iteracy in the 21st century involves so much more than decoding andmaking sense of the words and images students find in sources suchas textbooks, comic books, novels, advertisements, even tests. To besuccessful, they need to develop skills that will help them not only

“read” but to find their way around the World Wide Web, locate information(found in video sites, blogs, Wikis, e-mails, and other digital sources), evalu-ate the information critically, synthesize it and communicate it effectively.

I consider most of my Grade Two students to be tech savvy. However, theydo need guidance on how to find the best information and to determine factfrom fiction. That is, they need to learn how to think critically about the wealthof information before them. I want to usetechnology in ways that would engage allstudents and complement our learn-ing goals.

Not being the most tech savvyteacher myself, I started off small.During lessons or class discussions,when faced with a question or idea wewanted to know more about, I would ask thestudents to gather around our classroom computerand help me find the information. First, they would make suggestions as towhat to type into the search query. Then, rather than choose the first site sug-gested, we began to “evaluate” the top five suggested sites and choose one tolook at first for our information. A small step, I know, but for students whohave limited access to technology or for those who rarely use technology foranything other than entertainment, it provides a new learning experience andallows them to feel in control and a part of what they are learning.

The fact that many students use technology for merely entertainment pur-poses was something else I wanted to take advantage of in the classroom. Ibegan bringing my iPad to school and challenging my whole class on gamessuch as “4 Pics 1 Word”. The challenge was, as a class, to beat me and reach ahigher level (of course, I kept my level at a relatively achievable goal for them).Whenever they were done their seatwork or assignments they would, at times,use the iPad (individually, in pairs, or in small groups) and carefully look at thepictures, find the common link, and figure out how to spell the word correctlyusing the letters provided. The idea of coming close to and even surpassingtheir teacher’s highest score proved a captivating way to engage the studentsand help them improve and expand their vocabulary and spelling skills, too.

Sometimes I use fictional news stories (Eduscapes.com provides some greattips and “spoof stories” to use with children) and an App called “News-O-Matic”which provides real news stories written for children. I keep the selection of cur-

Speaking of ReadingPRESIDENT ’S MESSAGE

Fall, 20132027! SEEMS A VERYdistant time but thisis the graduating yearfor children who en-tered JK in Septem-ber 2013. What skillsand knowledge willstudents require in

fourteen years to cope with and con-tribute to society? What does currentresearch indicate regarding skillsneeded in the work force in comingyears? How well are schools andteachers equipped to prepare students

for the spiraling changes in ourworld, particularly in the area oftechnology? How have ideolo-gies, teaching tools and prac-tices changed in education to

reflect current trends and futurechanges? This issue of Speaking ofReading, aptly entitled Literacy in the 21st Century, centres on theseand related ideas. Educators sharetheir knowledge, perspectives, expe-riences and practices and we hopethat readers find these articles both

FALL 2013

L

continued on page 2...

LITERACY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

In-2-itive Learning in Room 227

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

2 Wanted — Teacher Nominees forour Annual Reading Award

3 Say Goodbye to Chalk

4 Sharing: Analogue Social Media

6 Toronto Public Library LaunchesE-Book and E-Magazine Campaign

7 Technology in Education

7 Conscious Growth

8 Plan to Attend

8 Holiday Reads

For more great articles go to www.readingfortheloveofit.com

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be

those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn,

unlearn, and relearn.”Alvin Toffler

2

rent news relevant to our areas ofstudies in science, social studies, lan-guage arts, or other subjects. We worktogether to decide what informationwe deem relevant to our research andcredible and, which information wewill disregard; using, among other fac-tors, the source of the information.

I want to help my students to begood researchers but also effectivelyscrutinize the information. They de-serve the opportunity to embracetechnology and familiarize them-selves with these resources. Hope-fully, my students will then beconfident and comfortable enough tolearn new strategies and manoeuvreever-changing interfaces and toolswith an open and critical mind, if theyare to continue to be successful.

Luisa RagusaGrade 2 Teacher St. Maria Goretti (TCDSB)

sions/workshops are open to regis-tered delegates on a first-come basis.Pre-registration for individual pre-sentations is not required. Tickets canbe purchased at an additional cost toenjoy our distinguished breakfast orluncheon keynote speakers. Don’tmiss A Taste for Reading, our Thursdayevening event, which was so success-ful last year. Here we take time tomeet friends old and new, minglewith some session speakers and theexecutive of EYSRA, to celebratereading and of course, to recognizeReading Award winners. (Nomina-tions for the Reading Award fromTDSB and TCDSB staff are welcomedand accepted until December 13th.)At this very reasonably priced event,you will enjoy an informal dinner, livemusic by Canadian musician, Barry

...In-2-itive Learning cont. from page 1

informative and inspirational. Thanksare extended to the excellent work ofMarisa Liscio, Communications Chair,and her committee responsible forproducing this Newsletter.

