That fine line between technology helping or hurting student literacy

What did we ever do before tablets, smartphones, and computers? How on earth did we ever teach students without our PowerPoint, interactive whiteboard, and Google?

As an online learning teacher, I find it fascinating to think about teaching and student literacy before technology. Perhaps something to consider is how much students interacted with technology then and now. I think some people forget technology is just a tool, a resource, that teachers can use to enhance teaching. I believe when it is used appropriately, technology can be the key to the kingdom of excellent student literacy.

I have taught high school English Language Arts for 15 years beginning in 1999. At that time, I had a desktop computer and the high school I worked for had one computer lab with ten computers. The most engaging activity incorporated into teaching literacy at that time in my classroom was gaming. I had games for everything: vocabulary (Race to the Chalkboard Challenge), sentence building (Grammar Gladiators), and comprehension (Sherlock Search). I can't even begin to imagine the amount of construction paper, chalk, markers, and tape I went through in the beginning of my career. I knew those games were engaging my students, and based on my test scores, I knew my students were learning. I also knew looking at how many of my classroom library books were getting checked out that my students were getting more and more excited about reading. My point: my students were engaged; therefore, they were learning and literacy increased. One important note: Only two of my students out of all of my class periods had a computer at home. Students weren't used to having technology in their lives; consequently, technology was seen as a novelty not a necessity. We rarely used that computer lab then. Ok, fast forward...

Three years ago I made the transition from a traditional brick-and-mortar teacher to an online learning teacher. Technology is my life. This year I am the Instructional and Curriculum Specialist for all of Online Learning (Kindergarten through 12th grade) for my entire district (over 40,000 students). Technology is my life. I interact with students through a plethora of technology every day. Technology is a student's life today. There is great power in technology for student literacy.

Maya Angelou said,

We as educators have to make sure we are "doing better" at impacting student literacy with technology in a positive and productive manner. Simply allowing students to use a cell phone to conduct basic internet searches in a classroom is not the answer. Allowing students to submit essays using text language is not the answer. Unmonitored use of technology in a classroom resulting in inappropriate web site navigation is not the answer. This is when technology is hurting student literacy.

On the other hand, when the power of technology is harnessed in a positive manner, student literacy can be improved in ways beyond our imagination. I have seen it happen in my own students. I had a student last year who let it be known quite early on that he had no intention of reading anything in my English course because he could just find a YouTube video to watch about it instead. My response: Great! No really, I was ok with it. I wanted him to use the technology at his disposal to become engaged with the topic even if he wasn't reading it in a traditional manner. I then used his comfort level with YouTube to encourage him to create his own video book report about what he saw. By having him take ownership of his learning and transform that information he learned into a creation of his choice, he was empowered through technology to increase his learning. Interestingly, after the first couple of projects, I was able to convince him to add a transcript of his video so that students with no audio capabilities or students with hearing disorders could still enjoy his work. After a year of slowly increasing his writing and reading of static text as well as utilizing his knowledge of technology productively, he produced a final project based on a novel that knocked my socks off. His reading scores on the state assessment increased by two complete levels! I asked him how felt about his literacy skills at the end of the year, and he said he never knew he could use his love of technology to increase his own literacy skills. I pointed out that he really could have his cake and eat it too! Isn't that what using technology in an effective manner is all about?! Student literacy and technology can work together to produce awesome results!

Such an AWESOME computer programming tool!

This week I am attending FETC in Orlando, and I have come across some really cool stuff for my virtual classroom and for my students. Perhaps one that I am most excited about is the site called Tynker. You can find it at www.tynker.com . This is a program developed to help kids learn about and get excited about computer programming. If you like solving puzzles, you will love this! Kids around the globe have connected and written some pretty amazing stuff. It's free, so go check it out!

Taking Tests

I have definitely been there and done that when it comes to test preparation. I am reminded of this again as I get ready to take a state teaching test that will determine whether or not I can become an administrator. No pressure right?!

