Learning to use ICTs - a reflection

I am grateful to all those who commented on my first blog post, "Why I became a Reading Specialist". I hope to continue sharing my experiences on this journey of learning and teaching with you.
Today I would like to reflect on my adventures in learning to use wikis and blogs. We have a competent lecturer and knowledgeable tutors but somehow I always feel frazzled and overwhelmed in the classroom setting. I cannot understand why I never seem to master the sequence of activities necessary to post ,while the tutor is explaining . Somehow, the computer never cooperates and while I am focusing on that lapse, I miss salient points of the discussion. I look around the class and see the lucky ones arriving at different points on their way to posting or to carry out some necessary function. Me? I am frustrated, I am way back still trying to get on site while the computer rejects my requests again and again!

What I have decided is this, do as much as I am able to in the class ,document everything the lecturer says and I mean everything, then replicate the steps at home. I usually get in at the first go. Does anyone else have this experience?

Mary Grant

Why I became a Reading Specialist

Why I became a Reading Specialist

The problem of illiteracy has always fascinated me. Why is it so difficult for some students to master such basic ,“natural” skills , isn’t it like breathing? Well of course in my family it appeared to me that reading was acquired naturally. As I encountered struggling readers in my experience as a teacher, I realized that the process of becoming competent readers was indeed a complex one. My interest led me to experimentation with resources and approaches , to critically assess my beliefs about struggling readers and to question some of the decisions that our school made on their behalf .

I felt I needed to know more and to do more to serve my community as a qualified professional , as a Reading Specialist, I believe that I would be able to contribute to critical decisions made to alleviate the suffering of those who struggle to read as well as enhance the competencies of those who can .

Mary Grant