How do you integrate technology into a classroom whose primary focus is literacy? It was a little bit tricky at first, but after digging into a new reading curriculum we have found a few ways that technology can enhance that learning!
Interactive read-alouds are one of the main components of our reading curriculum. This is a time when students engage in the text with the teacher and the other students. Students are also learning about specific literacy strategies such as visualizing and summarizing. Students are then required to provide an informal response to the text. The open-ended prompts allow students to find meaning from the text. A few tools that we have used to accomplish this task are Flipgrid and Autodraw.com.
Flipgrid:
Students use Flipgrid to respond to the text. This type of video response allows students to share a window into their thinking and understanding. Since the students are responding to a common text they can even reply with a comment to other videos!
Students use Flipgrid to respond to the text. This type of video response allows students to share a window into their thinking and understanding. Since the students are responding to a common text they can even reply with a comment to other videos!
Autodraw:
Autodraw allows students to create visual illustrations that help them explain their thinking. Students begin to draw a sketch and Autodraw guesses what you are trying to draw and then turns that rough drawing into an image!
Autodraw allows students to create visual illustrations that help them explain their thinking. Students begin to draw a sketch and Autodraw guesses what you are trying to draw and then turns that rough drawing into an image!
 |
| Students draw and label the parts of an elephant that were described in the story. |
Another component of our new reading curriculum is Phonics and Word Study. To incorporate technology into this time, we have used the app Clips. Clips is an iOS app that is designed as a video editing software. You can quickly record video, add text and effects and save it to the camera roll or share it with others. Students can record and edit video of the different phonics skills they are working on that week!
Using these three technology tools has helped engage students in their learning and has provided meaningful enhancements to our literacy instruction!
Using these three technology tools has helped engage students in their learning and has provided meaningful enhancements to our literacy instruction!
