Literacy Now

Why do we, as teachers, find teaching with digital technology scary? In her recent Literacy Daily blog post titled “Offsetting the fear of digital applications in the classroom,” Carolyn Fortuna wrote about “ideas to gain digital proficiency,” often a very real stumbling block in teaching with technology. Technology can also feel alienating because so often it is mandated without attention to the unique needs of our students—our diverse, idiosyncratic, goofy kids. Blended learning, with programs that designate the amount of minutes and number of questions students must work on each week, or top-down choices about integrating iPads with required apps, can make the digital work of the classroom seem very disconnected from what we as teachers know about our students. We understand the complexity of the needs of our students—from their learning needs to their diverse home lives and languages. And we also understand that we can rely on one another to meet our students’ needs.

As teachers, we must push back against alienating mandates to use digital technology in prescribed ways in order to resituate the goals of the classroom and digital tools as part of our schools and communities, tightly connected to what we know will work. One way to do this is to form a group of like-minded educators in your school and meet to discuss and plan for digital curriculum that matches the needs of your students. It is possible to unite around a shared mandated requirement (such as integrating digital technology into your curriculum) with a shared meaningful goal (such as integrating digital technology that meets the needs of your students in your community) by creating teacher study groups. Your collective voices can guide curriculum to meet your students’ needs and be a supportive space as you try out new digital texts and tools in your classroom.

In a school I have been working with for the past year, I witnessed this occur first-hand. Teachers were tasked with integrating technology (iPads, apps, blended learning requirements, lesson planning tools, etc.) and, as is not surprising, many were initially overwhelmed. Finding time to work together to discuss and solve problems helped teachers feel anchored to their tasks and identify uses of digital tools that were meaningful to their students while also meeting curricular goals. These teachers came away from a year of teacher study groups around issues of digital technology integration with a sense of what mattered to their students. 

The teachers I have had the opportunity to work with in teacher study groups began thinking about technology beyond mandated programs or apps, and they created lessons and units that matter for their unique student population. These teachers have helped students use Skype to discuss global problems like the refugee crisis in Europe, iPads to map their communities and home lives, and social networks to write to kids around the world and community leaders nearby. These ideas came from the opportunity to discuss the needs of their students in teacher study groups.

If starting a teacher study group on digital technology seems like a good fit for you and your school, consider the following steps and ideas:

1. Find like-minded colleagues
   • Who in your school is also deeply interested in integrating technology in the classroom in ways that are meaningful for his or her students?
   • Who is struggling with some of the mandated technology requirements?
   • Who has shared curricular goals that might be met with digital tools?
   • Is there an instructional or literacy coach or expert tech user who could help facilitate your joint conversations?
2. Determine a good time and make a schedule
   • One idea is to use time you are already contracted to be at school: immediately after school, during shared planning, or at regularly scheduled PD days (if allowed).
   • Make a set schedule for the semester or year and stick to it.
3. Choose a study group model and set some shared commitments
   • Lewison, for example, describes a teacher study group model in “Taking the lead from teachers: Seeking a new model of staff development,” a chapter in Teachers and Principals at Work: Becoming a Professional Leader, in which teachers discuss a text or video at each meeting, keep running notes and reflective journals, and work on a shared question or goal.
   • Each meeting can include reading/viewing time, a discussion component, time for questions or problem sharing, and time for reflection or planning on materials from/for the classroom.
   • Share responsibilities about choosing texts, organizing materials, and facilitating discussion.
4. Decide on possible goals and outcomes of the group
   • As a group, take the time to set some attainable goals with possible outcomes, such as developing a meaningful unit plan, writing a grant for additional technology, or bringing a suggested change to mandated technology to the administration.

We all know that students need the chance to use digital technologies in our classrooms, but we also know that it must be meaningful for them. Working together with other teachers can make this possible!

Alexandra Panos is a PhD student in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education at Indiana University. She holds an M.Ed in Teaching & Learning from DePaul University in Pennsylvania and is a former middle school English Language Arts teacher.

Most seasoned teachers can point to a few instructional methods that have been “game changers” in transforming their practice. Some of the most compelling moments of my career have emerged within the context of a face-to-face discussion method, the Socratic seminar. As a technology integrationist, however, I also love the possibilities afforded by digital discussion forums: increased engagement, time for articulating one’s thoughts, a written record of contributions, among others.

