EDRL 6004 was a blast!

When I first heard about this course I wanted to know what was the connection between ICT and reading, however, from the onset of the course, my interest grew daily.

I found the blogging experience to be quite appealing because I love to write and I also enjoyed creating 'catchy' labels for the posts so that others would be encouraged to read them. I wish if more persons could have read and commented on all of them but, I appreciate all those who did. I've never used wikis or made ebooks so I'm looking forward to using them in my class and also sharing all that I have learnt on this course with my fellow teachers when school reopens.

The fact that I am now aware of some of the technological tools that can be used to enhance traditional pedagogy makes me feel empowered because I feel that I have grown as an educator. I know that there is much more to learn but, this is the start of a whole new way of making reading interesting, fun and meaningful to all learners. I also know that my presentations as a future reading specialist will be greatly enhanced through the use of some of the tools like concept mapping, ebooks and digital photo story. I extend special thanks to my very enthusiastic lecturer for making this course so magnificent.

Sharing our ideas the 'wiki' way

When I think of 'wikis' I think of collaboration. From past experiences, we have been involved in several group projects and while physical contact was necessary at times, the use of the wiki would have been so useful for sharing information especially since groups comprised of persons who lived in remote areas. Although we used emails to exchange information, one person from the group still had the task of editing the document and this became a bit burdensome. The wiki allows persons to edit and save relevant information thus making a useful contribution in a group project. It also has the added advantage of motivating individuals to have an input in projects since everyone will be able to see who has made a contribution.

In the classroom, the wiki can be used as a pre-writing activity for a creative writing project where students work in groups to brainstorm a topic. While the ideas in their essays may be the same, content is just one element of essay writing. Their essays can still be original in terms of style, organization and creativity.

Our M Ed. class comprises individuals from across Trinidad and Tobago and as future reading specialists we need to be connected so that we can share our ideas and plan greater workshops to improve literacy in our country. The use of wikis is certainly one way of doing this.

Striking the right balance.

“So what is wrong with the way we are teaching now?”
This was the sentiment expressed by some of my fellow teachers during a one-day reading workshop that I presented along with another colleague. Of course, we had to assure them that we were there to add to the knowledge bank and not replace their ideas.

Just trying to complete a syllabus does not mean that we are teaching effectively. As teachers, we have a responsibility to develop problem solvers and critical thinkers and our traditional methods of teaching are simply not enough to accomplish these things.
Some teachers fall into the trap of teaching reading skills in isolation but, it is important to show connections among the strands because it makes learning more meaningful when children see patterns.

In addition to the ‘Fabulous Five’ reading skills that we know about ( phonics,phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency ),Tankersley (2003) adds a sixth strand, “higher-order thinking”. One of the ways to achieve higher –order thinking among our students is to allow them opportunities to use technology to learn to read. The Web 2.0 technology that we have been exposed to in this course allows greater collaboration, exploration, feedback and independent learning and they are ideal tools to enhance traditional pedagogy. According to Pressley (1998), the “most effective teachers continue to demonstrate that effective literacy instruction is a balance of explicit teaching as well as holistic reading and writing experiences”.

Who's the tastiest of them all?

The name of the website was alluring enough to get me to investigate and when I found out what ‘delicious’ was all about I have to admit that it’s truly a delight. Adding all those interesting websites and articles to ‘Favourites’ can become muddled and time-consuming, especially when you have to go through the entire list to find what you are looking for.

‘Delicious’ is a website that organizes all your favourite websites according to ‘tags’ or ‘keywords.’ In this way finding relevant information becomes easier. It’s almost like an encyclopedia because the tags are arranged in alphabetical order. An interesting feature of this website is its social networking capacity. This means that you will have access to even more information from other friends who have tagged websites on the ‘delicious’ website.

I have met so many interesting and intelligent people on this course that I can’t wait to form a knowledge bank with them on ‘delicious.’ Moreover, in order to become competent reading specialists, it is important to share our knowledge by keeping up to date with teaching strategies and the use of technology in enhancing teaching and learning. Distance can no longer separate us when we have websites like ‘Delicious.’

Take inspiration from the web with 'WEBSPIRATION!'

