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lrgoddard

Critical Issue: Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction - 2 views

  • Educational technology is nudging literacy instruction beyond its oral and print-based tradition to embrace online and electronic texts as well as multimedia. Computers are creating new opportunities for writing and collaborating. The Internet is constructing global bridges for students to communicate, underscoring the need for rock-solid reading and writing skills. By changing the way that information is absorbed, processed, and used, technology is influencing how people read, write, listen, and communicate.
  • Literacy instruction traditionally refers to the teaching of basic literacy skills—reading, writing, listening, and speaking. In today's digital world, however, technology has contributed to an expanded understanding of literacy. Besides having basic literacy skills, today's students also need technology skills for communicating, investigating, accessing and using information, computing, thinking critically about messages inherent in new media, and understanding and evaluating data. As policymakers and educators ponder what it means to be literate in a digitized society, an array of literacy definitions is emerging.
  • Technologies That Support Students' Reading Development Educational technologies that support the development of students' reading skills include audiobooks, electronic books and online texts, electronic talking books, and programmed reading instruction.
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  • Audiobooks. Audiobooks, sometimes known as books on tape, are professionally recorded, unabridged versions of fiction or nonfiction books. They are available on regular audiocassettes or four-track cassettes that require a special cassette player. Audiobooks promote students' interest in reading and improve their comprehension of text, notes Beers (1998). They also have been used successfully by students who cannot read traditional printed books because of visual or physical handicaps.
  • Electronic Books and Online Texts. Electronic books, also known as e-books, are electronic texts that are presented visually. Whether available on CD-ROM, the Internet, or special disks, electronic books always provide the text in a visual component. Some electronic books incorporate text enhancements, such as definitions of words or background information on ideas. Others offer illustrations that complement the story. The downside of electronic books is that they can be viewed only with a computer or a special palm-sized digital reader; often the text resolution is poor. In terms of their advantages, Anderson-Inman and Horney (1999) note that electronic books are searchable, modifiable (for example, font sizes can be increased to meet the needs of the reader), and enhanceable with embedded resources (for example, definitions and details).
  • Online texts are those that are available on the World Wide Web. With access to an Internet-connected computer, students can find a wide variety of free online reading materials, including books, plays, short stories, magazines, and reference materials. This benefit is especially useful for students in schools that have few resources for the acquisition of new books.
  • Electronic Talking Books. The term electronic talking books has been coined by some researchers to refer to electronic texts that also provide embedded speech. The speech component offers a digitized reading of general sections as well as pronunciations of specific words within the text; it supports and coaches students as they read the text of the story (Leu, 2000; McKenna, 1998). Although research is ongoing about the effectiveness of electronic talking books, there already is much to be said in their favor (for a review, see Leu, 2000; McKenna, 1998). "Computers, especially those equipped with devices that produce artificial speech, may provide an effective means for increasing decoding skills and reading fluency," note Reinking and Bridwell-Bowles (1966, p. 321).
  • In general, electronic talking books have been found to support reading instruction by providing background information, extended response actions, play actions, and explanatory notes. Talking books also show promise of accelerating reading growth by offering readers immediate access to a word's pronunciation—thus easing the need of the student to rely on context cues to understand new words.
  • Programmed Reading Instruction. Various types of software programs, computer-assisted instruction, and integrated learning systems offer programmed reading instruction for students. This skills-based instruction ranges from letter recognition to phonics instruction to vocabulary building.
  • Technologies That Support Students' Writing Development Educational technologies that support the development of students' writing skills include word processing, desktop publishing, multimedia composing, online publishing, and Internet communication.
  • Word Processing. Word processing is the pioneer application of educational technology used in writing instruction. Although it requires the mastery of basic keyboarding skills, word processing allows many students to write and edit their work more easily. In addition, word-processing tools such as spelling checkers are useful aids that improve the quality of student writing. Research indicates that students who are comfortable with word processing write longer papers, spend more time writing and revising, and show improved mechanics and word choice (Lehr, 1995). Nevertheless, research also indicates that using a word processor does not by itself improve student writing. Rather, the teacher has a critical role in guiding the writing process, providing feedback, and encouraging revision (Reinking & Bridwell-Bowles, 1996).
  • Multimedia Composing. Besides text-based writing, technology encourages students to integrate visual and aural multimedia in their school projects. Various software programs allow students to insert images, sounds, and video, thereby creating complex, multilayered compositions. For students who have difficulty with writing, multimedia composing presents a means of self-expression and provides support for development of reading and writing skills.
  • Online Publishing of Student Work. Providing opportunities for online publishing of students' work is another means to motivate student writing. "Publishing online is a motivating factor when completing classroom assignments," notes Karchmer (2000). "Students feel their work could have far-reaching effects, which in turn encourages them to put more effort into it" (p. 83). One way to accomplish online publishing is through the school's Web site.
  • Internet-Based Communication. Another way to promote student writing is through electronic mail (e-mail), electronic bulletin boards, and e-mail lists. Such Internet-based communication can be with peers, adults, or professional experts from around the world. Students in classrooms across the country can become online penpals (sometimes called e-pals or keypals). Some classrooms enjoy pairing up with older adults who live in retirement homes. Still another use is online communication with adult experts who have agreed to answer students' e-mail questions.
  • Technologies That Support Students' Research and Collaboration Skills Technologies that support students' research and collaboration skills include Internet search engines, online tools for evaluating Web-based information, and Web sites that offer collaborative activities.
  • Internet Search Engines. The Internet has gained momentum as the infrastructure on which international knowledge is created and shared. Use of the Internet search engines can promote students' research and investigation skills and enable them to locate online information on any possible topic. Students also can access online journals, magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, and informative Web sites.
  • Online Tools for Evaluating Web-Based Information. The need to evaluate online information sources is gaining importance as a basic literacy skill. Online tools for evaluating online information provide strategies for determining the accuracy, quality, and timeliness of online information.
mahleekmorris

