Skouge, J., Rao, K., & Boisvert, P. (2007, August). Promoting Early Literacy for Diverse Learners Using Audio and Video Technology. Early Childhood Ed

The article presented a much common theme of the lure of the technological age, and its implications toward literacy. The article gave the notion that many people today are looking at technology as a distraction for our good readers. That most households are filled with families that are avid buyers of video games, ipods, and other technological devices. There is a certain stigma that is being placed upon technology. Their are many people who blame technology for the loss of reading skills in the early childhood setting. The children have become distracted by all of the multimedia and that reading for pleasure is at a constant decline.

The article presents different ideas for affordable, and teacher friendly multimedia to be included within the classroom. The first thing that was of my interest, was the use of podcasts for audio story books for the classroom. The article explained that this can help the teacher and students in many different ways. One of them being in a regular classroom, and having a student turn the pages of the book as it is read to them over a "Boom Box." This would free the teacher up for doing other work, and could help give the teacher more free time to work with students individually. I have heard many times that in good teaching the students should be more tired then you at the end of the day. I still do not know how that is attainable, but this does take a step in the right direction as far as I am concerned. Another, aspect about the audio story is that it can help students with both cognitive exceptionalities, and for students that are visually impaired. The article introduced the use of clickers for students with exceptionalities in the creation of their own photo journal to help build fluency. The picture cues would be a great asset for them to have in developing early literacy skills. This is also true for the ESL students in making the transition from their native language toward the english language.

Furthermore, the article presents many different ways of fusing technology into an all encompassing literacy classroom. The article gave step by step instructions for audio storybooks, and is an easy to follow resource for technology integration within the classroom.

Teacher-Created Electronic Books: Integrating Technology to Support Readers With Disabilities by Joan A. Rhosed, Tammy M. Milby

The new rules of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in the U.S. has given us the ultimatum that every student and teacher is held accountable for their actions in the classroom. Today, students with special needs are being identified at a hugely increasing rate. The need for one on one instruction and interaction is needed to an extremely large degree in the classroom. Some schools offer the support needs for students and some cannot afford enough aids, or special education teachers to fully create a greater climate for learning. In this article it discusses the need  for something more... Many of the students in today's society are constantly in need of interaction in order to keep both motivation and learning very high. 

Therefore, this article gives us a solution in which we are studying now, which is using electronic books or e-books to help boost learning. The use of electronic books has been proven throughout many different special education classrooms across the U.S. The electronic books can either be purchased in a store or online for a price. But, another way of introducing them without having to pay any money would be through Microsoft PowerPoint. A teacher can use text, graphics, and a voice over. This has been reported to be able to boost both fluency, and comprehension. The only cost is really the teachers time and effort. This time and effort is something that will pay off substantially in the future, when students need differentiated instruction within the classroom. The use of technology in the classroom is something that is very important, and is a skill that will be used significantly more year by year.

Multiliteracies, E-Literature and English Teaching

Students in todays classrooms are becoming more increasingly technologically literate by the day. They spend endless amounts of time online, playing video games, and in general working on the computer. This article provides the right ideas and know-how in order to give a budding teacher a place to begin with their students. Len Unsworth gives us a plethora of websites, and electronic media materials for us as educators to get our hands on. The article also brings up the point that many teachers out there are not utilizing the technology that is right in front of them. There is definately a digital divide among students and educators. The article posed the problem that we are not reaching our students through their interest, and therefore we are doing a disservice to not utilize it.

I agree with the article, whole heartedly, and was quite impressed by the resources that were listed. I like the thought of utilizing online children's books that read aloud to your students. This I feel.. can help students build fluency, and will provide individual help to struggling readers. This will help all of the students feel included in stories that otherwise would leave students out. I felt that not only were the early students involved, but their were opportunities for older readers, such as through the book Mice and Men by Steinbeck. I also, took in consideration the idea of using the Middle Earth website to have students act out a book. All in all I felt that this article was filled with interesting information on different websites and activities through media, and is an important read.