Submit a Piece to the ISTE Literacy Network's Redesigned Professional Journal/Magazine Hybrid

Redesigned Professional Journal/Magazine Hybrid

 The Literacy Network hasn’t published its Journal, Literacy Special Interest for a while and we are anxious to get the next edition out.

EXAMPLES: LSI Issue #5 Winter 2016, LSI Issue #4 June 2015, LSI Issue #3 Spring 2015,  LSI Issue #2 May 2014,  LSI Issue #1 June 2013

We are anxious to receive articles, but would also like to expand the format to include shorter,  less formal items like the following (all of which would be a page to 2 pages in length). These still would list the author and include his or her professional profile. 

Moving forward, we now  intend to accept and publish:

- Full articles, as the journal has been publishing for the past few years (see past editions linked above in which you’ll find plenty of examples). However, those who would like to write and appear in the journal/magazine but who don’t want to do a full article may:

Review a book – Have you read or come across a book you feel connects particularly well with Literacy Instruction? One that others may have overlooked or been unaware of. Give a short summary and an explanation of its application to our field. If available, include a link to a page put up by the publisher or author or a video trailer.

-          Review a Resource - Have you found or used a resource that you feel Literacy Educators will want to know about and/or use in their work? Write a short summary and explain what the resource has to offer, its advantages, etc. Include a link so that colleagues can access it. EXAMPLE: http://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2017/01/resource-review-write-about-one-stop.html

Recommend an Article – Have you come across an article (one that can be accessed without a paid subscription) that you feel is of particular interest to Literacy Educators? Write a short introductory recommendation, excise some short passage to quote – ones you feel quickly deliver some of the important gist, offer an opinion about the veracity and applicability of what’s discussed in the article, and include a link. EXAMPLE: http://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2017/02/article-recommendation-theres-key-way.html

-          Spot and Describe a Trend - An interesting content item to produce for our publication would address an early spotted trend. Such a piece might include a series (a minimum of 3) that all point to and establish a commonality around, a concept, or approach, or interest of interest in something for Literacy Educators.

If you are interested in submitting a piece please email literacyspecialinterest@gmail.com

Literacy and Creativity: Essential Skills for 21st Century Students

Spring 2017 ISTE Professional Learning Series
The recording of this session and the slides that were presented are now available (links below)

 













  
Presented by Mark Gura and Evelyn Wassel (2/15/2017)

Discover approaches for making creativity an instructional goal and learn more about the connection between creativity and literacy. We’ll share examples of activities, projects and technology resources. We’ll answer your questions and suggest ways you can learn more.

For the session recording:   http://iste.adobeconnect.com/p3rhjw925qg/ 
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For the slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5tUrttFWf7iejFQWEVpZ0RLWE0/view 

 
The ISTE Professional Learning Series  upcoming offerings

ARTICLE RECOMMENDATION: There’s a key way to get kids to read more books—and enjoy it

ARTICLE RECOMMENDATION:

ARTICLE: There’s a key way to get kids to read more books—and enjoy it

SOURCE: QUARTZ
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: https://qz.com/897957/how-to-get-kids-to-read-more-books/

RECOMMENDED BY: Mark Gura 

 


Teach kids to love reading, not how to read.

READER REACTION: While this article seems intended to introduce the reader to a ‘for fee’ instructional content providing service (Epic!) the author, a principal with this provider, makes some very good points in it. Importantly, she points out that “All those badges and avatars won’t get kids to persevere with a book if it isn’t geared to the child’s correct reading level or the subject matter isn’t of interest.” And that “Kids look for content that excites them, for language they understand, and for the experience a book will bring them.” Coming from someone who, as she explains, has extensive experience in the Gaming Industry, and is fully aware of the motivational aspects of Gaming and how some instructional resource providers attempt to tap it in order to get kids to read, she see technology as a way to pair kids with real books’ the books, themselves, being the ultimate motivation for reading through the appeal of their themes and content and accessible language. I’ve seen this approach taken by other resource providers and I think it’s an important one that fortunately technology greatly enables.

OPENING 100+ WORDS: “It has become conventional thought that gamification—the application of game-style challenges and rewards to traditional tasks—is changing the way kids learn. If there’s something being taught, it’s almost certain there’s now a gamified way to learn it.

