Beyond the App: How to Leverage Technology

Posted on May 10, 2021 by TDWolsey

by Thomas DeVere Wolsey

Nance Wilson and I talked with Mike Kranitz of EventSquid about #beyondtheapp #bta Beyond the App: Cause and Conference, which strives to support teachers’ professional development and coach literacy experts in one of the most creative ways possible in response to COVID, and their model may just change the game.

E8: Beyond the App: How to Leverage Technology to Give a Face to Face Experience — Eventsquid

Beyond the App Podcast

“We wanted them to know that they weren’t alone in the things that were causing them to struggle and we wanted them to know that people whose books they read… are also people they can talk and work together with.” – Dr. Thomas Wolsey


“It’s about leveraging the technology that’s out there to think about, ‘Well, what could this do for me that would be better and or different and would allow me to have similar quality practices that I had in the face to face?’” – Dr. Nance Wilson

#technology #EdTech #auc_gse

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Shift and Share

Posted on April 5, 2021 by TDWolsey

by Thomas DeVere Wolsey

Recently, the Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) at The American University in Cairo sponsored a virtual symposium themed, Inspiration and Innovation: Conversations Around Emerging Pedagogy in Our Next Normal. The symposium featured faculty presentations called “Shift and Share.” Faculty presented the same presentation three times to ensure that participants were in small enough groups to interact. My presentation (March 10, 2021) was titled “Navigating the River: Teaching and Metacognition for Challenging Times” which you can view below.

A number of really good workshops, plenary sessions, and shift and share session recordings and resources are linked here. Check out the ideas!

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Beyond the App Launches Today!

Posted on November 5, 2020 by TDWolsey

By Thomas DeVere Wolsey

It’s here: Beyond the App launches today for middle-grade educators. You can still join us and stretch your teaching muscles this weekend. We begin at noon Eastern Standard Time / 7 PM Cairo Time. Register here https://lnkd.in/gQjiYVP 

and for Egypt here: https://lnkd.in/dBa6ZF4 

#BeyondTheApp #literacyforall #auc_gse

Filed under: Castek, digital reading, literacy events, Professional Development, Reading conference, Wolsey | Tagged: | Leave a comment »

Beyond the App Begins in One Week!

Posted on October 29, 2020 by TDWolsey

by Thomas DeVere Wolsey

Ready to Zoom Beyond the App? 

There is just one week left before we engage teachers and teacher educators from Egypt to New York and Mauritius to San Diego. Are you with us? 

Beyond the App
Read More about Beyond the App
Co-planning with the Experts
Beyond the App invites teachers to interact with experts in online and traditional literacies.
Tim Rasinski

Meet the President of AUC, President of SUNY Cortland, and the Minister of Education in Egypt. 

You will have a chance to interact and ask questions. 

President Erik Bitterbaum
Doug Fisher & Nancy Frey

Register now to save your place. 

Egyptian & Africa teachers, click bit.ly/BeyondTheAppEgypt 

US and Canada, register here bit.ly/beyondtheapp

Spend up to 6 Hours Working with these Literacy Leaders

#BeyondTheApp @TDWolsey Graphic design by Abd-Elrhman Elsadany

I’m Going Beyond the App in my virtual classroom. Find out how.

Filed under: Apps, Castek, collaboration, digital reading, literacy events, new literacies, reading comprehension, Reading conference, technology integration, Wolsey | Leave a comment »

Register Now for Beyond the App

Posted on October 20, 2020 by TDWolsey

by Thomas DeVere Wolsey & Nance Wilson

Registration for Beyond the App is open now!

Beyond the App is an interactive online conference for middle grades teachers, teacher educators, parents, and educational leaders. For just $10 you get to work with experts in the field to improve your online teaching of literacy.

You can read more about it in this press release: http://www2.cortland.edu/news/detail.dot?id=a01e318d-2666-4ecd-818c-3f7a144744dc

Visit our website and register (Your registration helps us fund the conference in the future): https://bit.ly/beyondtheapp

If you are registering from Africa, please send a note for special instructions to BeyondTheApp@Cortland.edu

In addition, participants can choose to donate to our EgyptReads! Initiative to put books in school libraries.

Some of our speakers:

Jack C Berckemeyer
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
Maha Bali
Vicky Mac Arthur Cardullo
Zoi Philippakos
Troy Hicks
Emily Smothers Howell
Ian O’Byrne
Danny Brassell
Keisha Rembert
Jill Castek
Timothy Rasinski
Julie Coiro
Richard Beach
AND MORE!

