Schmidt and Gurbo consider literacy a complex and "moving target" (Kinzer & Leander, 2003) that needs to recognize new forms of literacy (informational, computer, film and video...) that incorporate ICT (information and communication technologies). I found Kinzer & Leander's quote about changing comprehension and decoding processes as the medium of the message changes to be surprising. I had expected that comprehension and decoding processes may be constant and general enough to be applied to all media forms.
Essential literacy content knowledge was grouped by:
- language structure
- vocabulary
- comprension
- fluency
- an comprehension
Using literature circles or reader's/writer' workshops where exploratory talks, literature logs and self-paced reading could be incorporated would create effective collaborative and social experiences for becoming literate. It was noted that the use of technology at the elementary level often does not incorporate the whole writing process. Students may use it more for publishing finished work only. Although later in the chapter, several open, type II productivity and creative technology tools that could be used for different parts of the writing process were introduced. For instance, the software from Inspiration Software Inc., Kidspiration, Inspiration could be used in different parts of the writing process. They are great for concept mapping, brainstorming and facilitating concept sortign and organization in a non-linear way.
I am interested in investigating the hand held software like GoKnow, assistive technologies like the Reading Pen, Some of the incredible software from Crick Software like WriteOnline and Clicker 5 (I want to use some of these with my own children!) , other more developmentally appropriate productivity software for younger kids like Storybook Weaver Deluxe, Kid Pix and eZedia, and web resources like ReadWriteThink, atozteacherstuff, thinkport.org and webquest.org.
Keith's tour of the different references was great. I particularly like the www.webquest.org site there is a particularly good physics webquest regarding the efficacy of magnetic therapy. I think it would be a great experience for my seniors to hone their scientific skepticism and critical literacy skills.
ReplyDeleteJenny's http://www.edzone.net/%7Emwestern/ site is extensive. I think that the http://makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ site is a great resource for people without Comic Life.
Christine's Starfall site looks very helpful for developing young children's literacy skills. Christine, thank you for the Lexia software tip.
Jake, I definitely like both comic life and makebeliefscomix.com. Both offer different ways for children (and adults) to make comics. One is great for uploading pictures, the other already has characters that you can choose from. A good point that someone pointed out in-class is the time constraints when using makebeliefcomix. You have (I think) forty minutes to create and print, where comic life allows you to save and go back when needed. This is very helpful for students at my level, and in a program like Title 1.
ReplyDeleteJake- I hope you do try out a webquest with your students. They can be an extremely powerful learning experience for any topic... even physics! I really enjoyed how easy it was to search for webquests on the site and was amazed by the breadth of content. An even more challenging task would be to get your students to create their own webquests! Talk about enhancing and utilizing critical literacy skills.
ReplyDeleteJake-
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. My children love the starfall site. They also really enjoy using the Lexia software as well. Both programs are great for teaching phonological awareness skills and beginning reading strategies. I think your children would really like them. They are right around that age group. I will try to bring in a computer that has the Lexia software downloaded onto it for you to view. It might be something worth looking into. Thanks Jake!