If you aren’t familiar with the Socratic seminar, ReadWriteThink, the National Paideia Center, and the Teaching Channel provide introductions to the method. In brief, students sit in a circle to discuss an open-ended question related to a text. The goal is to shift the locus of control from teacher to students, who take turns participating instead of raising hands. However, a few outgoing contributors can sometimes dominate the conversation while excluding quieter personalities. Enter a digital solution: a backchannel chat.

Incorporating a backchannel in any class discussion cuts the number of discussants in half. In a Socratic seminar, an inner circle discusses the question and refers to the text for evidence, while an outer circle observes, listens, and comments within the digital chat space.

It’s important with any classroom backchannel to establish clear objectives. I most often direct the backchannel to observe and comment on the quality of the discussion, noting specific behaviors that move us toward collective meaning construction. Halfway through the hour we switch roles, so everyone gets a chance to speak and to chat online. In our last “metacognitive chat” students wrote, “I can tell they’re listening well because they have good eye contact,” “That was a great piece of evidence for Claire’s point,” and “Luke’s question challenged the group, but it was respectful.” I take this opportunity to teach about positive contributions in digital spaces, and our future seminar goals are informed by the transcript.

In fact, the transcript is what makes a chat so powerful. Although traditional discussions disappear, digital chat remains for future reference. Sometimes I’ll ask students in the backchannel to discuss the same questions as those talking, resulting in two parallel conversations, one vocal and one written. I’ll always have students switch roles at some point, so that vocal and nonvocal students have equal opportunities for participation. In this case, the second “round” begins with a new question, producing a transcript that focuses on two different aspects of a text. Those transcripts become powerful tools for extended learning: sources of evidence for essays, records of changing perspectives and intellectual growth, starting points for blogging; goldmines of our collective thinking.

Picking the right tool for the backchannel is also important. Although we could chat in Google Classroom or in Twitter, I prefer to “cordon off” a conversation to its own digital space. My favorite tools are Todays Meet and Backchannel Chat.In both, I can set up a chat instantly and have students jump right in. (I’ve also used the chat option in Tackk.com.) Each provides a record of the conversation, which I can link to my digital class site or copy to a document. TodaysMeet allows up to 140 characters per comment, great for teaching students to be concise. Backchannel Chat allows space for longer explanations. Both have free versions that meet my basic needs, and paid versions are reasonably priced.

Used thoughtfully, the backchannel is more than a gimmick: It’s a great tool for turbocharging classroom talk.

Angie Johnson is a technology integrationist, media specialist, and language arts teacher at Lakeshore Middle School in Stevensville, MI. National Board Certified in 2002, she has been an educator for more than 25 years and is currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at Michigan State University.

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

Recently I have been involved in several conversations with educators about how to use iPads in the classroom for reading purposes. The content of our conversations has covered topics such as when teachers should use iPads for reading purposes in the classroom, what types of texts students should be reading, and what professional development educators need to know about reading digital text. For the purpose of this column, I will summarize a few key points about the topic and raise some related questions. It is my hope that these questions may stimulate further conversations among educators who are using iPads for reading purposes in their classrooms.

First, we know that reading digital text involves a nonlinear reading process, as reported, for example, in work by Jennifer Roswell & Anne Burke and by Julie Coiro. For that reason, how students read is as important as what they read. Research from Maryanne Wolf, for example, shows that reading digital text engages the brain in critical ways. Proponents and critics of the iPad have used the following messages to guide conversations on the topic:

Benefits

• Learners spend more time reading
• Learners engage more with texts
• Scrolling, scanning, and hyperlinks promote improved comprehension of text

Challenges

• Learners engage in more skimming vs. deep reading of text
• Multitasking distractions prevent cognitive focus
• Scrolling, scanning, and hyperlinks interact with recall and learning of information

Second, integrating the use of iPads into the classroom creates many opportunities to engage students with meaningful and critical reading practices. On one hand, iPad applications can be beneficial to students’ reading experiences. On the other hand, teachers need to instruct students how to use applications and device features to read different types of texts while also equipping them with strategies for reading and comprehending digital texts (e.g., short and long pieces of fiction and nonfiction texts, graphic images, maps). As educators, having targeted conversations on digital reading, its purpose and uses in the classroom (e.g., independent reading, research, close reading, discipline-specific reading), and ways to promote deep reading of digital texts for each purpose is important.

