Using a combination of various aspects of technology

Using a combination of various aspects of technology to make your lesson interesting and at the same time assessing students progress. Photostory or Ebook can be used to introduce a concept. The concept can be a graphical representation and PBworks can be the medium in order for students to record their insights. I believe if you plan properly technology will enhance the mode of teaching to an interactive methodological one. I am certainly enjoying using technology to enhance lessons.

Building essential skills in reading and writing.

“The single most important activity for building these understandings and skills essential for success appears to be reading aloud to children” (Wells 1985; Bus, Van Ijzendoorn, and Pellegrini 1995).

“It is the talk that surrounds the storybook reading that gives it power, helping children to bridge what is in the story and their own lives” (Dickinson and Smith 1994; Snow et al. 1995).

“Classrooms that provide children with regular opportunities to express themselves on paper, without feeling too constrained for correct spelling and proper handwriting, also help children understand that writing has real purpose” (Graves 1983; Sulzby 1985; Dyson 1988).

Some strategies when planning a lesson

Here are some strategies that can be used:
• Anchoring Activities - Anchoring involves the elicitation of a strong congruent experience of a desired state, whilst using some notable stimulus (touch, word, sight, smell) at the time this is most fully realized. In many cases, repetition of the stimulus will reassociate and restore the experience of the state. (Tracey Hall)
• Tiered Instruction - Tiered instruction is a means of teaching one concept and meeting the different learning needs in a group. (Tracey Hall)
• Adjusting Questions – Adjust the question to the level of the student. Taking into consideration the readiness of the student.
• Learning Contract – A contract is a written agreement drawn up with a student. It is designed to decrease an unwanted behaviour and behaviour and elicit a desired behaviour. (Josee Nadeau)
• Reading Duddies – Students assisting one another by sharing/assisting each other.
• Flexible Grouping – According to the activity, group students according to strengths, interest and readiness. No fix grouping.
• Curriculum Compacting - Curriculum compacting is a process to "streamline" and adjust the grade-level curriculum by eliminating material that students have previously learned. In doing so, all learners are challenged, and students who show high levels of attainment are provided with time for differentiated enhancement or acceleration activities.
• Learning Centers – Activity centers that enhance and develop the required skills.
• Independent Study – Where learners can be responsible for their learning with minimal guidance/instructions.
• Present Material at independent level not frustration.
• Repeat direction.
• Follow through.
• Modify classroom.
• Verbally express.
• Use study skills support.
• Positive reinforcements.
• Individualised assignments.
I think we must be able to adjust and modify these strategies to fit the needs of our children so they can be successful.

Some things to consider when writing

Writing is the means of expressing meaning and ideas using printed characters (graphic symbols). It is achieved through encoding or spelling. Encoding occurs when a writer uses his/her knowledge of written language gained to convey his/her ideas and concepts. These ideas and concepts would have been attained through prior knowledge and personal experience as well as oral language, which will be expressed in a written format for others to read (Cooper, 2006).

Writing is a constructive process that involves identifying our purpose for writing, the appropriate prior knowledge and the metacognitive skills in assessing knowledge that is needed for writing on a topic (Cooper, 2006). It is a process that consists of five steps. They are

• Selecting the topic or planning- Brainstorming to gather and organise pertinent topics that could be used for writing.
• Drafting – which has two stages. They are
o Planning – Where the purpose for writing and audience is identified. Brainstorming to gather and organise pertinent information that could be used for writing a particular topic.
o Composing- where a topic is developed as ideas and concepts are written freely without placing emphasis on conventional spelling, grammar and mechanics.

• Revising- where the writing is examined to see whether it is clearly stated for the particular audience, the content is lacking, vocabulary needs improving and/or ideas and concepts can be expressed in a better way. Graves (1984) does not consider this an easy step as most early writers have difficulty seeing that his/her product needs revision and how to improve it. I believe that many of us do not like to “check” over our work, which is why we have mistakes in mechanics, grammar and spelling.
• Proofreading or editing- which is done when all changes have been made to ideas and concepts that comprise the content of the writing. Here is where spelling and punctuation is checked and corrected.
• Publishing- is the end product of the writing process. Here the final writing is completed, written in a particular format and presented to the audience to be shared.


