Listeracy Special Interest annual conference issue#4 june2015

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Rights and Permissions Submitting writers assure the journal that the works they provide for inclusion are their own and present no infringements on any rights associated with them. Submitting writers assure that these works are original and the property of the submitter (unless otherwise specified) and their submission represents no violation of copyright or trademark or other variety of intellectual property rights, anywhere. Submitting writers retain rights to their work, other than for inclusion in this journal, for which they receive no compensation. All parties interested in reprinting or republishing these works, in whole or in part, should contact the submitting writer directly. The journal will not be responsible for rights issues or considerations associated with the works that appear in it, which are the sole responsibility of the submitting writers. The sole purpose of the journal is to promote the professional knowledge of educators, is free of any commercial considerations, and does not seek to promote any products or services offered anywhere for profit or other consideration.

Submissions Those interested in submitting articles for inclusion in this journal should first submit a summary to: literacyspecialinterest@gmail.com, putting the words “Journal Article Summary� in the subject field of the email. On receiving feedback from the journal, prospective submitters may complete and submit a full manuscript.

Editorial Committee Mark Gura Michele Haiken BJ Neary

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Table of Contents 1) Up Front

By Mark Gura – Page 4 2) Read Something. Be Inspired. Act – Page 5

By Erin Olson 3) The Digital Media Project Head Fake – Page 9

By Mike Guldal 4) 100 Word Challenge: Improving Writing Through Online Feedback – Page 13

By Julia Skinner 5) Show Film Classics to Engage and Enlighten Students in Text Faithfulness and Historical Accuracy - Page 17

By Dr. Rose Reissman 6) Digitally literate youth: Supporting literacy development in 1:1 environments – Page 21

By Michael L. Manderino, PhD. And Paula M. Di Domenico, EdD. 7)

Improving Word Study - Moving Beyond Paper and Pencil to Transformative Educational Technology Page 32 By: Lynnea West and Tiffany Nielsen-Winkelman

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Up Front This fourth issue of our PLN’s journal is emblematic of the maturing marriage of Technology and Literacy. Outreach for the articles included was achieved through ISTE’s online community resources. Communications between the authors whose work is featured here and the editorial committee involved extensive refining of ideas and drafts and required a great many exchanges that were accomplished through email and cloud-based documents. Publishing is handled using a popular online virtual magazine platform as well as a document sharing resource. And finally, notice to inform readers that this issue is available is accomplished through the PLN’s blog, Twitter, and the ISTE online community resources.

Research for most of the pieces included here involved online searches and many of them include links to items that illustrate and give further information. Pretty much, the journal’s creation and reader experience is a digital phenomenon in every respect.

Still, while all this can serve as a powerful illustration of how Literacy and Technology continue to merge and become more interdependent, it’s useful to keep in mind that in many ways this journal is much the same as journals published before the advent of communications technology.

True, as the Literacy network of ISTE, we are very much motivated to demonstrate appropriate technology use. However, the decision to ‘go digital’ and the value that provides here also has a great deal to do with actual advantages that technology offers in doing a project like this. While a great deal of energy and time was expended in the refining and presentation of ideas, little was required to facilitate collaboration and the casual swapping of drafts and revisions, something that comes with the territory of putting a journal like this together. Further, expense played only a very minor role in any of this activity, if any at all. All involved in producing this issue were freed up to concentrate on content and meaning and not on means; and for me this is a great example of the liberating influence of technology on projects and practitioners.

This issue features the efforts of literacy educators, both those who specifically targeted the field as a career destination and those who found themselves doing the good work of literacy education unexpectedly. In these pages they share perceptions and discoveries about the use and impact of video in educating today’s students; relate how books, perhaps now more than ever, can galvanize student attention and effort and move them to make a difference in the world; and how digital resources can be tapped to foster the acquisition of literacy skills that otherwise almost surely would go unlearned.

Collegially, Mark Gura, President Literacy Professional Learning Network of ISTE

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Read Something. Be Inspired. Act.

By Erin Olson The Challenge The idea was born from a quest to redesign a novels course. Considering the new literacies and their power, we know what we encounter and experience can incite emotion. That emotion can inspire action; action that will transfer the reader’s reactions to the text into service benefiting others. The course I designed empowered students to emotionally connect with their reading and then create, design, and act. The action was inspired from their reading. This was a shift from the traditional Read and Answer Questions style course to Social Action Inspired by Reading type of course. With the redesigned course, my students used their reading as a springboard for service, contribution, and creation.

What did students do?

With my support, students chose their reading. Students were encouraged, not required, to read at least one book from the provided lists as well as choose a book of their own interest. I shared my generated lists with students. The collection was gathered from a basic Google search and created by, but not limited to, American Library Association, Library of Congress, NY Times, Forbes, and Huffington Post. The lists included: books that changed the world, books every high school student should read, books that are censored, books for the reluctant reader, best books of all time, and books that address social issues. Knowing how to find a great read can be a challenge for many students. So, in order to support their search, I showed students how I personally find readings using Amazon, GoodReads, and Shelfari. As the course continued, students, as part of class conversation, shared how and where they found their favorite readings.

Through the shared lists and through the supported self search for reading, students were exposed to a variety of texts. With my suggestions, students were able to explore influential texts they would have never otherwise tackled.

With my support, students set individual reading goals with their chosen books. Students looked at their work calendars, examined their extra-curricular calendars, and considered the class time they would have to read. Blogging was made an essential element in the redesigned reading course. Students examined a few blogging platform options, examined blogging styles, and read professional bloggers before choosing and creating their own blog. Their blog served as an avenue to share their reading journey as well as provide a publishing platform for their application of a taught concept.

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What did I do? How did I structure, present, and facilitate the experience?

The first day of class I shared the challenge: Read, Be Inspired, Act, explaining their reading would inspire something. That something was up to them. We talked about what readers outside of school do: readers want to talk about their reading - readers experience emotions when reading - reading can inspire creation - reading can inspire social action - reading can inspire service. We discussed the reality of their reading experiences, and the barriers preventing a relationship with reading. I wanted students to love reading. The design of the course supported that quest.

At the start of every week, I taught a new reading lens, critique, and/or concept. I chose text that all students could understand, so all students could think deeply about the text. I did not let reading level be yet another barrier to thinking critically. For teaching the lessons, my criteria for the text I chose was that it invited contemplation and conversation. For example, Kipling’s “If” spurred a conversation about what it means to be a man and what it means to be a father.

Students read Lou Gherrig’s “Farewell Speech” and could not stop talking about perception.

After reading Tolstoy’s “Three Questions” students reflected on life, success, and their contribution. I included world connections until bridging world connections became a natural part of conversation. I introduced them to influential musicians, speakers, TED talks, novelists, and poets. As a result, my students referenced and cited text when applying their learning. They referenced world events-past and present-when discussing the text. Students understood text citations and references helped them build credibility as writers. Students understood that supplying textual evidence helped readers follow their thinking. Students also understood they were accountable to the world for thoughtful, supported posts as their intended audience was not me necessarily, but a community of readers. The following four days of the week were reserved for reading, blogging, and independent conference time with me. I asked questions of students that helped them see the issues addressed within the text. I asked questions of students that helped them consider the contribution they could make. While the student chosen texts allowed for an application of learning, the reading served a larger purpose. The text served as inspiration for social action. The text served as inspiration for service.

What learning resulted? Assessment?

