by Tammy Ryan

Two regional winners of the 2010 IRA Award for Technology and Reading seamlessly infuse digital technologies into curricular routines to creatively replace paper-pencil reading lessons to promote the literacy within today’s tech savvy students. At Prairie Ridge Elementary in Shawnee, Kansas, Brandi Leggett’s project Incorporating Multiple Intelligences and Student Engagement through 21st Century Technology fosters and personalizes reading development as third-graders think deeply about stories. “Word clouds” created with Wordle, transform how students make story predictions and describe character traits. Dramatic monologues recorded as podcasts amplify how students express a character’s point of view. Digital storytelling movies created with Windows Movie Maker reshape ways students summarize stories and use Internet pictures to represent their “mental images." Through ePals, a K-12 social learning network, classrooms create Bouncing Poems; each class adds two lines to the poem until it’s finished. And, students in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Korea collaborate globally to compose progressive stories using a Wiki. This time each class contributes a part of the story until it is finished. Then students use VoiceThread to record their part of the story before sharing it with family and friends.

At Northwood Elementary in West Seneca, New York, teachers Kristin Krypel, Sheila Herr, and media specialist Rosalia Carraba motivate 21st century first and fifth-grade learners through their project (B.L.T.S.) Building Learning through Traveling Students Go Global. Before taking field trips to local areas to learn about community careers and the environment, students and parents blog on Kidblog. They post comments and ask question of other B.L.T.S. members. During the trip, students use digital cameras to capture the event. Using Glogster, a multimedia tool and expression space, students post photos, video clips, and text to share the learning experience with online members. Global awareness is amplified as B.L.T.S. Go Global through virtual field trips and through Skype to learn from experts around the world. Also, through a “Read to Feed” campaign, B.L.T.S. give back to the community. B.L.T.S. create skits using Flip Cameras, designe Glogs to advertise the project, and in the end raise money for struggling families.

These winners like many teachers embrace digital technologies to transform teaching and learning. Apply for this year’s 2011 IRA Award for Technology and Reading. Submission deadline is November 15, 2011. Learn more about and join TILE-SIG Technology in Literacy Education-Special Interest Group.

Tammy Ryan is from Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida. 

This article is part of a series from the Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).