Literacy for the 21st Century

At the end of last term, my Principal encouraged us to participate in the MoE’s 3^rd Annual Professional Development Workshop for Teachers: July – August 2010. There are a host of workshops and teachers were asked to register for 2 per teacher. I registered (done online) for “Critical Literacy” and “Creating the 21^st Century Classroom”. I observed a lot of teachers registering for the latter. Since then I have been reading and these are two (2) definitions put forward by Braunger & Lewis (2006, p.3) for “Literacy for the 21^st Century”:

· “Reading comprehension is an interactive process involving the reader, the text, and the activity or purpose for reading. These elements interact in and are affected by the larger sociocultural context. Learning to read well is a long-term developmental process. At the end point, the proficient adult reader can read a variety of materials with ease and interest, can read for varying purposes, and can read with comprehension even when the material is neither easy to understand nor intrinsically interesting.” (RAND Reading Study Group)

· “Being literate in contemporary society means being active, critical, and creative users not only of print and spoken language but also of the visual language of film and television, commercial and political advertising, photography, and more (images, icons, graphics, etc.).” (International Reading Association [IRA] & National Council of Teachers of English [NCTE])

Can you gleam the scope and depth of the literacy demands contained in these definitions? I hope you have taken the opportunity to participate, or if you have missed it this time look out for it next year June/July, as you continue to map your professional growth. Look out for my blog about the workshop.

Braunger, Jane, & Lewis, Jan P. (2006). Building a knowledge base in reading. International Reading Association, USA. www.reading.org

I NEED Word Processor

Hi Dear,

Remember I told you in my earlier blog how anxious I am becoming for my students? Well, adhering to blogging etiquette, I had to cease my discussion on the importance of exposing students to Word Processing as early as possible. Allow me to present a typical case for this pertinent concern.

Home Management CSEC SBA: Students were required to design and make a brochure for removing a mud stain on a pair of trousers; and prepare and serve 2 dishes; and clean and decorate a room for a specific occasion and prepare and display a recycled item in 2⅓ hrs. It was obvious that it was taken for granted that these students were advanced, competent Word Processing experts. Just think about all the technological skills required to complete a brochure, from the typing of the necessary/appropriate information in a succinct manner to putting your mark on it to show ownership and printing it (with information back and front).

One student didn’t even know how to use a flash drive with confidence and she panicked during the examination. Thank God, the Moderator was sympathetic and allowed me to calm the student down and when I was guiding her along, believe it or not, the child knew how to use the flash but because using a flash was not habitual, she panicked. Hence, this is just another plug for the need to expose students as early as possible to the technologies on a regular basis. It should become part of them. They still get overly excited when they have to go to the Computer Lab. About 15 minutes of critical teaching time is wasted settling them down in the presence of the technologies.

I don’t have to tell you, most of them did not complete the assignment. I am panicking for my students next CSEC.

EQUALITY AND EQUITY?

Looking at the Ministry of Education (MoE) call for equality and equity in education, I am seriously becoming anxious for my students. With the renaissance taking place with even the term ‘Literacy’ to ‘Literacies’, the literacies skills required of students going forward into a highly digital world; into a fast-pacing technologically driven society/workplace; is so much different from what was required many years ago. I am seeing the digital divide getting wider and wider and the possibility of our students leaving our shores to live and study elsewhere in the world is as real as real can be. Yet, schools are not fully equipped with computers; teachers are not all trained in the use of Web 2.0 technologies. Are we cheating our students’ in terms of their technological literacy?

Take for instance, the basic skills necessary for accessing the World Wide Web or for engaging with Word Processing: opening up a document; typing using touch-typing skills; editing; saving and storing; navigating the web; organizing into files/folders; using graphics; importing photos/diagrams; rearranging information on a page; importing information from the web; and I can go on and on.

Are we truthfully equipping students with the necessary skills to face the high-tech world with confidence? How many of our students can we say we have been influential in ensuring that they are equipped with these basic skills? Is the MoE/Are we taking our children’s lives/future for granted? How close is the MoE in providing support to all school, for all students, in terms of access to technology? Shouldn’t Technology/Information Technology be on the Curriculum even from as early as the Pre-School?

Becker (1991) states, “Perhaps no other technology resource has had as great an impact on education as word processing.” How do we go forward? Please share your thoughts.