One of the first things I try to do is find some sort of pre-test and gauge where I am exactly in the grand scheme of things. For example, for this test I have coming up in 3 weeks, my first pre-test I very quickly hurried through, skimming most of the questions, and I got a 65%. Ouch. The next time I took it, about 2 weeks later, I took my time and made sure I didn't have any distractions, and I got an 80%. Much better. I needed that boost of confidence. Plus, I now had 2 pretests for me to compare and figure out where exactly I was having struggles. I realized I needed to do research on state education statutes and some case law. Cool. I can do that.

My point is this: Any time you are facing a big test, there is always going to be preparation involved. Find a pre-test. Search for tutoring or information that can assist you in getting ready. Don't just rush through the preparation; take your time and really put forth your best effort. Analyze exactly how you did and where you were tripped up as this will direct your preparation in a more focused manner. Finally, get lots of rest and eat well the night before. I like to dress more professionally whenever I'm taking something like this, because I feel like I perform better when I think I look the part: successful.

Much luck to everyone as you are facing big tests and end-of-course exams. I will let you know how my test turns out!

Citations Assistance

I came across a new tool that should save TONS of time for anyone writing a research paper. It's called Citelighter. This is a tool that you will need to download to your computer. It nestles itself nicely into your internet explorer/google chrome/firefox tool bar. Unless you click the blue highlighter, you don't even know it's there. The biggest plus for this tool is that when you highlight information from an internet source, online journal article, or any other online course, the tool creates the citation for you in whatever format you need (APA, MLA, Chicago). No more do you need to spend hours gleaning that MLA manual for where that little period goes or which part is capitalized vs italicized. My only word of advice would be to double check the accuracy of the tool by spot checking your citations every now and then. You can easily edit a citation after Citelighter creates it. Oh and it stores everything for you. I haven't found a limit yet. It is also compatible with just about every site I have gone to, with the exception of my university lecture notes from the professor.  I can see this becoming extremely popular with students of all ages!

Ending with a Preposition=BAD right?

I'm sure everyone one of us has ended a sentence with a preposition at some point or another within your lifetime. I try to be very conscious of this whenever I am doing any sort of formal paper; however, it is much more difficult to keep track of whenever I am just casually writing. While there are many arguments for and against ending a sentence with a preposition, I think Grammar Girl has the best resource on the issue:
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ending-prepositions.aspx

Check it out!

Grammar Support

Have you ever wondered what a teacher is talking about when they say things like: "Your antecedent doesn't match your pronoun. You are using anthropropmorphism. You have major subject/verb agreement errors."? These are common (and not so common) errors that people make in their writing. The solution is the same for all of them: Practice makes perfect. But in this age of teaching grammar through the writing process, the good old-fashioned "drilling" of skills doesn't happen in the classroom. So where can you turn for help when you need it? Well, I have found four sites that make this learning fun through interactive grammar games.

http://www.funenglishgames.com/activities.html

This site is built around the needs of ESL students; however, the games are great for anyone needing help with the basics: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/grammar_tutorial.htm
While this site has the appearance of an elementary or middle school level, the skills are universal for all levels of learners. My favorite is the "Parts of Speech Tutorial" because of its interactive style of story-creating/telling.

http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/gamezone2.htm
The Grammar of Doom game is fantastic. As someone who has been teaching grammar for over 14 years, I was even challenged by part of this game.

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/grammar/
Finally, this website is based on skills taught in grades 2-5. Some of these are basic; however, if you are faced with what seems complicated, sometimes looking at it through a "basic" lense is beneficial.

Check them out while I'm on the hunt for even more!

Expand your text

Have you ever been told you just don't have enough description in your writing? You are lacking "significant details"? You need more adjectives? There is a site dedicated to showing you how to take a sentence like: I made tea; and turn it in to a full page well-developed paragraph with just the click of your mouse. Check it out!

www.teliscopictext.com