Flattening classrooms = learning opportunities

These links are really worth it.

While reading about integrating technology into reading, I consistently came across references to Thomas Friedman and his book The World is Flat. While I’ve not had occasion to read the book myself, I found an interview in which he spoke about his book. He reiterates in the interview his claims that “… the playing field is being leveled… [there is] a global web-engaged playing field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration without regard to geography and distance- or soon, even language”. Surely we acknowledge that with the onset of globalization that the playing field is indeed being leveled.
He highlights the ten great levelers and it’s very interesting, but not surprising, to note that technology is among them.
To see the list of levelers, visit: http://http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/friedman.html?pg=3

For the entire interview see:
http://http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/friedman.html?pg=3&topic=friedman&topic_set=

Teachers should attempt to break physical walls within their classrooms and among schools in an attempt to create one learning community. One such teacher is Julie Lindsay who teamed with one Vicky Davis. They have a ‘Flat classroom Project’ which can be found at
http://http://www.flatclassroomproject.org/

Their philosophy is to share “cultural understanding, skills with Web 2.0 and other software, experience in global collaboration and online learning, awareness of what it means to live and work in a flat world, while researching and discussing the ideas developed in Friedman's book, The World is Flat”. The project is international so teachers consider applying to be a part.
Their wiki page can be viewed at
http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/ - and is one idea which I intend to emulate since I find it to be an excellent conglomeration of the use of different web 2.0 technology.
I do hope that you all have been given an incentive. Let me kow what you think.

The Reading Specialist's challenge!

My school is among the fortunate to have at least 33 computers at my school in the computer lab. This does not include the odd ten-twelve others which lie idle in other parts of the school. Yes I did say computer room (with internet access) - ours is one of the most modern structures of any primary school on the island; having been completed, outfitted and occupied early in 2005.
There are ramps for the physically disabled, a diagnostic testing room, fully outfitted library, whiteboards in classrooms, multimedia projector and e-beam. All of the physical resources are in place to ensure that the school becomes a moving one (Stoll, 1999).

Despite the apparent predisposition of today’s students toward a different approach to teaching/ learning, there are several other factors which hinder improvement in student outcome. These are:
• The resistance to change (by teachers and administrators)
• Administrative decision making without consultation
• Lack of planning and foresight
• Non- involvement of parents and other stake holders
• Lack of professional development

Unless teachers and the administrator of the school are prepared to embrace technology and to receive the relevant training, many of our schools and the students within their walls will continue to be labeled as “failing”. These are some of the challenges reading specialists must attend to at the end of our training. How do we break the barrier and encourage the use of technology and New Literacies in the teaching of Reading?

Please feel free to share your ideas.

Is digital media affecting reading behaviours?

Effective readers engage in several strategies which result in comprehension of text. Typical behaviour in print media includes:

• Activating background knowledge-
• Setting a purpose
• Visualizing – seeing images in the mind’s eye
• Summarizing
• Questioning , predicting and adjusting thinkng
• Monitoring – thinking aloud, using ‘fix up’ strategies
• Connecting – personal connections (text to self), text to text and text to world
• Determining importance – capturing big ideas
• Drawing inferences- predicting and confirming
• Evaluating- making judgments about the significance and authenticity of information
• Synthesizing-generating ideas from their knowledge

These strategies work in tandem in order for comprehension to occur. Used continuously, they become second nature. Today’s readers are so bombarded and practically overwhelmed by information that one wonders if they actually spend time engaging in the aforementioned activities when reading digital text.

The literature suggests that students activate prior knowledge, plan, predict, evaluate, monitor and repair whenever a navigational choice is made.

May I conjecture that readers in their formative years of reading may not fully develop the aforementioned skills in a world that is technologically and digitally driven if they are so immersed without specific early instruction in developing these requisite skills?

Students must be taught how print and online texts are different in order to be able to apply the strategies they know and to adapt new ones for online learning.

