I finished chapters 8-10 with new appreciation for all the
meanings embedded in the simple term ‘interaction.’ Before, I kind of thought
about interaction as pretty negative-- mostly about the potential for passivity when it comes to children and screens. Several of you in GRDG 625 raise this
concern in your comments and blog posts. You wonder: WHERE ARE THE
ADULTS?!!!! Just what is the role of teachers
when it comes to language and literacy using technology? And, aren’t
kids already getting too much screen time? Why should we promote more?
This book adds so much to how I think about interaction and
technology. It’s not either-or, as the
authors remind us, but both-and. After learning
about the innovative reading and learning technologies at the MIT Media Lab, Sesame
Workshop, University of Houston, and many other sites, now I understand ‘interaction’
as:
*mostly about people-people connections, as well as people
in relation to media and screens
*totally against being ‘passive’ (it’s about
ACTION)
*multi-scale: small-scale
(parent-child), medium-scale (parent-child-educator-researcher), and large-scale
(online networks of parents, educators, researchers striving to use technology to
promote quality early learning)
The MIT Media Lab link above goes to a recent video for the
Finger Reader described in our text (scroll down to view—it’s only a few
minutes!). The video focuses on this
tool as part of the everyday lives of people with low-vision and blindness. But
our authors present a scenario for using it to offer inclusion for struggling readers in classroom reading
activities. The engineering may still
take time to perfect the tool, and it will need funding to make it
accessible. But if we’re not open to
even thinking about wide uses of everyday technologies to promote interaction and inclusion, we will slam-shut too many
doors before they truly can be opened.
To be sure, the authors raise red flags. It is hard to
figure out how to prod caregivers and children towards productive behaviors and interactions with technology. Recent research about the
Goldilocks Zone and Storytelling Sweet Spot drive this point home.
With this in mind, I dove into the Ready Rosie materials through University of Houston’s
and can’t wait to find out more. Here’s
a thumbnail sketch about their approach to family engagement. I
noticed Rosie is part of the Rochester NY Universal Pre-School program, as well
as Head Start in Burlington VT.
Remember, the idea here is to use really simple videos to
promote easy ways for family-based learning and engagement to happen. Parents sign-up
to get these videos via apps, and teachers can provide ‘playlists’ making use
of a bank of hundreds of videos so they reinforce school learning. Check out
this sample video: Math
Dice Game
I’d love to hear what you think about some of the programs
featured in these chapters once you have a chance to check them out online. How do they promote positive interaction,
the kind you value as a teacher? Choose one to explore and post a comment about
what you learn.
The program I chose to take a closer look at was a program featured in chapter 10, called the Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) program. This program takes place in Texas and allows trained professionals to help mothers of babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The program starts off with a home visit where a trained professional comes to a home and talks to the parent about what their needs are and what the needs of the child are. The professional will then show the parent videos of strategies of ways the parent can meet those needs. The parent is then able to practice the strategy while the professional records them. They will watch the video back, talk about how the strategy went and then the parent works on the strategy until the next visit. This program allows parents to get hands on help in the areas where they need it. At first, I was a little skeptical of the use of a video camera to record the parents, but the text said that many parents like the ability to see themselves completing the strategy.
ReplyDeleteThis encourages interactions by using the I do, we do, you do method that teachers use in many lesson plans. The caregiver is able to see the strategy used in context through a video, they are able to practice it with the guidance of the professional and then they are able to practice it on their own without help. This allows caregivers to get a hands-on approach to learning new strategies that will help their child succeed.
https://www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/programs/play-and-learning-strategies-pals/
This sounds a lot like Early Intervention Services that are available to infants and toddlers with cognitive delays. However, it sounds like this program is more of a preventative regardless of the child's cognitive abilities. This program sounds like a great idea, especially for first time parents who aren't familiar with what to expect developmentally.
DeleteI really enjoyed reading the chapters for this week. I think the programs discussed offer great resources and great apps to help parents engage in their children's early literacy development. The PALS program is a brilliant way to help parents see exactly what needs to be done for their child's education and how it can be done. Promoting engagement, especially on the parents end, can really help to build the relationship between children and their parents during their early literacy journey. I can envision Ready Rosie appealing to parents who sustain busy lives and will be more likely to engage in a video with their child via phone.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I still am very uneasy about this idea as a whole. As a Literacy Specialist, this is what I have been educated to do. I have been trained and educated to build a relationship with students and uncover their strengths and their weaknesses. I still struggle with technology being the source of education. I also struggle with the notion that parents are resorting and relying on apps, hoping to build a relationship with their child through technology. I have seen first hand the negative effects technology can have on a child's early literacy development. It scares me that there is talk of children teaching themselves via tablet or computer screen. Yes these professionals are trained to mirror what is done in a classroom. Why not just ask for assistance or support from teachers? Why do we need to train outside sources and seek guidance elsewhere when teachers are readily available.