Students were not assessed on the number of books they read, nor were they assessed on the number of pages consumed. Students were assessed on their weekly application of the taught reading lenses, analysis, and/or critique. Students’ blogs were shared publicly, so other readers could benefit from my students’ reflection. Since I am a connected educator, I gathered support on Twitter from my professional learning network to be mentor bloggers to my students. These professional bloggers (educators, administrators, travelers, website designers) gave feedback and encouragement from the start. I continually shared students’ work via my social media channels, so their publications reached an interested audience. I encouraged students to share their work via their social media channels. Many students continued conversations about their reading through the commenting feature on their blogs with professionals they have never met. These 6

connections and comments were motivating, and these conversations began what I could have never planned for: not just literacy learning activities, but life-changing literacy experiences.

The midterm exam for the redesigned course was for students to choose one of the independent readings from the quarter that could inspire service. Since this quest was given from the start, students discussed weekly what their reading might inspire. Grades were not based on the service or contribution themselves, but for the student’s ability to connect to the text and explain how the reading inspired the service they generated. Students captured the process of creating and implementing their inspired action through their choice of media: photography, videography, and/or writing. Capturing the process from idea to implementation was important for meaningful reflection. Students reflected on their service, sharing their contribution on their blog as well as sharing their journey. Students presented their connections and contribution with their classmates.

I encouraged students to consider their life, their passions, their reading, their heart, and then think how they could make a difference. I was amazed. After reading Kite Runner, Katie wanted to contribute to an orphanage. She connected with a local non-profit, Love Takes Root, which was helping an orphanage in Haiti relocate after it was devastated from the hurricane. Katie held a fundraiser at our school. Working with the high school administration, Katie organized a teacher jeans day where teachers could pay to dress casually. The proceeds went to buy supplies, and Katie also contributed a significant amount of her own money to purchase journals and various school supplies. She boxed and sent the items to Haiti. Less than a year after Katie read and was inspired by Kite Runner, she went to Haiti with Love Takes Root helping the orphanage move to their new location. Calvin, another of my students, read Norman Borlaug’s The Man Who Fed the World, and his passion for farming combined with his reading prompted him to build garden planters for the elderly who could no longer kneel down in their gardens. His original design included a wood burned quote from the book along with his initials etched in the wood. He donated the planters along with soil and seed. When Calvin presented his work to his classmates, he showed photos from the building process. It was heart-warming to see several of his classmates in the photos helping Calvin build the garden planters. Savannah, still another student, read Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. She was inspired to raise awareness about self-harm.

Her campaign to bring attention to the issue was not limited to our school, but expanded by her social media connections to reach further. She was even a guest blogger for Choose2Matter creator and student advocate, Angela Maiers. Nearly 500 people commented on Savannah’s post.

Some students donated their time and some donated their talent. In the two years I taught the course, every student made a contribution inspired from their reading. Every student read. Every student made a difference in their community and in their world. All of this happened because students were supported, were given choice, and had a purpose beyond answering low-level “comprehension” questions. I honored their talent and time by designing an opportunity worthy 7

of their talent and time. After all, as an adult reader I have never finished a book in hopes of rushing to a worksheet packet.

Erin Olson serves as an instructional technology consultant with Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency. A former middle school language arts for three years at Storm Lake St. Mary’s and high school English for seven years in the Sioux Central school district, Erin continues to share her love of designing meaningful curriculum as co-creator of the Connecting Creativity series, monthly literacy and tech-infused quests. Erin also serves as a co-organizer of #1to1techat.

Erin’s work has been featured and discussed in the New York Times as well as CNN News. She has been nationally recognized for her work as a connected educator, including being named in 2012 as one of the connected educators that the New York Times Learning Network admires. Creator of the genius hour project, Read, Be Inspired, Do Something Inspiring, Erin presents regularly about the importance of empowering students through service and about eliminating learning barriers through global classroom connections. Erin bridges the worlds of technology and literacy to facilitate greater student voice and choice. In 2012 and 2015, Erin was nominated for a Bammy award because of her work to inspire students to make a difference. Erin advocates for the power of student contribution, explaining, “I do not want my students to be the best in the world, I want them to be the best FOR the world.”

Contact the author: mrseolsonteacher@gmail.com

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The Digital Media Project Head Fake

By Mike Guldal Many of you know what “lol” means, but did you know that abbreviations such as lol were created to keep overage costs low for those who first used SMS (short messaging service or texting) technology on their smart devices? In fact, at its inception, these abbreviations were called “leetspeak” (I urge you to read the linked text, here). The trouble is that children of our current digital age are losing the ability to write because of a very real problem that has resulted from initial exposure to this leetspeak; belief that texting abbreviations as a legitimate language form that is appropriate to use in all situations and contexts permeates their thinking. My students constantly and inappropriately slip into using these abbreviations, something that would’ve resulted in failure for most of us when we were students. After seeing firsthand the kind of writing that inner city kids are composing today, I felt it was critical to make literacy issues a major priority in my technology class, while simultaneously addressing the technology curriculum and making it as fun as possible.

I’m a technology teacher working for the New York City public school system for the past five years. One of my major inspirations in pursuing a teaching career was Dr. Randy Pausch. Prior to considering a teaching career, I did not know Dr. Pausch’s story and sadly, before I could get an opportunity to possibly meet him, he passed from pancreatic cancer. While deliberating about making a major career change to teaching, and after hearing about Dr. Pausch’s story, I researched him further and came across what I imagine is his greatest legacy, his “Last Lecture”.

I’d like to talk about one particular concept that he discussed in his last lecture with regard to teaching.

One of Dr. Pausch’s approaches to teaching was using the “head fake” commonly used in sports (faking one direction and throwing the ball in a different direction). He employed this approach in his academic lessons, and it was a powerful analogy for me. I remember pausing the lecture at this point and attempting to recall if I have ever experienced this. Luckily, I remembered a couple of teachers who were just as inspiring to me as Dr. Pausch that helped to shape the person I am today. It was those teachers who really changed my attitude about learning, acquiring information and my attitude towards education in general.

Before I became a teacher, I was a systems/network administrator for many years in various corporate and entertainment related environments. Long before I became a classroom teacher, I employed this method of teaching to colleagues in private industry; it only makes sense that it bled into my classroom today.

Here is an excerpt of Dr. Pausch’s lecture explaining his “head fake” approach using Alice, which is a drag and drop programming resource, useful in teaching java programming: So Alice is a project that we worked on for a long, long time. It's a novel way to teach computer programming. Kids make movies and games. The head fake, again, we're back to the head fakes. The best 9

way to teach somebody something is to have them think they're learning something else. … the head fake here is that they're learning to program but they just think they're making movies and video games.

I try to do this in my high school classes. Currently I am teaching two high school classes (in addition to three middle school classes where I have elected to use GameSalad Creator, which is another SDK {software development kit} disguised as a drag and drop development kit). In a nutshell, this means it’s a visual method to programming versus strictly writing code. This is great because with this visual method young people aren’t automatically turned off to the drudgery of memorizing code or theory (yet again, another head fake).

I have been experimenting with teaching the process of filmmaking in my high school classes.

Given the 45 minutes allotted to a high school class, this may seem like an impossible task.

Already you may be thinking that generation “Z” students have incredibly short attention spans, and they are simply so busy trying to control their own hormones that it would be impossible for them to concentrate sufficiently on what seems like such a complex assignment. I have managed to put together an instructional approach that yields some positive results. Though filmmaking involves numerous stages, I chose to take on just the following three with my students: Treatment, Storyboard, and Motion Picture.

