When surfing the Internet for The CAIs, I found that there is a lot of information out there about CAIs, and the programs tend to be very expensive. To help narrow my search I used the article, Effective Reading Programs for Middle and High Schools: A Best Evidence Synthesis. This article that is on the site AdLit.org showed four programs that, according to the study, showed moderate evidence of effectiveness. Of these four programs two were CAIs, so I decided to read more about these programs. From the website I liked the Jostens' Compass Learning Odyssey program. I looked at their sample activities and information and thought my students would buy into it. However, in order to learn more I had to request a demo. This was not going to help me have something tangible right away to investigate. Also according to the article, it did not show any programs having strong evidence of effectiveness. Don't I want strong evidence of effectiveness of a program for my students, especially if it is going to cost my district money?
This research of showing no strong effectiveness evidence programs, along with the strongly suggested feedback about using Marzona's instructional strategies and GoogleLitTrips, have influenced me to change my concentration of CAIs to classroom reading strategies for comprehension and vocabulary using technology. The benefits of this change are the immediate implementation of the strategies and the cost effectiveness of not spending money on a CAI program.
Sites for Project
Putting the Pieces Together: Integrating Technology with Marzano's Instructional Strategies" Using this site to help strengthen teaching reading comprehension strategies. I already use a lot of the strategies for example the Read/ Write/Think Venn Diagrams when comparing different texts/characters/subjects, but I like that students will have a variety of graphic organizers to choose from when comparing/contrasting. I am going to post this site on my website, so students can choose the graphic organizers to show me their understanding of concepts and ideas.
All About Adolescent Literature (AdLit.org) This is another site that has an extensive choice of activities to do before/during /and after reading texts. I can also use these and have students reflect on what they have learned. For example I use exit slips, orally with the students (many times using it as an early leave game). Now when students are blogging they could pull in their own exit slip and use the the prompts to write about what they learned or observed.
Reading Online This site provides me with a lot of vocabulary activities do do with my students. Some of these activities lend itself to using technology to strengthen the learning. For example, students could make quizzes for each other on the vocabulary words. They can check each other's blogs/papers (highlighting and checking them) for use of vocabulary words and they can also create analogies for better comprehension of vocabulary words.
GoogleLitTrips This site is where my students will take a Lit Trip with My Brother Sam is Dead. We also may try The Breadwinner by Deorah Ellis. I will first have to reread this book because I have not read it in a few years, and I remember the characters going on a trip, but I am not sure how extensive it is. (I'll have to reread the novel!) I will be able to try a LitTrip out with my former students this summer who read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to help me with all the features of GoogleEarth and how to best utilize this technology.
I used research from this site that helped me shift my idea and help support the idea of not using CAIs, but using vocabulary and comprehension strategies with technology to increase student reading abilities. It states:
The research that met the criteria for inclusion in this guide included few studies involving the use of computer technology. Despite great interest in and increasing use of software for reading instruction in middle and high schools, there is little experimental or quasi-experimental research demonstrating the effectiveness of that work.The site also has checklists for carrying out recommendations for reading factors, that will be useful to me as I construct my lessons.
This site also has recommendation check-off lists that will help me in my thinking as I construct the lessons.
Technology can make it easier for teachers to give students feedback about their thinking and for students to revise their work (Bransford, 204).
Technology:
Because I would like students to be able to think about their own reading process and skills and be able to go at their own pace for that self-reflection I would like to investigate computer-assisted instruction (CAI). With CAI students can go at their own pace and not move ahead until they mastered the skill (s), get immediate feedback, be interactive and competitive with themselves to increase their scores, and be at their own level of reading ability. If students got a chance to be more interactive with the text and go at their own pace, I think they will be able to reflect better on their own reading skills. This is especially true for my struggling readers.
I would also like to investigate ways/sites to increase explicit vocabulary instruction and provide direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction. In 2008 research, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) found these two factors to be particularly strong when helping adolescent readers perform better (http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/adlit_pg_082608.pdf). I would like to investigate these reading factors too because the CAI programs maybe very costly and not be able to be implemented into my classroom or our middle school immediately.
