A new year and a new EVO Session--All about the brain and learning. It was a bit daunting to recognise that I held so many myths about the brain especially the ones about the impact of environment and learning style on student learning. Can't wait to read the research material provided and do some research of my own

Connected: Literacy for Generation Z Guest Blog | Blogs about Reading | Reading Rockets

Connected: Literacy for Generation Z Guest Blog | Blogs about Reading | Reading Rockets

taking the edge off of meetings with literacy 2.0 tools

I have decided to start my meetings with the Heads of Departments using an intro. It will be similar to the set induction as used in lesson plans--a means of launching the topic and sparking interest. I hope that this new approach will engage my colleagues just as we strive to do with our students. My other purpose is to share with them tools that they can now invite the teachers in their departments to use in the classrooms to make students connect better with the curriculum while building on their literacy skills. Look for more snippets on my blog as I explore and experiment with ways to integrate technology and literacy in both the teaching/learning and administrative side of what we do. O by the way this particular tool is found at dvolver.com and it's free!
This is another tool Goanimate--enjoy HoDs on a Monday by sleza on GoAnimate

Make a video easily. Powered by GoAnimate Video Maker.

Invitation to my blog as part of Podcasting EVO 2011--Fantastic!!!

I must commend the organisers for the Electronic Village Online 2011. I had a blast, it was great learning about podcasting and trying my hand at creating my very own podcasts.

This is a great web tool that can be used to engage students and adults alike in relevant, meaningful and authentic activities. I highly recommend that everyone learn how to create podcasts. Podcasts can be used across the curriculum-- in any subject area and for Professional Development as well, there is no boundary on its uses.

Therefore I would like to invite everyone to visit my podcasting blog at http://soundsoflearning.blogspot.com
where you can listen to my podcast e-portfolio created as part of the Podcasting for the EFL-ESL classroom EVO session 2011.

Hope you enjoy my efforts

Start the New Year with Professional Development

This is a great opportunity to learn about how to infuse technology into the classroom so that students can be empowered and engaged in the learning process.

EVO sessions are free and hosted by a very helpful and dedicated group of educators with a TESOL (teaching english as a second language) background, but anyone can join in and benefit from this Professional Learning Environment. These sessions are held every year from Jan-Feb/Mar period.

This is my third year registering and it is an excellent learning experience that I highly recommend.
I gave the link to my colleagues so I will be interested in how many actually participate.

REGISTER here for EVO SESSIONS

Laptops, ICT and Literacy

The Form One Laptops are here! Teachers and Administrators have gone for ICT infusion training and the next stage is to roll out training for the rest of staff as well as to create a bank of lessons for teachers to work and improve upon for their classes.

For the very least we have started the dialogue on how we teach today's students who are millennial learners. There is talk about differentiated instruction, learning styles, multiple intelligences and alternative assessments. Even more talk about instructional leaders, school leadership, motivation and curriculum planning.

Time for Literacy Action! I will be blogging about my efforts from next term as I seek to champion the literacy aspect of all that we do. Now that I am acting as Vice Principal (I don't know for how long but it is a learning experience) and as a soon to be Reading Specialist, I will see how much influence I can exert on my colleagues to collaborate on Literacy Matters.

Join me on my Literacy Quest as I take along my Literacy Bag!

For now all the best for 2011 and have a Holy and Merry Christmas!

Emancipate yourself from Mental Slavery!

YES!This is my twelfth post--I made it! No doubt I will continue blogging;it was a great tool helping me reflect on the 'learnings' from this course so it is fitting that my post is today, as we celebrate Emancipation Day.

Literacy is key to unlocking persons from mental slavery--Reading and writing skills will never go out of style no matter what technological discoveries await us in the future. They are necessary for economic, social, academic, spiritual and personal advancement.

My main focus for this blog was Reading and Writing as an integrated approach to Literacy Instruction using web 2.0 technologies. Here is another example I wish to share--

1)Voxopop: an awesome tool for language development (both oral and wriiten).
Voxopop talkgroup--Literacy Forward: Start a Conversation


You can click on the Literacy Forward link above and share your final thoughts with me about the course, the 'new literacies' or whatever is on your mind(you will need a microphone to talk!)

Go Brave into the New World

Click to play

This is an inspiring video that I hope will help us all to reflect as we practice integrating technology into our classroom practice and by extension our own lives. This is a journey that everyone living in the digital age has to take, so as educators and reading specialists we are not alone.