Let’s take a look at the first stage of the lesson I am conducting with my high school group: The Treatment. This module of the semester long assignment is aligned with the New York State (pp. 54 - 56) and Common Core (pp. 7, 10, 42 – 47) English Language Arts Standards, as well as the New York State Technology Standards. I didn’t purposely plan to address those standards from the outset; I simply focused on what I felt I should be teaching. In the treatment, students not only have to come up with a creative story, but they have to follow a specific format, and build a story that they can transform in the second stage of the course. Writing a treatment poses several problems students have to deal with, the first being the ability to read and understand the assignment parameters, and deliver the required response to the best of their ability following a structured model.

While most students are confident and creative enough to write their own stories, some opt to use a story they have read and transform it into a treatment. This is not necessarily confined to a literary work. Students have also used sports articles, and short stories for their projects. One student transformed a poem. All of these are acceptable responses within the parameters of the assignment (especially if the student has an IEP). I believe placing the learning burden on the student not only gives them ownership of the assignment but it essentially makes them do what we teachers always want them to do - think critically!

After they’ve created their treatments and these have been graded and approved, they engage in the second stage of film making, transforming their stories into storyboards. They either choose to produce these storyboards by physically staging them using their friends and classmates as actors and shooting pictures of them, or they can manually draw the characters and action of their treatment. They digitize them so that they can manipulate these drawings in a digital work environment on their computers. This stage/module, the “storyboard” is also quite difficult to do (I’ve met adults who have a hard time with this) and it’s amazing to observe a student who is adept at making this part of the assignment come to fruition. I am including some pictures of 10

some of the student artifacts here so you can get an idea of what’s involved in this part of the project.

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In the last part of the project, I have my students take their storyboards, and transform them into a moving image. This is the stage where I let them loose to use their own technology (iPhones, Android devices) and shoot their story by involving their classmates, spending their own precious personal social time actually doing work. It’s both fascinating and heartening to watch them working on shooting things when they aren’t in my class. Their decision to devote their own time to my assignments, even when they don’t have to, is a clear indication that I’ve struck a nerve.

The head fake has worked!

So what is this all about? I believe in today’s society, with the advent of mobile technology and social media such as YouTube, and in order to be appropriately and successfully competitive, we must adjust our methods of education. Globalization and world competition should be the proverbial flint stone that strikes the spark of educational adaptation and adjustment. In the same way that technology is subject to Koomey’s Law, Education and the instructors themselves must find ways to stay relevant, provide variety in the methodology of their instruction, be cutting edge and forward thinking in order to surprise their students.

Today’s teachers have to shed their fear of technology and embrace it. I had no idea how to do this project until I started implementing it, and I have only become better at it because I have omitted that which did not work and further developed that which did. I was a novice with the technology to the same extent you would be if you chose to implement this project in your class.

Many educators might miss how this semester long assignment I described above is aligned to literacy. However, communication equals literacy, and I am teaching students how to communicate their thoughts not with traditional text, but through the stages and processes of filmmaking. Granted, I may conduct a lesson here and there about some of the tools they are going to be using during the semester such as Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Comic Life, and other software packages, but understanding shot angle, perspective, and storytelling are the real 12

lessons here. Bottom line is, students walk into my class thinking they’re going to learn technology and they walk away becoming better communicators and better storytellers. That’s my giant head fake gift to them.

But can you see the head fake I’ve done here for you, the readers of this piece? It’s simple: even though technology can be scary for teachers who may not be comfortable using it; this article is designed to help them understand they can, in fact, make it part of their classroom practice. By focusing on the craft of film making teachers can learn to handle and gain confidence in using the technology needed to support students in relevant and engaging projects, as students learn important literacy skills.

I am an engineer and certainly not an English teacher. However, I chose to address a very serious literacy problem through the focused use of technology, assigning my students a project that uses technology without making technology the focus. I believe all teachers can approach their subject in innovative ways like this, letting today’s media technology motivate and engage their students in projects of high educational relevance. When kids are swept up in learning activities that promise digital median fun, but actually engage them in literacy learning they likely would avoid through traditional lessons, that’s the head fake that truly makes a difference.

Mike Guldal (MS Instructional Technology) is an alumni and recent graduate of the Touro Instructional Technology program. In the private sector, he was a systems and network engineer with several years’ experience working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry. He is credited for co-producing various song titles that were released globally and has some notable credits in this field. While this is his first literary publication, Mr. Guldal plans to continue his own education so that he may continue his quest to educate and be educated.

Twitter: MGdal Email: mystagee@gmail.com

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100 Word Challenge: Improving Writing Through Online Feedback

By Julia Skinner 100 Word Challenge (100wc) is a simple weekly writing challenge for pupils under 16 that is having a HUGE impact on writing in classrooms across the world!

Each week on 100wc.net a prompt is set. This can be part of a sentence, a picture or five individual words. Using the prompt, the pupils produce a creative piece of writing in just 100 words. Once written, it is published on a blog then linked to 100wc.net where magic happens!

A team of volunteers from across the world visit and leave supportive comments. They come from a variety of backgrounds and are often connected to the schools that enter. This means that the audience is extended from one classroom teacher to the world. The young writers have a purpose for writing which not only encourages them to keep writing but motivates them to write better each time.

The idea originated from a need to improve the visits that I was getting on my new blog ‘The Head’s Office’ http://theheadsoffice.co.uk/ When you first start out in this medium of writing, the height of the graphs and state of your stats is paramount! I had taken part in something similar as a grown up and thought it would adapt to children fairly easily. Using my developing PLN on twitter, I made sure that teachers would engage with it and I made the commitment that if the young writers wrote for me I would write for them in the form of a comment. I was delighted as the numbers increased. But when I was faced with commenting on 150 a week I had to find an alternative.

Going back to twitter I appealed for volunteers to join me and Team 100 was born. I designed a set of guidelines which explains the process and provides a consistent approach to commenting and each member has 5 numbers to comment on each week. They keep the same numbers and visit 100wc.net each where the list with corresponding numbers can be found. They click the link which takes them to the child’s post, comment and submit.

The impact 100WC has had has been quite staggering especially considering the original intention! Teachers tell me that it has engaged the most reluctant of writers in their class. Being only 100 words, it doesn’t sound like much so they will engage with the task despite it being ‘writing’, an activity often disliked by these students.

To then receive a comment from someone on the other side of the world will certainly provide a WOW moment that almost guarantees their wanting to write and take part again. For the high fliers, having to hone their skills to just 100 words rather than pages can be as challenging as making a start so the challenge covers the full ability range in a classroom making it an ideal 14

resource for teachers. Some have used it to teach editing skills by pupils swapping pieces to be improved by a colleague; 100 words are an ideal size for this type of activity.

By linking it to blogging, the challenge brings writing into the realms of social media and provides the essential audience. It also supports other curriculum areas. One of the philosophies of 100WC is for pupils to visit other posts. This provides an ideal teaching point of how to constructively critique someone’s work. The rule for both adults and children is for the comments to always be positive and polite with suggestions for some improvement if appropriate. Teachers have found this aspect really powerful in extending their pupils’ writing experiences so that they consider themselves as authors with a huge audience rather than a pupil trying to please one teacher, who is, in the words of one pupil ‘paid to read their work’!

This use of the internet allows an opportunity to teach e-safety without the need for a separate lesson. It has also provided many opportunities for schools to link with each other therefore bringing global links to lots of classrooms.

