It is very very late and I am still in the process of completing an assignment before Monday. It think it will be done. I have taken a break to write this post.
I have chosen to to write about blogging and the efficacy of the strategy for developing writing abilities in students. It dawned on me that some consideration should be given to the literacy challenged student in activities like this.
What will the student do when he is required to post to a class blog? What will he do when he has to write a comment? How would he feel when he is unable to contribute to the activity? How would the the teacher facilitate this student? As I reflect on students who are constrained by challenges yet possess a desire to be accepted as valued members of the learning community it becomes painful that for many of them, full realization of that human potential may never be a reality for any number of reasons. I have encountered students like these over the years,and some of them have attempted to solve their problems by staying away from school. But I believe that incorporating technology in the classroom is one way to build self esteem and demonstrate that blogging could be a motivator if done well.
I think the teacher has to make the concerted effort to bridge the gaps among students on different points on the learning continuum and the school should be in full support of what the teacher is attempting to achieve. It may be necessary to design blogging activities specifically for those learners, not too dissimilar from the activities of the general class but at the " zone of proximal development" according to Vygotsky, where some level of success can be attained.This is certainly not the solution in its entirety but it can cause us to consider situations like these with which we may be faced as Reading Specialists .
Blogs can be used to assist struggling readers and writers. Teachers need to scaffold blogging activities to incorporate struggling readers and writers by applying instructional strategies such as modeled and guided reading and writing. These activities would help students to respond to prompts posted by the teacher to support their literacy activities.
ReplyDeleteI was also thinking that the teacher would have planned for the activity knowing the strengths and weaknesses of her students. The activty could have also allowed for small groups working together for a period of time, so that the weaker ones gain support before embarking on individual tasks.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, your thoughts did raised some important issues. We need to look at the technology as a tool, as a vehicle that would make the reading journey a pleasurable one,it does not make the reading and writing ills disappear.
This suggests that the challenges of the struggling reader would still need to be addressed when the teacher deals with the skill areas.
I agree with the thought you shared that the intergation of technology could contribute to the building of students self esteem.