Developing and practicing reading and writing skills

Technology, is now integrated into many areas, and teaching languages is one of them.

“Technology will not replace teachers, but teachers who understand technology will

replace those who don’t”

-Ray Clifford

The forms of technology that help us in learning and developing any language :

Computers

Smart phones

Kindle/e-Reader Media-players

Soft-wares and application

internetPlug-ins

websites

Who uses them? Some of them target the teacher, others the students.

Who uses them?

The teacher can create online web to interact students online. Students may create their own blogs ,and are asked to write about certain topics.

First : websites:

Targets students:

• Compose a story/news article/book review and illustrate it with clip art or graphics.

• Create a resume for any famous person in history

• Compare and contrast any two (or more) things using a Venn diagram

• Plan steps or activities with a concept web or map—or use special software designed for this purpose

• Devise a character comparison chart in table format

• Use a table to generate timelines for projects or to record historical events

• Design a postcard highlighting your school, local community.

• Publish a class or grade "newspaper" or student-produced newsletter or flyer (paper.li)

www.lonweb.org

Targets teachers:

Provides them with necessary materials, to help them in teaching their students the targeted skills , “reading and writing ”.

• Vocabulary• Meaning • Spelling• Memory• Cooperation• Fun

• Saves time and energy • Uses target vocabulary• Can be sent to students or

printed.

Crossword puzzle:

Second: plugins:

• They can be in the class room, or at home.• And at any time, as long as the technology is present, either at the

beginning ,middle or the end of the class.

Where and When are they used?

The following are for personal use. Students can use them in their language skills development

Third : phone : Application:

Why are they used?• 5 C's: 1. communication throughout the world at low cost.2. immediate access to authentic materials from other cultures in rich multimedia

form , including visual, audio, and textual resources.

3. vast quantities of information available in the target language enabling connections on many different topics.

4. wealth of foreign-language resources facilitating comparisons between target language and culture and student's own.

5. extremely powerful tool for community building beyond the school setting

• Motivational power: increased time on task, enjoyment and sense of satisfaction.

• Control over learning: students can choose time, place, and pace of learning.

Since technology is integrated into our lives we do not realize that what we are doing is a language skill development and we are learning a language . Like Google search engine that corrects your spelling mistakes :

Tips for designing opportunities for skill development

Student must be taught learning strategies, they should be in the material , such as:

• Recognizing patterns.• Using context clues.• Word analysis.• Guessing .

Recognizing patterns

Cause and effect \ Comparison and contrast

• As you might already know, there is no direct intermixing of blood between a mother and her unborn child. However, some substances—especially drugs—can still have a powerful effect on the fetus. If, for example, the mother is addicted to morphine, heroin, or methadone, the baby may be born with the same addiction.

Using context clues.

A new word is to the student readers. So other words or phrases help with the understanding of the new word. They are built into the sentences around the difficult word. Students be able to make logical guesses about the meanings of many words.

• The floors of the restaurant were extremely scuzzy. They were covered with spilled grease, crumbs of food, and cigarette butts.

Concordance

An alphabetical list of the words (esp. the important ones) present in a text, usually with citations of the passages concerned

http://www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/sentences/

Students should be exposed to extensive reading and writing.

So, the Internet can help with this task:

for example,

by exposing learners to other learners at their levels with whom they can exchange messages and discuss readings, and software-based stories on compact discs (CDs) provide both audio and video exposure to text.

BIBLIOMANIAhttp://www.bibliomania.com/This site contains many of the classics, like Little Women,poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and even full-textShakespeare. Since the content is purely textual, it is easily accessible for students with sensory impairments or learning disabilities who are using screen readers,

THE CHILDREN’S LITERATURE WEB GUIDEhttp://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/Features story listings, rhymes, fiction and nonfiction;resources for parents, teachers, and authors; and a listingof other extensive literature Web sites. There is an onlinediscussion area and links to listings of offline readingresources by grade level.

Teachers can adapt computer-based materials and texts by adding external documents (Egbert, 2001) that help students notice conventions or by following suggestion to adapt such activities

She can ask questions likethese:• What do you think this story is about?• What do you think is going to happenin the story?• Who are the main characters?• How do you think the main charactersare feeling?• Can you describe what the people aredoing in this picture?

http://cte.jhu.edu/teachingexceptionalchildren-jc.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xo1RipS-c

•How can teachers choose the appropriate web site or software ??

• *Make sure that the web site is published by an association or organization that is trustworthy .

• *Make sure that the language level is appropriate or that the students will have help if needed .

Evaluating Web Sites and Software for Reading and Writing

Example for web sites that help students in reading and writing courses:

*Writing courses: (www. education-portal.com)

(www.onlineeducationhub.com) *Reading courses:

(. .www reading org) (thereadingintitute.net )

Evaluation

_What is program evaluation ?

_What is the main points to do an evaluation?

Evaluating Web Sites for Writing and Reading Skills

•Using Web sites to help teaching children writing and reading can be very helpful.

However, in order to make the most of this type of interactive education experience.

So, evaluate the web sites carefully ,see what would be most appropriate for their

level , and work with your students to find out if these skills better for them or not..

There are important factors we need to focus upon during the evaluation process:

•Goals: What can the web site do , and how does this meet pedagogical goals ?

•Presentation: How does the web site do it ? ( introduce or practice ), are there exercises or quizzes ? Is this appropriate for the students

and goals? •Appropriateness : How will student s be able to use the web site to

meet goals ? •Outcomes: What do students produce with the web site.•Evaluation: what kind of appropriate feedback and evaluation does

the web site offer? •Notes : Add notes about what else is important to know about the

technology . Then balance the results to decide if the web site is useful for your instruction.

Spell Check How to Play :http://www.funbrain.com/spell/index.html

•The computer will give twenty sets of four words.•Place a check next to the word which is spelled wrong.•Spell the word you checked correctly in the box.•If you get all twenty problems correct, you can put your name

on our leader board.

Evaluation

•Goals •Presentation•Appropriateness •Outcomes •Evaluation •Notes •We have another game “SpellaRoo”

want to try it << http://www.funbrain.com/spellroo/index.html

Spreeder for Reading•http://www.spreeder.com/ This web site is to improve students reading speed and comprehension .

Evaluation•Goals •Presentation•Appropriateness •Outcomes •Evaluation •Notes