From a very small and simple start, 100 Word Challenge has become a global project that has impacted on learning in a variety of ways. It is completely free to schools to take part and hopefully simple to use. For those emerging writers, 5 Sentence Challenge found at fivesc.net provides all the same support and is also opening up the world of writing that previously had seemed so threatening, boring and pointless.

Julia Skinner is a retired head teacher in Bristol, UK. Her headship experience of over 13 years was in schools in areas of social deprivation. Although ready to retire from headship she soon found she wanted to continue her work with education.

She founded 100 Word Challenge at the end of 2010 to encourage youngsters to write and link across the world with each other. The blog ‘100 Word Challenge’ (100wc.net) has had thousands of visitors since it began and is having a huge impact on writing in classrooms across the world.

It was shortlisted for the Global Impact Award from NAACE. 15

Julia is passionate about governance and since her retirement she has been chair of several governing bodies often brought in following poor judgements on governance from Ofsted inspections. She is currently chair of a Primary academy.

She has presented at a number of conferences in England including the Sunday Times Festival of Education and works closely with teachers across the world via visits to schools and social media.

Contact the author: jskinner675@gmail.com + @theheadsoffice

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Show Film Classics to Engage and Enlighten Students in Text Faithfulness and Historical Accuracy

By Dr. Rose Reissman

One essential approach for English Language Arts and History/Social Studies teachers is to engage their students as readers of important content in those subjects. And the way this plays out currently should be of particular interest to those observing, participating, and coaching teachers as they transition to 21st Century realities of instruction. Going digital and setting their students up as critics of digital versions of the print or topic/event content will immediately “get” the student immersed.

How so? Imagine setting 7th and 8th grade students up and preparing them for a movie outing to see Ava Duvernay’s Selma by asking them whether an historical film has to be “accurate” if it is not a documentary, but presented as a feature film?

Or how about having 8th grade students studying Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, anticipate its movie version (which is almost always totally unfamiliar to them as are its stars and its place in cinema history. Keep in mind that today’s millennial 8th graders have, most probably, never heard of Gregory Peck or seen the award winning film version. Will having students become judges of “authenticity versus history reality and text faithfulness” of a digital version, fully engage them in deep talking to the text, peer discussion, reflective writing and critical thinking of a higher order. Bet your cyber popcorn, it will. Better yet, they will be inculcated in habits of critical media viewing and reflective print analysis. This, from being engaged in an instructional routine that involves both platforms of content, which will inform and enrich each other.

Skeptical? Perhaps that’s understandable, considering that even though you can now routinely include showing digital excerpts of documentary or feature film versions of print literary texts in your classroom using a laptop, your students have not been extraordinarily captivated by classroom multimedia use. Not surprising, since it is so routine to them. But watch what happens, when you start by throwing out issues that adult media and literary fans passionately debate.

So before taking students to an actual movie theater to see an historical centered drama (an extremely common school excursion) or a film based on a literary or Young Adult classic, you have studied with them, pose the higher order thinking question “Since this a feature film that claims to be connected with an actual historical event or to be based on a printed book which has been widely read, to what extent does it truly convey the facts or stick to details of the text?”

Further, expand the question and the students’ opportunity to exercise their critical skills, by posing the following considerations: 17

“What if the actual details of the events do not translate well to the screen or would make an accurate historical account boring or un-engaging for the audience?”, “Is the director ‘allowed’ to take dramatic license and run with it? – Is this OK if the goal is getting a broader audience engaged in the key themes of the event or personality, even though what is dramatically depicted isn’t strictly ‘true’?”, and “Will the deliberate use of artistic license excite the audience to go back and to do necessary to find out what really happened?”

A good example of this would be a film like Selma in which the director, Ava Duvernay, has deliberately changed key chronology of Dr. King’s life and had the film build up an adversarial relationship between President Johnston and Dr. King, something that was not factual.

In this case, did the mission of the director, which was to emotionally captivate those not familiar with the towering struggles of African Americans to attain voting rights during the sixties in the south, justify her changing the chronology and facts of that struggle? Are students of American History and the general public motivated enough to actually research the true historical facts?

A bigger question yet is, “if the film actually gets its audience to care about the issues of voter rights, racial discrimination, and peaceful non-violent protest, does it matter that it is deliberately inaccurate?” Doubly relevant, as these issues are front and center in 2015.

In the case like the current, 2015 film Selma, give the students a chance before they see the film to air their views as digital citizens on this key issue of inaccuracy in terms of historic chronology and details in a feature film. After their initial response, show them footage of the actual Selma March and the actual LBJ speech on the Voting Rights legislation where he eyes the camera and says “We shall overcome.” Then let them go online to research the controversy themselves and note the print and media blogs that have weighed in on the historicity and accuracy of the film and whether in this case directorial license was taken too far. Then, take them to the film and have them react emotionally to the slow motion segment in which nonviolent marchers are beaten and pummeled (on film this results in immediate death, but in reality, it took a week.) Then, have them consider how the director folds in authentic documentary and television footage with her own and the effect of that technique.

Is there a definitive, single, correct judgment about this abiding issue that generally pops up in any historical film teachers happily take their students to or screen because it connects with a social studies issue or content? Answer, “No!” There are many answers, expressing varying degrees of student agreement or disagreement with directors’ decisions. Students can even create their own blogs, ongoing discussions focused on historical accuracy, which can support comment on not only movies, but also television shows and even music videos for a political purpose or rap songs about a protest or hot issue. Students can dialogue on or debate issues and become ‘Siskel and Ebert’ style critics of such media issues In parallel fashion, many classics by authors such as John Steinbeck, John Green, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Knowles, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King and Harper Lee often have not only one film version, but sometimes three or more as well as spin-offs or spoofs. As is the case with the 18

1960 classic written by Harper Lee, who did the screenplay for the Robert Mulligan film of 1962, students in 2015 can be asked to read the opening section –the first five print pages of the book, and as digital citizens explain how they, as film makers would open an effective film version of this work, as well as anticipate how the director of the actual film did it. Their response might be further prompted by asking them what song they’d suggest be used to accompany the film’s opening scene or credits.

Students can also suggest actors who would fit the roles well. Many of the classic film versions of school stand-by works that are studied in the middle grades and high school could do with an updated version. Updating and remaking classic films is part of the film industry’s business model and having students consider, after viewing a film version of a classic, such as Mulligan’s Oscar winner of 1962, how it could be updated with today’s actor and directorial talents is very much an authentic exercise. This activity would work for argument writing.

Students can also argue for or against a director’s taking license to change key plot sequence or character age or appearance. The recent film version of The Giver directed by Phillip Nonce in 2014 was panned by many critics and readers of the print work for aging its twelve year old hero to a 17 year old teen. Although the author, Lois Lowery, said she was okay with this script change and others, many readers were repulsed by this departure from the sacrosanct plot of a key work of Young Adult literature. Were they right? There is no single correct response, but students can argue these points as an ongoing community of literati following digital film versions on their blogs. Of course, those particularly apt at this critical text analysis can also aspire to be part of media works companies which “buy” digital film and TV and web rights to books to start and use the text to create film versions.

Today’s digital native students have unprecedented access to movies and take full advantage of this to indulge viewing habits that are omnivorous and insatiable.

Tap that and direct their viewing and thinking with targeted text and history issues to fuel writing assignments that are relevant and exciting and unite students as a community of informed readers and digital citizens.

