Literacy Now

In September 2011, the International Reading Association (IRA) announced a three-year partnership with the CTL (Collaborative for Teaching and Learning), Nokia (the global mobile communications corporation), and the Pearson Foundation to train teachers in Bangladesh and Indonesia to use the IRA Diagnostic Teaching Model (DTM).

The mission of this new partnership is to promote primary literacy development through mobile technology and on-site training. DTM provides classroom teachers with core knowledge, skills, and tools to teach reading and writing at the primary level, including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading comprehension, writing, and speaking.

With technical and financial support from Nokia and Pearson, including provision of mobile hand-held devices and online video streaming, IRA and CTL will implement a comprehensive literacy teacher professional development network supported by both face-to-face and virtual training and mentoring. CTL will provide project management and facilitate local planning, local literacy leadership team development, development of content for the Nokia Education Development (NED) system, and virtual mentoring for trainers and leaders.

Experienced IRA volunteers will conduct all program training and participate in online mentoring. NED will include self-study videos, compilations of student work with audio voice-overs, samples of teacher practice and related discussion boards, and other field-based information.

IRA affi liates in Bangladesh and Indonesia have already participated in training and mentoring to support development of country-specific planning. In the next phase of work, these plans will be implemented, supported by on-site professional development in DTM and literacy leadership development. Implementation will also be supported through virtual networking and coaching, through Nokia’s NED system and online social networking structures. All support will be interactive and customized to each country’s implementation plan.

The Global Literacy Professional Development Network addresses United Nations Education for All (EFA) Goals, including expanding and improving early childhood care and education for disadvantaged children; improving adult literacy, and equitable access to basic education for all adults by 2015; and improving the quality of education so that recognized levels of literacy and essential life skills are achieved by all.

Click here for CTL's article about the partnership

Barbara Moore, who passed away in September, had a passion for life and education, a genuine commitment for social justice, and a willingness to put children at the centre of learning. She had a singular ability to work with people–to make each person feel special, to honour the work of people before her that contributed to her work, to instil a great sense of confidence in people, and to create a strong sense of cooperation rather than competition. Barbara became a raging virago when confronted with political and education injustices–and seeing this gentle woman "morph" was a sight to behold!

When I was asked to join the International Development in Oceania Committee Barbara Moore was an existing member, and she was very quickly promoted to chairperson. At that stage Barbara was in charge of the Reading Centre at the Institute of Education at the University of the South Pacific, in Fiji. She spearheaded the development of the South Pacific Literacy Education Project which was initially a joint venue between the Reading Associations of New Zealand and Australia, and then incorporated into the Oceania Committee work. She drew skilfully on the work of Warwick Elley and Francis Mungubai and captured to essence of the book flood learning and the importance of acknowledging and using community stories. Barbara showed incredible leadership across the Pacific–promoting effective practice in literacy and a love of learning, enhancing leadership, encouraging International Reading Association (IRA) membership, and supporting learning in and the publication of resources in children’s first languages.

IRA benefited immensely from Barbara’s commitment. She worked tirelessly to foster IRA’s goals, which she did with integrity and enthusiasm. She guided the International Development Coordinating Committee with co-chair Alistair Hendry, and worked to build positive and constructive relationships with the IRA Board of Directors–relationships that have continued to this day. At the first IRA International Leadership Conference in 1993 Barbara joined the NZRA "delegation" in presenting a very real view of New Zealand education that acknowledged our international links. At the traditional Committee Chairs breakfast at IRA conventions Barbara frequently shared her introduction with stories that were real and inspirational. Barbara’s love of literature and education was always a significant guiding influence.

Barbara was awarded the NZRA Citation of Merit in 1996. This is NZRA’s highest honour, given sparingly, to a person who has contributed significantly to local councils, to reading and to New Zealand (and international) education. One of the criteria was evidenced through Barbara’s participation in sponsoring Pasifika teachers to attend conferences–to set up specific programmes within conferences so that their time was focused and useful. For the 4th South Pacific Conference on Reading, held in Fiji, Barbara held the organisation together way beyond the planning. Pasifika teachers reported that Barbara’s intervention made their participation genuinely educationally productive.

The current highly successful initiatives of the Oceania Committee are based squarely on the work of Barbara.  She enhanced the concept of language experience with texts developed by local people in their first language.  Barbara was an educator ahead of her time. I am privileged to have worked with her and to have learned from her.

Barbara’s contribution to education is summed up nicely in her book, Rescuing the Castaways, written with Teraaka Biribo for the 12th IRA World Congress on Reading on the Gold Coast in 1988. This quote is from Chapter 7: “If you are literate, you feel like a human being, for you can learn about the world for yourself; and communicate with different people in different places. You gain through reading and become part of the wider world.” 

Thank you, Barbara Moore. 

 

Heather Bell is a member of the International Reading Association's Board of Directors. 

