Thanks to Blythe and Megan for their comments. The notion of "virtualities" becoming embedded in our "realities" seems to make sense. My son continually reminds me that I am off in my own little planet, so virtual reality is nothing new. It may be that new technologies allow us to make our collective unconsious a little more available for reflection. My on-line gaming identity is not separate from my material identity but perhaps more idealize or more fantasized. I, and others, get a chance to experiment with alternatives without facing the same consequences we might find in our off-line lives. So what does all of this have to do with comprehension? I don't know yet, but the second article I read in my tome was "The Changing Landscape of Text Comprehension in the Age of New Literacies" by Bridget Dalton and Patrick Proctor.
I learned a new acronym--ICTs, which is short for information communication technologies. In the article the authors posit that we need to expand our (teachers? society?) understanding of text beyond print, "which is linear, static, temporally and physically bounded, often with clear purpose, authorship and authority" to include digital text, "which is nonlinear, multimodal with a heavy visual orientation, interactive, unbounded in time and space, with murky conveyance of authorship and authority" (p. 297) They also point out that digital texts are also capable of "collecting information through the user's interaction with the text and offering choices of content, help, and interaction" (p. 298). The user (rather than reader) "reads the text environment" and makes active choices about "support, content, media, and participation options to access" (p. 298). Their chapter goes on to address the question, "how do we 'understand understanding'" and teach student to read, understand, and create such texts (p. 298)? They address four indicators of reading comprehension: Word recognition, vocabulary, strategies, and engagment. [I have put my comments in brackets.]
Word recognition has been the gatekeeper to literacy, but TTS (text-to-speech) technologies, where recorded voices can read all or parts of texts, show promise in helping students gain information from otherwise unavailable texts and increase their recognition skills at the same time. The effect seems particularly strong for those with dyslexia and older students with reading disabilities. TTS technology "changes reading to a hybridized reading-listening process" (p. 309), and students will need to learn "strategies for using TTS flexibly in relation to needs and task demands" (p. 309).
Hyperlinks to word meanings seem a natural enhancement for vocabulary, offering "just-in-time support" (p. 309). Students who read well have a wider and deeper vocabulary and are "better able to use contextual cues and morphological knowledge to determine word meaning" (p. 309). Digital vocabulary support helps develop vocabulary, especially for second language learners and emergent readers, but the support sometimes interferes with developing a coherent representation of the meaning of the text. Students typically underutilize vocabulary supports. [I would say probably for the very reason that it interrupts reading flow.] The authors report that the role of access to vocabulary support is unexplored, but they still suggest that teachers should teach students how to utilize on-line resources like VoyCabulary, Babel Fish, dictionaries, and thesauruses [thesauri?]
Metacognitive software has been developed to support readers by teaching them reading strategies. Software of this type provides information about the text (like where the main idea statement is) and prompts students to engage in reading strategies (e.g., predict, ask questions, summarize, respond personally, seek clarification, self-evaluate). Initial studies of these programs indicate that they help struggling readers comprehend these support texts better. Questions remain about how to remove these scaffolds so that readers learn to operate independently. Studies have also been conducted on the effects of multimedia presentations on comprehension and some basic principles for design have been developed. These studies indicate that simultaneous visual and audio information and opportunity to manipulate objects and events enhance comprehension. Stronger readers use supports more effectively. Studies of how students process information in internet research suggest that students benefit from strategic classroom interaction around the texts that they encounter.
Students are more engaged in digital environments, but this engagement is often described as "superficial" (p. 319). [I question this because the authors are applying print expectations to multimodal understanding.] The authors also report that students are more engaged when they have a strong interest and feel they can do something. [Wow, back to identity. Students' ability to take action may lead to identity development, rather than just accumulation of information!]
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I wonder how students are engaged in so much learning going on in our classrooms, when if you asked them if what we were engaged in actually interested them prior to their involvement in the activity, etc. So many times the students say, "I don't care about this," "What does this have to do with me?" "Why do I need to know this?" and then when they are in the midst of the learning activity they are actually enjoying the process and interacting with their own thought processes, other learners and the material itself. Do we as educators play a big part in helping students to engage and become interested in learning that which was disinteresting before? Just wondering?
ReplyDeleteOur students are such wicked multitaskers (wicked in a respectful kid use of the word) that I imagine they would leap at the chance to learn metacognitive strategies via a computer, as opposed to workbook style.Not to replace the experienced teacher discussing a useful strategy but to replace the workbook drudge work.
ReplyDeleteOn another note I am a diehard (I thought) visual learner and lover of print, and literature. But recently I've been listening to books on tape while multitasking or commuting, and I've discovered I remember the spoken word more than the read word. Which makes me wonder about
whether there is such a thing as a talking hyperlink. Struggling readers would I imagine love to use vocab. hyperlink especially ones that talked or sang dicy definitions to them.
I agree with what you said in the last paragraph. Students can develop an identity by taking action. Their actions help build their character and self-esteem. If they are passionate and engaged about something they are more likely to remember it and retain the information rather than by just hearing their teachers say it or by reading it in a book. However, if that book is a digital text with colorful graphics and interesting features, students will want to read it and remember it.
ReplyDeleteThe word recognition text-to-speech technologies are great for struggling readers. There is a website some of the primary grades use where part of the word and up to the entire word is spoken and the students follow along repeating or saying the word together. It seems to work well and is very engaging.