Overflowing waste paper bins, pencils that have lost their length to the jaws of the electric sharpener and diagrams that just don’t seem to make sense…oh, how I wish I could call a friend or my teacher for some help but, I guess I’ll just have to wait until I get to school tomorrow. Why wait?

Webspiration is a remarkable concept mapping tool that will awaken your creative spirit. Create, edit, add graphics and hyperlinks with just a touch of a button and even rearrange your diagram to get an outline view if you prefer. What’s more, the comment, chat and collaborate options allow you to invite colleagues to share and give feedback from your home, office or school so you no longer have to wait in line. The ‘rapidfire’ or brainstorming tool is awesome. It allows students to see their ideas come alive on the screen (Brabeck, Fisher and Pitler, 2004). Altogether, these features or “intelligence extenders” are very motivating and can help struggling learners to make revisions, reformat and rearrange a concept map or document (Hawisher & Selfe, 1997). So, why not enhance teaching and learning with this concept mapping software that allows us to do so much in a small space. If you try it you just might like it!

The age of the 'iron' book.

Oh how I love to cuddle up in my warm bed and read a good book. The sound of the pages flicking as I turn them and the smell of the paper of a brand new book appeals to my sensitive side. Alas, I am now introduced to electronic books, called ebooks for short, and they are awesome. So, why not enhance my literacy centre with a digital library which contains many ebooks. According to Shamir & Korat, 2006, the "sound, animation, and interactive activities" contained in ebooks help pupils to "master tasks" which they may have been unable to do "independently." I also see the possibility of using ebooks to motivate the struggling reader because of the audio function. The animated feature will appeal to every child. It is almost like a portable talking television.How awesome indeed!

A word of caution; good things don't always come in small packages. There are specific features that make a good ebook like the quality of the text and sound and the use of images to support the text. So choose carefully. As for me, I choose both the traditional book and the ebook. I prefer to hug my paperback novels in my bed but, I also love having an entire digital library in my mini handbag which I can access anywhere and anytime.

Fellow reading specialists, my question to you is, Do you think that the ebook will replace the traditional book? Your views will be highly appreciated.

Let's pave the way for good digital citizenship.

I did not quite agree with the radio presenter this morning when he said that technology does not have any significant impact on reading proficiency . He reminded me of those teachers who fear technology. We have to face a reality that technology is here to stay and if we do not get our children to learn about it, they will be left behind and we will be lost in this technologically advanced and ever-changing global environment.

The announcer spoke about students being able to access inappropriate sites, however,there are numerous settings that can be put in place to avoid this such as firewalls.I have also located information about safety on the internet at Microsoft Online Safety which can be accessed at the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/familysafety/default.aspx

As parents we have a responsibility to talk to our children and teach them about what is right and what is wrong. They in turn have a responsibility to act in a manner that is in keeping with the principles we have imparted on them. Sadly, there are many negative influences out there that are waiting to confuse these young minds. Let us be vigilant. Let us be proactive and try to nurture our children so that when we are not around to monitor them, they will still practice good digital citizenship.

Reading & ICTs: A Technological Affair

According to Vacca and Vacca (2008), when print resources are combined with ICTs, they provide “powerful environments for learning.” This is a view which has been shared by other educators as well. Karchmer, 2001; Labbo & Reinking, 1999 and Leu, 2000, recognize the rapidly developing technologies of the 21st century and its subsequent impact on education and they believe that there is a need to develop a theoretical framework that would incorporate the use of ICTs in the teaching of reading so that learners can become more independent, collaboration will be more intensive and extensive and new literacies will continue to develop as new technologies emerge.

Donald J. Leu, Jr has written an interesting article entitled, “Internet Workshop: Making Time for Literacy.” According to this author, some teachers feel it is burdensome to learn about and implement technology in the classroom but, I agree with his view that preparing children for their future is not an extra, it is central to our role as literacy educators. Let us first become knowledgeable about the new literacies that exist so that we can make learning fun and meaningful to all children.

Feel to read more at :
http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/rt/2-02_Column/index.html

Profile of a Reading Specialist: Are you up to the challenge?

