LIFELONG LEARNING: THAT IS OUR QUEST!

I learnt long ago in my professional and also in my personal life, that learning is indeed a process, not an event. As educators, we will continue to acquire knowledge and learn new skills as we have done in this ICT course for Reading. My hope is to continually improve myself and use this expertise to influence others to be of like mind in my journey as a Reading Specialist.

I would like you, my fellow educators, to 'walk this road' with me, and so here are some guidelines to assist you in becoming a lifelong learner.

• Create the mindset that learning is important.


• Recognize that you can learn all your life.


• Acknowledge that learning can sometimes be difficult, especially when it challenges your beliefs.


• Have a plan to follow and learn from your mistakes.


• Seek out opportunities to learn.


• Give yourself the freedom to learn in a way most comfortable to you, as men and women learn differently.


• Realize that every day presents a new learning opportunity.


• Remember that learning is a natural life process.

Let us continue our journey of learning by giving our best in every situation, and demonstrating that we are indeed professionals.

THE ICT CLASSROOM

Authentic learning is at the heart of the ICT classroom, where learners are allowed to make connections through their own learning with other classrooms, schools, libraries and the world beyond, as they explore topics, create their own meanings and arrive at new understandings (Flynt & Brozo, 2010). Twenty-first century teachers must realise that their role is now that of facilitator and co-learner.

Students' technological skills in many instances have surpassed that of their teachers, as they constantly interact with the new technologies in their daily lives. Therefore, the challenge for primary and secondary school teachers is to design instruction that will develop critical literacy skills while recapturing their students' interest (Berson, 2009; Davis & McGrail, 2009). The benefits include: improvement in verbal skills, self-expression, student motivation, self-image, self-reliance, independence and confidence (Ausburn & Ausburn, 1978).

The social aspect of the classroom cannot be ignored, and opportunities for collaboration must be utilised. ICT can facilitate webquest projects, brainstorming and other forms of investigation within and outside of the classroom, while serving as a powerful, classroom management and learning tool. Knowledge gained through inquiry-based projects will capitalize on student interests and can therefore produce learning that is authentic, meaningful and long-lasting.

The classrooms of today can no longer follow the traditional methods of teaching. We have reached an impasse in our education system that can only be resolved if we heed the voices of our disengaged students. Like the authors, I encourage you to visit www.futureofed.org for what they describe as an eye-opening vision of where learning could be moving by 2020.


Reference:

Flynt, E. S., & Brozo, W. (2010). Visual literacy and the content classroom: A question of now, not when. The Reading Teacher, 63(6), 526-528. International Reading Association.

THE MALE DILEMMA

A recurring chant from teachers about male students is that they spend less time in reading, and demonstrate less motivation to engage in classroom reading. Research from international test results comparing boys' and girls' reading scores, indicates that in 31 countries, female students perform better than their male counterparts in reading, resulting in boys being labeled 'the new disadvantaged' (Foster, Kimmel & Skelton, 2001). So, have teachers in our primary and secondary schools tried to understand the sociocultural of their male students? This question is important, especially as most of the country's teachers are female, and more readily relate to the girls in their classes.



Researchers hve discovered that boys' interests and reading preferences are related to what was once termed the foebidden genres in school and classroom libraries, namely comics and magazines. However, many teachers have now introduced such genres into their reading practices, with the expectation of acquiring students' interest. A recent study among fifth-grade boys by Farris et al., 2009, revealed that male students selected books based on the character and activity displayed on the cover. Additionally, dangerous, life-threatening activities were the most popular plots, along with books that had unusual, interesting fonts and textual features.



The visual features such as captions, photographs and illustrations in e.encyclopedia also captivated the boys' attention. Sequel books proved to be a favourite as the boys followed the adventures of well-admired characters. Most of them chose fact books and informational books that had short passages supported by photographs or cartoon drawings. Laptop computers also enabled the boys to make connections in new ways with members of the wider school community.



Therefore, in considering what books to recommend for boys, teachers have to be mindful that their students' opinions are taken into consideration, and ensure that new technologies are also integrated into the reading curricula.



Reference:

Farris, P. J., Werderich, D. E., Nelson, P. A., & Fuhler, C. J. (2009). Male call: Fifth-grade boys reading preferences. The Reading Teacher, 63(3), 180-188. International Reading Association.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT INFORMAL READING INVENTORY

Informal Reading Inventories (IRTs) are assessment tools that typically assess individual students' word recognition, oral reading strengths, weaknesses, fluency and comprehension through graded word lists and passages. They have become the most commonly used assessments of elementary grade students' reading (Johnson, '97) utilized by generations of classroom teachers and reading specialists.

However, the choice of an IRI is dependent on the reading situation in a class and the objectives of the teacher. A recently conducted study by Flippo et al., 2009, identified five (5) criteria that they considered to be the most salient characteristics by which an IRI should be judged. They were: content; the passages used; measuring comprehension; IRI administration; and interpretation of the results, along with subsequent instruction based on those results.