Amara,
DeleteWhat do you envision as your idea for having these teachers help support the parents? Is it something that you see teachers taking time out of their personal hours to help out parents? Or something as where parents would come in during a school day? Could it possibly be a paid position in the district to specifically educate parents? I can see why you would have these concerns being a literacy specialist.
Amara, I agree with you. I see kids coming into the mentoring program unable to put their tablets down. Certain children would much rather play on that than do any of the activities the mentors have planned for them. I think that is why programs like PALS are so important. If we educated the parents on strategies they can use at home, and give them alternate ways to interact with their children maybe students won't have such a reliance on the technology.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Emily and Amara. The PALS program is amazing. I love this program because I don't believe there is enough programs that help woman who are pregnant or have had a child. This is not only great for young women who are not experienced, but it is also for women who are busy and struggling, or maybe women in poverty. It is important to know how to make sure your baby is healthy and has the correct nutrition. The visitors sit down with the parents and show them videos of how caregivers should be interacting with their children. After each visit the mother and visitor will talk about a plan that the mother will focus on for the next week.
ReplyDeleteI like how they are not only focused on babies and toddlers, but they also help with children that have behavior issues. Trained experts are there to support children on their social skills, behavior issues, and language. The visitor will record what is happening in the home and review it with the mother and father to change or help how they are interacting with their children.
I chose to explore the Ready Rosie program from the reading. The promotional video discusses something that I have always had strong feelings about. It states that the student spends 34 hours a week in school. This means a student spends the majority of their time outside of the school environment. That time is likely spent with a parent or guardian. The impact that time can have on the student is substantial. I feel that, while teachers can influence a student's actions and success, the majority of the influence is going to come from their family and community.
ReplyDeleteReady Rosie offers training for parents and guardians on how to interact with their children to improve their knowledge and learning skills. There are instructional videos from scholars and experts on parenting and education as well as short videos demonstrating lessons and activities the caregiver can complete with their child to improve these skills. The program appears to be implemented through the school and teachers can suggest lessons for parents that will help the student in their course. The program seems to be well rounded with training for teachers and administrators on how to implement the program.
This program sounds great for the parent who wants to help their child but may not know where to start. However, I am not sure what change it might have for the parents who do not have the interest to help their child with this. It may also be difficult for the parents who are very busy working and taking care of daily shores that are not able to take the time to research and implement these strategies.
Chris,
DeleteI am in agreement with your statement from Readt Rosie about having to educate the parents on these topics, as no matter what kind of materials they are getting at school, they will indeed be spending much more time at home. Lots of parents are eager to learn and better their parenting skills and would willingly join a program like this. I love the feature of the teachers being able to suggest lessons for the parents related to the material in their course. It creates a nice bond between the family and the school.
I looked into the program ToyTalk that is discussed in chapter 8. This is an app where children can interact with different characters. The characters are programed to try to keep children engaged in meaningful conversation. While this interaction is certainly better than no interaction at all, I don't see how this program can efficiently teach children adequate language skills. How can we be sure that children are having meaningful conversations if using this app unsupervised. If parents and caregivers are supervising then why not create their own meaningful conversations that are more real life than relying on an app to teach foundational conversation skills?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.toytalk.com/about/
DeleteYou make a good point about the benefit of supervision to ensure meaningful interaction. One benefit I thought about generally is that English language learners might be encouraged to 'keep talking' based on the ongoing response of the app toy. They'd have a model of spoken English, as well (and non-English speaking parents might also get involved...a different kind of interaction with the app, but a good one!).
DeleteI did not necessarily choose a program, but I spent some of my time looking into the Author of "Born Reading: Bringing up Bookworms in a Digital Age", Jason Boog. I found his strategy of addressing story time with your child very useful. As a child you do not understand how much learning can take place during a few minutes of story time before bed. I remember my parents always reading books to me before bed as child, and it being something that I always looked forward to. The idea of sharing his own stories about him and his daughter gives readers a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteJason has also created a "Playbook" that has a list of conversation starters that can be applied to any kind of books. There are tip for parents in there that guide them into sparking interesting and educational conversations with their children that will promote learning. Some of the things listed are "ask lots and lots of questions", "stop and talk about what happened", and "compare the story to personal experience." All of these hints I thought were very helpful for parents who may not feel comfortable just reading stories and being able to be silly and goofy with their child. They mention in the text that Boog's book is not going to solve the literacy crisis problem in the world, but I do think that readings like the materials that he provides are a good start. Finding natural moments like reading a story to your child, and turning them into educational opportunities.