Monday, August 2, 2010
Thank you
I began this course with many reservations, believing that I was in for six weeks of frustration as technology is really not my comfort zone as was concluded in the manner in which I did my initial posts. I thought that this was a course in which I would do all that is necessary to just pass and after that I will just throw it all behind me and continue as I was going before because all I really wanted to do with computers was my assignments, email and Google information.Then Aisha introduced some "awesome tools" as she would say and opened up a whole, new, exciting world for me and demonstrated how we can change our teaching and the children's learning methods by just doing a few simple things with the computer. Not only were they simple but they were also fun. Yes it was a world-wind course but more stuck with me than I originally thought and I am inspired to really get to know more about the technology so any forth coming ideas will really be appreciated. I really do thank you Aisha for making it fun and informative. I promise that my students are going to benefit from this just as I did. Thank you again and good luck.
Digital Storytelling
I agonized for many a night trying to figure out what technology I can use for which lesson plan and more importantly which will be the easiest for me. I thought about concept mapping but it did not seem appropriate for the topic. Then I thought about eBooks and again discarded the idea. Then in the middle of the night I had an epiphany. What about using the Picture Story tool that was downloaded on your PC? Then I was like, but I am not sure I remember how to do that. Again, I was like, well you will never know until you try. So there losing the battle with myself I tried to create a Digital Story for my lesson and I was struck by the simplicity of it AGAIN and how enjoyable it is to do AGAIN. I said to myself, I must use this with my students but I wanted to know what advantages there were to using it and this is what I found out from the following website: http://edweb.fdu.edu/folio/FrancoE/ST/benefits.html:
1. It encourages collaborative learning
2. It allows students to learn and present in their own learning style.
3.It acts as a motivational tool because it relates to their personal experiences and interests.
4. It enhances writing because students now have to consider a wider audience.
5. It allows students to share work with a wider audience.
6. Provides a nonthreatening way for students to read their writing out loud.
There are a few more advantages but I guess you will read it on the website provided. After completing three Picture Stories, I summed up the total experience by simply saying "Wow, this is one cool tool."
1. It encourages collaborative learning
2. It allows students to learn and present in their own learning style.
3.It acts as a motivational tool because it relates to their personal experiences and interests.
4. It enhances writing because students now have to consider a wider audience.
5. It allows students to share work with a wider audience.
6. Provides a nonthreatening way for students to read their writing out loud.
There are a few more advantages but I guess you will read it on the website provided. After completing three Picture Stories, I summed up the total experience by simply saying "Wow, this is one cool tool."
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Motivating Adolescent Readers: A daunting task
One of the most daunting tasks for teachers is motivating adolescent readers to read. While this may be daunting it is however not impossible. Many researchers postulate the the key to motivating students is through the creation of a a positive reading environment, the use of engaging, meaningful material and quick and positive feedback. In the construction of a positive reading environment we can lean on the theories of behaviorism where we positively reward all efforts and provide incentives to facilitate reading in the classroom. Casteel (n.d) delineated some steps that teachers can follow to create this positive environment for reluctant adolescent readers. He posits:
1. That achievement of motivation in the classroom is most effective if teachers set goals and obtain feedback from students.
2. Instructional material must be relevant, meaningful and stimulating to students in order to obtain students' co-operation.
3. Construct a reading program that meets the needs of the struggling reader.
This list is by no means the sum total of all motivational strategies but I do hope it will help someone.
Article: Casteel, C.,A. (n.d) Motivating reluctant readers to become mature readers.
1. That achievement of motivation in the classroom is most effective if teachers set goals and obtain feedback from students.
2. Instructional material must be relevant, meaningful and stimulating to students in order to obtain students' co-operation.
3. Construct a reading program that meets the needs of the struggling reader.
This list is by no means the sum total of all motivational strategies but I do hope it will help someone.
Article: Casteel, C.,A. (n.d) Motivating reluctant readers to become mature readers.
Instructional Writing Strategies
We place a great deal of importance in reading, which is very good, but sometimes I feel as though writing is not given the same measure of importance. In my recent readings, I have come across quite a number of instructional writing strategies which I believe can be implemented in the classroom to enhance the writing skills of students, whether it is used with or without the aid of technology. Beneath I have highlighted a few examples but more can be obtained from the website that will be seen at the bottom of this blog. Writing can be improved through the use of:
1. Free writing: This is where the student is encouraged to just write about anything with little emphasis being placed on grammar and the mechanics of writing. This is known to improve fluency in writing and improve thinking.
2. Sentence Combining: This is where students are asked to combine a series of short sentences into longer, more complex sentences. This improves the quality of their writing.
3. Modeling: Like reading students need to be provided with examples of good writing as often as possible so that they can see what good writing is and model the same efforts.
4. Students should be provided with clear rubrics, scales or criteria so that they know or understand what their goal is and have a good idea of what is required for successful writing.
5. Writing should be inquiry based.
These are the main points highlighted by George Hillcocks in his article. However, more information can be obtained from the following website:
http://michiganreading.org/cms/images/stories/PDFs/overmeyermarkhandout1.pdf
1. Free writing: This is where the student is encouraged to just write about anything with little emphasis being placed on grammar and the mechanics of writing. This is known to improve fluency in writing and improve thinking.
2. Sentence Combining: This is where students are asked to combine a series of short sentences into longer, more complex sentences. This improves the quality of their writing.
3. Modeling: Like reading students need to be provided with examples of good writing as often as possible so that they can see what good writing is and model the same efforts.
4. Students should be provided with clear rubrics, scales or criteria so that they know or understand what their goal is and have a good idea of what is required for successful writing.
5. Writing should be inquiry based.
These are the main points highlighted by George Hillcocks in his article. However, more information can be obtained from the following website:
http://michiganreading.org/cms/images/stories/PDFs/overmeyermarkhandout1.pdf
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Podcasting and its implications in the classroom.
Since 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.
Traditinal books vs Ebooks
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.
Choosing the right reading program
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:
The 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.
The 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.
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