Podcasts to Proofread?

Davis and McGrail’s article on “proof-revising” (Davis& McGrail, 2009),discusses the use of podcasts as an effective audio instructional tool used by teachers to assist their students in proofreading their written projects. The idea in my view is amazing. First students work on their writing project, then they either hand it in or email it to their teacher. The teacher then reads the assignment or an excerpt of the best and worst written segments of their work. This reading is recorded via podcast which the student can then access online. The student is then able to hear their work as it is written, mistakes and all. The student’s mistakes will usually include misspellings, punctuation errors, and misdirected tones and moods in his/her writing. As a result of hearing his/her mistakes via podcast, the student will be able to correct not only grammatical corrections but the overall style and mood of the writing which also affects the message an author intends to invoke.

Whereas proofreading for surface errors will help students improve the way in which their documents appear, this activity will help students build a better rapport with their audience as they gain skills in active and effective communication that reaches them in a more dynamic way. With Creole as the predominant language in many of the home of our students, teachers in the Caribbean will find this tool very useful in helping students to improve their literacy skills in reading and writing.

Using Electronic Books in the Classroom

Norman Higgins's article "Using Electronic Books to Promote Vocabulary Development", outlines the key feature of ebooks which include animation as well as the technological ability to "read whole stories, phrases and individual words aloud"(Hess & Higgins, 2000, p.425-426). Discis ebooks have a word reall feature which enable children to find definitions as well as access pronunciations. The article (Hess & Higgins, 2009)suggests that ebooks are a useful instructional tool at the primary level but also suggests that teacher guidance in vocabulary instruction is important or even vital for vocabulary development in primary school children. The overaching view in this document suports the view of many teachers who feel that technology does not replace the teacher.

To further illuminate this point, Higgins points us to a study by Matthew(1997)who found that her grade three students "who read Discis ebooks, performed significantly better on story retelling than a matched group who read printed books", but gained no significant improvement with reading comprehension (Hess& Higgins, 2000, p.425-426) This view was shared by Moore and Smith (who studied grade thwo students) that there was no significant improvement with reading comprehension. Higgins's concluding study is one by Lipson and Wixson who propose that three vocabulary-building guidelines be followed when using ebooks. They (Hess& Higgins, 2000) include; ensuring that the child attends to the associations made between the target word and the animations, that he/she is provided with synonyms to help define unfamiliar target words and that the teacher provides examples of the use of these words in other familiar contexts. The role of the teacher therefore can not be undermined even with the inclusion of technological devices in the classroom.

We have so much planning to do......

In her article "Language-in education planning: the use of emergent Web2.0 genres in the south of Italy", Maria Grazia Sindoni (2009) stated that, The University of Messina's Language Centre (CLAM) has done significant research in the area of foreign language instruction with particular emphaisi on ESL programs. They emphasize planning on the micro and macro level for the success of a language program. On the macro level, langauge policies, economic development and political control are factors which are considered (Sindoni, 2009). Micro level planning deals with the actual language programs which are implemented for the benefit of the learner both at the level of instruction and as well as accessiblity in terms of financially affordability (Sindoni, 2009)

In the Caribbean, we too must engage in serious 'planning' in terms of our language development programs. Although the CLAM program in this article addressed the needs of a Soutnern Italian community of learners in particular, administrators here in the Caribbean may use similar strategies for the creation of a succesful language program here. As we are all top aware, many of our students in the Caribbean are fluent in the native Creole language dialects but struggle with expressing themselves in standard English. Although the inability to express oneself in standard English is not reflective of one's intelligence, here in the Caribbean, English is the formal language by which we communicate to the external world in areas such as commerce, development, politics, academia etc. Planning is necessary on all levels if we wish to expereince success in our literacy programs. In Trinidad for example, there are key differences between urban and rural communities which may necessitate particular emphasis on different aspects of language instruction as well as the use of particular technologies. Although it may be hard to believe in such a small country there are notebale differences in phonetics which may affect the way reading development occurs. Students in the rural areas are far less exposed to the language in the banks, modern businesses etc., so they may require programs which use teachnology that enhances dialogue and drama to simulate such situational interactions.....

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

21st Century Caribbean Education

From colonial to contemporary Caribbean, education has always been significant to our development. Many scholars have emerged from the lands in this region yet still our struggles to become developed are ongoing as a brain drain seems to continuously expel them into the vast ocean of the developed world. Educators play a significant role therefore not only in raising the levels of literacy and scholarly achievement but also in 'motivating' our graduates to apply their knowledge to our collectively lived realties. The use of and integration of 21st century literacies into our classrooms at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels will help achieve the goal of motivating our student graduates to remain in the region and continue to contribute to our development. One main reason for this is the communication and interaction component of 21st century literacies. Once students become comfortable with the literacies available for their use in academia they will likely realize that they can interact, collaborate and communicate with international students and scholars who work in similar fields. With the use of podcasts, wikis etc, on site research can continue while living in the Caribbean while at the same time communicating updates to often outdated information stored in overseas libraries.


For example, I remember while going to school in Toronto, I did a short paper on the use of Tobacco amongst Carib Indian Shamans. While I was able to find books with some information on the topic, I was not able to get contemporary data on current day rituals involving tobacco use amongst the Native Carib Indians. As I later realized upon return to Trinidad, there are several contemporary Carib Indian ceremonies which use tobacco as a sacred herb.

The use of the internet and other technologies apart from the word processor was not at all common at the time when I did my paper, so obviously my paper was not as dynamic as it could have been.

Love To Read

Low literacy levels concern many teachers in Trinidad and Tobago. We hurt when we see our students struggling with basics such as reading and writing simple sentences and paragraphs both at the Primary and Secondary levels. As our students struggle, we scramble around to find materials which would help them improve in their literacy skills. I think that part of our struggle to teach our students lies within us as teachers. Learning to 'love to read' is also part of our problem, since as educators we are also often unmotivated when it comes to reading from a wide selection of available materials as we tend to get stuck in 'textbooks' and specific genres which we may prefer. When we 'love to read' and are open to diverse literacies, this is likely to be mirrored by our students who will then themselves develop better attitudes towards reading.

Loving to read is easier said than done however. It is therefore necessary to ourselves become motivated in order to motivate our students to become passionate about reading. One of the things I find has been useful for me as an individual is finding a purpose. As teachers we likely share at least a few common purposes one of which is to inspire our students to have goals and to work towards these goals in order to experience succcess. Reading in all school contexts is a natural extension towards acheiving our students' achieving academic goals, so as teachers many of us literally 'beg' our students to read. A common shortcoming amongst us however is that we often neglect our personal development while focusing on our students' success. Reading for pleasure as well as for academic purposes is vital to our personal development as teachers. As we find pleasure and satisfaction in reading, we become more motivated to read. In the long run, students benefit greatly because our own exposure to more literacies (from texts to blogs), allows us to me more open to the diverse ways of expression by our students.


FOOD FOR THOUGHT