Voice #1 : I am Tara.
Voice #2 : I am Dog.
Voice #1 : I live a happy life.
Voice #2 : My life isn’t fit for a dog!
Voice #1 : I like sweet , juicy Rose mango!
Voice #2 : I like roti, Curried mango, pumpkin, channa and
aloo.
Voice #1 : My grandmother needs me.
Voice #2 : I need Tara’s food.
Voice #1 : I think I am a good child because I do good deeds.
Voice #2 : Being crafty isn’t bad; it keeps me alive!
Voice#1 : If I had obeyed my mother I would not be in this
trouble.
Voice#2 : My master has caused me to attack Tara.
Voice #1 : Dog had no right to attack me!
Voice #2 : People attack me all the time.
Voice#1 : Thank God for Mr. Ramnath!
Voice#2 : Nobody protects me.
Voice#1 : I am Tara, a little girl.
Voice#2 : I am Dog, an animal.
Composed by Brian Kelly and Gina Henry
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
MY PARTING THOUGHTS
Hi Colleagues ,
I was asked to post the other two principles, so, here they are:
* Learning is social.
We have long recognized the value of having students work together in a group to accomplish some types of learning tasks. However, a social theory of learning reflects a fundamentally different view, where knowledge "is a matter of competence with respect to valued enterprises" and knowing "is a matter of participating in the pursuit of such enterprises" (Wenger, 1998, p. 4). Learning, then, amounts to increasing participation in and contribution to the practices of a social community. Concepts such as knowledge building, and mentoring become paramount, as learners are conceived to be under the tutelage of more experienced peers or instructors. A social view of learning focuses attention on making connections among students within a school and between students in the school and the broader community. How can modern technologies support and enhance these connections?
* Learning is reflective.
Whether feedback comes from within, a peer or the teacher ,learning is facilitated when students get feedback about their thinking. Then, provided the opportunity for revision, students can achieve at higher levels and reach deeper understandings. Technologies that promote communication within and outside the classroom make it easier for feedback, reflection, and revision to occur. The skilful, knowledgeable teacher can facilitate reflection in the dialogue that technology can promote among learners. Where dialogue or discussion is not inherent in the tool, teachers bear the responsibility of initiating and guiding it.
MY PARTING THOUGHTS
Technology by itself does not guarantee learning. Rather, it is in how teachers and students use available technologies that determines whether transformative learning happens. Educators can respond to the challenge or they can explore the power of technology to help learners achieve important outcomes. Understanding principles of learning is a good way to begin.
Lemoy Petit- Hunte
I was asked to post the other two principles, so, here they are:
* Learning is social.
We have long recognized the value of having students work together in a group to accomplish some types of learning tasks. However, a social theory of learning reflects a fundamentally different view, where knowledge "is a matter of competence with respect to valued enterprises" and knowing "is a matter of participating in the pursuit of such enterprises" (Wenger, 1998, p. 4). Learning, then, amounts to increasing participation in and contribution to the practices of a social community. Concepts such as knowledge building, and mentoring become paramount, as learners are conceived to be under the tutelage of more experienced peers or instructors. A social view of learning focuses attention on making connections among students within a school and between students in the school and the broader community. How can modern technologies support and enhance these connections?
* Learning is reflective.
Whether feedback comes from within, a peer or the teacher ,learning is facilitated when students get feedback about their thinking. Then, provided the opportunity for revision, students can achieve at higher levels and reach deeper understandings. Technologies that promote communication within and outside the classroom make it easier for feedback, reflection, and revision to occur. The skilful, knowledgeable teacher can facilitate reflection in the dialogue that technology can promote among learners. Where dialogue or discussion is not inherent in the tool, teachers bear the responsibility of initiating and guiding it.
MY PARTING THOUGHTS
Technology by itself does not guarantee learning. Rather, it is in how teachers and students use available technologies that determines whether transformative learning happens. Educators can respond to the challenge or they can explore the power of technology to help learners achieve important outcomes. Understanding principles of learning is a good way to begin.
Lemoy Petit- Hunte
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
NOT Easy BUT Not Impossible
Actively engaging in ICT for Reading has caused me to reflect on the degree of ease for technology integration in our classrooms. I’ve determined that in spite of all the evidence that it can help learning, technology integration in schools is not easy to achieve. Now I said “not easy”, but I did not say not possible. It's important to integrate technology appropriately. I advocate considering what is known about how people learn , the role technology may play in their learning and how that knowledge might provide guidelines for appropriate uses of technology that can help students and teachers. In preparing my lesson plans and my Web 2.0 thought paper, I conceived of a theoretical framework for thinking about how technology can support Reading instruction. This framework is based on four broad principles but, in this post, I choose to focus on two.
