Exploring Learning

Punctuation seems to cause a lot of problems for learners. I am not sure why, but many learners have failed to grasp even basic rules, such as capitalisation . Others though, are ready to learn the more sophisticated marks such as semi-colons. Creating a Punctuation Mark Pop-Up Correcting their writing and asking them to read constantly to see effective use of punctuation is one way to tackle these issues. However, I wanted to address this area in a more direct way - but experience means I know that 'teaching' grammar explicitly, does not work. Being a fan of inquiry-based learning, I wanted to find a way that put the onus on them to learn, not me to teach. Creating the pop-up To address the differing needs of my learners, and to approach the learning from a constructivist route, I designed a mini project around punctuation marks that required learners to research different marks and teach each other about them. I created and shared a Google Doc outlining the pro...

As part of my the Information and Media Literacy unit I just completed for my M.Ed in Integrating Technology, I had to explore personal learning networks. My post  PLN: A brief review  outlines the new one I tried - The Educator's PLN ( edupln.ning.com ) - in comparison with my trusted favourite , Twitter ( Twitter.com ). Twitter, of course,  came out tops. I have been using Twitter for over a year now and I find it invaluable as a resource for ideas, support and news. I recently spoke at the Google Summit KL, and in the scripting session I attended by Evan Scherr*, he finished by asking how many of us in the room were on Twitter? I was shocked at the poor response, but glad he then evanglised  about how educators must be on Twitter. I agree with him whole-heartedly , it is an essential tool in being conected  with a global network of like-minded educators - and if you are not connected, you are missing out.  This morning I read a great p...

Creating and sharing books using iPads Literacy today is more than reading and writing. Reading today is more than print. Writing today is more than ink. To engage my second language learners, I developed a blended learning unit on picture books that  utilised   both traditional and new literacies, and both analogue and digital tools. The whole unit was delivered via Edmodo  and Google Sites . Edmodo.com I booked out a selection of picture books from the library, including classics such as ‘ The Giving Tree ’ and ‘ Green Eggs and Ham ’. We began with traditional literacy in the form of analytical skills, such as examining sentence structure, and identifying language patterns such as rhythm, rhyme, repetition, and onomatopoeia. We explored characterisation , and developed visual literacy by analysing   how the images enhanced and helped the text. We also looked at the cover, the style of illustration, the page turners, the main ...

At the start of the year, I began a writing initiative based on both my experience of teaching free writing, and following my reading of the book Spilling Ink . My post in August, Spilling Ink: Writing Journal Agreements outlines this in more detail. I try to make each prompt visible on a single slide, and we work on the same prompt for the week. We have written about all sorts of things, from shapeshifters to thunderstorms, garlic gum to invisibility potion. Learners are always given the option to choose the prompt, or write about something they need to write about. They can fold over any writing that they wish to keep private. They are also encouraged to go back and rework previous writing, revising to make it better, or making into something new. I ask them to focus particularly on areas we have looked at in lessons, such as narrative perspective, sentence clarity, adjectives or noun phrases etc. Sometimes I will give specific targets to learners as they need it,...

Split Screen Extension, Chrome Store I am fairly comfortable with technology and have been using it for as long as I have been working, though it did not pay a big role in my education. My father did recommend my taking a GCSE in Information Technology, one of the first ones that came out, as he said that computers were the future. I wanted to do art, but I did as my pops suggested. During the time I was studying for my degree, the Internet made its debut appearance. I do remember a boyfriend at the time excitedly showing me a page on an American punk band we were into , but it took about ten minutes for the page to load and I just didn't see the appeal. My degree essays were researched from actual physical books and journals and my essays, in the main, were handwritten, though I did invest in a word processor in my final years. Being able to see four faint lines of my 4000 word essays was progress... I think. My first job out of University was as ...

In today's learning environments, we teach a huge range of diverse learners with greatly differing needs.  Those fortunate to be in 1:1 or BYOD environments can take advantage of the many software apps and extensions, such as personalised  playlists ( Sophia.org ) that exist to act as additional support for those who need it - technological teaching assistants!  One app I have recently been exploring is the  Read&amp ; Write for Google  extension. Read&amp ; Write for Google is a free* Google Chrome Web App that increases accessibility for struggling readers and writers, and can help offer assistance to EAL learners. Read&Write for Google Tool Bar Simply visit the Chrome Store and install, and a tab will appear - on Google Docs - on web sites - it will also work with KES, PDF and ePub files. Full features include text-to-speech, dictionary, fact finder, highlighting, word prediction, and Read Aloud with ...