THANKS!

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but also the parent of all other virtues. - Cicero

I was taught it is important to say "Thanks."It would be remiss of me if I ended this aspect of blogging and did not say, "Thanks."
I want to thank our wonderful, knowledgeable, dedicated and hard-working lecturers. Mrs Aisha Wood-Jackson(ever-smiling), Mrs Murella Sambucharan- Mohammed, Mrs Cherisse Mahabir-Cletus, I Thank You All. May God bless you all as you continue to share your love for teaching technology to educators as myself.
Thanks to all my reading specialist bloggers, those who left comments and those who read and did not comment (as I sometimes do). I Thank You All for the support. May we continue to collaborate with each other in our reading specialist journey.
Thanks to all my followers especially Eve Mohammed( my first follower).
Thanks to Junette and Lynette who are truly friends in my need and friends indeed.
May we continue to support, encourage, motivate and collaborate with each other as we seek to use technology to teach our students and fellow teachers(I am not there as yet. I am working on it though). GOD BLESS US ALL.

Those who bring joy into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.

MY ICT REFLECTIONS

I entered the ICT class with mixed emotions, with eagerness and trepidation. I was eager to learn how I can use technology to help my students and in my function as a Reading Specialist when I graduate. I was not too eager because I am not techno-savvy and it seems I have too left hands when I am learning things dealing with technology. My interest in the Computer was to type my work, receive and send email messages and access myelearning to gather information for my courses.
I must say for the past two months I was bombarded with technology to use in teaching. I had a faint idea about some of them but some I had never heard about. Digital Storytelling, Podcast and Wikis (I know about Wikipedia) never heard about them! Blog, saw the term online. Never was tempted to click on it to find out what it was all about. Ebooks a faint recollection. Webspiration, I saw it being used by Dr. James in his presentations. The majority of us were in awe. Never knew we could download it for free! I never knew so many technologies could be downloaded for free. Like everyone else, I came out smiling after learning about ebooks. I went home that same night and made one. I could hardly wait to make one (some) for my class. I now enjoying blogging and receiving such wonderful ideas from my colleagues. I still have to get some more practice in Wikis because I love it since it encourages collaboration. I still need also to practice the Digital Storytelling before attempting to teach it. I was sorry that we did not have hands on practice in using Podcast since I realized it is ideal for fluency in Reading especially since we have to write lessons using the technologies we have learnt. How about you? How was your ICT experience?

Podcasting - Anyone?

Most students even educators dislike proofreading their written work. I read this article about how pod-casting aids in proofreading but it is called proof-revising. Podcast is an audio recording that can be posted on a blog. In order for proof- revising to be done, students has to open the podcast of their story on a class blog and use their individuals blogs to follow. Podcasting helps students to listen to what they have written critically. It also encourages students to be actively involve in their proof- revising since they have to monitor, diagnose, revise and edit their writing. All these skills are essential for improvement in writing.

The method of using podcasting to revise writing is difficult and time consuming but there is no doubt that it improves students' communication skills and literacies. It is recommended that this method should not be used daily but it should be done on selective pieces of writing to highlight both the students' strengths and weakness. Anyone willing to take up the challenge?

References:Davis, A. & McGrail, E. (2009). "Proof-Revising" With Podcasting: Keeping Readers in Mind as Students Listen to and Rethink Their Writing. The Reading Teacher, 62(6), p522-529. DOI:12.1598/RT.62.6.6

E-Books versus Traditional Books

E-books have been in existence for over ten years but only recently it has started to gain prominent attention. As teachers we need to make students aware of the various technologies that are available especially for struggling readers. Whether we know it or not, most of our students are spending hours using some type of technology outside of the school environment. Reading e-books is one way of ensuring students use their time profitably.
Characteristics of e-books
- consist of print and illustrations (just like traditional books)
- must be viewed on desktops, laptops, or portable devices (Amazon Kindle, iPods, some cell phones.
-consist of features like video, audio and hyperlinks
- contain interactive tools where readers can do the following: insert, delete or replace text; highlight, underline or cross out words; add comments and change text size or screen layout.
E-books are considered fun and it motivates students to read since it encourages them to become engaged readers.
Concerns of some teachers concerning e-books
It is restrictive and inconvienent
It isn't portable as a book (except for those who could afford the portable devices)
It is boring staring at the computer screen instead of snuggling up with a book.
Which will you chose? E-books or Traditional Books
Reference: Larson, L. (2009). Digital Literacies. Journal Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(3), 255-258.