So, as educators, we need to ask the right questions about these areas, in order to chose the most suitable IRI that will cater to the needs of our students. It is important that teachers use this instrument to assess their students' reading skills, strategies and abilities, for it is only then that they can provide the most appropriate instruction for each child.

In our country, the academic school year will begin in a few weeks, and will provide teachers with the most opportune time to assess the reading abilities of their newly assigned students. The choice can be made whether to use the local IRI or a commercial one that could be adapted to meet your needs. However, it is only when the right questions are asked, will the right choices be made.

Reference:

Flippo, R. F., Holland, D. D., McCarthy, M. T., & Swinning, E. A. (2009). Asking the right questions: How to select an Informal Reading Inventory. The Reading Teacher, 63(1), 79-83. International Reading Association.

BLOGGING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Internet is this generation's defining technology for literacy (Leu et al., 2007; Dobier, 2007), with new technologies emerging daily and requiring new skills and strategies. Blogging is now very commonplace among adolescents worldwide and this has led to the use of blogs in many literacy programmes, as well as its integration into the curriculum of schools. So, what then is a blog? The literature defines a blog as being short for weblog, an easily editable webpage with posts or entries organized in reverse chronological order (Zawilinski, 2009). Four common types are found in elementary schools (internationally, no doubt): - classroom news blog, showcase blog, mirror blog and Literature Response Blog.



The classroom news blog as a means of sharing news and information with parents would be ideal in a classroom where parents and teachers are supportive of each other, and have the necessary equipment and knowledge to maintain such a system of communication. The showcase blog is a great idea for confidence-building and motivating students. It involves the display of students' artwork, podcasts and writing to an authentic audience of their peers, parents and other teachers. Similarly, the literature-research blog encourages brainstorming that is not limited to the walls of a classroom, and provides students with an 'out of school' tool through which they can give their responses to a class activity. This becomes a collaborative post, and may serve to increase each student's awareness of effective writing strategies (Friedman, 2005; New London Group, 1996), and encourages the shy ones to be more confident. Mirror blogs promote higher-order thinking as students are encouraged to be reflective about lessons or content learned.

Each of these procedures will help to create a collaborative learning community in classrooms. If teachers can capitalize on these ideas in their own creative ways, then much can be accomplished in literacy development.

Reference:

Zawilinski, L. (2009). Hot blogging: A framework for blogging to promote higher-order thinking. The Reading Teacher, 62(8), 650-661. International Reading Association.

"READING" THE WEB CRITICALLY

Literacy on the Web is not just about making sense of the words, sounds and images that we 'read'. We now have to critique the material in a manner that will indicate any hidden bias; evaluate the quality of sources and of writing; and scrutinize links by doing effective searches. Why do we need to be so cautious and thorough? The reason being that this is the digital age where everyone shares everything on the Web. A lot of the content is unedited and not peer-reviewed, and so poses a threat to students in search of valid research material.

Information or media literacy allows us to treat this new digital world as an addition to the analog paper world (Richardson, 2008). Traditionally, reading instruction in the primary and secondary grades does not support these different reading strategies that students must now adopt. So, we must first develop that skill of discernment in order to demonstrate that all sites are not created equal.

Librarians are the ideal professionals to conduct usability testing on Web sites. The goal will be to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of typical users, as they execute typical tasks. "Usability testing" generally refers to 'the observation and analysis of user behaviour while users use a product or product prototype to achieve a goal (Canadian Library Association, 2004). This type of testing is now being viewed as an integral part of website development, however, one significant challenge in applying usability testing to library sites is the lack of benchmark standards in this area. So, it is imperative that teachers provide students with the criteria and practice for evaluating web pages, since these sites are becoming more complex each day.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: MODELING LIFELONG LEARNING

I recently read a journal article on 'Standards for Reading Professionals', that was both a challenge and an observation. It confirmed my belief that as long as you are in the profession of education , then you never stop learning and endeavouring to improve yourself. Soon, we will be graduating as Reading Specialists, and with our newfound knowledge, will be expected to be experts in the literacy field. Is this where our academic development ends? Will we have learnt all there is to know about the new literacies and how best to communicate with our students?

Think again!! We will now be the source of reliable information for administrators, teachers, parents and other stakeholders, who will expect us to be highly competent and willing to share our expertise. Therefore, professional development has to become an important priority for us, as we continue to participate in it, as well as provide it to others (Godt, 2009). We have to be vigilant about reading professional journal articles in our field, so that our knowledge base will be updated.

Children's books are ever-changing and Reading Specialists need to be aware of what is being offered to students, so that recommendations will be accurate and relevant to individual needs. Sometimes we may have to make sacrifices and attend international conferences, where we can interact with other educators and share information on the newest techniques and information. We can also check the Internet for professional development sites that provide guides for teachers and parents. In this way, we can expand our knowledge and also collaborate with other Reading Specialists for the benefit of the nation's youth.

Reference:
Godt, P. T. (2009). Leadership in reading. Illinois Reading Council journal, 37(3), 59-62.