(if you'd like to skip my ramblings, scroll to the bottom for ideas for literacy using technology.)
Got Books? It's an appropriate topic for this week. My colleagues and I attended the first two days of a six day workshop this week for
Embedding Literacy in the Core Curriculum. We learned about different techniques to engage students in reading and writing. One of my favorites from the first day of class was a Textbook Treasure Hunt. Here students are presented with a worksheet, that presents them with directions or sends them on a "hunt" in their textbook for the answers. It serves as a great way to introduce students to the textbook and help them understand how it's really laid out and put together. And our group, took it one step further and used our Treasure Hunt for the online help that is available in Microsoft Word. The workshop gave us a chance to explore Cornell Notes and opened our eyes to all the different types of activities that could be done in a classroom that incorporate writing. For example, bell ringers and journals. The hardest part of the first two days for me, was to come up with goals or a literacy plan that we take back to our districts, share with our administrators and colleagues and try to implement. Half of my group was missing for the second day, so I and my other colleague split up and she went with a district that she works in and I went with one of the technical centers. The experience was good to listen to them discuss their goals for literacy and how the would implement it. They discussed how some of them were already integrating some form of literacy in their classrooms, while some only did very little or none at all. And they knew that there would also be those that would be opposed to the whole idea. But in the end they came up with some good goals and a starting point.
Oh and I almost forgot to mention, the goal is 25 books per year. That's what the "big" people say. I was at first a little shocked about this number. 25 books a year. Sadly, I don't read that many BOOKS a year. But then BOOKS doesn't have to mean 250 page novels. It can mean newspapers, magazines, blogs etc., that total up to 25 books a year. Ah, ok. Now that's not so bad, or is it? I don't think so, and I think it's doable.
I left at the end of day 2 feeling a little overwhelmed and tired. I went home, turned on the TV and sat for 45 minutes watching a show I had DVR'ed the night before. When that was over, I flipped through a series of channels, trying to find something to watch, muttered something under my breath about nothing being on and settled on a rerun. Background noise. That's what the TV is. But, the problem, I sat there and watched for another 30 minutes. I may have checked email or Facebook, but I watched more TV, of a show I've probably seen twice before. And why? I don't know, but it all leads to this blog post, which is LITERACY.
It has taken some thought, and I'll probably add to this over the course of the next 4 months as I continue on with the workshop. There are 4 more days to attend between November and January. So here's my question: How do you get literacy using technology?
- Book Trailers or Movie Trailers (the presenter from the workshop shared the idea of a Movie Trailer.) Students use Movie Maker or Photostory to create a trailer to either promote books* or as a project at the end of having read the book*. Students would include images, titles, music and narration.
- Read Alikes: Use a site like Wallwisher to have students suggest books* to read. They can add images and tell why they are making the suggestion. As an example you might see something like: If you liked the "Twilight Series" you should try "The Vampire Diaries."
- Blogs: Students create their own on-line detailing the books* they are reading. They could then share with the class and receive comments, book suggestions etc.
- Shelfari: This site allows you to create a virtual bookshelf. My colleague, Shawn, shared this tool a few weeks ago and I'm so glad he did. I was excited to use it for myself, but even more excited I could share it in relation to this post and workshop. Check out the post on Shawn's Educational Technology Blog, where he explains how to use all the features of Shelfari. What a great way to generate book talks in your classroom and even school!
* does not mean solely a 250 page chapter book. Could be a magazine, blog, podcast,storybook.
That's my list for now. I think this is the longest blog post I've made to date but it's practicing my literacy skills. And my goal to embed some literacy into my department at work: I'd like to do some READ posters and display them around the office. I'm thinking the Section X director reading a playbook, the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction reading Common Core Standards on a Nook or the Supervisor of Instructional Technology using an iPad for blogs. :-)
Moves-- Is an App to track your movement. I first used this to keep track of the number of steps I was taking in a day. (my phone is generally in my pocket.) It will also give you a breakdown of calories burned for each activity. It's available from both Google Play and the App store. 
Couch to 5K -- There are a number of free versions available and paid ones. I started out using Active's free version and then upgraded to the $1.99 so that I could change some of the settings to my own liking. Having Johnny Dead as my trainer telling me to run was more motivating than just the standard voice of Constance. Either way the Couch to 5K app will get you moving from the couch to 5K ready in 9 weeks. Available from both Google Play and the App store.
Stop, Breathe and Think-- Available as an app or on the web. A tool to help with meditation and to work on breathing. Rated 4 Stars from Common Sense Media. 
