My Post-Reflective View and Concept of Information Communication Technology Integration into School Practice

Having engaged in the course ICT for Reading, I now strongly believe that ICT represents a very powerful tool for supporting learning which is already deeply rooted in many professional environments and cultures but most apparent in the informatics and computer science disciplines. I congratulate the developers of the M.Ed. Reading programme in placing paramount interest in investigating and examining the role of school teachers/Reading Specialists as both ICT-system users and mentors for learners involved in ICT supported learning processes.
I know my perceptions regarding the usefulness and possibilities of ICT integration as a literacy development tool have made a positive shift . Whereas , I was somewhat skeptical at the onset of the course, I am delighted that my views have changed. Now, I posit that ICT applications and competence in schools :

-can contribute to a more rational organizing and running of educational institutions which is comparable with the motives of introducing ICT systems in private and public enterprises.

- are required and important assets of teachers and Reading Specialists in modern society. Digital literacy is considered important and equal to other more traditional competences such as reading and writing .

- are not only goals in themselves but means of supporting pedagogical processes which will contribute to an enhancement of learning outcome in most subjects.

A Reflective Lemoy

My Vision For E-Books in Our Education System

I am truly excited about the possibilities for changing modalities in how we now define education and whether we , as developing Reading Specialists, having experienced ICT for Reading , will give ourselves a voice in the education system in Trinidad and Tobago. I am truly impressed , not on any superficial level of thinking that I was able to create my own e-Book (although this experience was grand!)but at the possibilities for a new wave in how we educate our students and what we use to meet and treat with their myriad of needs. I have a vision where  . . .


Instead of lugging a huge back pack of books, our students will have one small book loaded with all of the material they need. Schools will be provided with a number of readers and we can download books for the readers to fit the curriculum of certain grades. E-Book readers find a place in the classroom as they appeal to a generation growing up with technology. M.Ed. Reading students, isn’t increasing our students’ love of literature /getting our students to love literature one of our fundamental goals? This is an exciting, imaginative and enticing piece of equipment that will facilitate this goal.

I am happy for the concerned parents who once watched their children haul around a heavily loaded backpack.! Add this hassle to the cost of text books and now--- eBooks in the class room look like a natural. Presumably eBook text books will be cheaper than printed books which would be a great benefit! But, not so quick! Text book publishers and bookstores all have a large vested interest in maintaining the status quo. I suspect that consumer pressure will ultimately make them grudgingly change over.

                                                                                                                Lee

USING AUTHENTIC TEXTS TO LEARN NEW WORDS AND DEVELOP FLUENCY

There is an assertion that children should have access to a variety of texts that they can easily read, however, there is an issue over what makes a text easy to read. For quite a number of years, materials that contained tightly controlled vocabulary were used. Such materials were steeped in the understanding that learning would be easy, if a child encounters the same words repeatedly in his reading, and if he were exposed to new words along with sentence structures in a predetermined sequence .Intuitively, these ideas make a certain amount of sense, but I see fault with the “Go, Spot, go” type of writing.
If we think about the natural oral language of our Trinidadian or Tobagonian children, the simple language pattern of “Go Spot, go” is not what they hear in daily life; in addition, the vocabulary repetition is unnatural (when was the last time you said, “Look, oh look, look, look at the hot aloo pies”, in conversation?) I believe that stories written with restricted sentence patterns and done to fit a formula of certain words, usually lack literary merit. It is for these reasons that I suggest we look for and use alternatives, such as Predictable Texts, like Mother Goose rhymes, environmental print and Pattern Books. If you have an experience in using any of these texts , please share them with us.

Lemoy

Effective Instruction Begins With Purposeful Assessment

 

Assessment is a critical component of effective teaching and learning but assessment and evaluation are often confused. So, is there a difference? I am making this contribution because many teachers are still using these words interchangeably. I believe that a vital part of our role as reading specialists will be to train teachers so that they develop a clear understanding of the reciprocal relationship between curriculum, assessment and instruction. This is how I perceive the relationship :

Curriculum ↔                    Assessment ↔             Instruction

Where am I going?  I must help my students to achieve  levels of   
                                             content standards 

       How will I know that?  By providing students with multiple opportunities for demonstrating learning

     How will I get there? Through purposefully planned teaching and learning experiences

             
Now let’s go back to the difference between assessment and evaluation. In education, an evaluation occurs when a single score is used to report student learning. In it you’re looking at what has already occurred ,with no intention of intervention or changing eventual outcomes. Assessment, in its fundamental form, provides us with information to help students. Like Checkley (1997)I also believe that in effective classrooms it is difficult to determine where instruction ends and where it begins. Evaluation, on the other hand, is a summation and is used upon completion of instruction. It is the final analysis of instruction and assessment and is used to assign grades or determine a grade placement.In my practice I use three suggestions offered by Guskey (2003) for making assessments more useful for my students..I want to share these with you. I inform my students of (1) the concepts and skills necessary for achievement, (2) the criteria that will be used to judge successful achievement. In addition ,I follow up with corrective instruction.. I hope this is helpful to you in some way.