As part of these conversations, the following questions warrant further research and invite educators to think about the learning and literacy demands of reading digital text and how e-readers can be used for a range of reading purposes:

•  Does leisure reading of digital text require different reading behaviors and practices compared with reading digital text for academic purposes?
• When is skimming the text for keywords appropriate and when is it not?
• What types of digital reading require a lot of scrolling and scanning (e.g., maps, interactive graphics, timelines) rather than close reading?
•  What strategies do students need to learn to read long pieces of digital text?
•  What behaviors support reading stamina of digital text? How might these differt from those that support stamina for reading printed text?
•  What types of experiences provide students opportunities to use digital devices effectively to practice close reading of complex digital text?
•  How can educators collaborate with publishers to help them develop more interactive fiction and nonfiction digital texts?
•  What else do we need to learn about the adaptive behaviors of students who read digital text with e-readers?

Reading is a personal, social, and cultural act. In her book Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, Maryanne Wolf explains how technological advancements have been changing the reading process. Using e-readers to read digital text in K–12 learning environments is here to stay. As more students use e-readers to read digital text, we need to learn more about how individuals interact with the devices to read and learn, think about the structure and demands of each type of digital text place on the reader, and provide instruction to facilitate reading comprehension of digital text.

Vicky Zygouris-Coe, PhD, is a professor of Reading Education at the University of Central Florida.

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

As educators we understand that teaching is complex. When done well, teaching relies upon not only the science behind making sound pedagogical choices for our students, but also the art of reaching each student wherever he or she is on the learning continuum and sparking a learning flame for a lifetime. As accomplished teachers, we have our toolbox of tools, strategies, and data from which we can pull to meet the needs of each of our students.

Unfortunately, many individuals outside of our profession fail to see the multitude of mind-boggling choices and decisions we make every day to make learning relevant, authentic, purposeful, engaging, and (dare we say) fun for our learners.

Those of you familiar with my classroom know that it is student driven and usually supported by digital tools that meet the needs of my learners. Often the questions that I am asked are “What happens to your students next year when they are in classrooms that are much different? Aren’t you putting them at a disadvantage?” After some reflection, I realized that there was one element missing from our student-driven learning environment: Students were pushing themselves to grow, trusting the choices that we made without truly understanding the “why” behind them.

As teachers we assign projects, centers, or hands-on activities. We explain, demonstrate, or model all of the instructions and then send students on their way. Our students exhibit different levels of engagement and motivation. It’s not uncommon for behavior problems arise. We've designed amazing things for our students' learning. We might ask ourselves, “Why aren't students actively engaged and thrilled to be learning?”

I believe the reason is because we left out the most important element; we didn't share the "why." Learners need to understand why we make the choices that we make our classrooms. They need to understand the complexity that is involved in all of the choices that we make for them. Learners must understand that although a particular activity may not be their favorite, there is a legitimate reason why they are dedicating time in that endeavor.

Learners today are savvy. Students of all ages want to have a voice and choice when it comes to their learning. So when we talk to our students, we need to share the research on which our choices are based. We need to teach them the language of learning so they not only understand the why behind their learning, but also so they are able to articulate it to others.

At the beginning of the year, I begin sharing with my students what I know about how the brain works and what it needs to learn. The first time I did this I was surprised by how fascinated they were by this information. We talk about things like learning styles, personality traits, schema, mastery, standards, and cognition. This becomes the language they use when they discuss learning with one another, their parents, and other teachers.

The more we as educators discuss these things in class and transparently share our pedagogical choices, the more students will be able to articulate not just the action that they want to take to meet a goal, but also why that is a sound choice. They are equipped with the tools to advocate for themselves.

This result happens only when we become transparent to our students. This makes you rethink every choice you make because you are going to have to justify it with your students. It can sometimes be scary. Your students will come to expect it...which they should. Because if we can't justify or defend the choices we are making with our students, we probably shouldn't be doing it in the first place. Our learners need to see us critically analyze challenges, draw from our knowledge, reach out to others to deepen our understanding, and apply what we know and what we've learned to solve problems. Our example is more powerful than just our words.