Dr. Conrad's - Enhancing Literacy Initiatives

I was happy that one of my reading specialist friend told me about Dr. Conrad's Presentation on Wednesday. It was really enlightening. I am sorry to say it was poorly attended by the Literacy public, only four MED Reading students including myself were there. I realized only one ICT class were told about it, however, I heard it was advertised on the newspaper(s).
There are two things I will like to share with you from among the many things I gleaned from her presentation.

1) NEED FOR TECHNOLOGY

Based on the recommendations made by teachers, parents and principals they all were in total agreement for the need for technology in the classroom. For example online library resources, local literature, ebooks, websites to access presentations and other resources. MED Reading students here is our opportunity to showcase our skills.

2) LOCAL LITERATURE
Dr. Conrad spoke about the need for using culturally appropriate literature in the classroom. MED Reading Students we were mentioned in her presentation about donating books on local stories to the Education library.

Heather your puppets had a starring role also. Way to go girl!

Back to local literature. Have you noticed the topics SEA children have to write on for exams? I realized I need to start reading local stories to my 10-13 year old students as well as have some of those books in my class library. I have to start sourcing them. Can you share with me the names of some Local and Caribbean Literature that you have read as a child or to your children or to your students?

Dr. Conrad also stress the need for more local literature. MED Reading here is your chance to write your stories, there is a market out there.

I will leave two quotes which I heard during the presentation which impacted on me greatly, one you have already heard.

"It takes a VILLAGE to raise a READER and WRITER."

"MISS, MOTIVATE ME PLEASE"

Do not forget the names and authors of Local and Caribbean Literature.

Help for Struggling Writers - Digital Storytelling

I had to miss class on Friday for religious reasons so I decided to read on the topic Digital Storytelling. I got this article dealing with Digital Storytelling and Struggling Writers. I was eager to read this article for two reasons, one being for the reason mentioned earlier and the other being I am a Standard Four - Five teacher. I do not know if you have the same experience like me but whenever it is time for Creative Writing in my class there are always moans and groans from my students. This article caught my attention. I am always looking for ways to make learning fun in my class.
Reading this article showed me that struggling writers are already digital natives. It means that they have prior knowledge. The writers will be motivated to use digital technology since they will experience enjoyment of creating stories which will include writing, speaking, using pictures and music (optional). Also the stories they will be creating, the teacher will not be the only audience but their peers, adults and for the wider world if they decide to publish.
The article also provided internet sites to assist teachers who are willing to incorporate Digital Storytelling in their classrooms. Here are some:
For Digital Stories:
www.storycenter.org
www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/examples.htm
For Tutorials
www.atschool.org/digidocs
kidsvid.altec.org
For Music Sources
www.freeplaymusic.com
creativecommons.org
Sound Effects Sources
nature songs.com
Graphic Sources
www.freefoto.com

Teachers if we start using this technology writing will not be the same in our classrooms.

Sylvester, R. & Greenidge, W.(2009). Digital Storytelling: Extending the Potential for Struggling Writers. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), pp. 284-295.

Students and Internet Plagiarism

The same rules that apply for plagiarism when using books, magazines and other published materials are the same for internet materials. It is very easy for students to plagiarize materials from the internet because of the ease in which it can be done. We, as teachers, need to teach students the proper way to use internet information. Here are some guidelines the teacher should follow.

1. Chat with students about taking information from the internet without getting the writer's permission.
2. Provide ample opportunities, with rubric, for identifying reputable and questionable internet sites. (Like the exercise we had to do in ICT class.)
3. Provide ample practice in paraphrasing information.

Students need to be taught these activities otherwise they will always have problems with plagiarism.

However, I am seeing that struggling readers will have problems with the paraphrasing aspect. I am therefore seeing the need and importance for teaching "Main Ideas." What do you think?
Please feel free to add additional guidelines to prevent student's plagiarism.