About the Author: Dr. Rose Reissman is a veteran English Language Arts educator who founded the Writing Institute Program currently based in Ditmas IS 62. Under the leadership of Barry Kevorkian, Principal, 18 educators collaborate with Dr. Reissman to produce literacy 19

projects. Mr. Downes (Head Advisor), Ms. Xavier (ELA Editor), and Dr. Reissman are faculty advisors for the Ditmas Bulldog Buzz, a student newspaper that reports on local neighborhood, New York State and International News as it affects the students’ lives as citizens of the world.

Contact the author: roshchaya@gmail.com

Resources: Entertainment Weekly: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2015/01/03/fact-checking-selma/ Fair Blog http://fair.org/blog/2015/01/08/its-critics-of-Selma-who-are-distorting-civil-rights-history

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Digitally literate youth: Supporting literacy development in 1:1 environments

By Michael L. Manderino, PhD. Northern Illinois University And by Paula M. Di Domenico, EdD. Leyden Township High Schools Introduction The rise of 1:1 computing in classrooms has transformed the teaching and learning landscape in K-12 settings. Concurrently, rigorous learning standards have placed literacy at the center of instruction (CCSS, 2010; NGSS, 2010, NCSS, 2013). These standards specifically include language about the role of technology in literacy development but do not clearly articulate how to integrate technology use and literacy instruction (Phillips & Manderino, 2015).

For example, the Common Core anchor standards illustrate the complexity of fostering literacy development in a digital environment. They read: “Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats”, “Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others”, and “Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism” (CCSS, 2010). Each of the standards makes clear that online and offline literacy practices are required to meet the standards.

Technology use and literacy instruction are two sides of the same coin. We refer to this intersection as digital literacies. Phillips and Manderino (2015) define digital literacies as “as the use of digital tools to consume and produce knowledge as well as the mindset and competencies needed to make choices, interact, and engage in an open, networked society. In this article we propose five elements that students need to make digital literacies amplify literate practice for adolescents: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Students need to be able to read and make meaning from a wide variety of text types.

Students need to synthesize multiple texts quickly and proficiently.

Students need to engage in critical literacy to evaluate and integrate online texts.

Students need to engage in collaborative meaning-making.

Students need opportunities to compose content for a wide audience.

Each of these elements will be discussed, and relevant examples of classroom instruction that supports students’ digital literacies development will be examined.

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Multiple online text types While just about the entire body of human knowledge is available online, it also comes in a variety of representations. Traditionally, students in school have read predominantly printbased texts with audio-visual texts treated as ancillaries. In an online environment, reading often involves reading written word along with flash-animation, videos, hyperlinks, pictures, etc. It is critical that students be able to closely and critically read multiple text types as students will need to be able to use those texts to construct meaning. Text types include images, videos, audio, and text in multiple combinations. To support the reading of varied text types, researchers have argued that we need to teach students how to consume those texts. Specifically, students need to learn a meta-language about audio-visual texts (Serafini, 2014; Unsworth, 2006). That is, students need to learn the language used to comprehend audio-visual texts as it is different than the comprehension of traditional texts. For instance, attention to elements of sound, color, shape, and orientation all are critical to extrapolating the message of visual text types. Just as students are taught text structure in order to help unlock meaning in print-based text, teachers also need to provide students with access to the structures of online text to help them understand the content, as well as analyze the choices the authors made in order to create an effect for their audiences.

Using teacher directed think-alouds is one way to teach the complex ways to read multiple text types. Teachers can share their thinking about an author’s use of color, animations, images, sound, and text features as they interact with varied text types in front of students. This modeling can support students’ later interactions with texts. Asking students to produce texts in a similar manner to the published examples may also support their understanding of how the features of various text types work together to create meaning.

Other supports might include pairing textual and visual representations of the same topic (e.g. a recorded speech and its written transcript) or lead students through a Google image search of a topic such as the water cycle (Manderino, 2015). Because there are so many representations of the water cycle, opportunities abound for discussing the affordances and limitations of each representation so that students have tools to use to engage in this type of critique. Once students have an understanding of how to access and talk about varied text types, they will also need instruction in synthesis and multiple text comprehension.

Synthesis of online texts When assigning students print-based texts, we often treat the reading of that text more singularly. Often, we ask students to work through a single text and then perhaps reading others from a text set or read a new text the next day. In an online environment, however, reading multiple texts becomes simultaneous. Consider the number of texts embedded on a single webpage as well as the host of links that lead the reader to other texts. While we would agree that all reading is intertextual, school based reading of print-based text has been treated more singularly; therefore, students will need support in learning how to consume and then synthesize multiple texts.

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Research has consistently demonstrated though that people struggle to synthesize multiple texts (e.g. Stahl, Hynd, Britton, McNish, & Bosquet, 1996; Wolfe & Goldman, 2005).

Therefore we need to engage kids in specific strategies for reading and comprehending multiple texts. There are a few multiple text synthesis strategies that can be applied to online contexts.

Three possibilities include Synthesis Journals (McAlexander & Burrell, 1996), Multiple Text GIST (Manderino, Berglund, Johns, 2014), and I-Charts (Hoffman, 1997). In one study, students who used a synthesis notetaker (Multiple Text Gist) and had to synthesize visual texts wrote higher quality essays compared to those who did not use the notetaker (Manderino, 2007). These traditional synthesis notetakers can be used with Google docs, include hyperlinks, and have visual resources pasted in.

By providing students with instruction in how to synthesize these texts as well as tools and strategies will foster the synthesis process, teachers can help students feel prepared to engage with these multiple text types online. Blendspace (www.blendspace.com) (see figure 1) is a tool that can support student synthesis by providing a platform for the curation of multiple Internet sources around a single topic.

Figure 1. Blendspace for multiple source curation around the topic of Fair Trade

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While working to read to synthesize multiple texts, students also need to learn to be judicious about the texts they select and need to effectively support their inquiry.

Critical Media Literacy Traditionally, teachers have been the gatekeepers of information through their textbooks and supplemental handouts. 1:1 environments remove those gates and open up an endless amount of text. While the Internet is replete with sources, many are unauthored, unvetted, and unreliable. It is critical for students and teachers to not approach reading as merely an act of consumption but one of critical analysis. Critical online source evaluation (McVerry, 2011) is necessary in the selection process of texts that will ultimately need to be synthesized. Evaluation of texts for bias, credibility, trustworthiness, and accuracy are critical for text selection and use.

Supports for students’ online source evaluation include rating sources for their bias, usefulness, and accuracy. Figures 2 & 3 illustrate one way in which teachers can support students as they engage in critical online source evaluation. Students in this example are reading a number of documents about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident including videos and audio speeches. In figure 2, a clip from the Academy Award winning documentary, The Fog of War, is embedded into a Google site with other sources. Students watch the video and then complete an online source evaluation form in Figure 3.

Figure 2. The Fog of War clip from YouTube

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Figure 3. Online source evaluation of the Youtube clip

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The above example is a historical source but also a media source that needs to be examined. Critical evaluation of the source is required but so is an examination of the media itself. Questions of who produced the film, who uploaded it to YouTube, and why it was produced are vital to reading online. This approach is often referred to as critical media literacy (Morrell, 2013). A critical reader online could be said to be more engaged as a citizen.

Criticality is not simply transmitted from teacher to student. It is learned through social participation and collaborative sense making. While it is important to evaluate potential bias, credibility, and accuracy, it is also important to help students navigate the web that is ideologically constructed.