This process is initiated for every reason and occasion that I write. They dictate how I write and what format I use. I have noted that why I write and when I write is related. The relationship is quite similar to a cause and effect relationship. Apparently why I write influences when I write.

A Literacy Classroom

A Literacy classroom is rich in print/bombardment of print, variety of literary genres, interest corners, activity oriented, games and puzzles, curriculum design for students needs, positive environment and the teacher is a facilitator. The classroom should be an oasis for learning that fosters/motivates learning.

Teachers must model expected behaviours, we must practice what we preach/teach (Model). We want students to use strategies when reading, then we need to show them the strategies and how to implement the strategies.

ICT will compliment a literacy classroom don't you think?

Food for thought.

HEARTS AND MINDS AND
LITERACY: LESSONS FROM
OURSELVES
MEM FOX

I don't look like a soldier. I carry no guns and I'm not dressed in battle fatigues, but I'm fighting. I'm fighting a battle on behalf of the development of liter­acy. As a peace‑child of the 1960s I'm unhappy about using the metaphor of war, but in my current state of passion I see no purpose in making peace with groups of people whose idleness or financial self‑in­terest is killing literacy, or at least causing its stunted growth. Politeness has hitherto proven to be ineffec­tive so I have decided, from now on, not to water down my remarks. I intend to write from the heart and with feeling.

My adversaries in the trenches across the barbed wire are education professors and reading specialists who haven't kept up‑to‑date, and educational pub­lishers who produce basal readers designed specifi­cally to teach reading and writing. I'll begin by setting my sights on the publishers.

Wikis

Do you know there are over fifty way you can use wiki? Wikis can be used for any imaginable concept you would want to teach. Here are a few of the suggestions:
Virtual field trips
Create presentations
Write a Wikibook
Study guides
Readers' guides
Solving wiki
Glossary Class encyclopedia
Create exploratory projects
And the list goes on. You can even create a wikileak.

eBook and Photobook

Designing a eBook or PhotoBooks takes some planning on the part of the teacher. For the students to produce interesting and motivating books. Cherisse's class was truly interactive bursting with excitement. Everyone were busy trying to type in story lines, add background music, audio of the story that related to the sequential photo-shot that related to a specific theme. Imagine we were in the process of creating a book but we needed to stage a dramatic sequence of events to build our story. Isn't this exercise multi-disciplinary using multiple intelligences? Do this activity was enjoyable yet very productive and rewarding. This is certainly one of the technology I will be using to enhance writing skills.

Webspiration

"Webspiration is the new online visual thinking tool that's ideal for studying, planning and organizing projects and documents, when you work individually or collaboratively with others."
When Cherisse introduced Webspiration to her group, we were eager to develop our semantic map with foot notes, pictures, different background. 'We were like the children with a new toy'. I was amazed with some presentation that Dr. James did some time ago in his lectures in Theoretical Foundation, I said to myself what a marvellous programme. 'It is probably an expensive programme', little did I know it was Webspiration, a truly remarkable programme.

Wikis

Do you know that Wiki is really Wikipedia? Yes, as the name suggest 'pedia' and "Wiki -quick". I was reading an article and it referenced the unfortunate event of the Indian Ocean earthquake that triggered the tsunami in 2004. Within nine hours of the event 76 word post was created and within twenty four hours over 400 edits were made posting of photographs, graphic descriptions and chart documents were added.
Isn't this tool just GREAT! I think so. What do you think?

Photobooks and eBooks

I can see the motivational potential of photobooks and eBooks being used with my students. Teaching cause and effect, What happens next? and other creative writing activities can be taught in a novel and fun way. I know that students like to see themselves and would be enthused and amused to share their experiences. It's a strategy that uses the know to the unknown in a fun and excited way. My group had fun staging a sequence of events to be used in our photobook exercise for next week.
We were required to work in a group, share ideas, dramatise, edit the photos to be used (collaborate) and come to a consensus. I can go on and on because I was impressed with this fairly cheap and feasible way to arouse my students curiosity.

Wikis

After reading 50 ways to use Wikis for a more Collaborative classroom. I realized the versatility of Wikis across the curriculum. With Wiki you can create presentation, graphical or concept map, glossary and the list goes on. What I have finally realized is that you can track the progress of the students' work both as a collaborative group or individually. Confidentiality of how each child participation is under the watchful eyes of the teacher.

Reading Rationale