When Teaching Reading Goes Digital
Introduction
When I first started teaching English at Lancaster High School in 2008, all the technology I had was a chalkboard, an overhead projector, and a desktop computer I shared with another teacher. At the time, I had no idea where we would be in just five years. Now every student and teacher has an iPad, and I cannot imagine teaching like I did six years ago. As an English teacher and avid reader, of course I love reading from a physical book, but most students today don't feel that way. Digital texts make learning so much more interactive for students; I think they feel more a part of the story.
eTech Grant and the TPACK Model
In 2011, three other English teachers and I wrote a grant to receive money for technology in our classrooms through eTech Ohio. The Transforming Teaching and Learning Grant allowed all four of us the use of class sets of iPads, which in turn led to 1:1 iPads at our school two years later. eTech was extremely instrumental in our launch of technology because it gave us multiple professional development opportunities about how to incorporate technology. I would definitely not be as successful if it wasn't for the professional development offered.
The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, or TPACK, model is one of the first things we learned about through our professional development. At first, we were concerned that we had not picked the technology for our school before we started researching how to use technology in the classroom. What we did not understand at the time is that it's not about what technology you have; it's about using the technology after you use the content standards to plan your lessons. We discovered that you need to start with the standards and then work toward incorporating technology. Teachers of every grade level and subject can use the TPACK model when designing lessons.
If you are not familiar with the TPACK model, it is "a framework that identifies the knowledge teachers need to teach effectively with technology" (Koehler, 2011). The model essentially combines three types of knowledge a teacher has: content, pedagogy, and technology. Teachers have to use all three for a lesson to be effective. Of course, all teachers, whether using technology or not, think about their content and how they're going to teach it. Now that students need twenty-first-century skills, teachers need to also bring in technology. The best way to use the TPACK model is to first come up with the content standards that you want to teach. Then you think about how you want to convey the information. Lastly, you choose the technology, and in my case, apps or web 2.0 tools, that allows your students to show they understand the content.
Planning Lessons
When I first started planning lessons on the iPad, I found that the easiest thing to do was an obvious one—use the online textbook that had been included as an option with the textbooks we had bought in 2008 (even though we didn't have iPads then!). Since our textbook had an online feature, we were able to access it with the iPad, and so students didn't have to bring their books to class anymore.
You would not believe the increased engagement of my students! They actuallywanted to read because they were so excited about the new technology. Little did they know (it seemed) that we were doing the exact same thing we were doing before the iPad. Eventually the newness did wear off some, but I'm still finding that the students are more engaged than they would be otherwise. Students can actually interact with the text: They can tap a word, and it gives them the definition; they can have the text read to them with Siri or the textbook recordings; they can go to the Internet and look up something unfamiliar that is discussed in a story. These are all very effective tools for struggling readers.
I can remember one struggling reader in my class who would look up the definition of any unknown word he came across while we were reading. I was amazed because he was usually off-task. He was actually interested in the story and wanted to understand it better. Without the iPad, there is no way he would look up those words in a print dictionary. "Giving [struggling readers] the opportunity to use an iPad-based intervention can motivate learners to persevere and achieve" (Gajowski, 2014). This student wanted to do well, and it seemed to me that the iPad was his motivation.
As I became more comfortable with the iPads, I started using many apps and web 2.0 tools outside the textbook to engage the students even more.
Before Reading
All English teachers want to get their students excited about what they are about to read. One strategy that I see used in many classrooms—and one that I have used—is an anticipation guide with themes from the story. Before the iPads, I would give the students the guide on paper or would read the statements aloud while students raised their hands. Now I use the website polleverywhere.com. I input the statement, and the website lets the students vote on whether they agree or disagree with it. I have the website up on my projector so the students can actually see when other students vote. Not only does this engage the students; it also allows everyone to participate, and it gives everyone the opportunity to tell the truth since responses are anonymous.
Another before-reading strategy is historical context. When we read To Kill a Mockingbird, the students need to understand what was happening in the setting and the time it was written. I have used multiple tools, depending on the class and time restraints. I have had students do research on a specific topic and then present their findings to the class via a Keynote presentation. My favorite tool, and students really enjoy it too, is the QR code. This does take some extra planning on the teacher's end, but it is engaging for the students. I create a web quest with QR codes that have links to websites. The students will then answer questions or do activities on the website. I have had them watch videos, summarize an article, and even draw a picture. Students learn more than they frequently would from doing this because they have to participate, and I have found that they want to because it's fun!
During Reading
There are numerous strategies I have used during reading. Summarizing, discussions, and formative assessments are the norms in any English classroom. I found that formative assessments are so much easier with the iPad. I can have the students use any whiteboard app to answer a question as we are reading, and then I can quickly see if students understand a concept by just having them raise their "board." I have also used an app called Socrative; teachers upload questions, and when the students finish the quiz, it puts the answers in a spreadsheet. Not only does this save time grading, but it lets me see quickly who does and does not understand a concept, thus allowing me to give immediate feedback.
Through my research, I have found many fun and effective summarizing tools. Fodey.com is a website where students can type out a short summary, and it generates a newspaper clipping that looks similar to the one in Figure 2.
Twitter is also a tool that can be used in the classroom. It limits users to 140 characters, so students have to really think about what the most important information or events are. Marzano (2010) believes that it is important for students to "clarify what's important." By limiting students to just a few sentences or words, they have to really analyze the text to get the most pertinent information. Comic strip apps are also a way to summarize through pictures and are another Marzano strategy of "encouraging graphic representations" (Marzano, 2010). Visual learners and students who struggle with writing benefit from this strategy.
After Reading
One of my favorite apps for assessment is Songify (and I have also used AutoRap). You just speak into the app, and it auto-tunes your voice, creating a song. I had students write a song from a character's point of view. At first, students were hesitant of this lesson, but then they saw how enjoyable it was. Another one of my favorite lessons was a podcast for Romeo and Juliet. Students had to write a podcast or radio show about the setting and characters from one scene from the play. They could be creative, but they were also showing me what they learned. I have used both of these as summative assessments of reading comprehension and characterization.
Conclusion
What I have shared are just a few of the tools and apps I have used in my classroom. We need to think outside the text to really engage our students. As we plan lessons with a digital text, we have to keep in mind the TPACK model so we aren't teaching the technology (which can very easily happen!). The standards are the place to start, but reading digitally makes it more engaging for the students and actually for the teacher too! In our technologically changing world, we have to prepare students for the future. They may not be using iPads when they get out into the workforce, but it's guaranteed that they will have some kind of technology. It is our responsibility as teachers to prepare students for their future, and today they must be digitally literate to succeed.
References
Gajowski, C. (2014, April). "The iPad and Student Engagement: Is There a Connection?" Scientific Learning Corporation, retrieved fromhttp://www.scilearn.com/blog/ipads-in-schools-student-engagement-intervention.php.
Koehler, Matthew J. (2011, May 13). "What Is TPACK?" TPACK.org, accessed July 11, 2014, at http://www.matt-koehler.com/tpack/what-is-tpack/.
Marzano, Robert J. (2010, March). "The Art and Science of Teaching/ Summarizing to Comprehend." Educational Leadership, vol. 67, no. 6,http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar10/vol67/num06/Summarizing-to-Comprehend.aspx.
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