Filed under: assessment, Castek, digital reading, digital tools, Influencers, Literacy Beat, literacy events, new literacies, reading comprehension, Reading conference, Wolsey | Leave a comment »

Teatro de lectores | Readers’ Theatre

Posted on May 16, 2018 by TDWolsey

~Thomas DeVere Wolsey

Available in English/inglés and adapted from: 

Lapp, D., Fisher, D., & Wolsey, T. D. (2009).  Literacy growth for every child: Differentiated small-group instruction K-6. New York, NY: Guilford Publishers.

Un teatro para lectores es una actuación informal en la que los estudiantes en grupos pequeños leen un guion en voz alta. El guion puede ser preparado por adelantado por el maestro o los estudiantes pueden crear sus propios guiones. El ensayo les permite a los estudiantes practicar ante una audiencia con sus compañeros de clase. En el proceso, vuelven a leer el texto muchas veces y aumentan su fluidez de lectura.

readers' theatre

Teachers in Guatemala City demonstrate readers’ theatre.

Los puntos fuertes del lenguaje y la lectura se desarrollan a través del teatro de lectura cuando pequeños grupos de estudiantes vuelven a leer los textos en su nivel de lectura independiente y los transforman en un guion de teatro de lectores que pueden representar más tarde para sus compañeros. La relectura, que es importante para la comprensión, también proporciona la seguridad de que los estudiantes hablen públicamente durante la actuación. Todos los estudiantes, incluidos aquellos que son muy competentes, aquellos a quienes todavía les cuesta alcanzar la competencia, y los que son estudiantes de un segundo idioma tendrán un crecimiento positivo a medida que participan en las representaciones teatrales de los lectores (Goodman, 1978). En estos grupos de colaboración, todos los niños aumentan su fluidez en la lectura y el habla al compartir textos con sus compañeros (Martinez, Roser, & Strecker, 1998/1999). Estas actuaciones se pueden compartir dentro de su clase y también con otras clases. Un beneficio para la clase que se visita es que una vez que los oyentes están expuestos a nuevos libros, a menudo claman por leerlos

El énfasis en el teatro de lectores está en apoyar el crecimiento de cada niño en fluidez de lectura y lenguaje oral. Esto sucede naturalmente si los estudiantes, con la ayuda del maestro, seleccionan sus roles y tienen tiempos de relectura y de práctica adecuados. La meta del maestro debe que todos los estudiantes trabajen dentro de sus niveles de comodidad y competencia y que tengan experiencias exitosas. Todo el grupo también puede discutir cómo actuar con el uso de títeres, personajes de fieltro o programas de animación gráfica.

Las ventajas del Teatro de lectores incluyen*:

  • Promoción de la fluidez, incluida la expresión o prosodia
  • Brinda a los estudiantes la oportunidad de elegir, ensayar y presentar guiones cortos de tipo obra ante los compañeros de clase y otras personas sin el estrés de memorizar líneas o usar disfraces o accesorios elaborados
  • Proporciona oportunidades de lectura repetida a medida que los estudiantes practican antes de la actuación
  • Maximiza el compromiso de los estudiantes ya que cada estudiante en el grupo tiene un rol.
  • Aparece menos desalentador que otros textos ya que un alumno lee una parte en lugar de todo el texto solo
  • Se adapta a una amplia gama de habilidades con roles o partes de nivel de dificultad variado.

Los profesores:

  • Seleccionan los textos. Los textos narrativos con mucho diálogo funcionan mejor.
  • Preparan los guiones (las fuentes incluyen guiones preparados comercialmente, sitios web y guiones escritos por el docente o los alumnos); resaltan las partes específicas en los guiones de los estudiantes
  • Modelan leyendo el texto en voz alta
  • Asignan los estudiantes a grupos
  • Proporcionan retroalimentación y monitorean a medida que los grupos pequeños practican

Los estudiantes:

  • Leen el guion en silencio o con un compañero
  • Vuelven a leer en grupo con los estudiantes, leyendo diferentes roles, en turnos
  • Negocian y asignan roles
  • Leen y releen de forma individual, centrándose en la parte o rol asignado (pueden practicar fuera de la escuela y en casa)
  • Practica la relectura del guion con otros en grupo
  • Hacen etiquetas, tarjetas o marionetas que los estudiantes sostienen para identificar a su personaje
  • Deciden dónde se colocarán los estudiantes durante la actuación
  • Actúan con el guion en la mano

El teatro de lectores no es una gran producción y no es necesario que los estudiantes memoricen líneas, usen un micrófono o se pongan disfraces.

