Integrating Technology in the Reading Classroom

Reading classes in the 21^st century cover much more than novels, short stories, and poems. They involve nonfiction texts, advertisements, photographs, and technology-based materials. As literacy teachers in 2018, it is essential that we ensure our students understand that the word “text” can take on many meanings and the things we do with text can take on many forms beyond highlighting, annotating, and writing responses or taking tests.

When we integrate technology in the reading classroom, we provide students with opportunities for engagement and real world application. Technology provides the opportunity for students to build background knowledge and provides the opportunity for teachers to scaffold instruction and show students that computers are for more than games and social media (Barone & Wright, 2008). When reading a novel, students can research information to provide context for the setting by searching a city on Google maps, taking a virtual field trip to the location, or viewing a video that allows the students to experience the setting themselves.

Beyond that, technology integration in the reading classroom allows students to interact with text as part of a learning community. One such website is Scrible which allows teachers to upload text from websites, PDF files, or Word documents, and share them with students. Once students access the text in Scrible, they can annotate the text, work collaboratively with other students, and share their annotations with the teacher. The work can also be shared to Facebook and Twitter to interact with reading communities beyond the classroom. Teachers can use the annotations as formative assessments and students have a running record of their work. As an added bonus, students can upload their own text, which allows for differentiation within the assignment. Students can work with the concepts being taught and assessed in class but apply the skills to topics that interest them (Ward, 2016).

Another excellent tool for annotations is the website VideoAnt. In the state of Pennsylvania, ELA teachers are expected to compare digital and print versions of text. This tool allows for students to verbally annotate videos as well as take notes throughout the video. VideoAnt creates a timestamp where students choose to annotate the video. This would easily meet the standard of comparing digital and print versions of a text without the teacher having to create the typical Venn diagram or compare and contrast worksheet we so often see during this task. If a teacher can find clips of certain films on the internet, they can link these clips and students can annotate. This would also be a way to scaffold close-reading instruction by getting students to interact with a “text.” Once students are comfortable annotating videos, teachers can then move on to getting students’ thoughts on paper (Ward, 2016).

Another great tool for reading teachers is the Kaizena shortcut that can be used in Google Docs. Kaizena allows teachers to provide typed feedback to students or teachers can verbally give feedback to students, cutting down on the time it takes to grade essays and allowing teachers to provide more specific and timely feedback to help students improve their skills. The Kaizena shortcut in Google Docs also allows teachers to insert links to lessons or videos that specifically help students improve the areas of weakness in their writing or understanding of the text (Ward, 2016). So if a student is not getting a specific concept, the teacher can either create a lesson specifically for the student or can link directly to a lesson or a video that would provide remediation for the student. With Kaizena, not only is the feedback timely and specific, but students are also immediately provided with the steps to improve that area.

Works Cited

Barone, D., & Wright, T.E. (2008, December). Literacy instruction with digital and media technologies. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 292-302.

Ward, F. (2016, March). Integrating technology and literacy. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/integrating-technology-and-literacy-frank-ward.