Lemoy

FUN WITH PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS

Hi Colleagues,
These are two games I’ve tried with Infants 1 and 2. They had a ball and the activities engaged their interest and attention while treating with the instructional objective of developing phonological awareness. You can adjust these games to suit the needs of your class. Just keep in mind your students’ attention span and keep it exciting! Here we go!
It’s the rainy season! Are you ready to row your boat?
I used the familiar song ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’. Once they know the song, you can let them substitute different sounds for the first sound of the song . Thus, the familiar song, ‘Row ,Row, Row Your Boat’ can change to this as the students sing:
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream                                                        

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream.

Bow, bow, bow your boat

Bently bown the beam

Berrily, berrily, berrily, berrily

Bife is but a beam.
.
I’ve been thinking about how I can integrate web 2.0 technology with lessons such as these. Thus far we’ve learned about the usefulness of blogs and wikis but I think such lessons would be better facilitated through a pod or video cast. I’m eagerly looking forward to our upcoming ITC for Reading classes. After those I want to develop these lessons further. I hope you try these with your little ones. Let me know what happens or what you think.
Lee

WIKI STRATEGIES THAT FOSTER VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

In treating with the topic, I am able to reflect on our session regarding the development and uses of wikis and have come to the understanding, that instructional technological practices and strategies designed for developing vocabulary do not need to be difficult and overwhelming. There are several interactive approaches that are highly student-centered, and provide an environment that is motivational, engaging, collaborative and thus create a classroom environment rich with learning opportunities. This environment is sustained by a variety of activites that are couched within theoretically framed learning strategies.I think the pupils who engage in such activities are likely to become independent, higly motivated learners . As a result, not only will the students be developing vocabulary knowledge but they will also build their capacity to learn and perform.
I would suggest integrating strategies whereby pupils, for example, create wikis that depict new vocabulary with a visual aid and audio file for the word meaning and maps can be created to show vocabulary connections. We can engage our students in a continuing story in which our students are required or are invited to add new sentences using new vocabulary . In this way they, for example, may write an adventure story in collaboration wth the whole class. I believe it will be unlikely that they will forget the meanings of the words as they read and re-read their story each time they visit the wiki to make additions..The story can be a single class version or it can branch off into multiple versions and endings. I hope you find this helpful in some way.

Lemoy

MY CLASSROOM USE OF WORD PROCESSORS AND WHAT I'VE DISCOVERED

Becker(1991) states, “Perhaps no other technology resource has had as great an impact on education as word processing.” Edwards and Havriluk(1997) stipulate that this technology can be used to support any kind of direct instruction or constructivist activity . In my classroom I have applied ordinary word processing functions that have yielded some extraordinary educational outcomes. My students eagerly engage in organizing, entering, editing, formatting , storing, retrieving and printing their letters, stories, ideas, poet forms such as Haiku and anything they might write in subjects across the curriculum. They have learned to use the text-editor to compose their narratives and different types of letters on the screen before committing words to paper. Their revision requires no erasing, cutting and pasting and no tedious and time consuming retyping of subsequent drafts. When we do expository text reading in Science , Social Studies and even Mathematics, they think about their previous knowledge and organize their learning through the use of graphic organizers which they build using the Table application.
I have noted a gradual improvement in their writing process and written product, but what is also noteworthy is that my students who previously were hesitant to write using paper and pencil/pen, seem more motivated to write via this technological resource. I have also observed that a few students write more detailed stories. My students have told me they feel like “real” writers and think they can experiment more with language . In trying to account for the differences, I believe using this resource has made it easier for them to reflect on the thinking that goes behind the writing. I am now working on a win-win situation by getting them to transfer that eagerness and blossoming literacy to traditional writing resources.
Share your thoughts with me .
Lemoy

CONTINUING THE PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY –AM I TRULY LEARNING?

Engaging in ICT for Reading has caused me to examine at a more meaningful level, my teaching philosophy as it pertains to the use of the computer as a tool that facilitates the teaching of both content knowledge and literacy development. During the past few weeks , as I was taught how to use technology to support reading instruction , I began to think about how I can use blogs and wikis to support my students’ reading and writing and how I can use concept mapping to further enhance their comprehension, vocabulary, fluency and writing skills .
I am convinced that one of the most important things I can do at present to assist in bringing about the kinds of pedagogical growth I have envisioned for my colleagues , is to devote myself to establishing and nurturing a learning community at my school. I went to college, did a Certificate in Education and then a Bachelor of Education degree and now I’m doing this postgraduate degree that is meant to enhance my pedagogical knowledge and hone my skills in my chosen area of what is to be my expertise. However, I feel I have not truly learned until I am put in a position and am able to teach that which I supposedly learned. Hence, whatever I am taught in ICT for Reading is communicated to my colleagues in a practical way. Something wonderful is happening as I demonstrate to my colleagues how the computer ,as an ICT tool may be used for supporting our students’ reading and writing and as we continue this process of integration within our own school context………. I acknowledge that I am indeed learning.
An Enlightened Lemoy