* Adaptado de los materiales proporcionados por la Universidad de Texas en Austin. https://buildingrti.utexas.org/instructional-materials/fluency-fourth-grade

Recursos y ejemplos:

Teatro de lectores- 02 La Honestidad

https://www.kinderbilingue.com/collections/reading-activities/products/teatro-de-lectores-01-la-responsabilidad-readers-theater-in-spanish?variant=39500372300

University of Texas at Austin Resources in Spanish and English

https://buildingrti.utexas.org/instructional-materials/fluency-spanish-readers-theater-scripts

Tareas del teatro de lectores

Readers’ Theatre Tasks en-es (descargar PDF)

El coyote y el conejo

http://bibliotecadigital.ilce.edu.mx/Colecciones/index.php?clave=huasteca&pag=7

Ejemplos

https://youtu.be/-2lyNbteztk

https://youtu.be/9i88od41w0s

https://youtu.be/bgd0ieZx4RU

Referencias

Goodman, J. A. (1978).  Teaching the total language with readers’ theatre.  [ERIC document number ED 191321].

Martinez, M., Roser, N. L., & Strecker, S. (1998/1999). I never thought I could be a star: A readers’ theatre ticket to fluency. The Reading Teacher, 52, 326-333.

 

 

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Readers’ Theatre | Teatro de lectores

Posted on May 16, 2018 by TDWolsey

by Thomas DeVere Wolsey

This post is available in Spanish/español.

Adapted from

Lapp, D., Fisher, D., & Wolsey, T. D. (2009).  Literacy growth for every child: Differentiated small-group instruction K-6. New York, NY: Guilford Publishers.

A readers’ theatre is an informal performance as students in small groups read a script aloud.  The script may be prepared in advance by the teacher or the students may create their own scripts from narrative texts they have read. Rehearsal permits students to practice in advance for an audience of their classmates. In the process, they reread the text many times and increase their reading fluency.  In this post, a rationale and online resources are shared.

Readers' Theatre Teatro de lectores

Screencapture source: https://youtu.be/bgd0ieZx4RU

Language and reading strengths are developed through reader’s theatre as small groups of students re-read texts at their independent reading level and transform them into a readers’ theater script that they can perform at a later time for their classmates.  Rereading, which is important for comprehension, also provides the security for students to speak publicly during the performance. All students including those who are very proficient, those who are struggling toward proficiency, and second language learners will have positive growth as they engage in readers theatre performances. In these collaborative groups, all children increase their reading and speaking fluency as they share texts with their peers. These performances can be shared within your class and also with other classes. A benefit for the class being visited is that once listeners are exposed to new books they often clamor to read them.

The emphasis in readers’ theatre is on supporting each child’s growth in reading fluency and oral language. This happens naturally if students, with the aid of the teacher, select their roles and have adequate rereading and practice time. The teacher’s goal should be that all students work within their comfort and proficiency levels and have successful experiences. The entire group can also discuss how to perform it themselves with the use of puppets, felt board characters, or graphic animation programs.

The advantages of Readers’ Theatre include*:

  • Promotes fluency, including expression or prosody
  • Affords students the opportunity to choose, rehearse, and present short play-like scripts to classmates and others without the stress of memorizing lines or using elaborate costumes and props
  • Provides opportunities for repeated reading as students practice before the performance
  • Maximizes students’ engagement as every student in the group has a part
  • Appears less daunting than other texts since a student reads one part rather than the entire text alone
  • Accommodates a wide range of reading abilities with roles or parts of varying difficulty

Teachers:

  • Select texts. Narrative texts with much dialog work best.
  • Prepare scripts (sources include commercially prepared scripts, Web sites, and scripts written by teacher or students); highlight specific parts on students’ scripts
  • Model by reading text aloud
  • Assign students to groups
  • Provide feedback and monitor as small groups practice

Students:

  • Read script silently or with a partner
  • Reread in group with students taking turns reading different roles
  • Negotiate and assign roles or parts
  • Read and reread individually, focusing on assigned part or role (can practice outside of school and at home)
  • Practice rereading script with others in group
  • Make labels, cards, or puppets that students hold to identify their character
  • Decide where students will be positioned during performance
  • Perform with script in hand

Readers’ Theatre is not a big production, and students are not required to memorize lines, use a microphone, or wear costumes.

*Adapted from materials provided by the University of Texas at Austin. https://buildingrti.utexas.org/instructional-materials/fluency-fourth-grade

Resources and examples:

Teatro de lectores

https://www.kinderbilingue.com/collections/reading-activities/products/teatro-de-lectores-01-la-responsabilidad-readers-theater-in-spanish?variant=39500372300

University of Texas at Austin Resources in Spanish and English

https://buildingrti.utexas.org/instructional-materials/fluency-spanish-readers-theater-scripts

Readers’ Theatre Tasks en-es (download PDF)

El coyote y el conejo

http://bibliotecadigital.ilce.edu.mx/Colecciones/index.php?clave=huasteca&pag=7

Examples on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/-2lyNbteztk

https://youtu.be/9i88od41w0s

https://youtu.be/bgd0ieZx4RU

Filed under: children's literature, collaboration, Español, Wolsey | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

Preserving Indigenous Language

Posted on January 11, 2018 by TDWolsey

Cultivating home languages in the classroom. 