Reference:

Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21^st century: A Balanced Approach. (5th ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Using photos to tell our story- authentic and active learning

Over the past five years I’ve partnered with a teacher in one primary school in Trinidad and with one in England. All three of us were teaching at the first year infant level. We had students write to each other about themselves, compose poems and also write about our respective islands, Trinidad, Tobago and England. Our packages to the Arima school were collected in a matter of days but we waited for weeks to receive any from the School in England and our package to them also took a while in getting there. However, the teachers and I contacted each other regularly via e- mail while waiting on our respective packages. The moral? Why use the internet of course!

While pondering on how to implement some of the exciting strategies and skills in my class this upcoming term, it only just dawned on me that I can up the ante, make the project a lot more exciting and interactive for the students. Microsoft Photostory is an excellent medium for a project such as this. The tedium of waiting for a package and sending one off, then waiting for a response can surely be avoided.

Our project usually incorporates a lot of artwork and drawings to help tell the stories. Our drawings this year will definitely be replaced by photos brought together to tell a story! How is this connected to reading? Reading and writing are inextricably linked and involve the same processes-particularly at stage three- responding, deepening meaning, clarifying misunderstandings and expanding ideas.

Some ideas already coming to mind for the project are:

· All about me

· A day in the life of Ms. ( teacher’s name ) class

· Places of interest in my country

· Our national festival

· Poems

· Favourite story (re) telling

I know there are additional themes which can be used in this project. Feel free to offer if you have any suggestions. I think too that it can be used as a wonderful form of assessment. Imagine the excitement which would be generated this year for this project!

On board with E-books

Many teachers and parents bemoan the fact that young persons are reading less and less. They seem to be caught up in computer games, television, e-mailing, texting, listening to music on the mp3 and the like. One must always consider how children learn whenever there is an attempt to plan or implement programmes for them.

I was recently exposed to the i-pad and was immediately enamoured with it so I thought I just have to get me one. Excitedly, I pulled it up on the net to tell my son about it and guess what? - He already knows about it! Like I’ve mentioned before, the teens are in the know and are always one step ahead of us.

So, let’s consider this- How about using e- books and audio books in reading time? Here are some advantages:

• They often cost less than the actual text
• Some are free
• They can be used just about anywhere
• The virtual library is lightweight
• Multiple persons can read the same book simultaneously
• They can be teacher or student- made
• Books can be personalised (teacher or parent’s voice)
• They’re eco-friendly (less pages= less trees!)
• It’s a new dimension to reading!

On a final note, since new SEA graduates will be receiving laptops come September, maybe this is one of the positive uses to which teachers can ensure that they are put.

The Students are teaching us!

I’ve viewed over and over again the video clip entitled “The machine is using us”. Why? I’m not sure myself but it brings to mind the old adage of the tail wagging the dog.
I got to reading a few journal articles when I came across an interesting one about a girl who is never excited about writing activities and assignments at school. Her parents nonetheless expressed that she’s ALWAYS writing on her computer at home. Doesn’t this sound familiar? Aren’t our pupils ALWAYS reading successfully for parents at home? (but never for us at school?)

The student in the above scenario asserted “That’s online writing, not boring school writing!’ to the utter dismay of her teacher. True to form, her teacher took it personally. Something must be wrong with- you guessed it- the student! How can she and every other child who owns a computer be passionate about writing? (Blogs, texts, wikis, nings, videos- maybe?)
Which brings me to the topic of this post- aren’t the students teaching us? A reflective teacher would also learn from students along with teaching them. They are after all digital natives, we must learn their language and culture or become obsolete!

If teachers quit teaching the curriculum and look carefully at the students whom we are supposed to be teaching, we’ll realise that they want to learn through different modalities. Remember the theory of Multiple Intelligences? Nowhere is it more explicit today than in online learning activities.

References:

Wesch, M.(2007). Anthropology videoblog.(video file) Retrieved from
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g&feature=player_embedded

Witte, S. (2007). “That’s online writing, not boring school writing” Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51:2, 92-96.

