October 13, 2017

October 13, 2017: Using Technology to Differentiate Literacy Instruction
Our first blog provided a general overview of some of the technology and how it can be used to support students' literacy in the classroom. This blog will be dedicated to providing specific examples of how technology can be used to support the various learning needs of the students in your classroom including English Language Learners, Students With Disabilities and students who struggle with reading/writing difficulties (e.g. dyslexia). I think it's important as educators that we have resources in place to assist our students so that they can be successful with the lessons and create an inclusive, and cohesive community of learners.


"Dragon Naturally Speaking Software"
Dragon Software

Dragon Software is a sophisticated and advanced speech- to - text software that will help many of your students who have difficulties with typing including English Language Learners and Students With Disabilities. The software is more sophisticated and intuitive because it's tied directly to an individual's voice, which means that there will be fewer -- to no -- errors when transcribing the speech. Common speech - to - text software currently exists including dictation by Apple, however, if the software doesn't easily recognize an individual's accent or speech pattern, it will make errors, which may be incomprehensible and lead to frustration on behalf of the user. Dragon Software is pricey, but is worth the cost if you have students in your classroom who need it. There was a research study done which outlined the benefits of using such software for  diverse students:


1. Total words written in a composition increased
2. Multisyllabic words written in a composition increased
3. There was an increase in the correct writing sequence (two words written next to each other that are correct in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and syntactical and semantic usage)
4. Increase in student's attitude (and motivation) about writing
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References:

McCollum, D., Nation, S., & Gunn, S. (2014). The Effects of a Speech-to-Text Software Application on Written Expression for Students with Various Disabilities. National Forum Of Special Education Journal, 25(1), 1-13.



Dash Pro:

If you have not yet heard, the world's first translating earphones have been released.  “The Ear Translator” or iTranslate using The Dash Pro may not be the greatest news for language teachers but it could change the lives of  ELL or ENL students in full immersion classroom.

Benefits

• Simply put The Dash Pro in your ears and it can translate up to 40 languages.
• Students no longer have to miss important information in classes because of their inability to comprehend the teacher.
• If schools do not have the resources to hire teachers who speak multiple languages in order to participate in dual-language programs, this new technology could be used to bridge the gap.

Downfalls:

• The technology is meant to be used with apple devices
• Each Dash Pro cost $329.00.

For more information about the iTranslate using the Dash Pro click here

Inside and Outside of the Classroom

ReadWrieThink

A useful website for students who struggle with organization and keeping information readily available is ReadWriteThink. It is a free tool that is available both inside and outside of the classroom ReadWriteThink is a website that has literacy activities for grades K-12. The website includes teaching tips and tools for all the resources available. Students have the ability to complete online graphic organizers. There are a multitude of resources you can browse. One useful aspect is the Cube Creator tool. It allows students to answer questions about a topic and print out a completed paper that can be made into a cube. Students can use the blank cubes and create their own or the teacher can create cubes as well. It is a great way for students to condense information and can be used across multiple disciplines to create study guides. The resources  offered are categorized by grade level.

By clicking here you'll be directed to specific resources for early middle school students/educators/parents

Often times we want our parents involved in our students education as well. The challenge for parents is they often are not comfortable or lack the resources to support their children at home. ReadWriteThink contains a section on Parent and After School Resources that would coincide with whatever is going on within the classroom.

Reading: Foundational Skills


Tied with helping diverse learners, we will also explore tech. resources that can be used to scaffold students' reading foundational skills. We all know that some students still struggle in the upper elementary grades, which leads to a lack of motivation and interest in reading. This ultimately leads
to academic difficulties. If students struggle to read, then they struggle to learn.

''Storyline Online''

http://www.storylineonline.net/

"Tumble Books''
http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/Default.aspx

Both Storyline Online and Tumble Books help students with a multitude of reading skills at the upper elementary grades. First, listening to the books online increases student's engagement and motivation to read! We need to think about that when planning lessons and tasks. The students can engage with the texts in a multitude of ways. First, they can just listen to the story as it's read aloud. They will become familiar with the story and be confident readers. They can also think about presentation as the stories are being read. Then they can listen to the text a second time  and read aloud as it's being read. They can pause and go back as needed to practice and perfect their reading. This will help develop student's fluency with reading. Students will also build up their vocabulary and word knowledge. Words that they may have struggled with before or completely omitted while reading, they can now include in their knowledge base. Students will also begin to notice patterns which can help with decoding unknown words while reading. All of these are skills which will lead to a student's comprehension of text! When students read fluently and accurately (and aren't hindered or bogged down with thinking about how to say the words or what they mean,) they can comprehend. Listening to the stories online and out loud will help students as they practice and develop these necessary skills. Common Core standards addressed are: 5.RF.3; 5.RF.4; 5.RF.5A; 5.RF.5B and 5.RF.5C all are standards that deal with foundational reading skills at the fifth grade level.

Libby, by OverDrive
Libby (Library App)

This is an app that can be downloaded onto your smart phone and is associated with your local library's "e media library.'' It's free to use, but you must have a valid library ID and a library that has partnered up with the service.  You can browse a wide selection of books and borrow audio books and e- books just like going to a library, but from the convenience of your own home. This will help our diverse students, especially those who struggle with fluency, because they can listen to the audio books alongside the e-book or hard copy, which promotes student's engagement, improves fluency and ultimately leads to stronger comprehension. This is great for students particularly at the 5th and 6th grade level (and beyond,) because it hosts a library that offers more than the children's selections of some other websites.


In Class Fluency Support:

Educational based websites and applications that continue to support student's literacy during their 'down time' is just as important as the technology used during structured class instruction. If teachers find that they are going to end their lesson early, they may ask students to spend their free time on a website or an app that allows them to practice their literacy skills! Phrasing this request by asking students to play 'games' is often more enticing than telling them to take out their flashcards.

"Duolingo"
https://www.duolingo.com/ 

Through a multitude of games, students work to become more proficient in both vocabulary, as well as creating sentences. As many students will be quick to say, they would rather be playing on the computer than studying for class, and thankfully for both students and teachers, Duolingo combines the fun of playing on the computer with exercises to build student's vocabulary, and support their sentence compositions! Each unit asks students to practice their vocabulary, as well as the grammar that's required to become fluent in English, and works to support this growth of knowledge with fun pictures to reinforce student's knowledge.

Students can also work their way through short stories, or "mini-stories" to work on building their language fluency. The stories help students to build on their reading and listening comprehension skills. Until the student unlocks three stars working through the text, they are not allowed to move on. This ensures that the students are taking their time and only moving forward when they are ready. The mini-stories segment of Duolingo helps students to recognize patterns typically formed in English. The website also asks students to continually review words that they have previously learned, ensuring that students are striving to build these words into their vocabulary, not just memorize them for the sake of winning a game.

The CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4 standard asks students to "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes." Duolingo is a free website, and phone application, that allows students to practice to meet the needs of this standard both in the classroom and at home!