By creating assignments that provide students with the opportunity to engage in activities that allow students to critically consume texts and the media environment in which they are produced, teachers can take advantage of the plethora of texts available on the web. Furthermore, critical media literacy approaches encourage students to create their own media texts, thus providing opportunities for students to challenge media stereotypes.

Collaborative meaning making 1:1 environments create opportunities for powerful collaborations across time and space.

While a plethora of tech tools can engender collaboration, they are meaningless if only used because they are collaborative tools. Tasks designed to be collaborative are more important that the tool. For example, a blog with no audience is a word-processed essay. A wiki with no collaboration is a poster with digital glitter and glue. Begin your instructional design process with your learning objectives and task design that require collaborative meaning making. Then select the tool to deepen that collaboration. Several examples are included in figure 3.

Standard

Learning Objective

Task

CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.5.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

After reading several stories, students will be able to describe the theme and explain how the characters in the story of their choice responds to the challenges associated with the theme.

Select one of the stories studied in class. Collaborate with your team to: 1. Determine the main message.

2. Consider how the character responds to challenges presented in the story 3. Present your work 4. Return to your character presentations at the 26

Collaborative Tool(s) Brainstorming: Students use a shared Google doc to collect ideas with group and determine how the author shares the message Writing: Students collaborate using Storyboard that to sketch out how the character responds to the challenges in the story.

end of the semester to see if your are ready to improve your ‘fifth grade’ presentation

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.7.2.B Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

After studying water conservation in class, write an informative text that explains changes people can make to help conserve water.

You are now an expert on water conservation! You are going to help your community conserve water by creating a pamphlet that explains at least three different ways people can conserve water in their homes. Prepare your pamphlet for a specific audience (select one we discussed in class: (parents’ association; community welcome packets for new residents; Earth day celebrations). Once you have completed a draft of your pamphlet, collaborate with a classmate to engage in peer-revision.

(e.g. expand on an important scene) Demonstrating: Students choose among the following presentation tools (dependent upon experience with and ease of use of the tool) - Share the storyboard that students created using Storyboard that - Create a PowToon!

- Present using Animoto Use Lucidpress to create an online brochure.

Share your project with a friend to engage in peer-revision.

Share resources with appropriate audiences.

Once you have revised your pamphlet, share your pamphlet with the audience you selected.

CCSS.ELA-

Given the

After completing your 27

Determine audience and

LITERACY.RH.910.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

opportunity to complete a lab report, students will be able to integrate quantitative analysis with narrative description of the charts and tables used using digital texts.

garden lab wherein you determine the best soil properties for growing the vegetables you selected, create a multi-media presentation to share your findings and “sell� the soil to the audience you identified (garden blogs, community group, garden store).

post multi-media presentation to the appropriate group online.

Select from the following presentation tools: -

Datacopia Google sheets

Figure 3. Examples of collaborative tools to support collaboration Writing for publication These collaborative engagements also have the power to be shared with the widest audience possible. Online content creation (O’Byrne, 2013) means that students have the ability to create and share a variety of productions such as digital storytelling, blogging, video creation, tweeting, etc. Publication moves from an audience of one (the teacher) to potentially a global audience. If we are to truly value what young people have to say, then we need to provide opportunities to share their voices, cultivate their ideas, and grapple with local and global problems. As students construct digital texts to share, it is important to support their composing process rather than simply assigning digital writing. Students need to be taught the writing process, effective communication practices for given genres, and provided opportunities for feedback and revision.

For example, teachers can engage students through each part of the writing process, including studying mentor texts to determine how to appropriately use tone and style to reach the intended audience. A teacher who is attempting to show students how to communicate using a Blog would provide those students with a series of blogs to review. The teacher could show students how to determine the purpose and audience of the blog and engage in a reverse outline to determine how the author builds content related to his or her topic over time. That is, the students could read a progression of several blogs and record how one topic builds on the previous topic to engage readers. The students could also study how to find an appropriate audience for his or her blog by examining how professional bloggers reach out (e.g. Twitter, linking to similar blogs). Once students understand how to write in the identified medium, the teacher can help the student craft and then publish his or her blog throughout the course.

Conclusion

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The principles described above are intended to serve as categories of digital literacy practices and are not mutually exclusive. Integrating powerful digital texts and tools with robust literacy practices provides opportunities for students to cultivate 21st century skills for a knowledge economy. As we conceptualize digital literacy practices, we see students embodying them by: ● ● ● ●

Reading multiple forms of text Writing in a variety of mediums Speaking to the widest audience possible Listening to global perspectives

As digital texts and tools continue to proliferate, it is increasingly necessary to provide multiple opportunities for students to develop their digital literacies skills. It is equally important for teachers to have opportunities for robust professional development for digital literacies instruction as they also need experience engaging with and creating the texts they are helping their students produce and consume. This is important as teachers rely on their knowledge of texts and tools, their own experiences with texts and tools, and their curricular resources when planning for instruction (Di Domenico, 2014). Thus, if teachers do not have access to these tools and the resources and support in learning how to use them, it is unlikely that digital literacy instruction will be effectively incorporated into instruction. Digital literacy instruction that is supported with robust professional development then can support students’ ability to read not just the word but the world.

Michael Manderino, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of literacy education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. His research focuses on the intersection of digital and disciplinary literacies. Michael is a former high school social studies teacher of 14 years and a school-wide literacy coach prior to coming to NIU. Email him at mmanderino@niu.edu or follow on Twitter @mmanderino.

Paula Di Domenico, Ed.D, is a secondary disciplinary literacy coach at Leyden District 212 in Franklin Park, IL and serves as an adjunct instructor of graduate courses in literacy education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL and Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. Prior to her work as a secondary disciplinary literacy coach, Dr. Di Domenico was a high school English and developmental reading teacher. Email her at pmdidomenico@gmail.com or follow on Twitter @LeydenLiteracy

References Di Domenico, P., (2014). High school teachers’ disciplinary literacy knowledge: A mixedmethod study. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest. (3681928).

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Manderino, M. (2015). Reading and understanding in the digital age: A look at the critical need for close reading of digital and multimodal texts. Reading Today. 32(4).

Manderino, M., Berglund, R. L., & Johns, J. L. (2014). Content area learning: Bridges to disciplinary literacy. 4th Ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

McVerry, J. G. (2012). New literacies: Online reading comprehension, online collaborative inquiry, and online content construction. Connecticut Reading Association Journal. 1(1) National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013).

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & the Council of Chief State School Officers (2010). Reaching higher. The Common Core State Standards Validation Committee. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CommonCoreReport_6.10.pdf NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States.

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

O’Byrne, W. I. (2013). Online Content Construction: Empowering Students as Readers and Writers of Online Information. In K. Pytash, & R. Ferdig (Eds.) Exploring Technology or Writing and Writing Instruction (pp. 276-297). Hershey, PA: Information Science.

Phillips, N.C., & Manderino, M. (April, 2015). Access, equity, and empowerment: Supporting digital literacies for all learners. UIC research on urban education policy initiative policy brief. Volume 4, Book 3. http://cfl.uic.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/UIC_PolicyBriefBook_3.pdf Serafini, F. (2013). Reading the visual: An introduction to teaching multimodal literacy. Teachers College Press.

Stahl, S., A., Hynd, C., Britton, B., McNish, M., & Bosquet, D. (1996). What happens when students read multiple source documents in history? Reading Research Quarterly 31(4), 430-456.

Unsworth, L. (2006). Towards a Metalanguage for Multiliteracies Education: Describing the Meaning-Making Resources of Language-Image Interaction. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 5(1), 55-76.

