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.