Our Annual Language Arts Confer-ence, Reading for the Love of It, is head-ing into its 38th year. Congratulationsto Marguerite Campbell, ProgrammeChair, and her dedicated committeewho have done an outstanding job inputting together a programme thatoffers elementary and secondary edu-cators a large variety of exciting work-shops and speakers. Over 60 sessionson each of the two days covers a widevariety of topics including criticalthinking, using brain research inteaching, promoting inquiry in thekindergarten classroom, differentiat-ing instruction, supporting Englishlanguage learners, teaching and usingdrama and dance, social media, webtools and computer applications forteaching and learning. For a full pro-gram list and session descriptions,visit our website at www.readingfortheloveofit.com.

You can now register for Reading forthe Love of It online or by mail. All ses-

...President’s Message continued from page 1 Canning, and this year’s speaker,Canadian author, Terry Fallis.

Erica Townson, our very efficient ex-ecutive administrator, has once againorganized a wide array of publisherexhibits. Over the two-day confer-ence, you will have opportunity toview publisher materials, visit book-sellers, and have select books signedby visiting authors and illustrators.

The 26 volunteer members of theEast York-Scarborough Reading As-sociation work hard throughout theyear to organize an interesting, cur-rent and relevant program in effort tosupport educators in improving pro-fessional practice. We also endeavourto spread a love for reading to all. Weare very excited and look forward towelcoming each of you to Readingfor the Love of It, on February 20th and21st, 2014 at the Sheraton CentreHotel, in downtown Toronto!

Whether through our website, ormail, register soon and see you atReading for the Love of It!

Kathy Lazarovits President, EYSRA

Have you ever considered recognizinga deserving colleague by nominat-ing him/her for our annual teachingaward? Each year, our Associationhonours exceptional contributionsby teachers in the field of literacy. Toqualify for this prestigious ReadingAward the candidates should:• have demonstrated a lasting

influence on students throughinnovative teaching

• have a history of sharing literacyexpertise through mentoring,workshops or seminars

• teach in either the T.D.S.B. or theT.C.D.S.B.

• be nominated by two colleaguesStrong consideration is given to

nominees who have attended ourannual conference. Presentations will

be made at the special event A Tastefor Reading, taking place on theevening of Thursday, February 20th,2014. Winners will be awarded witha full conference registration, in-cluding two tickets for the specialevent and a $100 gift certificate topurchase books.

Nominations in writing (paper orelectronic) will be accepted until 5p.m. on Friday, December 13, 2013.They can be submitted electronically(eys@readingfortheloveofit.com), byfax to 416-444-9282 or mailed to EYSReading Association, 1315 LawrenceAvenue East, #309, Toronto, ON,M3A 3R3.

Teresa PaoliAwards Committee Chair and Past President

Wanted — Teacher Nominees forour Annual Reading Award

Meet publishers, book sellers, authors, illustratorsand storytellers at the 2014 conference.

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here are many ways to thinkof digital literacy. Teachershave a role in guiding stu-dents’ responsible use of

social media, in showing the mean-ingful research opportunities digitaltools provide, and also in simplymodelling the use of a constantly ex-panding set of digital tools. It is thislast purpose that we would like toshare. We have experimented withmany digital tools for student en-gagement, the following three beingour most successful.

Socrative is a student response sys-tem allowing teachers to ask studentsquestions (either in a pre-writtenquiz or on an ad-hoc basis) and thendisplay student answers. We can havestudents read a passage and submitanswers to critical questions usinglaptops, cell phones, tablets or eveniPods. We can then display those an-swers (anonymously), have themvote on the best, and display a graphof those votes for discussion. For pre-written quizzes, Socrative emails tab-ulated scores in Excel format. Whilevarious programs can do roughly thistask, free and easy-to-use Socrative isour favourite.

More fun, is Triptico, a set of inter-active whiteboard tools created byBrit teacher David Riley. Triptico al-lows teachers to easily create slickreview games and activities. We canuse Triptico to review just about anylesson with a kind of game-show at-mosphere, complete with sound ef-fects and animations. All Tripticoneeds is a laptop, and a projector,though it’s even better with an in-terative whiteboard.

