blend. Most schools now have computers and internet access so it’s just a matter of negotiating with my colleagues to integrate the available ICTs into reading across the curriculum and to identify how we can move forward in literacy matters.
Hi, I’m Denise. Most people call me Dee. My blog name is Denian. I have been an educator for the past 19 years. I welcomed this opportunity to become a reading specialist because many of the students at my school are reluctant and/or struggling readers. My concern therefore has always been to help to raise the literacy profile of our students because literacy is knowledge’s highway.
Thus far, I have not been disappointed (in general). I have been trying out some ideas in assessing and addressing student’s individual needs. This course is like the sugar to the blend. Most schools now have computers and internet access so it’s just a matter of negotiating with my colleagues to integrate the available ICTs into reading across the curriculum and to identify how we can move forward in literacy matters.
Building a Community of Readers and Writers
I came across an article in a Reading Teacher journal which I thought was very interesting. It involved the creation of an image library by teachers of Pierce (Elementary) School. The images are being used by the school community as illustrations or prompts to create e-books. The e-books created are then viewed on screen, posted online, emailed home or printed and bound.
I think this is a wonderful idea. It appears to me to be a very creative extension of the tried and true language experience approach because the school community provides common experiential knowledge which in itself can be motivating because all students will have the required background knowledge. The creation of these books will therefore be meaningful, authentic and of high interest to the students. The teachers who pioneered this activity found that it was useful for all grade levels and for students of all proficiencies in English.
Creating text about school community allows readers to focus on generating and decoding those words and phrases often included in texts that are not familiar to them (Gabriel& Gabriel, 2010 p.679).....Using computers to write stories and access to digital images gives all students experiences with technology that they may not have access to at home (Tapscot, 1998 in Gabriel and Gabriel, 2010 p.679). Here are a few suggestions from the article on how the school community photos can be used.
• Alphabet books
• Vocabulary books
• Biographies of people, animals or places around the school
• Compare- and-contrast paragraphs, essays and graphs
• Interviews
• News stories
Gabriel, R. &Gabriel,M. (2010, May) .Power in Pictures: How a Schoolwide Photo library can build a Community of Readers and Writers. The Reading Teacher 63(8) pp.679-682.
I think this is a wonderful idea. It appears to me to be a very creative extension of the tried and true language experience approach because the school community provides common experiential knowledge which in itself can be motivating because all students will have the required background knowledge. The creation of these books will therefore be meaningful, authentic and of high interest to the students. The teachers who pioneered this activity found that it was useful for all grade levels and for students of all proficiencies in English.
Creating text about school community allows readers to focus on generating and decoding those words and phrases often included in texts that are not familiar to them (Gabriel& Gabriel, 2010 p.679).....Using computers to write stories and access to digital images gives all students experiences with technology that they may not have access to at home (Tapscot, 1998 in Gabriel and Gabriel, 2010 p.679). Here are a few suggestions from the article on how the school community photos can be used.
• Alphabet books
• Vocabulary books
• Biographies of people, animals or places around the school
• Compare- and-contrast paragraphs, essays and graphs
• Interviews
• News stories
Gabriel, R. &Gabriel,M. (2010, May) .Power in Pictures: How a Schoolwide Photo library can build a Community of Readers and Writers. The Reading Teacher 63(8) pp.679-682.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Benefits of Integrating ICTs into Reading Programmes Reposting
Note:This is a republication of a previous post which was not opening.
I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand (Confucius, 551BC – 479BC)
The above quotation from the Chinese philosopher, Confucius over 2000 years ago, is still applicable to teaching and learning today. Constructivist theory holds that learners need to create their own understanding of information, based on their individual experiences. We all learn best by doing or actively participating in the learning task. One may argue that individuals have different learning styles and I do agree. However, there are different modes of doing, therefore, whatever the reader’s predominant learning style; ICTs can make it less onerous on educators in providing authentic and motivating learning tasks for him/her.
Meaningfully incorporating ICTs into our reading programmes should provide our students with opportunities to become more self directed and confident learners. More specifically, ICTs can be used to scaffold activities to suit the readiness of our struggling readers. Careful planning will also afford us the opportunity to design projects and programmes that cater not only to the needs of individual learners but will also take advantage of the learning synergies that can be realised through collaboration and group work.
