Cloud Computing and Security

Thanks to Jody Madho for bringing "Apps for Government" to our attention. This is a recent version of Google's applications collection for enterprise. These applications have servers in the United States and have been upgraded to meet the US government's informations security requirements. While I am in love with the idea of being able to store data/files/documents in the cloud, and work on any computer at any time, anywhere, in a cost effective manner, I have misgivings about cloud computing with respect to the security of material stored on Google Docs.

The ability of the cloud to secure US government information might inspire confidence where prospective users are concerned, especially as it provides cheap, easy and convenient computing. However, Internet history has shown that there are always hackers who stand to profit handsomely from undermining and sabotaging online systems. At this very moment, some tech geniuses and spies might be already hard at work trying to weaken and infiltrate this new system. I am not trying to be melodramatic and I would advise caution in using the cloud. When did I become an expert?

Winning with Digital Storytelling

I teach at a semi-rural secondary school that recently placed third in the RBTT Young Leaders Programme. This is a significant accomplishment, in that as one of the newer secondary schools, we were considered an underdog in the scheme of things, where traditional "prestige" schools tend to take the lead. Thanks to our talented and committed teachers, the participating students were able to contribute to community development, learn interpersonal skills and make their school proud.

I do not know what the theme for the next Young Leaders project will be, but I look forward to making an input which will involve helping students to create a digital story as part of the project. This is, of course, after familiarizing them with digital stories created by my colleagues and myself. These will be used for activating their previous knowledge and connecting it to new concepts to be taught. Also, according to Hibbing and Rankin-Erikson (2003), using multimedia (which is integral to digital storytelling) will help students to retain new knowledge and to understand difficult content. After the students are exposed to digital storytelling as a teaching and learning tool, I would like to see the next Young Leaders (with guidance from their teachers) produce a digital story to either inform, explore historical events, or tell a personal story, depending on which purpose will best support the project's objectives. The digital story might very well help our students to continue their ways.

New Literacies

If as reading specialists, we shall be mandated to help our students to develop "twenty-first century literacy" (Brown, Bryan & Brown, 2005), we need to be fully aware of what this concept entails, if our intent is to address the various literacies which fall under this banner. Namely, they are digital literacy, global literacy, technology literacy, visual literacy, and information literacy. We need to be able to identify and define these literacies in order to clearly articulate our objectives as we plan for instruction. Needless to say, we must also be proficient in these literacies ourselves, since some of our charges might already be ahead of us in this regard.

As I read about digital storytelling, I was struck by the distinction made between digital literacy and technological literacy. This is because in my "state" of only now coming to terms with twenty-first century literacy (which I understand to be synonymous with "new literacies"), I thought that both digital and technological literacies meant the same thing. However, according to Brown, Bryan & Brown (2005), digital literacy refers to one's ability to communicate with a growing (online) community in order to source help, collect information and discuss matters. On the other hand, technology literacy speaks to the capacity to use computers together with a range of other technologies to enhance productivity, learning and performance. Moreover, a novel concept to me as well was "global literacy", which refers to the ability to read, interpret, respond to and contextualise various text (screen and otherwise) from a global lens.

I have confessed my ignorance which one hopes will be gradually lessened. Did someone say that the more you learn is the more there is to learn?

Creating electronic books

Seeing is believing and to do is to learn. For me, creating an e-book was an exhilarating activity. I think that every teacher should be exposed to this hands-on experience, because it is the best way to fully grasp just how beneficial e-books can be to emergent and struggling readers. Teachers can construct e-books to target the specific needs of such learners, and students can co-produce these screen texts with their teachers or with other students, depending on the instructional objectives to be met. More advanced and independent readers can also benefit from creating e-books because it can heighten their perceptions of self-efficacy when their literacy skills are put to use in a digital medium.

Although it does not require much technical skill, it can be regarded as a highly creative endeavour.In tandem with the print and visual literacies that are developed and utilized in this exercise, readers at all levels get to engage in visual art where they select and use appropriate pictures. Then there is the aural component where music can be incorporated to create effects, and the "voicing" of text can introduce the element of drama. As such, creating an e-book allows students to express themselves in different ways and brings into play multiple intelligences. In addition to language and reading instructors, teachers of visual art, music and drama (and every content area teacher) should consider this as an innovative teaching tool and as a means of motivating students. Let's get our students to author e-books. Make learning creative fun.

Help for the Disabled

This past academic year I have been teaching a Form 2 student who is disabled. He cannot walk, so he is wheelchair bound. Some other students take turns to wheel him around and assist him in getting his things in and out of his bookbag. He has limited use of his hands so that turning pages and writing are somewhat laborious for him. His handicaps though, are only physical because he reads quite well, participates eagerly and intelligently in class discussions, generally produces good work and is socially well-adjusted.

I believe however, that there is still a lot of untapped potential in this fourteen year old. How I would love to introduce him to electronic books and all the other Web 2.0 technologies with which I myself have recently become acquainted. In particular, e-books would free his hands from having to turn pages and manipulate pens and pencils. He would be able to read many more books in a shorter time, express himself more extensively by creating his own e-books and generally develop literacy skills faster and more independently. He is already a motivated student, so that with e-books and the entire range of Web 2.0 technologies at his disposal, there should be no stopping him. It might be a good idea for the government to provide laptops to the nation's disabled children as well.