The work of a reading specialist is wide and varied. One may wonder how can it be so when we are dealing with one area which is 'Reading' but, it is so because of the different people with whom we will have to interact and also, the different sets of information that we will have to share in order to improve reading competencies.

One of the main challenges that reading specialists will have to face is DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES. By understanding a child’s learning style, appropriate lesson planning can take place so that pupils will develop reading fluency, comprehension , vocabulary and word –attack skills.

The reading specialist may also have to ASSIST PARENTS AND TEACHERS in understanding and applying reading strategies with the students. She may also have to HELP LIBRARIANS to select appropriate reading material for the pupils.

Very important also is the fact that reading specialists are in a better position to MAKE READING FUN in order to motivate all pupils to read. The use of technology is certainly one way in which we can make reading fun and interesting.

Are you up to the challenge?

If you wish to learn more about the role of a reading specialist, you can access the following site: www.readingrockets.org/article/78

Blogs: A Blessing in Disguise

An innocent attempt to de-stress my ten year old by allowing her to play 'Farmville' on Facebook, turned out to be my stress. She became addicted to the game. So, I decided to introduce her to blogs and she was quite excited about it. I showed her some of the reading blogs and though she expressed sentiments like, "That sounded good,"she didn't seem to be very interested in the blogs. I then said, "Let me help you create your own blog." From that moment onwards, it was truly amazing to see how much the process of creating a blog appealed to her. I found that she was learning so fast and she totally enjoyed customizing her page. I was impressed when she said, "I want to put a background that tells about what I like." She also asked many questions along the way such as what kinds of things can she write about and she even said that blogs were more interesting than facebook so this made me extremely happy and thankful. She took her time to write, read and edit her first post which was her experience in Niagara Falls . She even put up a picture.

Since then, she has created about four posts and I notice her careful use of certain expressions and grammatical structures. The precision which is displayed in creating the posts will certainly be useful in helping her with essay writing. What makes it fun for her is the artistic part of the activity which is captured in the use of colour and design. So, by introducing my daughter to blogs, not only have I curbed the facebook addiction but, I have also helped in developing her reading and writing skills, hence my reason for calling blogs, "A Blessing in Disguise."

How can it be so hard to say C A T - CAT ?

It’s a joy to hear children read but, it’s even greater to know that I helped them along the way. I have always loved to read. My father would purchase our school books early and I couldn't wait to read them. I liked the smell of the new books and the whole process of papering them and writing my name on it and then making sure that there were no “dog ears” as I used them in school. As a child, I thought that reading was natural but, some children did not like to read. As a teacher, I no longer assumed that reading was natural. I sometimes wish I could get into the minds of these children to see what they see on the paper in front of them. How can it be so hard to say C A T - CAT ?

Well, some children may be able to produce individual sounds but, they may not be able to blend the sounds together to produce words. While there may be other factors that impede their learning such as domestic problems, medical problems and also psychological issues, I have seen children with these problems improve in reading, but, it takes a lot of patience and a lot of work. Literacy is a global problem and by helping children in my country to read, I will become part of the solution to this problem. As a reading specialist, I will dedicate myself to helping all children learn to read so that they can enjoy a better life and I would feel at peace with myself and my God.

Success with Sight Words

Well, the academic year is almost over. I took Dr McDowell's advice to teach sight words in order to improve reading fluency and I must say that I was pleased with the results. Pupils who were not reading before were motivated to do so now because they were recognizing the words and making connections. I must emphasize this to my fellow teachers so that they too can enjoy the satisfaction of seeing our young ones recognize words in print which they would not have known before or even been able to pronounce if they had depended solely on phonetic analysis. It is important also to help the pupils to understand what they are reading because as we know comprehension is a key component of reading. Being able to call words on a page is one thing but, understanding what one reads is one of the main goals of reading.

Part of my reading programme was the establishment of a literacy centre which attracted even the most challenged learners to sit with their peers and share a story. Parents also came to the class and donated books to the library and they did some shared reading with the children. Some even granted their approval for me to use their children's photos for any of my reading projects at the University of the West Indies and I am indeed very thankful for the opportunity to show my children at work.