Looking at this weeks class, it was interesting to see how the AT fits into the reading process. As was mentioned in previous classes and once again brought to our attention are the environment, task and technology and the need for these to match the student in order for it to be beneficial. This is the same when it comes to the reading process. A student who has difficulty with phonics needs to be matched up with AT that will address their auditory difficulty whereas a student who has difficulty viewing will need AT to address their orthographic processor. Looking at the chart that Marilyn Jager Adams provides us allows us to see how the reading process can be broken into individual parts but at the same time it ultimately shows how each part effects the other parts when it comes to the reading process.
Throughout the presentation and the treasure hunt we were able to explore some of the great peices of technology that are available to many students to certainly help make the reading process a little easier. Many of the interactive sites such as Clicker 5, Starfall and Earobics are certainly user friendly with many great lessons and activities to help students work on their reading in a fun, relaxing environment. These sites along with others I visited with made learning fun and would certainly take some of the frusteration out of the daunting task faced by some of our struggling reading and writers.
I was very pleased with sites provided by PBS kids and Sesame Street. I guess I could relate to watching such programs as a child and certainly learning without ever even knowing it some of the processes involved in reading. Now with the Internet and today's technology I was glad to see that these programs are certainly continuing to provide resources to help students become proficient readers and writers.
Having very little experience in teaching around reading and writing (language arts) I am beginning to learn more and more each week that there are a lot of great peices of teachnology available to help students particularly in this area. Just from our breif exposure to Kurzweil, I was able to see how such a piece of technology can make reading and writing fun for everyone which is what it is meant to be. Children should enjoy reading and writing about many things and I believe we certainly do have some of the best tools available to help ALL students do so.
Blair did you get to check out the Clicker 5 website? ... and Gamegoo - the Earobics interactive site...? Clicker 5 is actually a program we use to support various readers and writers...it isn't an actual interactive site. Starfall is an excellent example of an interactive reading support program site however and benefits students and teachers immensely.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the tour as well Blair. It is really amazing the tools online for students. The Kurzweil 3000 looks like one of the best for struggling readers. I like the idea of how user friendly it is for students and teachers. Starfall is one of my favourites as I teach the little ones. The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is really a great site. there is nothing more fulfilling as when you see a child who is struggling to actually
ReplyDelete'get it.' That is when reading for meaning can start to become reading for pleasure, I think.
The websites and programs available to students and teachers is merely a click away. Students, regardless of their individual struggles, love these sites and programs. They are beneficial to students of all levels. Students love having access to these programs. I recently took my class to the computer lab to use www.spellingcity.com and to my surprise they love it that much that the individual students who have access to a computer at home now use this site on a regular basis. These sites and programs are an extremely powerful tool.
ReplyDelete