Classroom-Tested Tech Tools Used To Boost Literacy

Education Week (2/4, Ash) reports, "Instead of investing in prepackaged software programs, many teachers are harnessing the technology they already have-such as webcams, audio recorders, blogs, and other Web 2.0 tools-to boost literacy in students." According to Education Week, Adina Sullivan, a 4th grade teacher at San Marcos (CA) Elementary School, "who is a lead technology teacher at her school, works with English-language learners to help build vocabulary and fluency." Education Week adds, "in her classroom, Sullivan uses photos licensed under creative commons, an alternative to copyright that allows varying degrees of sharing, as a jumping-off point to start a conversation with her students. .. Sullivan also uses audio recorders to have student-teachers read sets of vocabulary words, then she creates matching PowerPoint presentations with the words and burns them onto DVDs for the students to take home and listen to."