By Thomas DeVere Wolsey, Alan N. Crawford, and Frances Dixon

On a mountaintop surrounded by clouds and rainforest, students gather for classes. The students here all came from the surrounding villages where Q’anjob’al, a Mayan language, is spoken.  The school serves students aged 12 to 18, and many go on to university. At times, students have even been known to inflate their ages so they can attend; the desire to learn is that great.

 

 

The students at Maya Jaguar come to preserve their heritage as Mayans, to learn Spanish, and to bring the best of the world beyond their villages back home. Alumni from Maya Jaguar return to the villages as nurses and teachers.  Most of the teachers at the school speak Q’anjob’al and Spanish.

To read the entire article, please download Preserving Indigenous Language (click the link) or join the International Literacy Association to stay current with literacy topics and issues all year long.

Resources:

 

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Exploring Literacy in the Disciplines: What Disciplinary Experts & Teachers Think

Posted on July 5, 2017 by TDWolsey

III International Colloquium on Languages, Cultures, Identity in Schools and Society

By Thomas DeVere Wolsey

4:30 – 5:25 PM, July 6, 2017, Room 2, Palacio de la Audiencia Cultural Center

Soria, Spain
For this presentation, the researchers brought literacy professionals, professors, experts from several disciplines, and teachers together to inform each other and us about the role language and literacy plays in their respective disciplines. Their conversations highlighted how the literacies are used during an “at work day”, how professors can share this information with perspective teachers, and exactly what that means for middle and high school students (Draper, Broomhead, Jensen, & Siebert, 2010).

Presentation slides [ PDF]

Literacy in the Disciplines Interview Project page. Visit the conference site here.

Literacy in the Disciplines

Literacy in the Disciplines

International Literacy Association Pre-Convention Institute

Developing Conceptual Knowledge Through Oral & Written Language  – Literacy Practices in Schools and in the Workplace: Match or Mismatch? #ILA2017

  1. PowerPoint  (Opens in Box.com)
  2. Introduction to Literacy in the Disciplines PDF
  3. Writing in the Disciplines by Time and Source PDF
  4. Accuracy in Digital Writing Environments: Read Up, Ask Around, Double Check [Free Access – Scroll down to find the article].

devere-bernadette-at-ila-july-2017-2-e1500226951644.jpg

Bernadette & DeVere representing Literacy Beat at #ILA2017

Reference:

Draper, R.J., Broomhead, P., Jensen, A.P., Nokes, J.D., & Siebert D. (Eds.). (2010). (Re)Imagining content-area literacy instruction. New York: Teachers College Press.

 

 

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Story Shares – A Digital Library for Teens and Young Adults

Posted on February 5, 2017 by TDWolsey

By Thomas DeVere Wolsey

Recently, I participated in a Twitter chat hosted by the International Literacy Association #ILAChat and Sam Patterson (@SamPatue) on the topic of the Association’s latest What’s Hot in Literacy report.  While there, I met the Story Shares team.

Story Shares in their own words, “Story Shares is a non-profit organization devoted to inspiring reading practice and improving literacy skills.”  The organization leverages technology to bring books worth reading to teens and young adults who struggle. As most readers of Literacy Beat who work with adolescents know, finding material that is not overwhelming is a challenge.

Story Shares Home Page Screenshot

Story Shares Home Page

Story Shares has created an online space that provides opportunities for writers to publish their work in a variety of genres and fills the need of teen readers for something meaty but not impossible to read.

Romeo and Me

Story Shares Digital Book

The online book collection is searchable by the usual indicators (author, title)
but also by interest level and three readability indices.  The books are easy to navigate by chapter and by scrolling. Controls include a bookmark, a word lookup tool that brings up definitions of challenging words, and a tool to mark a book for reading later. Some readers prefer books on paper, so Story Shares makes some of their collection available for purchase as a paperbound book.

Because some readers benefit from hearing the words of a book read aloud, the Story Shares team has built in a text-to-speech reader. As the reader speaks the words, the written words are highlighted on the page.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela: In His Own Words for iPad. Author: Ruth Chasek

I sampled the books on my computer and on my iPad. Both worked perfectly with the books on Story Shares.

For authors who wish to write for the teen and young adult audience, a user-friendly interface allows the writer to focus on the narrative and not the technology.  I tried it and found the graphic user interface (GUI) very easy to use.

Because Story Shares is a nonprofit organization that serves students around the world, they also appreciate donations. Just click here to help them out.

Filed under: differentiation, digital content creation, digital reading, electronic texts, Wolsey | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

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