I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand (Confucius, 551BC – 479BC)
The above quotation from the Chinese philosopher, Confucius over 2000 years ago, is still applicable to teaching and learning today. Constructivist theory holds that learners need to create their own understanding of information, based on their individual experiences. We all learn best by doing or actively participating in the learning task. One may argue that individuals have different learning styles and I do agree. However, there are different modes of doing, therefore, whatever the reader’s predominant learning style; ICTs can make it less onerous on educators in providing authentic and motivating learning tasks for him/her.
Meaningfully incorporating ICTs into our reading programmes should provide our students with opportunities to become more self directed and confident learners. More specifically, ICTs can be used to scaffold activities to suit the readiness of our struggling readers. Careful planning will also afford us the opportunity to design projects and programmes that cater not only to the needs of individual learners but will also take advantage of the learning synergies that can be realised through collaboration and group work.
Multimodal Reading
Understanding and responding to printed text is no longer sufficient for literacy in today's world. We now have to incorporate the new literacies. In order for comprehension and communication to take place effectively, students need to be able to interpret and use not only words but also images, font, sound and background themes.
The positioning of images on the page and the type of image used (e.g. true to life, comic or animated) prompts a specific reaction from the reader/viewer. the type and size of font and its colour also adds to the author's message. the absence or inclusion of sound and the type of sound (e.g. tempo,genre and pitch0 also evokes a certain response from the reader/viewer. the choice of background in tandem with the previously mentioned elements helps to guide the reader's focus on the screen or page.
I began to pay closer attention to these elements after the laboratory sessions on eBooks and digital storytelling and also from the class' discussions during the plenary session on evaluating websites.
The news here (good or bad ? You decide.) is that "children have always been multimodal; their social and cultural resources for making meaning include talk, gesture, drama drawing and ways of incorporating and integrating and extending linguistic signs " (Hasset,& Curwood, 2009.p271).This quote Hasset,D., & Curwood, S.,J.(2009) Theories and Practices of Multimodal Education: The Instructional Dynamics of Picture Books and Primary Classrooms.The Reading Teacher 63(4) pp.270-282. DOI 10.1598/RT.63.42
The positioning of images on the page and the type of image used (e.g. true to life, comic or animated) prompts a specific reaction from the reader/viewer. the type and size of font and its colour also adds to the author's message. the absence or inclusion of sound and the type of sound (e.g. tempo,genre and pitch0 also evokes a certain response from the reader/viewer. the choice of background in tandem with the previously mentioned elements helps to guide the reader's focus on the screen or page.
I began to pay closer attention to these elements after the laboratory sessions on eBooks and digital storytelling and also from the class' discussions during the plenary session on evaluating websites.
The news here (good or bad ? You decide.) is that "children have always been multimodal; their social and cultural resources for making meaning include talk, gesture, drama drawing and ways of incorporating and integrating and extending linguistic signs " (Hasset,& Curwood, 2009.p271).This quote Hasset,D., & Curwood, S.,J.(2009) Theories and Practices of Multimodal Education: The Instructional Dynamics of Picture Books and Primary Classrooms.The Reading Teacher 63(4) pp.270-282. DOI 10.1598/RT.63.42
Sunday, August 1, 2010
E-Books, Reading and Writing
I recently had my first encounter with eBooks and I have fallen in love with this technological application. Why has it won me over? It has won my heart because I can see the possibilities that it promises with helping to motivate students to want to read and write. Once students have access to a computer I believe that introducing them to eBooks might well be the catalyst to place them on the path to becoming lifelong readers and writers.
Having students work in heterogeneous groups on the production of eBooks can allow them the opportunity to participate fully according to their individual strengths and learning styles.This type of activity could also facilitate peer tutoring and student will inevitably learn from each other.For a class of struggling readers and writers the production of and eBook after and LEA lesson for example can serve as an authentic assessment tool, a motivator, reinforcement and a published record of students' creation based on their experiences.
Having students work in heterogeneous groups on the production of eBooks can allow them the opportunity to participate fully according to their individual strengths and learning styles.This type of activity could also facilitate peer tutoring and student will inevitably learn from each other.For a class of struggling readers and writers the production of and eBook after and LEA lesson for example can serve as an authentic assessment tool, a motivator, reinforcement and a published record of students' creation based on their experiences.
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