ICTs and Me.
Well the time has finally arrived to really put what we have learned to the test. As I sit in front of the computer screen to work on my e-portfolio I am reflecting on what students must feel when we assign tasks in which they do not feel confident. I drives home to me two important points that are always bandied about in teacher workshop environments:

1. Catering to different learning styles.
2. Scaffolding because though I am not totally confident I know I that we have gone through the ICTs step by step.

Catering to different learning styles.

Throughout the programme it bothered me that I was not posting to the blogspace as regularly as I should so I did some reflection. Turns out the reason is the same as why I depise speaking into voice mail. I really prefer face to face interactions. However I hate failure more.I have hope on this issue because it is said that admission is the first step to a cure. I am now aware of this so I will be able to encourage students with similar disposition to reach beyond it.

Scaffolding.

The sessions we have had in using the various technology was scaffolded despite the time constraints. I know therefore that as long as I follow the examples and utilize the resources provided I will get there though it might not be very easy. We cannot present work to our students and "throw them to the wolves" we need to scaffold so that they can at least be reasonable sure that they can achieve the required task and they must also be provided with the resources to be successful.

Using ICTs to Realise Our Goals

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Benefits of Integrating ICTs into Reading Programmes