So text is 'hyper'- now what?

Text as we know it is read differently on the internet. Text in books is read in a linear and sequential manner while online there are special characteristics: non-linearity, multiple modalities, intertextuality and interactivity.

• Non- linearity – readers impose their own needs on the text and may read in any direction; in effect reconfiguring the physical organisation of the page.
• Multiple modalities- words, images and sound are incorporated to create meaning. Readers need to know how to interpret each mode and its contribution to the overall comprehension of the text.
• Intertextuality- related text influence each other on the net. Readers prioritize, assess and combine information being read.
• Interactivity- readers are engaged by interactive features which allow them to adapt their search, listen to video clips, play games etc.

These features require that today’s students acquire skills in:

• Navigating- searching for and locating information on the net
• Co- authoring- editing and imposing structure on texts they are reading
• Evaluating the accuracy, relevance and quality of what they are reading and
• Synthesizing information from multiple texts.

Today’s pupils are already engaged in many online activities such as playing interactive games, e-mailing and collaborating on social networks such as Facebook and U –Tube. It is therefore imperative that teachers in general and teachers of reading in particular teach their students to use the internet and other information communication technologies successfully in order to prepare for life in the 21^st century.

Reference:

Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21^st Century: A balanced Approach.

Boston: Allyn and Bacon

New literacies: resultant skills of the 'net savvy'

Are reading and writing enough to ensure one is literate in today’s society?

We first need to acknowledge the fact that the concept of literacy has changed. In Scotland, literacy has been defined as: "The ability to read and write and use numeracy, to handle information, to express ideas and opinions, to make decisions and solve problems, as family members, workers, citizens and lifelong learners. We now hear of terms such as multimedia literacy, information literacy, arts literacy, functional literacy, critical literacy and rhetorical literacy.

We are bombarded with information to which the various types of “literacies” must apply. Never before have we been in age where there is free access to almost any type of information. As stated by Jules et.al (2000) in their book Net Savvy, the internet is the “electronic playground” of these digital natives. The very tools they use on the web can be used in the classroom to help to develop their skills in viewing, reading, editing and publishing.

The classroom like everything else must evolve. We must nurture collaboration , cooperation, as well as individualised learning. We must rethink curriculum and how best to teach our pupils in a multimodal way.

References:

Jules, I. et.al. (2000). Net Savvy: Building information literacy in the classroom. Sage Publications: California.

http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/cs_008875.pdf

Blogging to increase literacy

As with other activities, strategies and programmes I encounter which involve the use of technology; I’ve introduced my teenage son to blogging.
As I may have mentioned in previous blogs, he has taken to fishing and cooking this vacation. From anytime after 7 pm, he’s on the computer interacting with friends (when not texting,). Maybe, just maybe, I can gauge from his response, possible strategies I can use with my students in the upcoming school year.
I’ve transferred my own enthusiasm about finding a means to communicate- other than hotmail- with an audience which shares the similar interests to mine. Admittedly, I have come across many blogs over the years but never realised that such a system was readily accessible. Imagine my delight when I discovered that my son has since created his own blog to discuss- get this- political issues- with his peers. Each one of them can now have an equal opportunity to share their views- hmmm.
Apart from being very motivational to students, blogging provides an excellent opportunity for children to read and write, to collaborate and discuss and to foster scaffolding and peer mentoring. I look forward to comments and suggestions from my own peers concerning the use of web 2.0 technology.

I've included in this post an article about the benefits of blogging in the classroom to supplement the information we already have. Click on the link and let me know what you think.

http://www.levenslangleren.info/.../11-reasons-to-use-a-blog-in-your-classroom

New literacies - the way forward in the 21st century.