Speaking of interactive whiteboards,those of you lucky enough to have

easy access to one, know their po-tential for engagement. For the restof us — there’s a cheap alternative:Smoothboard. If your laptop alreadyhas built-in Bluetooth, for the priceof a Wii controller, a thirty dollarpiece of software and a cheap in-frared pen (all of which we got fromWiiteachers.com) you can make yourown interactive whiteboard. It’s sim-ple to set up, and is compatible withPromethean and SmartBoard soft-ware. Interactive whiteboards are

good for student presentations, forsingle stations at class-wide carousels,and for whole-class engagement.

There are other tools we love as well— Moodle, Prezi, Voki, Tagxedo, andeven Twitter. New candidates seem tobe constantly popping up, and possi-bly the best thing about this constantchange is that it keeps us sharp andengaged, makes us look forward toteaching a lesson in a whole new waywith genuine and enjoyable interac-tion with our students.

T

Say Goodbye to Chalk: Engaging our Students and Ourselves

with Digital Literacy By David and Christina Lomax

English Department, Lester B. Pearson C.I.

Top: Students work on a Smoothboard. Below left: Sample of Triptico interactive whiteboard toolBelow right: Backward Glass by David Lomax, in stores now, is suitable for ages 12-18. Authorschool visits can be arranged.

4

he more I think about thelearning that I want formy class, the more that Irealize what I value. It’s

the experience. I want them to inviteothers to join them in their learning.I want to teach them to make them-selves vulnerable enough to grow.That sharing, however, can take onmany different forms.

Computers and tech make it easy,but they’re not always the right tools.

Near my school I saw two thingsthat got me thinking. The first wasthis graffiti:

The second was the book PicklesPlease by Andy Myer on display at alocal book store.

Lightbulb!Pickles Please is a book about a boy

named Alec Smart who has a pickleobsession. No one gets him. No onewants to get him. One day Alec hopsa cucumber truck that’s on the wayto a pickle factory. I’m not going tospoil the story for you, but let’s justsay the boy makes some friends andtogether they make pickles cool.

We had a great talk in my classaround the topic “What’s yourpickle?” Kids all shared their ideasand I put them on a big piece ofbanner paper.

In the middle of the banner I leftinstructions for people passing by.

Then it all happened. Students, teachers, principals all

came by and wrote down questionsfor the kids. My students got SO ex-cited whenever they saw someonestop at the banner in the hall. Therewere many, many requests to “use thebathroom”. They would even sneak

T

Sharing: Analogue Social MediaBy Stepan Pruchnicky

Teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic elementary school, Toronto Catholic District School Board

5

Then we got some help from ourgrade six reading buddies and wewent to a computer lab to see whatwe could learn.

When the hard questions were an-swered, we started to write. The kidswrote and wrote. We drafted and re-vised. We spent several days listen-ing to each piece of writing andasking more questions. It was beau-tiful to see how keen they were tohear about their classmates’ passions.

out to check and see what new ques-tions were written on the paper. I letit all happen. I’d be the worst teacherever if I got mad at seven year olds forbeing excited about their learning.

It only took one day for the bannerto fill up.

Next, I cut out all of the sections andgot the students to sort their ques-tions into “easy” and “hard” (easy =they knew the answers, hard = theydidn’t).

I made notes of the conversationsand gave them to each presenter.

Then we re-wrote.I was and still am floored.You’ll notice that some things are

not spot on… But they’re gradetwos!!! They learned to share, to bevulnerable to criticism, to researchand figure out what they don’t know.

Obviously, there are things that Iwould tweak. 1) We need to have a good talk aboutusing our pictures or making surethat we have permission to use otherpeople’s work (creative commons).2) I need to teach them how to dou-ble-check facts. This will be a longlesson that they will take years toget, and many teachers teaching andreteaching the same message.

But those are next steps forgrowth; things to be mindful of, notto dwell on. After many years ofteaching, this is probably the bestlearning that I have been a part of.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, yes,volcano girl is for real. These are herwords. She reads a lot about volca-noes and asks a lot of questions.

Stepan shares his learning at http://140pluslearning.tumblr.com/

“Literacy is much more thanan educational priority —

it is the ultimate investmentin the future and the firststep towards all the new

forms of literacy required inthe twenty-first century. We wish to see a century

where every child is able toread and to use this skill

to gain autonomy.”

