Sara Manchak 6/29/14

LITR 630: 21
st
Century Literacies and Technology
Connection to the Standards and Research: Podcast
International Reading Standards (IRA)
1.2 Candidates understand the historically shared knowledge of the profession and changes over time in
the perceptions of reading and writing development, processes, and components.
Creating the opportunity for students to create a podcast using their own writing and placing it on a
class wiki for other students, professionals and individuals to hear and comment on shows an
understanding by the teacher of this standard. The use of technology to publish and share student work
shows knowledge of advancements in this arena and the benefits its holds for reading and writing
development.
2.2 Candidates use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word
recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.
Rather than have students type their poem using a word processor and inserting images to create a class
book of poetry, the teacher is taking the process into the 21
st
century by utilizing the podcast to further
develop students reading-writing connections, as well as word accuracy, fluency and prosody. This
variance in instruction should prove to be more engaging for students. Listening to their writing and the
writing of others should also aid in developing better language comprehension.
2.3 Candidates use a wide range of texts (e.g., narrative, expository, and poetry) from traditional print,
digital, and online resources.
Students use their informational animal research to create poetry about their animal. Not only will it be
published using a word processor, but also presented on the class wiki in written and podcast form.
4.2 Candidates use a literacy curriculum and engage in instructional practices that positively impact
students' knowledge, beliefs, and engagement with the features of diversity.
The common core standards that are addressed include the following reading, writing and speaking
components: (RF.2.4) read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension; (RL.2.10) by
the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text
complexity band independently and proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the
range; (W.2.2) write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and
definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section; (W.2.7) participate in
shared research and writing projects; and (SL.2.5) create audio recordings of stories or poems; add
drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas,
thoughts, and feelings.
5.1 Candidates design the physical environment to optimize students' use of traditional print, digital, and
online resources in reading and writing instruction.
Although not mentioned in the unit lessons, students will engage in whole group instruction using the
SmartBoard and/or computers in the computer lab to learn how to create their podcast with the
assistance of the classroom and/or technology teacher. Technology tools will be available to students in
the classroom, but may also include use of the school computer lab in order to service more students at
a time.
International Society for Technology in Education Student Standards (ISTE)
1. Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and
processes using technology.
Students will have created their own poetry about an animal to then read and record for the podcast. It
is innovative in the sense that students do not generally record their poetry for podcasts to share with
others in close proximity or at a distance using technology in the classroom.
2. Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a
distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
The podcast technology allows students to work with others to improve in their reading accuracy and
fluency with the practice of whatever will be said or spoken on the recording of the podcast. The
podcast itself, since it is grounded in literacy learning, not only benefits the individuals creating it but
also the individuals who consume it as well.
3. Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
The podcast allows students to use and pass along information to others. Since the podcast is placed on
a class wiki, there is another digital tool that allows students to gather their learning and to evaluate
their own and others work.
4. Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and
make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
Students will have to solve the problems that arise in the recording of their podcast. It doesnt always go
perfectly the first time you record. Using Audacity or some other digital recording tool, students may
have to make decisions, manage their project and find ways to manipulate their recording digitally using
the recording technology. Or, they may have to make decisions about which parts may need to be
recorded again using different prosody.

Kentucky Teacher Standard 6 (KTS)
6.1 Uses available technology to design and plan instruction.
6.2 Uses available technology to implement instruction that facilitates student learning.
6.5 Demonstrates ethical and legal use of technology.
The lessons utilize digital recording tools, the Internet, and a wiki as part of the instruction to aid
students in reading with accuracy, fluency, and prosody. The technology is designed to allow students to
work collaboratively with classmates and others in a fun and engaging environment. The content being
recorded and shared is student created and student recorded, teacher supervised, and therefore, safe
and ethical. Students should have a consent signed by their parent or guardian before allowing the
podcast of their childs voice to be placed on the wiki/Internet. This will also aid in the ethical and legal
use of the technology.

Research-based Connections
The goal of this unit and/or lessons is to help students learn to think more deeply about their writing in
order to improve both their reading and writing skills through the use of collaboration and technology.
Podcasts help students "to listen to drafts to improve their logic and fluency" (Hecker & Engstrom,
2005). In their article, Davis and McGrail (2009) state that:
Listening to podcasts requires students to analyze and modify their writing to make it clearer.
Through actively comparing and adjusting their writing to the reader's reaction, students
develop the metacognitive skills of monitoring, diagnosing, revising, and editing- skills critical for
improving the quality of their writing (Braaksma, Rijlaarsdam, van den Bergh, & van Hout-
Walters, 2004). This approach creates a multisensory process and the student receives prompt
feedback. These components, and the high expectations from the teacher, create an
environment that promotes learning.
Relation to the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK)
As the teacher in the classroom, it is important to know the content and standards that students are
expected to know and learn. Students in second grade are required to write using a variety of genres,
including poetry; collaborate with others in their reading and writing; read a variety of texts within their
grade level complexity with accuracy, fluency and prosody; as well as record themselves reading stories
and poems and to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings (RF.2.4, RL.2.10, W.2.2, W.2.7, SL.2.5).
They are also expected by the ISTE and IRA standards to be able to collaborate with others in their
reading and writing through the use of technology. This lesson requires students to not only meet the
common core standards of reading and writing, but to also meet the requirements for utilizing
technology to aid in fluent reading and a better sense of language comprehension. The podcast allows
students to rehearse their fluency, to hear themselves as readers, to work with other students, but to
also receive feedback about their reading and writing from other individuals by linking it to a class wiki
yet another avenue of technology. Combining the content of the student written poems and the ability
for students to create a podcast with the guidance and support of the classroom and technology
teachers, students literacy learning is heightened. Their engagement allows them to become better
readers and writers, to hear themselves, evaluate, receive feedback, re-evaluate and progress to a
deeper level of understanding than they would with just the content alone.

References
Braaksma, M., Rijlaarsdam, G., van den Bergh, H., & van Hout Walters, B.H.A.M. (2004). Observational
learning and its effects on the orchestration of writing processes. Cognition and Instruction,2
2(1), 1-36. doi: 10.1207/sl532690Xci2201J
Davis, A. & McGrail, E. (2009). "Proof-Revising" with Podcasting: Keeping Readers in Mind as Students
Listen to and RethinkTheir Writing. The Reading Teacher, 62(6), p. 522-529.
Hecker, L., & Engstrom, E.U. (2005). Assistive technology and individuals with dyslexia. [Online chapter]
In J.R. Birsh (Ed.), Multisensory teaching of basic language skills (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Brooks.
Retrieved September 24, 2008, from textbooks.brookespublishing.com/birsh/21/fulltext.htm
Kereluik, K., Mishra, P. & Koehler, M. (2011). On Learning to Subvert Signs: Literacy, Technology and the
TPACK Framework. The California Reader, 44(2), p. 12-18.
Read Oregon. International Reading Associations 2010 Standards for Reading Professionals. Read
Oregon. The Teaching Research Institute. 2011. http://readoregon.org. June 22, 2014.