New literacies as originally coined by John Willinsky (1990) revolved around a mind-set for approaching reading and writing in the classroom; and focussed on student inquiry, choice and autonomy. It has since evolved to include making meaning from such elements as graphics, video, audio and interaction.
These new literacies are non- linear. Traditional texts (books) are read from left to right and front to back; digital text on the other hand is read from part to part- in an arbitrary fashion. Most young persons today do personal reading through digital texts. Thus, it is individualised and based on the immediate interests and characteristics of the reader. (Reinking, 1997) It is also a social and interactive experience according to the socio- cultural approach.
My own sons (aged 16 and 6) take to fishing, cooking and not reading much during this vacation. They however also spend considerable time sending texts, e-mailing and surfing the net. While others assert that the boys are not engaged in reading activities such as they would have in their own childhood, I am quick to point out that “reading” is perhaps relevant to the type of interaction engaged in. After all, there is considerable reading (and writing) involved in their activities.
Many students are abreast of the latest technologies available to them yet, there are others who are unaware of the changes in the electronic media. In the same way that we are responsible as teachers to provide appropriate learning experiences and to create the right environment, we must provide these experiences within the classroom context. There is too much disconnect between real- life and classroom reading activities.
As a Reading Specialist in the rapidly evolving world of new literacies, my challenge is how to help students become effective readers and writers.
It is absolutely impossible to prepare students for life in the 21st century without actually incorporating new literacies into the classroom. They are actually transforming the way we read and write! Teachers, parents as well as students need to keep up with changes occurring in the electronic media.

References
Willinsky, J. (1990). The new literacy: Redefining reading and writing in the schools. New York: Routledge.

Reinking, D. (1997). Me and my hypertext: A multiple digression analysis of technology and literacy. Reading Teacher, 50, 626-643.

It's all in the cloud!

I’ve started reading articles on the available Web 2.0 technologies and boy was I in the dark! I must admit that I occasionally ‘employ’ the services of my teenager whenever there is anything challenging for me where technology is involved. I also confess that the touch screen phone which almost everyone has these days, had me bewildered- I absolutely did not know how to access the keypad to dial when a friend recently loaned me her phone. Such is the extent of my dilemma.
I store many assignments with the usual word file, send to my flash-drive and voila! –retrieve the file to continue working whenever I’m ready. Countless times I’ve forgotten the said flash-drive and was forced to suspend working on documents. That was when I was not yet enlightened. Nevertheless, I am VERY pleased to learn about easier ways to store and retrieve information and files on the web- I had twice previously been a victim of lost and damaged files a mere day before the assignment submission date. (Has anyone else experienced this?)Hooray for Web 2.0 and delicious.com- it’s all at the fingertips on the remotest of computers. Computing in the clouds!
The key- I realise daily as with anything new- is practice, practice, practice! Simply creating this blogspot and customising the page was a joy. I imagine that at the end of the module I’d be well equipped to manoeuvre obstacles on my computer and on the net. Further, it may take some convincing but maybe I’d be able to access the 30 odd computers in the (closed) lab at my school and have the students (and teachers) collaborate as well as create a community- providing they’re not obsolete!

On becoming a Reading Specialist

I am a Primary school teacher with 15 years experience in teaching at both the primary and secondary levels. I have always had a love for reading and I am an avid reader. I also attempt to transmit this love of Reading in my teaching and practices. I have therefore found it difficult to understand why many children do not have the same keen interest in reading.

In many of our schools in Trinidad and Tobago, there are many readers who struggle as well as those who are alliterate (able to read but simply choose not to). Many of the struggling readers do not know what fluent reading should sound like and they struggle with vocabulary , chunking and phrasing.

Through my own reading and attempts to assist pupils under my charge, I have administered teacher- made and other tests as well as applied strategies which I have discovered over time. I believe that teachers are not only accountable to various stakeholders inclusive of pupils and their parents, but also to a conscience and to God. Thus, I discharge my responsibility with professionalism and a sense of responsibility.

The opportunity to become formally trained as a Reading Specialist is one which I grasped because I would be armed with the appropriate knowledge and strategies to assist pupils as well as their teachers. I therefore feel that it is important for teachers to become au courant with the theories, strategies and techniques which are important in affecting reading success.