Can technology improve literacy skills? Yes, if done right - 2 views

  • Sure, kids are writing a lot, from regular updates on their Facebook pages to an incessant stream of text messages, but is all that writing helping them to become more literate? Or is being AATK -- always at the keyboard -- leading to a generation that is stuck in the n00b (newbie) stage when it comes to reading and writing skills?
  • "I tell them I find that annoying. If they can't take the time to write a full word, don't write to me." The ease with which young people communicate, though, can help in advancing literacy in a digital age. "In one sense, when you try to get a kid to sit down and write an essay, to write something more substantial, they have a lot of difficulty with that," Hargreave said. "I think we are getting a little bit of a loss when it comes to creating longer-form, story structures and paragraphs. "But on the flip side, with young people having to tighten up what they say, they are learning to write very precisely, to focus on what they want to say."
mahleekmorris

Texting Improving Literacy? | The Principal of Change - 0 views

  • One of the additional things he discussed in this talk was that we often say, “These kids do not read,” but he quickly dismisses this as a fallacy.  In fact, Crystal goes further to say that kids that text read more than what we did as children because they have more access to writing.  Simply put, they do not read and write the same things that we did.  Looking at my own situation, I have actually read more “books” in the last little while than I ever have, as I carry around a huge book collection all the time on my iPhone and/or iPad.  The ease of access makes it a lot easier for me to read whether it is blogs, books, or yes, text messages and tweets.
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    Texting Improving Literacy The Principal of Change 2.4
larryoliver

Reading Online - New Literacies: - 1 views

  • New forms of literacy call upon students to know how to read and write not only in the print world but also in the digital world. Today's definition of literacy is being broadened to include "literacy skills necessary for individuals, groups, and societies to access the best information in the shortest time to identify and solve the most important problems and then communicate this information" (Leu, 2000, p. 476). The Internet has provided the world of work with global competition and an informational economy (Leu, 2000).
  • The union of reading and technology on the Internet is causing educators to take a new look at what it means to be literate in today's society (Leu, 2002)
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