Wolfe, M.B., & Goldman, S. (2005). Relations between adolescents’ text processing and reasoning. Cognition and Instruction, 23(4), 467–502.

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Improving Word Study - Moving Beyond Paper and Pencil to Transformative Educational Technology By: Lynnea West and Tiffany Nielsen-Winkelman If you are reading this journal, you probably won’t disagree with the statement that in schools, literacy is the key to success in all content areas of instruction. However, in order to develop fully as a reader and understand text, fast and accurate recognition of words, their meanings, and use of words in writing are absolutely crucial determinants of success. These ensure that readers and writers are fluent and confident in the process of creating the understanding of what a text is intended to convey. Comprehension and making meaning are the overarching goals of all pillars of literacy practices in education.

(Taberski, 2010). An integral aspect of any well-designed literacy program, therefore, is word study. Word study is the integration of spelling, phonics and vocabulary instruction. (Bear 2012). In a sense, word study teaches learners how to look at words so that they can construct an understanding of how written words work.

Through a review of relevant research we discerned six key components in research based practices for word study including systematic instruction, explicit instruction, making connections, repeated exposure, comprehension of material read silently or orally and accurate oral reading of connected text. Current word study instruction practices are labor intensive for teachers and are drab experiences for learners. Are there educational technologies that can support this crucial area of literacy learning and establish a more satisfying experiences for students?

This article describes research based instructional practices and the connections between the Words Their Way model and VocabularySpellingCity’s (a popular digital tool for teachers and students) affordances for word study instruction. For the purposes of this article, affordances are defined as the value added characteristics and learning opportunities that are enhanced or would otherwise not be possible without the educational technology tool (O’Brien & Voss, 2011; Beach & O’Brien, 2012). First we will explore the key components in research based practices for word study. Then we will investigate the key components in research based practices for word study within the Words Their Way model and through the affordances of VocabularySpellingCity’s educational technology tool. Beyond this, this article hopes to uncover the research based components of word study instruction and the value-added of teacher efficiency and learner engagement in word study when the VocabularySpellingCity’s tool is used in conjunction with the Words Their Way model. We will conclude by sharing how you can create engaging and efficient research based word study in your literacy program by using VocabularySpellingCity in conjunction with the Words Their Way model.

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Traditional Spelling Instruction: In order to provide some context for what is exactly “word study,” it helpful to articulate what traditional spelling instruction has typically been present in the elementary school experience. Traditional spelling practices have a single set of words for the class that is given by the teacher to all students. Each set of words is determined not by level of readiness of the student, but by grade level standards or curriculum. Children are generally taught by a particular rule such as, “when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.” Students are taught these words in isolation and as a separate subject area of the school day. Children often are assigned activities such a “rainbow words” that have students copying and rewriting the words in different colors or completing spelling workbook pages. Words Their Way attempts to modify these instructional practices to word study that incorporates spelling patterns with meaning in context. This is done through a developmental approach as students progress along a continuum.

Our Approach: In attempting to discern research based practices for word study, we conducted a review of the relevant research literature. Employing the research information gathered in the literature review we utilized Strauss and Cobin’s data analysis strategy called constant comparative method coding (1990). Through the data coding process we identified six key components for vocabulary, phonics and spelling instructional practices (1) systematic instruction, (2) explicit/direct instruction, (3) making connections, (4) repeated exposure, (5) comprehension of material read silently or orally, and (6) oral reading of connected text (Bear, 2012; Bear, D. R., 2000; Dole, Sloan & Tratthen, 1995; Ewell, P. T., 1997; Harris & Hodges, 1995; Neuman, S. B, & Wright, T. S., 2013; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000; Rinalid, Sells, & McLaughlin, 1997; Tomeson & Aarnoutse, 1998; White, Graves, & Slater, 1990; Woolfolk, A., 1998; Zemelman, 2012). Research identifies that effective words study instruction utilizes these six components for readers and writers to recognize words and make meaning with text. Using these key components as our research backbone we evaluated Words Their Way and VocabularySpellingCity.

Words Their Way: Words Their Way is a research based developmental model (Henderson, 1990; Templeton & Bear, 1992; Templeton & Morris, 2000). It provides an instructional framework that has students progress along an orthographic continuum. This continuum outlines the developmental progression: alphabetic principles, consonant sounds, short vowel sounds, consonant blends and digraphs, long vowel spelling patterns, r-controlled vowels, more complex consonant patterns, diphthongs and less common vowel patterns, inflectional endings, syllabication, homophones, consonant alternations, vowel alternations, affixes and root words and etymologies.

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An initial student spelling inventory (assessment) of words places students in an orthographic developmental stage category for study based on their demonstration of word pattern mastery. Students develop an understanding of word patterns, the exceptions to the rules and the systematic phonics embedded in spelling patterns through word sorts. Word sort activities facilitate cognitive processes of comparing and contrasting features of words into categories. Learners “examine, discriminate and make critical judgements about speech sounds, spelling patterns, and meanings” (Bear et al., 2012, p. 2). A word sort contains a group of words with specific patterns, such as vowels or blends or meanings, that students categorize based upon feature similarities and differences. The Words Their Way continuum model is a series of word sorts divided into four categories of orthographic stages. Word sorts from all orthographic developmental stages include spelling by regular patterns and irregular spelling patterns, often referred to as oddball words.

Words Their Way instruction should include meaningful explicit instruction, for example, explaining that a certain vowel pattern in words can be seen and heard through modeling how the sounds are different. The letter “a” in the word “cake” does not make the same sound as the letter “a” in the word “cat”. Word study should have group and individual work, as well as embedded practice. For example, students in a word study group could work to do the initial identification of the word pattern in a group of words, and then apply the words to their own individual sentence writing. Also, when students make pattern and word connections within their readings, this helps them recognize their words in context throughout the learning day.

The major benefit of the Words Their Way model is that it provides systematic, explicit instruction of word patterns. However, in order to make this happen, it is necessary to assess each child in a class, and identify which word list is appropriate for him/her from the orthographic continuum, prepare and provide activities for working with the words each week. This can be a daunting and extremely time consuming administrative task for most classroom teachers.

VocabularySpellingCity: VocabularySpellingCity is an educational technology tool designed to support the learning of words and their meanings. The delivery of the word study practice includes a website application and an App for mobile devices making it virtually platform agnostic.

There is a free version of the tool and a subscription service. There are spelling, phonics, vocabulary, writing and language arts activities for K-12 cross-curricular word study.

The site has many features to promote engagement in word study and aims to save educators time. VocabularySpellingCity can automate the delivery of word study learning activities, spelling tests and provide immediate feedback about the student 34

performance to guide data-informed instruction. “VocabularySpellingCity aspires to provide students with engaging games to motivate study and promote academic success,” (Retrieved from http://www.spellingcity.com).

We found that the most important way that the tool of VocabularySpellingCity can be used is in the ease of administration of Words Their Way developmental word study model.

VocabularySpellingCity is not part of a Words Their Way model, it is a transformative educational technology tool.

VocabularySpellingCity has (with a paid subscription) the Words Their Way systematic word lists pre-loaded into the program.

Synergy of Words Their Way and VocabularySpellingCity: Practitioners cannot effectively address all of the key components in research based practices for word study as a standalone. Our findings conclude that it is only when Words Their Way is used in synergy with the affordances, like those designed in the resource VocabularySpellingCity, that optional word study practices occur.

Figure 1 outlines our findings.

Words Their Way can be used without VocabularySpellingCity, but adds great value.