On the Mechanics of Writing

After reading Sheldon's posts (and trying to comment on the one on 'Writing' and getting an 'Error in Sending' message) I have decided to research and discuss this business of the mechanics of writing. Sheldon stated in his post that the students should concentrate on both the content and the mechanics of writing when they are writing. But in my opinion, I think the students have the previous knowledge and experiences to satisfy the demands of the content but demanding that the students concentrate on the mechanics of writing is where the major problem to our students' relunctance to writing lies. Unintentionally, teachers tend to channel students' writing to conform to a particular style or type of writing (as they prepare the students to be successful, academically, at their written exam). However, according to the Board of Education of the City of New York (1999), "To some degree, writing is an idiosyncratic process. How students learn to write, the tools they prefer to use, the style they ultimately develop, the strategies they routinely use to revise and edit - all of these vary from student to student."
Most of our students do not want to write - and writing as we know it is putting letters and words on paper. There are many reasons for this, such as, some of them have messy handwriting and are embarrassed by it; some find the mere process of forming the letters difficult; what they have written would be viewed and critiqued by the teacher, and some are threatened by that prospect. What needs to be done is to find ways and means of keeping the students motivated to write outside of the pen and paper mechanics/experience. One such avenue, of which I am presently researching, is through blogging. Through blogging students are offorded the opportunity to create, collaborate, edit, publish and share content, not only with the teacher but with a whole social, community of users.
Due to my intensive research into the prospect of blogging, I anxiously await the day when the powers to be realize that students can succeed, academically, in their written exam with whatever style and/or type of writing they think would be most appropriate to convey their desired meaning.

Autogenic Training

As promised, here is the basics to Autogenic Training. Firstly, 'autogenic' means "self-regulation or self-generation". Autogenic Training therefore, refers to the way in which your mind can influence your body to balance the self-regulative systems that control circulation, breathing, heart rate, and lots more. The benefits are similar to other meditative and relaxation techniques. Autogenic Training allows you to control stress by training your autonomic nervous system to become relaxed.
The technique involves the daily practice of sessions that last around 15 minutes; usually done in the morning, at lunch time, and/or in the evening. During each session, the practitioner will repeat a set of visualizations that induce a state of relaxation. Each session can be practiced in a position chosen amongst a set of recommended postures (e.g., lying down, sitting meditation, sitting like a rag doll, etc.). The technique can be used to alleviate many stress-induced disorders.
Whenever I practise this technique, I find it to be very calming and extremely helpful in trying times. There are lots of information on the internet about Autogenic Training because it is not new and it is very similar to yoga and meditation. For more information on this technique, I invite you to visit my other blogspot at www.hearts-relationships.blogspot.com
Relax and enjoy.

A Necessary Evil?

As I struggled to manage my homelife and my family; my blogs and comments; getting started on the Web 2.0 paper; and reviewing the demands of the five Lessons assignment (all this within the mind set that I am on vacation) I started to feel a bit overwhelmed. The longer I sat and stared at the computer screen, the closer I came to pulling out my hair in frustration (according to Colin Karr). I wanted to cry and give up but the inner voice in me asked, "What did you do when you were pursuing your Dip. Ed. and you reached this point? What did you do to overcome that feeling?" Then I distinctly remembered Dr. Pierre's recommendation to engage in 'Autogenic Training'. After engaging in a few sessions, I felt so light and refreshed that I had to share this recommendation with you all.
I felt it important to share this recommendation with you all because I do not know how many of you realise how very important this ICT course is to the continuance of your career and having to deal with the 21st century students. You must come to realize that even if you are feeling overwhelmed, you must do something to overcome that feeling because we can not entertain the option of giving up. If perhaps you are experiencing this feeling, I recommend a few sessions of Autogenic Training and I garantee you will feel a difference. In my next blog I will venture to explain what Autogenic Training is and discuss some of the many benefits to be derived from engaging in such an exercise. In the meantime, just keep doing little by little.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

Assignment to add to BlogSpot from Clara De La Rosa-Blackman, who is at present in the M Ed. Reading Programme (2009 – 2011)

DATE: Wed. 16^th June, 2010

WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO BECOME A READING SPECIALIST?

At present, I am a Home Economics/Technology Education teacher at the Diego Martin North Secondary School. I have been at this school for over 13 years (and I have been teaching for 25 years), and over the years I have had the experience of encountering students who have great difficulty managing the content necessary to excel in my content area. Since I view my content area as a vital part of any individual’s existence, I became increasingly alarmed at the complacency with which this issue has been dealt with by the parents/guardians of these struggling students.

Over the years, I have tried desperately (and will continue to try desperately) to equip these struggling students with the necessary literacy skills that would better help them better cope with the demands of the Home Economics/Technology Education curriculum and by extension, enhance their self-confidence so that they are better able to face the world. I am ever concern about these struggling students, more so now, because they would have to function in the 21^st century, information explosion, and technocratic learning community. Hence, when I became aware that there was a programme which aimed at training teachers to become Reading Specialists who would ultimately “make the nation’s secondary students proficient readers so that they will be able to function effectively in the world of work and their personal lives” (Master of Education in Reading Handbook 2009 – 2010, p. 1.), I could not help but embrace the opportunity to become a Reading Specialist. I welcome professional help anytime.

I am of the opinion that in this way, I would contribute to enhance my country’s ability to compete in the ever increasingly competency-based global market (UWI, School of Education), which is characteristic of our world today