Put Reading First
by valerie | December 21, 2007 at 12:14 PM
Becoming a reader involves the development of important skills, including learning to:
* use language in conversation
* listen and respond to stories read aloud
* recognize and name the letters of the alphabet
* listen to the sounds of spoken language
* connect sounds to letters to figure out the “code” of reading
* read often so that recognizing words becomes easy and automatic
* learn and use new words
* understand what is read
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first2.html
Comments
Digital Literacy
Hi Valerie,
Thanks for bringing us back to the basics!
Your post reminds me of the importance of literacy--digital literacy, in particular--to the whole PulseWire project. Technology holds so many new possibilities for self improvement and empowerment... yet globally speaking, the three hurdles of computer access, verbal literacy and technical competence make it so that many of these opportunities are just now beginning to reach underserved populations.
More and more, access points and training programs are appearing to combat this divide. Still, the basic rights of access and literacy still escape many women and girls, keeping them from all that technology has to offer.
PulseWire is wholeheartedly committed to advancing global participation and open education as we move forward, and we would love to hear hear any ideas you may have for how we might best partner to effectively support literacy and/or digital literacy among women and girls.
I'm wondering... Do you have any experience training new computer users, (even yourself)? Could you perhaps offer tips for our learners who are unfamiliar with the concept of open education? What does it mean to you? How would we go about finding an open education course we're interested in? Can you recommend a starting point for young women who are seeking self-improvement and empowerment through education online, but are just getting started or have less than perfect language skills?
These are all questions that cross my mind daily as I strive to meet the varied needs of our users; We would greatly appreciate your insights if you feel compelled to offer them!
In partnership,
Maria Jett, Online Community Director
Open education
As with all things relating to education and the internet, the short answer is "It depends..."
Many generous individuals and organizations have made available information, course outlines, curriculum, lectures, assignments, quizzes, resources - everything that a teacher or a learner might need.
The most famous example is MIT - many of the lectures given to students have been recorded and are available to everyone, anytime, anywhere.
However, there are literally thousands of small units of information and/or instruction, as well as some complete courses. The biggest problem is locating something appropriate.
Here are just a few links
These give a general sense of the amount of educational content available. As yet there is no good central repository of information about everything that is available. To be useful to an individual or a population to be served, it is helpful to have a more specific objective in mind, and go from there.