Christopher's Deep Thoughts (On Literacy)

The 2018 Assistive Technology Expo at Clarkson University was not exactly what I expected it to be. I guess I expected it to be geared directly toward educators and help me better understand how to help specific types of student problems with specifically designed procedures or devices. What I experienced was more of a mash up of various tools that an Occupational Therapist or Educator could use to help a client or student. I do not work in an environment where I would normally have to consider such things, but as I attended the various sessions I imagined scenarios where the technology could be used. The DIY, hands-on, technician in me loved seeing materials and tools I had never seen and I imagined ways to use them in and out of an educational environment. I have some experience with 3D printing and am always looking for ideas to improve my abilities. That is why I chose to attend the CAD Software & 3D Printing session. We learned to use a free and user friendly 3D modeling sof...

I thought it was interesting in Chapter 8 of Tap Click Read when the authors quoted Maryanne Wolf saying that reading "isn't something we were born to do-it's something we train our brains to do". While I do read to learn things, I wouldn't say I enjoy reading. I have always read very slow and tend to get lost and daydream while "reading" several lines, even paragraphs, of text. Reading about literacy for this course has given me a new perspective on reading, though it still takes me a long time. There are so many things we do in life that, while we may consider them necessary now, are not necessarily natural and how we do them is not set in stone. I think of this when I read about new technologies. If we are not born to do it and it must be learned, one could even argue that reading and literacy are a technology. Technologies evolve through time. We have to be critical of new technologies. Especially when using that technology to educate. However, we...

There should always be a healthy skepticism when it comes to new technology. New technology and ideas can produce opportunities that were not possible or even considered before their development. Smartphones and tablets have allowed apps to be created for all kinds of things. Some apps are for entertainment and others are functional. In Chapter 6 of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens  the authors discuss the availability of apps to improve literacy for young children. There is concern that these apps may not be effective and worse detrimental to the child's learning. One factor in how apps are selected by parents and educators seems to be price. I am guilty of only choosing apps that are free and it is to be expected that parents and educators would be motivated in the same way. It is likely that the apps that cost money are developed to higher quality and more effective but the higher cost is a deterrent. You don't want to pay for something and then find o...

In chapter 3 of Tap Click Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens reading expert Daniel Willingham is quoted saying "It won't work to to teach in a vacuum." and "Teaching content is teaching reading" I interpret him as saying that students need to have some understanding of the content they are reading in order to read it effectively. Good vocabulary would seem to be one way of addressing this. In this same chapter the authors discuss how lower income students and those who do not speak English at home are not exposed to the same level of vocabulary and content of their higher income and English speaking peers. I was always told to look up words that I did not understand. In my younger years with little technology, reading my homework with no dictionary, it became very difficult to achieve the task of understanding everything I was reading. I can't help but think that technology can help with this. Now when I do not understand a word or need a deepe...