Wikis and Writing

Many of us have been teaching our students process writing which involves much feedback from the teacher and limited collaboration among students, if the end product is not a group effort. However, as reading specialists, we must be ever mindful of the evolutionary nature of literacy and the ways in which it is manifested in the twenty-first century. Undoubtedly, wikis are an added dimension to literacy that can be used to enhance the writing process. Since they are designed to support social interaction and collaboration in a digital setting, teachers can now have students write with wikis and edit each other's writing for grammar and spelling. There can also be peer review in which students can post drafts and and invite other students to comment.

In a wiki as well, groups can write short stories or expositions together. Group members can share and organize ideas, and as the piece develops, there is ongoing review and editing with guidance from the teacher. In addition, visual literacy may be incorporated and developed where pictures are used to illustrate, as well as to help create mood and tone and other effects intended by the authors.

When our students are engaged in this manner, writing should become more exciting and enjoyable, and less onerous than pen and paper exercises (which are ever waning in popularity among our charges). Once they are taught rules and guidelines for online social interaction and for using the Internet, it might be possible for them to become more inspired by the experience of writing wikis.

Blog Talk

Blogs (weblogs) can be regarded as online diaries or journals, according to Vacca & Vacca (2008). They provide a digital medium for teachers to monitor their students' literacy and academic progress. As a collaborative tool, blogs facilitate class participation where a teacher or a class can set up a blog, wherein every student can have his/her own "blogspace" for making and sharing comments to contribute to class discussions. This aspect of blogs I find to be especially helpful for the more reticent students and for those who lack the confidence to speak up in class. With blogs they can find a "voice" with which to express themselves, thus enabling the teacher to make assessments that would not be possible in a verbal forum.

Atkins, Battle, Nicholson & Caverly (2008) point out that blogs can be used to promote critical reading, thinking and writing. These skills are essential for literacy in a "Web 2.0 world". It appears however, that blogs are not appropriate tools for reading intervention with students who are experiencing challenges with word level aspects of reading such as phonics, phonemic awareness and basic sight words. Unfortunately, many of us in this MEd programme are grappling with the task of assisting students with such issues, both in the primary and secondary schools. Nevertheless, as reading specialists, we shall be mandated to train other educators to help their students at all levels in developing their literacy. As such, we can instruct our colleagues in the use of blogs so that hopefully, they will become more effective in their classrooms.

What Web 2.0 means to Us

I must say that I am impressed with Web 2.0 (cloud computing) because of the benefits it affords users. Among these advantages are collaboration tools such Google Docs, wikis and blogs. If these are used on a wide scale to promote literacy across our nation's schools, they might motivate our students to engage in more meaningful and constructive online communication with their peers, as opposed to what they have grown accustomed to on Facebook (to a large extent, idle gossip and damaging pictures).

Another significant benefit of Web 2.0 is that basic applications and file storage cost nothing. Consequently, much computing can be done on inexpensive computers such as netbooks. This has significant economic implications for our new government. Since it is claimed that the pre-election promise (of laptops to SEA students entering secondary schools) will be kept, then funding for this must be carefully considered. As an educator who has only recently been introduced to Web 2.0, I advocate that the government should exercise thrift with public funds and purchase netbooks, which are to be stored safely at the schools because of our appalling crime situation. Certainly these institutions should have uninterrupted internet access and the government-provided netbooks are to be released to the students for regular classroom activity.

Needless to say, Web 2.0 and netbooks will not be very effective in a classroom situation if teachers lack the necessary professional training and knowledge to use them for scaffolding students in their learning. Here is where we as reading specialists have a significant role to play.

TPACK and Literacy Learning

In Harris & Hofer (2009) we are made to understand that "technological pedagogical content knowledge" (TPACK) is an umbrella term which refers to the combination of teachers' knowledge of technologies, pedagogies and curriculum content. It is this knowledge that forms the basis of content-based technology integration. The article further points out that TPACK in educational practice is complex. From my perspective, it may be especially daunting for educators who are "techno challenged". We can take comfort in the fact that this professional knowledge can be developed over a period of time and that this ICT course is launching us into this area of professional development.

If we are committed to our students' literacy development within the context of twenty-first century requirements, we must be prepared to learn about the technologies that are available, and how to use them to help our charges to learn. We must also be wary of being "technocentric" (Papert, 1987), where there is too much emphasis on the technologies utilized and insufficient focus on their effectiveness on students' learning. Uppermost in our minds should be that the technologies are merely a means to an end and not an end in themselves. Extremely useful in this consideration are the technology-enhanced learning activity types that the article outlines in tabular form. Although these activity types are specific to social studies, they illustrate quite clearly that this approach can be employed to enhance learning outcomes in any content area. We must note though, that for this approach to be successful, there must be precise and detailed planning and preparation. Let's meet this challenge head-on.

Reference

Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Instructional planning activity types as vehicles for curriculum-based TPACK development. In C.D. Maddux, (Ed). Research highlights in technology and teacher education 2009 (pp. 99-108). Chesapeake, VA: SITE.