How can I use digital devices to teach reading?

02/27/19 • 33 min

Today’s youngest students are learning to read in a world of screens, both at home and in many classrooms. And it’s a world that can be a game-changer for PK-2 teachers. This episode of “Your Edtech Questions” explores what educators need to know when teaching young learners to read in classrooms that include digital devices. Lisa Guernsey, director of the Learning Technologies Project and deputy director of Education Policy at New America, and the co-author of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens, dives into the research on early readers and screentime. Discussed are issues like the young brain and comprehension with technology, high tech and high touch reading, the value in acts of creation, tool evaluation and the importance of home-school connections.

Previous Episode

What are the do’s of digital citizenship?

We’ve all been trained to look both ways when we cross the street, but what does it mean for students and for educators to look both ways before crossing a “digital street?” This episode of “Your Edtech Questions” explores the Digital Citizen standard from the ISTE Standards for Students and unpacks all aspects of digital citizenship, from using tech to make your community better, to engaging with people respectfully online, to determining the validity of online sources of information. Guest Kristin Mattson, Ph.D., digcit expert, author of Digital Citizenship in Action: Empowering Students to Engage in Online Communities and instructor for the ISTE U course Digital Citizenship in Action, defines digital citizenship, discusses the research behind it and provides tips for curriculum design to bring digcit to all subject areas. She also explains how social justice, media literacy and interacting on social media play into the new lens on digital citizenship that’s all about “do’s” rather than “don’ts.”

Next Episode

What can educators do about device distraction in the classroom?

We’re all guilty of it. Responding to email, checking messages, doing some reading while holding a conversation or attending meeting. And students do the same, swearing they’re able to multi-task. Research proves that’s just not the case. This episode of “Your Edtech Questions” tackles the question of how educators can successfully address device distraction in the classroom. Guest Liz Kolb, Ph.D., educator and author of Learning First, Technology Second: The Educator’s Guide to Designing Authentic Lessons, shares the research that proves multi-tasking is unsuccessful, explains how it interrupts active listening and provides examples of the really smart things teachers are doing to manage devices in their classrooms. She also unpacks resources to help educators start having a conversation about device distraction and and explains how educators can model responsible device use.