Irina Bokova, UNESCODirector General

International Literacy Day,September 8, 2013

6

The most downloaded e-magazinesso far this year include:The Economist, House & Home, Us Weekly, National Geographic,Rolling Stone

In the next few months, district li-braries will have digital kiosks to de-monstrate e-books and e-magazines.Book-a-Librarian services are alsoavailable at branches should customers

he Toronto Public Library(TPL) has launched anadvertising campaign toinform people about its

selection of current, popular and freee-books and e-magazines availableat tpl.ca/ereads. Commuters will seeads promoting TPL’s e-books and e-magazines on subways, streetcarsand outdoor shelters. This is part ofa long-term strategy to increaseawareness of e-content.

A recent survey found that 48 percent of library users and 24 per centof non-users are aware TPL offers e-books. Although awareness is low,demand is high among those whoknow about e-content. Last yearalone, there was a 105 per cent in-crease in e-book usage and this hasgrown by another 70 per cent so farthis year. In September 2013, TPLbegan actively promoting its e-mag-azine titles. Since then, borrowingrates have increased 100 per cent.

“Libraries have always connectedpeople to information and there isnow increasing demand for e-con-tent,” said Jane Pyper, City Librar-ian. “We want to let as many peopleas possible know that e-books ande-magazines are available at tpl.ca/ereads. All you’ll need to access oure-content is a library card and Inter-net connection.”

The most downloaded TPL e-booksso far this year include:A Tap on the Window by LinwoodBarclay The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith The Inconvenient Indian: A CuriousAccount of Native People in NorthAmerica by Thomas KingInferno by Dan BrownGone Girl by Gillian FlynnLife After Life by Kate AtkinsonLean In by Sheryl SandbergMaddAddam by Margaret AtwoodOmens by Kelley Armstrong

TToronto Public Library Launches

E-Book and E-Magazine Campaign

need more one-on-one support.The campaign supports TPL’s strate-

gic plan objective of growing a city ofreaders by a variety of means includ-ing building awareness of the avail-ability of e-content.

OutreachThe East York-Scarborough Reading Association is proud and honored to advancethe causes of social justice through Outreach initiatives. It is our firm belief thataccess to literacy is a fundamental human right. Our goal is to support childrenand adults in attaining, promoting and strengthening literacy skills. We have along tradition of reaching out to local, national and international communities.

In 2012-2013, funds were directed toward the following organizations:

Children’s Book Bank

Covenant House

Ronald McDonald House Toronto

Evergreen Brickworks

Stephen Leacock Foundation

St. Paul’s Breakfast Club and Expanded Tutoring Club

Distress Centres of Toronto

For a complete list, please visit our website at www.readingfortheloveofit.com

We are thrilled to continue our work and are eagerly exploring opportunitiesand projects for 2013-2014. Stay tuned for upcoming details.

It is with grateful hearts that we thank and acknowledge the generosity of ourconference attendees who make the gift of literacy a possibility. All revenuegenerated through the sales at our Outreach Table is dedicated to our yearlyprojects. Our sturdy bags, pins, pens, pencils, bookmarks and notebooks awaityou. Please stop by and don’t forget to enter our draw and a chance to win ourtrademark blanket. Hope to see you all at the 38th Annual Conference on February 20th and 21st, 2014.

Denise Canning, TCDSB, 3rd Vice President and Outreach Chair

The TPL is one of the world’s busiest urbanpublic library systems. Yearly, 19 million peoplevisit its branches in neighbourhoods acrossthe city and borrow 32 million items.

7

structure, such as Internet accessand hardware maintenance, waslacking in many countries. TheOLPC program has recently rolledout in parts of Canada, mainly in re-mote communities in the north.

Among the challenges discussedwhen it comes to technology in ed-ucation were the social and politicalimpacts. Corporations control theeducation agenda in many coun-tries, subsequently controlling the

s student laptops, inter-active hardware and e-Learning have becomepart of the public edu-

cation experience in many parts of theworld, it is only very recently thatpractical conversations and in-depthresearch on the effects of new learn-ing technologies have taken place.Have these new learning technologiesbeen a benefit to student achieve-ment? How do these technologies af-fect education professionals?

Many of these questions were ex-plored at the Information and Com-munications Technology (ICT) andPublic Education in the AmericasSeminar in Mexico City in late May.Educators and researchers from tencountries, including OSSTF/FEESO,from across the western hemisphereattended the three day seminar todiscuss growing trends in the use oftechnology in education.

Many of the presentations at theseminar could be summarized inthree themes: delivery of learningthrough the Internet, access to tech-nology by students and educators,and the political and social chal-lenges with learning technologies.

