PBS in partnership with Reading Rockets has produced a new television show, "A Chance to Read," that will be broadcast in parts of the country this weekend. It is not being broadcast in my area but it is possible to watch the 30 minute program online here.
One of the segments highlights Christopher Lee, PhD, Director of the Alternative Media Center, University System of Georgia who states:
For so many years, I truly believed I wasn't very smart. I truly believed I was stupid. And um…that kills me because there's so many other kids like me going through the same thing, and we've got to catch these kids early.Christopher Lee speaks from personal experience. There are children in our classroom who are experiencing similar doubts about their abilities, who believe they are stupid.
....Technology can unlock the minds of these individuals that are right now kind of locked behind a cage of letters and it can get them through college and it can have them keep and maintain a job. It can open the world for them. It can make them independent. Yeah, they can change the world!
We can break the cycle! Technology removes the obstacles to learning for many students. It is essential that students have access to the tools that will "unlock their minds" and help them demonstrate what they know.
The program looks at children who are hearing impaired, are "twice-gifted," have learning or cognitive disabilities, and who are blind and demonstrates strategies and tools that promote reading success. In addition, there are a wealth of supplemental materials at the website.
It's wonderful to see programs like this being broadcast nationally. Check it out in your area or online.
Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.
1 comment:
A Chance to Read, Reading Rockets, Break the Cycle, and Technology can unlock the minds of ... all sounds good to me! Nice find about this television program.
I am reading Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind and am interested in the fairly obvious connection that learning technology has with getting to the point in learning.
One recent example that wowed me was I sat with two teenagers from Maine on the plane to Florida this week. I talked to them most of the ride about the one to one Apple lap top progam there.
Karen, you would have flipped. They said things like, "well I prefer PowerPoint, but for some classes we use Keynote, 'yawn'." It was awesome. I was telling them about DJ WordMaker and they totally had used it and knew it. There was this second nature to the technology that was truly inspirational and I think may very well have flipped my world upside down. Who would have thought of "Maine"?
Anyways, that school sure is a step ahead at having the ability to make the technology an everybody thing for helping with reading, writing, or whatever!
What do you think of Howard Garner's work?
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