Teaching Reading and Writing Using Web 2.0 Technology
Big Universe is Changing the Way Educators Inspire Students and Teach Literacy
The overall adoption of educational technology within academic environments is driving literacy instruction beyond the traditional oral and print-based medium toward online, electronic, and multimedia texts. The inclusion of computers within American classrooms is creating dramatically new opportunities for students to embrace writing and collaborating as a means for self-expression. By changing the way that information is presented and processed, technology is influencing how students read, write, and communicate. A recent survey of 500 district technology directors revealed the following main incentives for integrating Web 2.0 technologies into educational environments:
- Addressing students' individual learning preferences (54%)
- Engaging students' interests (41%)
- Increasing students' options for access to teaching and learning material options (33%)
Big Universe, an award-winning web community devoted to reading, writing, and sharing children's picture books online, has effectively developed a Web 2.0 platform that addresses these incentives by supporting differentiated teaching methods, providing a diverse assortment of reading materials, and utilizing the Internet as a means for open student access.
Modern teachers are finding that through the use of Big Universe's web platform they can create community and project-based literacy activities that introduce new materials and provide quick and easy reference to existing materials. Big Universe provides educators with:
- Convenient 24-hour web access
- Access to hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books from today's best publishers
- A low-cost and eco-friendly alternative/complement to print books
- An online search feature that facilitates organization of reading materials
- Ability to use on small or large screens
While using Big Universe, students can select books that fit their interests and read via a computer screen, allowing the development of computer-reading skills. Big Universe also accommodates multiple learning preferences by providing text in a variety of languages, including English, Spanish, French, and Russian.
Combining the activities of reading and writing, Big Universe offers students a way to improve their grammatical skills while also increasing their vocabulary. Big Universe gives teachers the opportunity to integrate student publishing and collaboration into the classroom through use of a unique, dynamic, and self-paced picture book authoring and publishing tool. Students who use Big Universe can:
- Drastically improve writing skills
- Express creativity by customizing books with clip art and personal images
- Easily print all written materials for personal enjoyment or grading
- Consider reading and writing as a possible career
Further, educators who implement Big Universe's online tool have the ability to showcase and share student work on a classroom, school, and national level.
Educators are constantly faced with the task of creating a consistent, positive, and flexible learning environment. Big Universe allows educators to build such a setting to maximize the learning potential of students and inspire a sense of community on class, school, district, and global levels. Big Universe's online student publishing can benefit classrooms by providing:
- The ability to create/manage virtual book clubs
- Online sharing of student created materials
- A search feature that allows students to discover new books
- The ability for students/teachers to recommend books to each other
Additionally, teachers can use Big Universe to leverage web-based communities to foster an appreciation of reading and writing in reluctant students.
Computer Skills
Big Universe offers educators practical and cost-effective resources that support the integration of new technology. The growing influence of technology within American homes has caused educators to acknowledge the need for instructional tools that combine literacy instruction with thoughtful development of computer skills. Big Universe’s platform helps students develop:
- Computer skills
- Typing skills
- Presentation skills
- Pointer-mouse skills
Big Universe and Schools
Big Universe provides administrators with resources that are cost effective, paperless, multicultural, and engaging. Where some literacy technologies require the use of CDs or DVDs, Big Universe's Web 2.0 literacy platform is easily accessible via the Internet. Student, teacher, and administrator accounts can be created quickly so that schools of all sizes can begin providing students with quality literacy activities in just a few minutes. Once accounts are created, teachers and administrators can easily review student activity and monitor student progress.
By creating a Web 2.0 platform that facilitates the introduction of 21st century learning techniques, Big Universe has effectively pioneered a customizable and adaptive Web forum for student remediation at any grade level.
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