* Learning occurs in context.
Read the following sentence: "The notes were sour because the seams split."Although the words in the statement are common and familiar, it is quite likely you still found the sentence confusing. If you consider that the sentence is describing bagpipes , I suspect it would then make much better sense. My point here is that without an appropriate context, comprehension and learning, generally, are difficult. Keep in mind, however, that learners will attempt to make sense of anything unfamiliar, just as you attempted to make sense of that sentence. When they do so, they draw upon prior understandings and experience, but the meanings they construct may be quite different from what was intended if they cannot activate an appropriate context for learning.
* Learning is active.
A Chinese proverb says “Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.” This speaks the importance of getting learners mentally involved in learning activities, generating connections between what they already know and what they are being asked to learn and constructing meaning from their experiences. Scardamella (2002) states that the focus of learning shifts from covering the syllabus to working with ideas when students become active participants in the knowledge construction process . I believe that using technology tools "to think with" facilitates working with ideas and learning from that process.
Lemoy Petit-Hunte
* Learning occurs in context.
Read the following sentence: "The notes were sour because the seams split."Although the words in the statement are common and familiar, it is quite likely you still found the sentence confusing. If you consider that the sentence is describing bagpipes , I suspect it would then make much better sense. My point here is that without an appropriate context, comprehension and learning, generally, are difficult. Keep in mind, however, that learners will attempt to make sense of anything unfamiliar, just as you attempted to make sense of that sentence. When they do so, they draw upon prior understandings and experience, but the meanings they construct may be quite different from what was intended if they cannot activate an appropriate context for learning.
* Learning is active.
A Chinese proverb says “Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.” This speaks the importance of getting learners mentally involved in learning activities, generating connections between what they already know and what they are being asked to learn and constructing meaning from their experiences. Scardamella (2002) states that the focus of learning shifts from covering the syllabus to working with ideas when students become active participants in the knowledge construction process . I believe that using technology tools "to think with" facilitates working with ideas and learning from that process.
Lemoy Petit-Hunte
Monday, August 2, 2010
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH IT?
Hi M.Ed. Reading students,
Now that we've learned to use blog, wikis, concept mapping, and create our own e-Books and digital photostories, what are we going to do what this new -found knowledge and skills? I feel the need to ask. Is there going to be a ripple-effect into our schools? Is this something we are going to keep to ourselves and pat ourselves on the back because somehow we feel we are officially now much more knowledgeable than "the others"? Is there some kind of plan or driving force that would spur us on(as individuals or as a team) to be catalysts of and for changes/shifts in educational approaches and programmes that would really demonstrate technology integration as literacy development tools? In other words, what are we now going to do with the knowledge and skills gained via engaging in ICT for Reading?
I feel like uncovered popcorn in a pot on a lit stove ! I'm popping, spilling over and hard to contain!Don't anyone dare try to cover me. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way ,but please, in the height of preparing for next semester's hectic schedule and now having to speediliy conceptualize our research framework, let us not lose sight of our responsibilities to take these shifts/changes somewhere... maybe our schools .
Lemoy
Now that we've learned to use blog, wikis, concept mapping, and create our own e-Books and digital photostories, what are we going to do what this new -found knowledge and skills? I feel the need to ask. Is there going to be a ripple-effect into our schools? Is this something we are going to keep to ourselves and pat ourselves on the back because somehow we feel we are officially now much more knowledgeable than "the others"? Is there some kind of plan or driving force that would spur us on(as individuals or as a team) to be catalysts of and for changes/shifts in educational approaches and programmes that would really demonstrate technology integration as literacy development tools? In other words, what are we now going to do with the knowledge and skills gained via engaging in ICT for Reading?
I feel like uncovered popcorn in a pot on a lit stove ! I'm popping, spilling over and hard to contain!Don't anyone dare try to cover me. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way ,but please, in the height of preparing for next semester's hectic schedule and now having to speediliy conceptualize our research framework, let us not lose sight of our responsibilities to take these shifts/changes somewhere... maybe our schools .
Lemoy
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