Making teaching methods more entertaining is clearly beneficial for kids; earning badges and unlocking avatars makes online games exciting and engaging, and the same methods can be applied to learning tasks. But as great as it has been in many cases, gamified learning isn’t a long-term solution for children and literacy. Moreover, it’s dragging us away from what the fundamental reward should actually be: reading itself…”

As the founder of what was once one of the largest social-gaming companies, I understand what makes gaming work. But I also understand its limitations…”

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: https://qz.com/897957/how-to-get-kids-to-read-more-books/

RESOURCE REVIEW: Write About – A One Stop Digital Writing Community

By Dr. Rose Reissman

Write About www.writeabout.com

OVERVIEW: A Great Destination for Any Teacher who wants a quick start safe , secure and multi-optioned student writing community anytime anyplace- right away!

You are a brand new teacher educator with teaching writing as one of your grade school or ELA Middle school or SS Middle School or Secondary school responsibilities.  You are a competent as needed writer for your own professional level, but are not a writer per se.  Yet suddenly you have a slew of writing genres- informational, reflective, memoir, lists, persuasive, narrative and argument- which you not only must teach but will also have to maintain portfolios of your individual students’ work .  In addition, you have to develop growth metrics and data analytics of the students’ growth.  You want them to be truly engaged in their writing as well as develop a set of English writing conventions skills and have an authentic audience of their class, you and other readers you prescreen.  You want to supply them with writing ideas that stimulate varied credible imaginative responses and or detail backed reasonable positions on interesting topics.  But you are brand new to teaching writing per se and especially  writing genres that align to rigorous standards plus you worry about the privacy of their writings, how frequently you can make private comments on them and the danger of their being subject to unwelcome and inappropriate resources or reactions to their writings.  Of course , you are required to have a student digitally connected writing community with authentic feedback up and running within a few days and you must start accumulating data to substantiate your individual students’ writing skill progress plus your aggregate class process for school administrative and district review.  Your literacy coach is deep into test analytics, where are you to turn?

Go to www.writeabout.com.  This rich and ever evolving resource was built three years ago by two teachers who were grappling with the same issues that challenge you and even your veteran colleagues who are suddenly being asked to teach a specific genre of writing –informational or procedural or argument or reflection in their middle or secondary school content classes.  The site has a vast and growing collection of what they term IDEAS which are also prompts which are conveniently set up according to grade and topic or writing genre.  You can filter and choose those which fit to your necessary writing skills or curricula focus or other thematic goal.  You can easily set up individual student accounts with your managing them and levels of viewing them which include you and the student alone, other students in your class, selected invited others for authentic feedback and finally the public.  You can leave voice comments on your students work as well as written ones and your students can add in audio detailing their process, challenges and key points as they share their writing with you.  During the ongoing process which also allows for students to just post as they would journal their daily thoughts or experiences on their own demand and allows others if they like within your group to react to that post.  You the teacher will edit and control the sharing of the posts but as in any writing community student members can as they desire log in posts or react to a variety of idea posts you have shared or look among other groups whose work you preselect for them to comment on distanced peer class study.  What piqued the reviewer’s interest was a group writing about tech applications and one of aspiring authors, student community members can within groups you share select those they want engage with as digital writers.  For ESL newly arrived students or spatial learners or auditory learners there are available a spectrum of ideas that are visually delivered and students can react to them plus to other peers who have chosen the same Idea.

The site includes two case studies featuring teachers and students who are engaging successfully using the resource and loving it.  For the highly creative teacher who is perhaps also a writer outside of education or a veteran with tons of ideas he or she has evolved, the site welcomes contribution and commentary to grow its site resources as would any virtual writers’ community.  Teachers can become what the site terms as “Rockstar” contributors, plus students having difficulty with online writing can enhance their writing with visuals and audio in their native language.  Even more important for both student writers eager to build a portfolio of digital writings that evidence growth in metrics and in skills over time for high school and college  and for teachers who get transfer or students moving up a grade or academic class, the student portfolios can be transferred intact from school to school or within district.  A true authenticator and necessary product based outcome for students and teachers.

From me the veteran teacher reviewer and lifelong writer from childhood to you the new teacher or you the teacher new to mandated teaching of writing in ESL or SS or Science- This is such a rich source that you can so come to own, that it will excite and engage not only your students representing a broad spectrum of writing and reading achievement levels and interests, but will also captivate your veteran mentors as well.  So beat them to it and get started with Write About.  Let them follow your lead.