Research:
In research by Kyaw Soe, Ph.D, Stan Koki, and Juvenna M. Chang, Ed.D they reviewed 17 research studies based on students K-12 and their research showed that CAI does have a positive effect on reading achievement. The researchers go on to say:
Computer applications to teach reading hold great promise as instructional tools to increase students’ engagement in reading, promote reading comprehension, and improve reading skills. CAI can assist teachers in developing a more individualized approach to reading instruction to meet the diverse range of students’ needs in classrooms. Teachers can be empowered to vary the pace of instruction, review student learning, teach and reinforce specific skills and strategies, improve motivation, and provide students with relevant and timely feedback.
Reading instruction aligned with computer-assisted instruction can serve as a powerful teaching tool to assist teachers in helping students reach their potential in reading.
Also in The International Society for Technology in Eucation's policy brief it found that:
Programs and applications must provide individualized feedback to students and teachers and must have the ability to tailor lessons to individual student needs. One major benefit of incorporating technology into instruction is to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Instead, technology applications can be tailored to meet individual student needs, provide feedback on student progress, and assist them to reflect on their work. Teachers can use data-driven decision making tools to adapt instruction to students’ specific needs. (See, e.g., Kulik2003, White and Frederiksen 1998). Moreover, educational technology provides multiple avenues for assessing student learning and allowing students to communicate what they have learned to their teachers and parents.
The above paragraph is what I am hoping the CAI will help to achieve in reading with my students in the classroom/school.
My Plan:
The Access Center funded by the US Department of Education gives me a good place to start since the site explains what CAI is, how it can be implemented, and additional references and resources (http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/computeraided_reading.asp). I have also started investigating other reading factors like vocabulary and comprehension sites that were suggested from the feedback that I received after posting my initial blog.
I plan on furthering by investigation by researching programs and websites that offer reading components that give my students feedback on their reading skills and resources to help enhance reading instruction.
I will use a couple previous students (students who now that babysit my girls) to get their thoughts about the sites/programs and if the sites/programs help them better understand their own reading skills. I may have wait for full implementation of CAI because of financial reasons, but the information/sites/strategies for vocabulary and comprehension can be implemented into my classroom in September.
I was informed last week that I will be teaching 8th grade English which means I will have most of the students who I taught last year for English. This may be very beneficial to my students and myself as I know who they are as readers/learners. I am thinking about having the students keep a reflection journal (maybe in a blog form), so I read about what they are learning about themselves as readers.
Four Common Places of Teaching:
The Teacher-
·Research and learn about websites that will help increase reading comprehension and vocabulary.
·Organize and plan the activities/strategies with the texts that are appropriate.
·Teach, monitor, and access student work that is created from websites.
·Have students reflect on their own learning process by blogging and analyzing their own work.
The Learner-
·Use websites and complete corresponding text activities.
·Understand use of technology and be able to use it as a tool for reading responses.
·Reflect on their own reading skills.
The Subject Matter -reading instruction/ self-reflection of reading skills
Great issue to address. With your building moving into the literacy part of MiBlSi, it’s great to be proactive and try things out instead of waiting for the assistance to come to you later on. This past year I often felt like fabulous resources were provided too late. Nobody looks forward to changing the routine after the school year has begun. The work you’ll do now will pay off when you get to jump right in at the beginning of the year.
Thanks for including the link to CAI. It helped me visualize what you want to do. This means of support sounds like a great way to accomplish your goal. I think working one-on-one with computers can really help keep even the “squirrely” kids on task– especially when things like headphones rule out distractions from peers.
You mentioned strengthening vocabulary as a means of building reader confidence. I would strongly recommend going this route. Explicit vocabulary instruction has some of the strongest research to back up its effectiveness. I have some great articles/links to share that can help back this up if you need support as you work on your project! July 13, 2010 4:20 AM
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Image 7- Venn Diagram