The fact is that our students will not be with us forever. We will not always be there to advocate for them. Learners need this knowledge because they need to become their own advocates for their learning. They need the tools to communicate successfully with educators and other adults how they learn best. They need to be equipped with the terminology and research to argue for the types of learning experiences that they need to get the most out of their education.

Are we only equipping students for success in our classrooms, or are we preparing them for a lifetime of learning? Like the old proverb, if we give a child a fish, he will eat for a day, but if we teach him how to fish, he will eat for a lifetime.

It's time to hand our students that fishing line.

Julie D. Ramsay is a National Board Certified Teacher and the author of “Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?” Collaborating in Class and Online, Grades 3–8. She teaches ELA to sixth graders at Rock Quarry Middle School in Tuscaloosa, AL. She also travels the United States to speak, present, and facilitate workshops in applying technology to support authentic learning. Read her blog, eduflections.

“When my teacher posts her videos, I feel like she is at home helping me learn whenever I need her.” —One of my fifth graders

Envision a classroom where students come to class filled with knowledge and excitement about a topic you are studying and ready to begin working on engaging activities as soon as they enter the room. “Flipping” your classroom can help you achieve this goal.

Flipping is the concept of using teacher-created videos to deliver instruction prior to students coming to class, so class time can be spent working on projects and assignments that you would normally give for homework. By creating your own short videos (approximately one minute per grade level) for homework assignments, students build background knowledge. When they come to class, they can make stronger connections to the content, ask questions, and get to work on the enrichment activities. You become available to differentiate your instruction for the needs of each student. It’s a win–win: Everyone gets assistance at the level of instruction they need, and you get to teach the good stuff in class!

When I bring up flipping in my teacher education classes, students are usually intrigued as well as cautious and skeptical of the idea, which is a good thing. However, after three years of teaching preservice teachers, I have yet to find a student who doesn’t see the value of flipping the classroom. We start our investigation by learning about the SAMR Model of technology and studying the benefits of videos available through Khan Academy. We also research work of flipping pioneers, Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams. If interested, you can connect with them and over 14,000 flipping practitioners on the Flipped Learning Network.

We explore applications like SMART Notebook Software, Screencast-O-Matic, and EDpuzzle. I like EDpuzzle because you can upload your videos and then add questions and stopping points to assist with processing and accountability of the lesson. It also lets you know who watched the videos and how students answer your embedded questions. We practice recording videos and then design lessons for 3–5 minute flipping videos that introduce a skill or strategy while holding students accountable for the content within the video.

Graphic organizers, entrance tickets, notes, answering questions, and other strategies are incorporated into the video presentations. We create lessons, practice them, and then record them on our Weebly teacher websites. When filming, we consider things like backgrounds, lighting, sound and voice quality, and that they don’t need to be perfect. By the end of the project, students are excited to be their own “Academy”—one where students and their families hear their messages and bond through the learning experience. One of my favorite benefits is that students can watch, stop, and replay the videos as many times as they want while learning content in addition to studying for quizzes, tests, and exams. How often do students have time to rewind you in the traditional classroom?

So where do you start flipping? I suggest the work of Bergmann and Sams. They know their stuff, are passionate about flipping, and understand the practical application as teachers themselves. Bergman was recently a guest blogger for Blackboard with a post titled, “What Academic Leaders Should Know About Flipped Learning.” Their website, FlippedClass.com, contains an amazing collection of introductory flipping videos sponsored by Edutopia’s Flipped Learning Tool Kit (or on YouTube). You can also access research, flipping tools, and contact information for questions on their website.

One very important message they share and I agree with is to make your own videos. This helps you bond with your students, engages them in the content you are teaching, and proves that you are still their teacher! Give it a try. I think you will enjoy the experience and the many benefits that come from flipping your classroom.

Mary Beth Scumaci is a clinical associate professor with the Division of Education at Medaille College in Buffalo, NY, and a mom of kids who flip. She instructs teachers in training and educators about integrating technology to enhance the curriculum while motivating and engaging learners.