The conjunction of the two programs makes learning about words much more engaging and efficient process for both students and teachers. In addition, and quite importantly, VocabularySpellingCity’s affordances in the delivery of Words Their Way provides the 35

audio format for hearing the words. Furthermore, the words are represented auditorily in sentences which provides the verbal pronunciation and the meaning and context of the words. Students can hear words to develop understanding in terms of how the words should be used. VocabularySpellingCity also has writing activities which enable students to actually create the contextual meaning for the words in their developmental sort. This is most critical for students to develop deeper meaning of the words as generated by context that is relevant to their own particular frames of reference.

Traditional paper and pencil program approaches to word study do not provide a component for students to hear an auditory example of words, except in the teacher’s initial explicit instruction. Once the explicit instruction is complete, the students work with the words in groups or independently. This leads to many opportunities for students to incorrectly pronounce or articulate the words. When repeated articulations are incorrect, the errors become fossilized and more challenging to correct. Essentially, without an oral/audio component in the instruction and practice, the words are rendered into a two dimensional object, rather than a rich representation of meaning both in written and spoken context.

With VocabularySpellingCity, the delivery of Words Their Way model of systematic instruction becomes extremely efficient as the word lists are readily available and easily assigned to individual students. To fully understand the impact on word study of Words Their Way and VocabularySpellingCity in conjunction, consider the life cycle of a student’s word work. A student’s learning from using both Words Their Way and VocabularySpellingCity activities might look very different than a word study experience with only the paper pencil options.

The teacher can assign words from the Words Their Way spelling inventory in VocabularySpellingCity. A student could be assessed on the orthographic continuum using the ‘Test Me’ feature. The inventory is quickly administered and independently completed. The results are immediately processed for both the student and the teacher.

Both the student and teacher are aware of the results. The traditional paper and pencil approach often takes 45 minutes of student class time and about three hours of teacher time to complete the correcting of the inventory assessment and assigning of word sort lists. This process of assessing, determining appropriate levels and assigning word sorts is a very short life cycle compared to how the paper and pencil process might work. The tools in VocabularySpellingCity affords students to be working with words at the correct developmental level more quickly, more often, with more performance feedback.

In a traditional Words Their Way model, the teacher would need to create paper copies of the particular word sorts for each student. In any given classroom, there might be as many developmentally different levels of word sorts as the number of students in the 36

class. Most teachers become overwhelmed at the management of six or more different groups of paper word sorts and appropriate activities, and therefore create (at the MOST) four to six groups of different word sorts. In essence, it is better than a traditional single spelling list, but nowhere near the personalized level of instruction available with VocabularySpellingCity’s affordances.

Then, in a paper/pencil model a student would have a notebook or paper packet of activities to complete using the word sorts assigned to them. The teacher would need to make individual paper copies for each student and then distribute the paper copies with the designated practice activities. This developing and distributing process often consumes several hours each week, generates a paper storm and is wasteful with human, financial and ecological resources. Traditional Words Their Way instruction, although research based and effective, is a massive undertaking - even for the most organized of educators. With VocabularySpellingCity, the words are assigned to the student in a click of a button and the activities of working with the words are already developed in the tool, in full color and with highly engaging animation that also includes immediate feedback about their progress with the word sort list. The student sees and hears this information instantly and does not wait days for the teacher to check their sorts and listen to the student read the words aloud. This eliminates the habitual loss of the paper word sort cards, spelling the words inconsistently in practice packets of paper, or pronounce them incorrectly. The student is seeing the words, hearing the words and creating an understanding of the words. The teacher is then able to use the time saved on administration and enhance the explicit instruction of words and their meanings.

Implications: Moving beyond the snack of phonics and spelling, through the appetizer of vocabulary and into the meal’s meat of word study our research has indicated the following implications for embracing educational technology to reimagine literacy instruction. This article aimed to uncover the research based components of word study instruction and the value-added of teacher efficiency and learner engagement in word study when the VocabularySpellingCity’s tool is used in conjunction with the Words Their Way model. We found that for the most effective instructional approach for word study learning, and in order to implement all six of the key components in research based practices for word study, neither Words Their Way, nor VocabularySpellingCity in isolation are sufficient. We shared examples of how you can create engaging and efficient research based word study in your literacy program by using VocabularySpellingCity in conjunction with the Words Their Way model. Based upon our findings, we propose that it is when educators operate them in concert that the synergy of optimal conditions for word study learning occur. VocabularySpellingCity is the only resource we've found that has the capacity to be paired with the Words Their Way approach to accomplish the goals of spelling, phonics and vocabulary instruction. As educational technologies emerge 37

and evolve, it is essential to use a critical eye toward the specific tool affordances when making decisions about instructional practice.

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References: Balmuth, M. (1992) The Roots of Phonics: A historical introduction. Austin, TX: ProEd. Beach, R., & O’Brien, D. (2012). Using iPad and iPhone apps for learning with literacy across the curriculum. Available from http://www.appsforlearningliteracies.com/ Bear, D. W., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2012). Words their Way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Bear, D. R. (2000). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill.

Bear, D. & Templeton, S. (1998) Explorations in Developmental Spelling: Foundations for Learning and Teaching Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 52, 222-242.

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Beck, I., McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing Words to Life Second Edition Robust Vocabulary Instruction (2nd ed.). New York, New York: The Guilford Press.

Berninger, V. W., Abbott, R. D., Nagy, W., & Carlisle, J. (2010). Growth in Phonological, Orthographic, and Morphological Awareness in Grades 1 to 6. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. doi:10.1007/s10936-009-9130-6 Ehri, L. (2005). Learning to Read Words: Theory, Findings, and Issues. Scientific Studies of Reading. doi:10.1207/s1532799xssr0902_4 Ewell, P. T. (1997). Organizing for learning: A new imperative. AAHE Bulletin.

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Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. (2001) Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

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Templeton, S. (2004). The vocabulary-spelling connection: Orthographic development and morphological knowledge at the intermediate grades and beyond. In J. F. Baumenn, & Kame’enui, E. J. (eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (p. 118-138).

New York; Guilford Press.

Templeton, S. & Morris, D. (2000). Spelling. In M. Kamik, P. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (vol. 3, pp. 525-543). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Templeton, S. (2002) Effective Spelling Instruction in the Middle Grades: It’s a lot more than memorization. Voices from the Middle, 9 (3), 8-14.

VocabularySpellingCity. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.spellingcity.com Zemelman, Steven, Harvey Daniels, and Arthur A. Hyde. (2012) Best Practice: Bringing Standards to Life in America's Classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Print.

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Lynnea West (@lynneawest) is an i-Learn Specialist for the Eden Prairie Schools in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The i-Learn team supports over 600 teachers early childhood - 12th grade.

This district level leadership team works with Professional Learning Communities to embed the 4C’s, technology and innovation into instruction through job embedded coaching and professional learning opportunities. She is currently enrolled in the PhD program at the University of Minnesota in the College of Education and Human Development focusing in Learning Technologies.

Email: krien002@umn.edu

Tiffany Nielsen-Winkelman is a graduate instructor, as well as a research and training assistant, at the University of Minnesota. She is a PhD student with a dual major in Learning Technologies and Literacy. Tiffany employs her experience in elementary and early childhood education to support technology integration through professional development and research. Her research interests focus on the links between transformative technology integration, literacy instruction, teacher development, and student learning.

E-mail: niels561@umn.edu Twitter: @tnwlearning

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