He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend,
a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter.
By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently
divert and pleasantly entertain himself,
as in all weathers, as in all fortunes.
Barrow
This quote reflects my sentiments and I would very well like each individual to experience these feelings. Reading should be such an integral part of each person's life but as a teacher at a school that comprises of students that have major issues with reading it is heart wrenching to see students not even being able to decipher words that grade one students ought to know on sight. Therefore, I am willing to try all that is necessary to ensure that these students be given the opportunity to experience the pleasures of reading.
The Importance of Blogging in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMany teachers like me may be averse to the implementation of technology in the classroom for myriads of reasons. As the author of “Integrating Technology and Learning” states teachers do not really resist technology but what it represents. The author delineates that the integration of technology in the classroom may represent confusion, loss of control, change and impersonalization. While some of this is true in my case I had to sit back and really think about what is best for my students. As a result, I decided to research the advantages of each tool that we are scheduled to learn about and how it can change my teaching methods and improve my students’ literacy level which this course is all about. Below are some advantages to utilizing blogging in the classroom that I believe may be beneficial to all of us.
Research has shown that blogging tends to improve writing skills as students recognize that blogging is open to the public. As a result, more thought is put into content as well as grammar as articles need to be reasonably good enough for public viewing.
Because blogging is done on a regular basis students’ writing improves. These students also get the opportunity to view other writing styles which indirectly helps them to improve their own writing.
Blogging facilitates collaborative learning and allows each person an equal opportunity in expressing their views. It gives persons of varying personalities the opportunity to air their views far more effectively than in a classroom.
Lastly, students as well as teachers are able to monitor and chart progress as this tool allows both to go back to earlier postings and compare them with the ones that they have recently authored.
I hope this will be of help to someone.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your sentiment expressed above about books. I believe that it is valid because an interesting book can temporarily divert your attention from the present cares of this life, just like a faithful friend.
ReplyDeleteSince you seem to like quotes about reading though, an interesting proverb that I came upon is “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
Concerning the advantages of blogging however, I just wish to add two (2) to your list, namely:
1) It can generate or intensify an appreciation for different cultural contexts as students communicate with each other.
2) It is quite user friendly in terms of time and accessibility as well. Students can therefore participate on the blog in the comfort of their home, and at an appropriate time for them during the course of the day, given deadline constraints.
While I do not agree that books can replace a faithful friend, I agree that they open up new vistas into invaluable insights, understandings and vicarious experiences. For the struggling reader, the teacher must so design instruction that students are motivated, set clear purposes for reading--transactional, pragmatic and aesthetic and can apply their new learnings to real world contexts.
ReplyDeleteI have been doing some reading on wikis in preparation for my paper and I have come across some interesting facts about wikis and why it is a good tool to be incorporated into the classroom. This information was taken from WolfWikis and the topic is Wikis in Writing Education Research. This article states that wikis are ideal learning tools because:
ReplyDelete Files are easily accessed on the same page
Information is compiled collectively
Wiki is inherently democratic (my favourite)
Wiki have the ability to challenge natural authority structures (another favourite)
Issues of author and individuality are transgressed to encourage community contribution and de-emphasize self (another favourite)
The teacher acts more like a guide as opposed to the sole representation of authority
Wikis can become places of class collaboration, socialization, and assignment participation
Wikis give the students an opportunity to write for a wider audience
Wikis foment a sense of shared knowledge, which can transcend to other courses, curricula or countries.
The list presented in this article is indeed longer but the points highlighted are my most favourite. More information can be obtained from the website: http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/Wikis_in_Writing_Education_Research
This article really propelled me to do further research on the topic as I like the idea of using technology to enhance writing. I believe that more emphasis should be placed on authentic, meaningful activities to enhance writing as we are losing our children in this arena. We spend lots of time with reading, which is commendable, but I believe that more time should also be allocated for students to get authentic writing instruction.
I must begin by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed my ebook class. The creation of the ebook that was done yesterday spurred me on to really think of ways in which I could use this tool in the classroom. I am thinking: If I have enjoyed the creation of this book how much more would my students enjoy doing the same. So I have decided that one of my first projects is to create an ebook to teach my form ones the alphabet in Spanish which is always a problem. Then I thought as one of their projects for me this term I would have them create an ebook about socializing in Spanish. I would dedicate a few of my classes to teach them how to do a very simple one. I really thought that I would have hated this course because I am not too big on technology but I really am very glad that I had to do it.
ReplyDeleteIn my research that I have been conducting in relation to my Web 2.0 paper, I have discovered some very interesting issues, chief among them, is that of how the Internet affects students’ writing. This struck me because I am a frequent emailing person, using all the shortcuts associated with emailing. What I have realized is that sometimes in my formal writings I fall prey to email and IM talk and I quickly have to correct myself. The integral issue here is that I am able to correct myself and I can differentiate between both types of writing but there are students who are unable to do this. There are many studies that have been conducted in order to determine whether the Internet and its socializing tools have hampered the writing skills of many students and there are mixed views. As teachers I believe that we play an integral role in fostering not only good writing habits but also good oral habits as well. Students often write how they speak so in order to help them along the way I believe that we ought to have a few guidelines in our classroom as well as the Internet if we share these socializing tools with our students. Friess (2003) in USA Today iterated these:
ReplyDelete Always use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling (when writing) when communicating with children even if they do not.
