Hello everyone, today I would like to rise a question,
can we use technology to promote children’s literature?. I must confess that I
support the integration of the technological advances into the
classroom, but always following the guidelines of the CLIL approach. In fact, I believe that it can be an extremely useful resource
and I will try to show you along this post.
First of all, we need to stand out two words, “use vs. integrate”.
Why?, because I think its necessary to know
the difference between use the technology and integrate it into the classroom. During my practicums I realized that most of the
teachers just use the technology. This means that they only tend to instruct the students
through the technology, using the Cd of the book or just writing randomly in
the IWB (Interactive White Board). These types of activities usually have a minimum direct interaction of the learner. However, the integration of the technology refers to those activities, which engaged and promote children interaction
and cooperative learning, enriching the overall understanding of the topic. This
integration involves something new for the student, such as interactive books,
web making software, augmented reality and so on.
Furthermore, the
integration of these tools in the curriculum, improves exponentially students'
learning processes and outcomes, promoting higher-order thinking and problem
solving skills. However, you should be selective and choose the most suitable
apps according to your aims and the level of your students (or kids).
Secondly, as far as I know, there are a wide range of free tools that
you can use in primary school to enhance children’s literature. But, how can we integrate those tools?. The key
fact is, involve the students in the process and as a result you will catch their attention. The student has to be
able to manipulate them, and become
creators and critics instead of just consumers. But always, you should scaffold the process to guide
the activation of the schema and the assimilation of the contents that you want
to work through it. Consequently, the materials have to be more learner-centre.
Nevertheless, you have to be careful because there are some apps that
can distract children from the real target. For instance, here you have a video
about the beautiful and catchy digital book, “The Tale of
Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter. Please,
Watch it and then try to answer this simple question: Do you remember what it
said on the third page?. I don't think so, but I’m sure that you remember all
the things that you can manipulate in it. That is why you should be
selective, because not always the most beautiful is the most appropriate.
In my opinion, a good
example of one app to enhance literature in class is Zoobrust. In fact, I recently
discover it and, from my point of view, it is amazing and easy to work
with. The special fact of this app, is that you can create stories in
AR(Augmented Reality). Here you can see a video about a story that my group and I have
created in class and that I have adapted for this platform:
Last but not least, I would like to recommend you this website, where you can
find hot news about interesting apps. After all of these facts, are you willing to accept the challenge
of the new technologies?, and if you are working with it, do you use or
integrate it in the class?.
Thank you for visiting my blog
and If you want more information or have any doubt, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
