Week 8 Reflections

This week has been a busy, short week. I am going out of town this weekend and have been trying to make sure I have had time to get everything done. It seems like online classes are more demanding on a regular basis than traditional classes. I am sure I could be wrong about this, but it is how I feel, especially lately when I have been trying to allocate enough time to get all of the discussion posts ect. done. Anyway, I will move on from my complaints to blogging about this week’s discussion and reading.

I enjoyed the discussion prompt about using multiple texts in the classroom. It made me think back to various classes I’ve taken and what the teachers or professors used as a tool for instruction. I specifically remember in high school, my government teacher used the local newspaper as supplemental reading for his classes. I liked reading from the paper because it was more relevant to my real life and the contents related to events in my own community. Also, I did not mind that the newspaper reading was shorter than a chapter in the textbook!

It seems like the internet is becoming another source for teachers to use as a resource for reading material as well. Recently, I took a class on Reading, and how to assist students in learning to love to read. In that class, they mentioned incorporating the internet as an avenue to approach reading. Some of my classmates did presentations on different programs that teachers can use for reading online. I learned that the internet can be an incredible resource for reading via the web; in addition students generally find it more interesting.

Module 4
One particular blurb from module 4 that I found to be interesting was from Activity 4.1 entitled, “Oprah’s National High School Essay Contest.” I learned that Oprah has made a profound impact on reading because of her book club and through the books she has recommended weekly. It struck me as amazing that someone, just one person, could make such a huge impact on the culture of reading in a nation. It gives me hope for the literacy of our nation.

Website Recommendation: http://www.magickeys.com/books/
This site is great for young readers. The books are all illustrated and you click the mouse to change the page. It might be a way of getting young readers interested in reading.