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Susan O'Day

EBSCOhost: New Jersey High School Learns the ABCs of Blogging - 1 views

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reading instructional technology Web 2.0 blogging

shared by Susan O'Day on 12 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • he "blogs" are gaining traction in education as an online forum for classroom discussion, and to develop students' critical thinking, writing, and reading comprehension skills.
  • he Weblog traffic has since grown to encompass different students and schools, making it clear to our students that others are reading and learning from their work. This "sense of audience" gets students excited, and helps to facilitate discussion, debate, and participation, even among reticent students. Blogs also motivate students to become more engaged in reading, think more deeply about the meaning of their writing, and submit higher quality work.
  • The flexibility of this online tool makes it well suited for K-12 implementations. Teachers can use blogs to post homework assignments, create links, pose questions, and generate discussion. Students can post homework, create a portfolio, and archive peer feedback, enabling a virtually paperless classroom.
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  • But collaboration is the most compelling aspect of blogs, which allow teachers to expand classroom walls by inviting outside experts, mentors, and observers to participate.
Susan O'Day

EBSCOhost: going beyond the debate: using technology and instructionfor a balanced rea... - 1 views

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Technology literature Internet Web 2.0

shared by Susan O'Day on 10 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Reading management programs such as Accelerated Reader (AR) and Reading Counts! offer students the opportunity to select books at their own reading levels, to read independently and to verify their work by taking a computerized test upon completion of the book
  • these uses of reading management programs will increase the teacher-librarian's opportunities for collaboration.
  • There were several advantages to this class novel approach: • Teachers and school districts selected "quality" materials that were "appropriate and educational" for students. Every book selected for students had been approved, usually by at least three professionals, and was on an "approved list." Such lists provide safety nets for teachers and school districts. • Reading a book together as a class allowed students to participate in a teacher-led discussion of specific elements of the piece of literature. Teachers could point out important themes or other literary elements of literature. • Teacher-led discussions also allowed students to experience and/or process difficult issues as a group with an adult leader. • Spelling and vocabulary lists and history lessons could be related to the class novel, providing an integrated learning experience. There are also several disadvantages to this approach: • Many students were "turned off" reading by having no choice about what they were assigned to read. • The reading level of the assigned piece was too easy for good readers and too difficult for struggling readers, further alienating some students. • The assigned reading pace was too fast for some, and too slow for others. • Typically, a few students who liked and understood the book would carry class discussions while other students slumped down in their chairs, avoiding participation. • There was no accountability for outside student reading. Parents could sign off indicating students had read 30 minutes per night but no one knew for sure.
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  • Schools that purchase such programs buy software that includes computer-based tests for books. Books are assigned point values based on length and level of difficulty and students earn points by reading books and taking the tests.
  • Simply put, some students did not know they like to read until they were required to do so. Once required, they discovered favorite authors and genres.
  • Some studies have found that similar students who participated in reading management programs showed significant improvement in reading comprehension and attitudes toward reading, and even showed better attendance (Topping & Paul, 1999; Vollands, Topping & Evans, 1999; Paul, VanderZee, Rue & Swanson, 1996)
  • Another study determined a sample of Grade 7 students showed no significant gains with Accelerated Reader compared with those who do not use it (Pavonetti, Brimmer & Cipielweski, 2002).
  • He concludes: "'Basically what the company [Renaissance Learning] offers is a good tool. If teachers use the tool as feedback on the progress of kids, that is very useful. It is not a stand-alone reading program'" (cited in Chenowith, 2001, p. 50).
  • Instead of spending class time trying to force a discussion over assigned chapters and quizzing students over plot details, teachers can spend time teaching and practicing real reading skills such as those outlined by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis in Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension to enhance understanding (2000)
  • The pairing of reading skills instruction with reading management programs that require students to spend time reading and practicing these skills is at the heart of a balanced literacy program. Thus reading management technology may be used as a tool for teachers to keep up with the ever increasing demand for teachers to "individualize and differentiate" instruction for each student.
  • Thus incorporating a reading management program and requiting students to use reading skills allow the content teacher to meet the school-wide goal of encouraging literacy skills while maintaining the primary focus on content and achieving curricular objectives.
  • Reading practice time should be a part of a balanced literacy program where reading skills such as those espoused by Harvey and Goudvis (2000) are taught separately from reading practice time; • students need significant amounts of practice reading time at school; • students must be engaged during this time, and accountable for it; • student goals must be differentiated, so that all feel successful; • teachers must vigilantly monitor, diagnose, intervene and support their students; • students must be allowed to use alternative assessments at times; and • students must be allowed to read outside their reading range at times.
  • reading management programs are mere tools, to be used well or poorly. But if they can be used well, to create enthusiastic readers, to help students know themselves, including their abilities and preferences as readers, and to provide teachers with a way of holding students accountable for practicing reading skills in a differentiated manner, should they not be embraced, or at the very least recognized as valuable tools in some cases?
Susan O'Day

CITE Journal Article - 0 views

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technology English literature reading Web 2.0 Internet

shared by Susan O'Day on 12 Oct 10 - Cached
  • Technology should be a naturally supporting background for both the content and the pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987) of English language arts
  • Another context to consider when making instructional decisions is the students themselves. They will be at different levels of development as users of technology, and we must determine and honor those levels.
  • it is critical to acknowledge the impact technology has had on our language—how we read, write, view, and visually represent information.
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  • Besides the dynamic impact of technology on our vocabulary, technology has also brought us an expanded view of "what is considered text and how text is prepared"
  • we need to address these literacy shifts, varying text forms, and the attendant skills new teachers will need to both use and teach these new texts and languages.
  • One of the critical lessons to learn as a teacher in a technologically rich environment is that we will never be completely caught up; we will never know everything. We will constantly learn with and from our students. As a result, the English language arts classroom will necessarily become learn ing -centered and learn er -centered, with both teacher and student functioning in both roles.
  • Literacy is knowing where the truth lies.' He deliberately implies two meanings with this statement: people need to develop the necessary `reading' skills to enable them to seek out and identify sources of honest, straightforward, `truthful' information; and they also need to detect and read accurately those electronic texts that distort the truth. The skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation have always been important reading skills for students to master; but now, with the presence and operation of the Internet, these skills have become critical tools for the literate person." (Golub, 1999, pp. 53-54)
  • Teacher educators, as well as our students, need to be critical consumers of technology, to be thoughtful users who question, reflect, and refract (Pope, 1999) on the best times and ways to integrate technology.
  • Technology products are new genres for most of us, and they require a new set of process skills.
  • According to the NCTE Guidelines , English language arts "teachers should be sensitive to student needs so that all students, regardless of differences, receive encouragement, support, and opportunities to learn"
  • We need for our soon-to-be-teachers to both witness and understand the diverse accessibility to technology their school and their students will have. And they must consider this variability in their class assignments, opportunities for use in the school day, and homework expectations.
  • We need to devise ways of responding and coping with the inequities the division of computer access will be between poor children and the middle and upper class children.
  • In such an environment students participate actively and directly in their own education. They will not rely solely on the teacher but will use the Internet and electronic tools and media to gather information and gain insights.
  • This shift to a learning-centered classroom does not mean, however, that the teacher is obsolete. Instead, it demands that the teacher's role change from that of an "information-giver" to one of "designer" and "director" of instruction.
  • we suggest that English language arts methods classes can infuse technology in a way that does not interfere with the content pedagogy but supports it in a way that actively involves students and prepares them with the technical and pedagogical skills for creating the new learning-centered classroom.
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