The internet has many such videos that we can download and share with our students, parents, administrators and colleagues. Videos that provide rich food for thought, that can refresh us, educate us and motivate us.We don't have to reinvent the wheel!
Delicious and Diigo are great sites for online bookmarking of resources

Start bookmarking and archiving videos that can be part of your presentation toolkit whatever the forum.

Screencasts, Screencaptures--Make your own action tutorials

A screen cast is an excellent way to record step by step how to do a task. If you wish you can include audio or use your webcam to include video in your presentation. As future reading specialists we will have to introduce teachers to the new web technologies and show how they can be integrated into teachers’ instructional practice.

Screencasts can add variety to our delivery by ensuring that our presentations make use of the technology. We can’t expect to get teachers on board if we use the same teacher directed lecture style and chalk and talk that result in disengaged and bored students.

We all know that teachers are a tough crowd to please so we need a varied repertoire in our presentation toolkit as future facilitators of professional development for our colleagues. If we can get them excited then they will want to try these tools and strategies in their classrooms.

Try and make your own how to video/tutorial using either screentoaster above or your choice of youtube, screenr or jing to name a few and let me know how it goes-It's easy and fun!

PS:Tool to teach Vocabulary--Check out Vocabgrabber Here

Are we writing and reading enough... books, ebooks,audiobooks...?

1) How to inspire a love of books and reading in today's adolescents?
2) As reading specialists are we well read?
3) Can we recommend suitable titles for students of any age, reading ability and
interests?

These are questions that we must ask ourselves as we reflect on our own reading experiences and how they have influenced what we consider to be a good read or good literature. Read and listen to this inspirational story here Librarian changes boy's life


The internet is a great resource that we can use as reading specialists to keep us abreast of the best reading material for students.

1. Candlelightstories--Not for those who only think that the classics are worth reading
2. Teenreads--One stop shop for books for teens

I signed up for NetLibrary at NALIS Port of Spain and I was able to subscribe to audio books ONLINE. I listened to Blubber by Judy Blume...great stuff that you can download to your computer or iPod to share with students and it is FREE!(nowhere near a kindle or ipad though).This is a GREAT resource so sign up now at a NALIS near you.

1. Storyline Online--Offers readings of children's books by actors.
2. Scholastic Stacks--Great site for great books for teens

We can create our own audio books using podcasts or design ebooks using powerpoint or free software:

1. Myebook--Create your own ebook for free
2. Storybird--This is a collaborative storytelling site.

There are social network sites such as Shelfari and Goodreads where you can participate in a community where members can share their interests about the books that matter to them. They are virtual book clubs. Check my book shelves on my blog, follow the links and leave comments. You can do this with students.

PS:Don't forget we need to create our own LOCAL CONTENT so that our children can have AUTHENTIC texts that REFLECT who WE ARE.

REMEMBER that WRITING is READING and READING is THINKING

Reflections upon Reflections

According to Richardson (2009) teachers have multifaceted roles to play in 21st century classrooms--the teacher as connector, teacher as collaborator, teacher as content creator, teacher as coach and teacher as change agent; I believe that these roles can also be extended to us reading specialists. We are not just about Literacy 1.0 (reading and writing print text)but Literacy 2.0 (reading and writing using digital media and web 2.0 tools)

Well the course ICT in Reading is almost over and now seems like a good time to reflect on all that I have learnt, for instance...'it is not enough to provide teachers with new technology; they need to learn how to integrate these tools meaningfully into their classroom learning...Silverman pg 118.

To be successful in this course I have had to stretch myself beyond my comfort zone of learning so I can begin to understand how difficult it will be for teachers who may not be net-savvy or who may be technophobes.

The course has really opened my eyes to the capacity of Web 2.0 technologies to be incorporated seamlessly into reading instruction for the benefit of students' learning.

The challenge will be as a reading specialist to find the time and space during the school day for professional development where teachers can plan and deliver lessons that integrate technology.

Get yourself a VOKI

This is a fun tool that you can use with your students to promote writing and reading skills. For instance you can give your students an exercise like 1. write a short introduction of yourself 2. imagine you are a character in book, movie, etc 3. create a poem on a particular topic/theme.

Log on to the Voki website www.voki.com/ and have students customize their free Voki--there are many options for students to chose from. Once they are finished they can type in the text or if you pay a fee you can use a microphone and include the actual voice of your students.

On the voki website they have ideas for using voki in the classroom check it out. You can CLICK on my Voki for an example of how it works--the eyes move in the direction of the mouse cursor--way cool!