Technology+Integration+in+the+Literacy+classroom

=TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN THE LITERACY CLASSROOM =

The purpose of this article is to explore the current utilization of a list of devices and software programs to analyze the benefits that the integration of technology in the classroom can have towards teaching in the area of Literacy. For this matter, the focus of this presentation will be the use of Smartboard, Kindle and iPad as communicative aids for both students and teachers.

//SMARTBOARD//

 The use of Smartboard in diverse content area’s classrooms is gradually becoming more frequent in the 21st century school, as it represents a very powerful tool for teachers to catch their students’ attention into interacting with the new knowledge. In the case of Literacy instruction, Smartboard permits the teacher to create interactive and engaging lesson plans, which contain not only his/her own resources, but also other useful materials that they may have borrowed from other teachers or found searching on the Internet. The result of this combination of different sources is the construction of unique lesson plans that will attract the attention of student from all ages and backgrounds.

 As Coyle el al. point out in their article “The impact of the Interactive Whiteboard on the teacher and Children’s language use in an ESL immersion classroom”, the interactive whiteboard is “a combination of all previous teaching resources rolled into one […] teachers are provided with an online resource library and a multimedia presentation device right in the heart of their classrooms.” (2010: 615) As a result, the different auditory and visual materials that the teachers use in the classroom –such as CDs, DVDs, books, flashcards, etc. – all can be stored in a single device, thanks to the use of Smartboard. In a Literacy class, where targeting the participation of students in the activities is key, Smartboard can be very effective to achieve this goal. With the correct use both from the teacher and the students, the whole class can benefit from seeing their classmates working on activities and explaining the steps they are taking on the Smartboard. Also, it is essential tool through which teachers can target the students who are struggling with some of the theory presented in class, by encouraging them to complete tasks that can help them catch up with the rest of the class.

 As we have seen recently in class, with the use of Smartnote and other applications of Smartboard, there are many support activities for the Literacy Content area that can be used with this device. One of this applications is called Starfall, and is aimed at supporting students in their reading of stories. Here is a video illustrating the benefits of the use of Smartboard in a kindergarteners’ class to learn letter sounds during a session of Shared Reading:

[|Letter Sounds with Starfall: Using the Smartboard during Shared Reading]

media type="youtube" key="IoMxpqKqomQ" height="315" width="560"

 However, there are many applications that were not created by Smart itself, but due to the flexibility of the program –that converts the whole board into a touch screen –can be used on it. One of the applications that can be found on the Internet and which may be very interesting to use in a Literacy classroom is called “Family Sort”. This is an online game with which students have to first choose a letter, and then classify a list of words following a rhyming pattern. This game would be useful for kindergarten or first and second grades, and the teacher can use it to get the students to interact with the Smartboard. You can check this game out here:

[|Word Family]

 Smartboard and its components are not only an easy-tool for students, but also for teachers. With programs such as Smartnote, teachers can expand their lesson planning beyond the classroom itself: they can take classroom notes, send worksheets and review guides to students, and insert a huge range of photographs and images on their lessons in order to make them more attractive.

// KINDLE //

 A device that we haven’t talked about yet in this class, but that has been proved to be particularly effective for the Literacy classroom is Amazon’s Kindle. Even though Kindle was conceived as a reading-on-the-go tool, nowadays it is much more than that. This device has been perfected so that it can hold dictionaries for various languages and guides for the different purposes of use that people can have. As regards the benefits of reading with Kindle. Once again, not only do students profit for its use, but also teachers. Here are some tools Kindle can be used for:


 * 1)  //Reading//: Yes, this is obvious, but we have to take into account the existence of a huge variety of free texts that can be accessed. In a Literacy class, students will most probably read some of the English classics (Shakespeare, Jane Austen…) and while physical books cost money and trees, Kindle offers the possibility to use their free texts on up to 6 devices. Even in the case that books need to be purchased, the school would just need to do so with 5 books for a class of 30 students. And, of course, this would have a positive effect on the environment
 * 2)  //Scroll- to-word look-up//: This is an in-built tool that permits students to select and look up the meaning of a word at any time while they are reading. As it is faster, students are encouraged to do so, instead of having to resort to a physical dictionary, process that can be pretty lengthy sometimes. Plus, they have no reason to feel embarrassed if they don’t know a word, as they can look it up on their own Kindle, without anyone noticing.
 * 3)  //Built-in dictionary//. This can be used at any time, even if they are not reading.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> //Text-to-speech//. Kindle can read the text aloud for the students, which promotes the improvement of their literacy skills by listening. They can control the speed the text is read at and whether they prefer to listen to a female or a male voice.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> //Revision guides//. Teachers can use the ones that are available on the Internet or they can create their own, convert them to .pdf files and use them with Kindle. They can also send these to their students, once again, saving some paper.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> //Replacing a textbook//. If the teacher has trouble finding books about a certain topic, they can create their own by selecting information from the web, creating a .pdf file, and then uploading it to Kindle.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> //Storing research//. Students can store whatever information they find on the Internet so that it is easily accessible for them in a later time.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> //Marking//. Students can send their writing drafts to their teachers as .pdf files, so that they can correct them on the go.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> To see this becoming effective in the classroom, let’s watch this video and see how students at Minnetonka Middle School East, in Minnesota, are using e-books on Kindle to encourage student reading.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">[|iTools: Kindles in the Classroom] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">media type="youtube" key="aV6XOozvtLk" height="315" width="560"

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> IPAD //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> If there is one device whose creators have targeted towards its use for educational purposes, that is Ipad. We can check their motivation on Apple’s website itself, where we can find this quote:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> “There are many built-in features on a Mac that accommodate learning disabilities and help improve productivity and academic performance in reading proficiency, math, spelling, and more.”

