I support Reichert and Hawley (2009) comment that 'if there is a crisis in boys' education, answers are not hard to find.'
According to Blair and Sanford (2006), 'boys' out - of - school literacy practices invovle activites, which support their personal interests, such as Sports and Computer magazines and other graphic books.'Boys read these articles to find out how to be popular in the games they play and to compete with their friends. Also,the Internet maintain boys' interest and encourage them to read complex print and visual text.
If we are to integrate technology in the school's curriculum, the answer lies in the following question.
How can websites for blogs, wikis and concept mapping be used to support boys' out of school literacy practices?
Boys seem to be more attracted to technology and can troubleshoot most technological difficulty without prior knowledge. This seem to be one medium that can hold their interest for hours at end. Digital literacy allow boys to experiment with various software while demonstrating great creativity, deep thought and mental ease. Boys are attracted to colour and sound and enjoy the challenge of experimenting with new and novel ways of learning with the use of ITC's. I have found the following link that can be useful in understanding the importance of attending to our boy's learning.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gettingboystoread.com/content/digital-storytelling-engaging-boys-technology
Using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom would certainly help boys to become more proficient readers. They already possess the prerequisite characteristics, they are technologically wired. Boys are fascinated with technology and can be seen busy at play on video games, cellphones, the Internet and so on. Why not use what they are interested in to get them to learn?
ReplyDeleteAs educators we have to change the way we teach so as to get boys to start showing improvements in reading.Chalk and talk, textbooks and paper and pencil cannot continue to be our main teaching methods in the classroom. In this kind of environment boys will continue to fall further behind.
Using blogs, wikis and concept maps in the classroom in meaningful ways will engage the attention of boys. Due to the highly collaborative and interactive nature of Web 2,0 tools, boys will stay on task and even become self directed learners. Learning for them would be more meaningful.
Let's use the technology for the sake of our boys.
APPLYING CONSTUCTIVISM IN DEVELOPING LITERACY AMONG BOYS
ReplyDeleteBy Abigale Singh
Hi Jennifer! I must say that I agree with you, in that technology can be an effective tool in addressing the literacy rates of boys. I am at a school which has been converted to an “all boys” school with effect from September. Initially, I was not welcoming this new challenge.
There are many studies which advocate that boys learn differently when compared to girls. A main consideration is that generally it is more difficult to grasp and keep the attention of boys. Therefore, I believe that the key is to apply a constructivist approach to learning and find creative ways to engage these boys.
Tracey & Morrow (2006) provide three (3) constructivist theories may be relevant in helping teachers to design tasks to engage boys, in “Lenses on Reading: An Introduction to Theories and Models”:
• Inquiry Learning which entails collaborative learning activities
• Psycholinguistic and Whole Language Theories which involves authentic, reading and writing tasks
• Engagement Theory which integrates social collaboration in reading response tasks
These are the characteristics of the theories which, we have seen, fit perfectly with web 2.0 technologies. Therefore, I strongly believe that web 2.0 is the most appropriate vehicle to reach our male learners.