1. Literacy and technology in a balanced classroom
By Alexandra Castillo
ECE 536
Summer II 2013

2. Focus questions
* How has the increased use of media in the classroom changed how teachers must think about literacy instruction? * What are some ways that technology can augment a writer’s workshop? * How are visual literacy and multimodal literacy defined and how they can be incorporated in the classroom? * How can the internet be used in the classroom as a potent source for informational reading and writing? * How can online communities enhance written communication and connect readers and writers across the globe?

3. Introduction
Technology and education now go hand and hand, offering exciting possibilities for transforming how children experience literacy. Teaching young children to use technology in addition to traditional print is more important than ever so that they are prepared for further education and for the challenges of our increasingly high tech-world.

4. Visually representing
Visual literacy
Ability to read and interpret images and icons, video, photographs,
charts, maps and any other form of visual representation.
Viewing
Children can be encouraged to respond to video just as
they do to literature, through written response, drama,
discussion art and other forms of media.
Visually representing
Kidpix and similar software allow children to create multimedia works
of art by pasting, drawing, altering and animating
with easy to use tools.
Photography- using a digital camera can be used by young children
to enhance written pieces about what they find interesting.

5. Technology applications for learning literacy
Writing electronically: word processing and desktop publishing provide positive support to the fundamental literacy skills of writing.
Young children should spend some of their computer literacy time learning keyboarding skills and using word-processing programs.
The most suitable word-processing programs, desktop publishing programs and graphic packages for increasing writing fluency are; Kid WorksII, Kidwriter Gold and MacWrite Pro.
Quickwrites- students’ work is saved electronically in folders.
Children can compose more rapidly as they construct knowledge by creating reports and stories using word-processing programs and computer graphics and creating presentations using application such as: Kidpix(Riverdeep), PowerPoint, Photo story and Sound slides.

6. Hypermedia projects combine text, graphics, audio and video, but they also include hyperlinks in the presentation. Having children complete hypermedia projects using software such as PowerPoint, sound slides or photo story is highly engaging.
Creating multimodal/hypermedia projects: Communicating in the 21st century will require students to be literate in multiple modes of communication, including the ability to read, produce and interpret text, graphics, images, sounds and video.
To help students develop multimodal literacy, teachers need to assign students multimodal projects, such as digital storytelling.

7. Online reading and researching: Online reading involves some reading strategies that readers need to use.
1. Having prior knowledge of website structures and internet search engines.
2. Self-regulating and directing choices about where to go and in what sequence and how long to spend among the various reading pathways.
3. Interacting with new kinds of text, including interactive charts, maps and diagrams, videos, and so forth, as part of the reading experience.

8. Evaluating websites: teachers must distinguish between good and poor websites and also assist their students in learning how to select appropriate ones.
Finding information online: A webquest is an activity designed to help students locate information on the internet.
Wiki – useful collaborative writing tool.
Blogs – It is an online, personal journal
Electronic communications : messages and instant messaging, message board discussions, wikis, blogs and social networking sites.
Blogs can be used for autobiographical writing, interactive journals, expressive writing, digital portfolios, multimedia presentations.

9. E- books
Interactive reading: Electronic books may be instrumental in improving automatic word recognition and providing a “digital language experience approach” that reinforces fluency and the link between written and oral language.
Some e-storybooks will read the entire book aloud for children, providing an individualized read-aloud with which the child or children can track along, using the mouse.

10. Enhancing instruction through technology
Teachers can now use their computers to connect with their students for instruction that allows everyone to participate.
Interactive white boards come with software
that allows teachers to create,
save or print any lesson idea
they might wish to.

11. Technology and the English learner
The beauty of technology is that it can be equally accessible to every learner, much to the surprise of some teachers who may believe that English learners are “too busy learning English and content material to be receptive adding bells and whistles”. A study by Meskill and Mossop (2000) shows encouraging patterns of engagement and investment in learning with the use of technology-supported instruction.

12. Summary
Word-processing programs and multimedia tools can be used to energize writer’s workshop. The internet provides a plethora of ways to research and critically read about almost any topic children can imagine. Online communities such as blogs and wikis, can be used to connect learners to other readers and writers across the globe, both as live audiences and learning resources. Literacy skills, such as fluency and reading rate, can be enhanced through the introduction of e-books and programs that give learners autonomy over the amount of help they need. The best reason to use technology to increase literacy skills is the high level of motivation and investment that children bring to literacy tasks completed on the computer.

13. References
Cecil, Nancy L (2011) Striking a balance: A comprehensive approach to early literacy. Fourth edition, Holcomb Hathaway, Publishers.
Resources
Kid pix – 101 activities
Wiki
Blogs
Technology and ELLS