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">(from [|Apple's website])

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Similarly to Kindle, Apple started concentrating on the use of iPad for educational purposes some years ago. Also as Amazon’s device, iPad offer students the possibility to access books and applications that are beneficial for their use in the classroom. To encourage the adoption of this device into the education area, Apple also introduced the application iBooks on iPad.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> To check out its benefits, a school in Auburn, Maine, carried out an experiment on a classroom of sixteen kindergartens. The rest of the classes went on having traditional teaching. During and after a period of nine months, all of the students (both from the iPad and the “no-iPad” classes) were given several tests focusing on the Literacy content area. After checking the tests, the school found out that the performance of those students using iPads in the Literacy classroom was significantly above those ones who were not using the device. The school’s principal, Sue Dorris, illustrated this point with the following quote:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> “We are seeing high levels of student motivation, engagement and learning in the iPad classrooms. The apps, which teach and reinforce fundamental literacy concepts and skills, are engaging, interactive and provide children with immediate feedback. What’s more, teachers can customize apps to match the instructional needs of each child, so students are able to learn successfully at their own level and pace.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">(From [|Report: iPad in the classroom raising kindergarteners' literacy scores])

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Also, when using what is called the process approach to writing in a Literacy classroom, in which students have to go through five phases (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing) iPad (as well as kindle, for that matter) can be used to help revising (especially when it is developed in peer-groups), editing and publishing. Indeed, instead of asking the students to create a text, you can ask them to create a Photostory or an iMovie. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> iPad also offers the possibility of working with many Apple apps, among which we can find:


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> //Read-alouds on iBooks//: Books can be read at the same time as the highlight the words as it goes. Also, you can record your own voice reading it, and of course your students can do this too. The, they can either listen to it or give it to some of their classmates to look for comments and suggestions on reading. It is a nice way to give teachers a rest and let students aid one another.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">//Applications like Idea Sketch work like Webspiration//: Students can brainstorm and/or create mind maps to help revising or developing projects.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">//StoryBuddy// is an app that allows students to make their own eBooks and save them. To write, they can either use their own fingers on the screen, selecting the different pages or use the onscreen keyboard that this app provides. Once again, this app promotes the dynamism of the class, which shares their own original writing with one another.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">//Puppet Pals// is similar to StoryBuddy, but in this case, students can record and add their own voice to the book, as well as they can interact with several characters =of their choice. It is perfect to encourage them to act out their own stories.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">//An app that is especially attractive for teachers is Splashtop and its Remote Desktop App//. With it, teachers can control what is shown on their computers or the Smartboard with their iPads. It gives them the opportunity to move around the class while instructing, which permits the teacher to get away from the front of the classroom and focus on students in particular. Also, when students are asked to do work on their whiteboards, they become part of a more collaborative classroom dynamic.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Students themselves give their perspective about using iPad in the Literacy classroom in this video:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> [|iPads in the Classroom]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">media type="youtube" key="MOYvM8FdXtE" height="315" width="420"

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Book Editorials themselves have realized how important the use of iPad is becoming in classrooms, and this is why some of them are creating applications for this device. One example is Pearson Debuts Elementary School Apps for iPad, iPhone, or iPodTouch. Here is a video of how the app can be used: = = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">[|Pearson Debuts Elementary School Apps for iPad, iPhone, iPodTouch]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">media type="youtube" key="hRGvL7dwS1M" height="315" width="420"

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> However, there are many programs that haven’t been developed with Apple but that teachers can find online and use on iPad. I found this interesting game called “Diamante poems”, in which children are asked to think about to topics they want to create a poem about. Then, they are required to look for specific parts of speech –like adverbs, adjectives, words ending in –ing, etc. –all for them to work on their literacy skills at the same time as they are using a fun activity. These diamond-shaped poems can also become part of the Arts class, as students can use them to make cards for their family or friends. Using this program, we may attempt to give an interdisciplinary turn to the work that is done in a Literacy class. You can check out “Diamante poems” here: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> [|Diamante Poems]

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">RESOURCES: //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> - “Report: iPad in the classroom raising kindergartners’ literacy scores” http://9to5mac.com/2012/02/17/report-ipad-in-the-classroom-raising-kindergartners-literacy-scores/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> - Coyle, Yvette; Lorena Yanez and Mercedes Verdu (2010) “The impact of the Interactive Whiteboard on the teacher and Children’s language use in an ESL immersion classroom”. System 38. Elsevier: ScienceDirect. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> - Apple’s website: http://www.apple.com/education/special-education/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> - Read, write, think.org: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/diamante/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/wordfamily/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> - Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoMxpqKqomQ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV6XOozvtLk&feature=related <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYvM8FdXtE&feature=youtu.be <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRGvL7dwS1M