Many countries in our hemispherehave recently used e-Learning mod-els in their respective education sys-tems. Some have experienced the useof massive online open courses(MOOCs), which are offered at lowcost or free to students. These coursescan have thousands of students en-rolled at any one time under one in-structor. Job security for educators,authentic assessment of learning andability to maintain access to knowl-edge for free, for all people, were dis-cussed by participants.

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)program has been rolled out inmany countries in the Americas withmixed results. Some appreciated theaccess to technology, while othersrecognized that sustainable infra-

ATechnology in Education —

A Hemispheric Point of Viewknowledge and learning which stu-dents experience, especially throughthe sale of learning hardware andsoftware. With privatized curriculamaking their way into public educa-tion systems, there remains a greatdeal of skepticism among many ed-ucators about the future of publiceducation as a whole.

The participants at the seminaragreed that more research is neededon the impact of learning technolo-gies on students and on the publiceducation system as a whole. Morehard data and research is to beshared among those who attendedthe seminar.

Published in OSSTF/FEESO Update, Vol. 41, No. 1

he most profound chal-lenge for teachers in ourera is not one of technol-ogy, curricula, or re-

sources—it is one of engagement.Neuroscience research states thatwithout engaging learners, no signif-icant and lasting neural connectionsare made. Our learners have evolvedprofoundly due to the changes intheir environment in the last twodecades. These students have hadvast experience controlling their ownlearning through the use of the In-ternet, smartphones, tablets, etc.They have been prompted by theirown interests and a natural joy oflearning. They are not waiting to betaught by us and are unlikely to giveup their self-directed learning habits.

The way for us to meet this chal-lenge is to engage students in aprocess of Conscious Growth, wherethey are full partners in their learn-

ing from a young age. We need tomake use of motivated engagement,which uses joy to connect us withlearning. We also need to leveragediscretionary effort, which causes peo-ple to do things that they are not re-quired to do. Demonstrated whenstudents connect a part of their iden-tity with a classroom activity, discre-tionary effort places them “inside” thework, actively seeking to influence itand giving them true ownership.

If we can begin to engage our stu-dents in this process of consciousgrowth, we will easily be able to helpour students achieve the learningour age requires of them!

Dr. Edmond J. Dixon is a writer, researcher, and human developmentspecialist with 30+ years’ experiencein education. He will be presentinga more in-depth look at consciousgrowth at the 2014 conference.

TConscious Growth:

The Future of Learning

8

40811617

East York-Scarborough Reading Association1315 Lawrence Ave. East, Unit 309Toronto, Ontario M3A 3R3Tel: 416-444-7473Fax: 416-444-9282E-mail: eys@readingfortheloveofit.comWeb: www.readingfortheloveofit.com

We are committed to improving the quality of literacy instruction and encouraging the development of a lifelong interest in reading.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Toronto Catholic District School BoardMichael Francone, Marisa LiscioTeresa Paoli, Tony PetittiBrenda Stewart

Toronto District School BoardMarguerite Campbell, Lisa HawkinsVangie Kalanderopoulos, Kathy LazarovitsCarol Munro

Executive (2013-2014): Front row (left toright): Margaret Talbot, Jane Milligan, Marisa Liscio, Tony Petitti, Teresa Paoli, KathyLazarovits, Mike Francone, Denise Canning,Lisa Hawkins, Marguerite Campbell; Middlerow (left to right): Brian Svenningsen, BrendaStewart, Vangie Kalanderopoulos, Jill Eason,Liz Blake, Val Collins, Joan Barrett, Jose Molina,Tanya Reilly-Primaylon; Back row (left toright): Stephanie Shore, Kelly Manning, NoraLovgren, Carol Munro, Doris Wukasch, EricaTownson, Joyce Dolmer, Natasha Serba.

Visit us online and see what people aresaying about Reading for the love of it.

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, February 20th andFriday, February 21st, 2014 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel, downtown Toronto.Registration is now open atwww.readingfortheloveofit.comWe recommend that you registerearly!

Special OpportunityThe Wednesday, February 19th eveningWelcome Reception features our AGMand a special appearance and book signing by Patricia MacLachlan andSteven Kellogg with Snowflakes Fall,a memorable children’s book that honours the community of Sandy Hookand Newtown, Connecticut, and all children who have suffered loss.

Holiday Reads

Alice Munro’s Best: A Selection of Stories by theNobel Laureate for Literature

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny

The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing Geniusby Kristine Barnet

We Are Water by Wally Lamb

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Holiday Reads compiled by Carol Munro, EYSRA

RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED

2014PLAN TO ATTEND • PLAN TO ATTEND • PLAN TO ATTEND • PLAN TO ATTEND