Find ways to correct the child gently without seeming preachy.
Remind children that formality is a requirement when writing school essays and filling out job applications.
Review the child’s school work to ensure that Internet lingo is not being used.
Send old-fashioned letters to children from time to time to show them how printed communication ought to be.
I put forward one question before exiting this blog though: Do you believe that Internet talk is indeed hampering proper oral and written communication?
Technology is great and if implemented in the classroom in an effective manner would improve our students’ aptitude tremendously. However, we need to note that before we buy into all the technologies and software that purport enhancement in our children’s reading life especially, there are a few things that we must note. Fisher and Ivey (2006) authored a paper entitled “Evaluating the Intervention for struggling adolescent readers” in which they highlighted some concerns about certain programs. They state that:
ReplyDeleteThe teacher should play a critical role in assessment and instruction. They postulated that students who were most successful in reading were students who spent quality time with expert teachers.
The intervention should reflect a comprehensive approach to reading and writing. Programs need to concentrate on all skills in both reading and writing and not just one skill. Instruction in the processes of reading and writing ought to facilitate student engagement and understanding with real texts rather than take centre stage in the program.
Reading and writing in the intervention should be engaging.
Interventions should be driven by relevant and useful assessments. Students need assessments that will take into consideration their literate strengths, needs and preferences. This would entail ongoing assessments and assessments that would see them engaging in literate tasks in a variety of contexts.
The intervention should include authentic opportunities for reading and writing. These interventions should provide students with many opportunities to read and write and not programs that concentrate on skill-and-drill activities with the exclusion of reading and writing activities.
I believe that these pointers should be duly considered as we tend to buy into programs based on their popularity and not on their ability to meet the needs of struggling readers.
Technology is fast replacing a lot of the traditional elements that were once found in the classroom, among them being printed text. We have not reached the point of totally discarding paper books for ebooks but I believe that this stage is inevitable. I believe this because ebooks are quite similar to paper books but it has more advantages on its side. Ebooks are eco-friendly which appeals to a lot of environmentalists. Ebooks also allow instructors to compile large quantities of data for students and distribute it via the Internet. The ebook allows students to be able to download books and data from the Internet as soon as they are released and also provide an online library that is always accessible making the acquisition of knowledge quick and easy. The ebook contains an audio and video option so people can listen to the text if they prefer to do so. It is also cheaper to obtain material since it is only a matter of downloading as opposed to shipping.
ReplyDeletePodcasting and its implications in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteSince we are about to learn about podcasts in the following sessions I decided to get a head start and see what podcasting is all about and how can it change instruction and learning. Podcasting according to Wikipedia is a series of digital media files, either audio or video, that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication. How can we integrate such a device into Education? Well, according to Literacy News (http://www.literacynews.com/2010/01/ilearning-using-an-ipod-to-educate/) podcasting can be used as an alternative to way of studying as lecture notes, book chapters and lectures can be recorded for playback by the student. The audio books are also another good feature of podcasting as it gives students the option of hearing a story while engaging in another activity or just simply hearing the story which is considered reading. The article also goes on to say that it can help students to illustrate what they have learnt using a different medium of expression as they can use it to do projects. In the area of reading it can be used by the teacher to demonstrate fluent reading.
Candy, (I love the name because I have a sweet tooth) you have some excellent information on your blog. Nonetheless, all the information is under one post. You can create new posts with different names so that it would be easier for others to address one of your topics at a time. For example, your introduction on reading could have been one post. Another post could have been entitled, Blogging in the Classroom. Wikis in the classroom can be yet another and so on.
ReplyDeleteYou can still change your blog to show the different topics in a different post by clicking on NEW POST at the top right hand of your blog. Give the post a name and copy the data to the new location for others to comment. I, particularly, would like to comment on your post about ebooks. Try it if you don't like it you can always revert to the design that you prefer.
Hi Candace,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, but I agree with the above comment. As it looks now all your great posts are relegated to comment status, and it appears as if you have only posted one post. If you are experiencing difficulties to add a new post, make sure you are logged into the blog by using your gmail account, and click sign in at the top of you post. Then you will be directed to your blog, click on new post and there you have it. You can also add audio, pictures or upload information from youtube by clicking on the icons above the new post.
Your information on blogging and wikis are exceptional, but more people could comment on it if you do as Katherine suggested and added it in a new post.
That being said :) I agree with your post on ebooks, and its technological implications for us educators.They could become an invaluable part of everyones life, especially for the student. Can you imagine being a student where you could search your text books, copy and paste for your study notes or a term paper? The program integrates with the word processor for automatic documentation and crediting. The reader searches the books in your library providing and making links to other books that have something to say on the topic. The technology is already there. Let's use it.