Blogging

Blogging was a challenge for me at first but it has become easier with use. I plan to continue it both professionally and personally. I am thankful for this course and its tutor for introducing me to this technology and pray that we will all continue to be blessed readers!

Professional Development

In addition to using my new found knowledge of ICT and reading with my students, I will also share it with my fellow teachers at my school. My principal has been asking me to share whatever information I get with the other teachers and the use of these technologies is something I definitely plan to share with them. I will also suggest that will develop our own school wiki.

Using my school's computer lab

I must say that doing this course has made me excited about the new term and our computer lab at school. The lab has been there for a while with the computers gathering dust. It was only last September that it became a fully functioning lab. However the infants did not get to use it much. This new term will see me equipped to use this lab more efficiently with my students, creating ebooks and digital photostories. which will all assist my students in becoming more literate.

Ebooks

EBooks or electronic books are one of the technologies presented in this course that I can see myself using with my first year infant class. It may be difficult for the first year infant students to create their own eBooks. I say 'may be' because some students who have computers at home may be so competent at the computer that they may be able to create their own eBook with directions from their teacher. However they all will be able to use the eBooks that I will create to teach different concepts.With direction from the teachers the students will be able to 'click' through the pages of the eBooks and correctly use the navigation buttons. This technology can be used to teach new words (vocabulary) and to increase fluency among many other things.

Digital Photostory

This technology. for me, was one of the easiest of the technologies that we learnt about in this course. It was straightforward and also very effective in terms of its educational value. The digital photo story is also one of the technologies which I can see myself using with my first year infant class, because pictures are especially attractive to this age group. I look forward to using this technology to teach the students letter sounds, sequencing, animal habitats or any other of a wide number of concepts and skills.

Comprehension Strategy Instruction

As mentioned in my last blog comprehension strategies have to be taught for students tp be able to comprehend text at all levels. This present blog will focus on the fact that comprehension strategies can be taught at the preschool and kindergarten age groups. Web sites such as www.squidoo.com/readingcomprehensionstrategies offer practical advice for parents to enable them to provide their children with comprehension strategies even before they go to school. Suggestions include reading stories to them, linking the stories to the children's experiences and asking questions before,after and during the story.

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Thoughts on comprehension

While writing my paper on Comprehension and eBooks recently I was reminded of the importance of being conscious of the fact that comprehension occurs at three levels, not just one. I came across an article that gave a very good description of the three levels. Scott Marfilius and Kelly Fonner in a 2007 paper described the three levels as the online, between the line and beyond the line levels. They provided very simple descriptions of the literal (online), inferential (between the lines) and evaluative (beyond the lines) levels of Comprehension.These titles should be useful for teacher educators and student teachers as they make these categories of comprehension skills easy to learn and recall. They also reinforce the point that comprehension must take place at all three levels for it to be effective. As teachers therefore we must be careful to provide our students with activiities which will help them to develop the skills at all three levels.