The International Reading Association (IRA) offers over four dozen awards for teachers and research professionals. All nominees must be IRA members. Applications for the following nine awards are due Tuesday, November 15, 2011. 

IRA Arbuthnot Award 
The Arbuthnot Award is an $800 award to honor an outstanding college or university teacher of children’s and young adults’ literature. Nominees must be IRA members, affiliated with a college or university, and engaged in teacher and/or librarian preparation at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. 

IRA Award for Technology and Reading
The IRA Award for Technology and Reading honors educators in grades K–12 who are making an outstanding and innovative contribution to the use of technology in reading education. There will be one grand-prize winner, seven U.S. regional winners, one Canadian, and one international winner. All entrants must be educators who work directly with students ages 5–18 for all or part of the working day. 

IRA Erwin Zolt Curriculum Excellence Award
This award, established in memory of Erwin Zolt, who inspired in others a “zest for knowledge,” may be given annually to support exceptional design and execution of a curriculum unit based on In2Books and the Common Core State Standards, inspiring students to transform knowledge into creative action. This award is for $2,500 (sponsored by Nina Zolt and Miles Gilburne). 

IRA William S. Gray Citation of Merit
The William S. Gray Citation of Merit is awarded to a nationally or internationally known person for outstanding contributions to the field of reading. 

IRA Maryann Manning Outstanding Volunteer Service Award
The IRA Maryann Manning Outstanding Volunteer Service Award is a nonmonetary award given annually to four dedicated volunteers within North America and one dedicated volunteer outside of North America. 

IRA/Weekly Reader Eleanor M. Johnson Award
The IRA/Weekly Reader Eleanor M. Johnson Award recognizes an outstanding elementary classroom teacher of reading/language arts. The award honors Eleanor M. Johnson, founder and editor-in-chief of Weekly Reader, who died in 1987. It carries a $1,000 prize supported by a grant from Weekly Reader Corporation. 

IRA Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award
The IRA Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award is a $1,000 award supported by Jerry Johns. This award honors an outstanding college or university teacher of reading methods or reading-related courses. Nominees must be IRA members, affiliated with a college or a university, and engaged in teacher preparation in reading at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels. 

IRA Nila Banton Smith Award
IRA will present the IRA Nila Banton Smith Award to a teacher who shows outstanding leadership in translating theory and current research into practice in developing content area literacy. 

IRA Paul A. Witty Short Story Award
The IRA Paul A. Witty Short Story Award is given to the author of an original short story published for the first time during 2011 in a periodical for children. The award carries a $1,000 stipend. The short story should serve as a literary standard that encourages young readers to read periodicals. 

IRA Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Grant
IRA will honor an outstanding mainstream, elementary classroom teacher dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of reading and writing, across the curriculum in real world contexts in grades K–6 (ages 5–12). At least 60% of the school's students must be eligible for free or reduced lunch. The grant may not be used for purchase of commercial programs. The $2,500 award is supported by a grant from Regie Routman. 

Exemplary Reading Program Award
The Exemplary Reading Program Award recognizes outstanding reading and language arts programs at all grade levels (elementary, middle, and high school). Its purpose is to call the public’s attention to outstanding programs in schools throughout Canada and the United States. Each participating state and province can choose one winning school a year. At least one faculty or staff member of the applying school must be a current IRA member. 

Click here for more information about IRA awards and grants.

The International Reading Association (IRA) convention team has some fun ways to get ready for the Annual Convention in April 2012. 

Nominate your favorite teacher for IRA’s Celebrated Teacher of the Year, and they could win free registration to the annual 2012 convention in Chicago. IRA will accept nominations through December, 31, 2011. In January, they will share nominated teachers’ stories on the convention website. IRA members can vote on the most exceptional story. In mid-March, IRA will recognize one teacher as IRA's Celebrated Teacher of the Year.

The “Convention Insider” is an online TV show with host Wes Ford. The latest episode features IRA President Victoria Risko revealing the origins of the 2012 Convention’s theme “Celebrating Teaching” along with which educators have inspired her. The convention website also has videos with Wes introducing the new convention website, speaking with Regie Routman, and interviewing Willie Benjamin. Visit www.iraconvention.org to watch these 2012 convention videos as well as 2011 convention videos. 

The Itinerary Program Planner for the 2012 Convention goes live in November 2011. Convention registration and housing reservations will be available online beginning December 1, 2011. For more information, visit www.iraconvention.org or the convention Facebook page. 

Literacy Events 

Awards & Grants 

Today we begin our series of articles featuring the innovative projects coordinated by Special Interest Groups (SIGs) of the International Reading Association. In this debut feature, we highlight the Technology in Literacy Education SIG (TILE-SIG) who has been contributing weekly articles to Reading Today Online for the past few months. President Julie Coiro shares what makes the SIG unique and fun. 

1. Are you especially proud of any of your SIG's projects?
One SIG project I am especially proud of is our efforts to more actively involve conference attendees in our TILE-SIG annual session. Beginning in 2010, we decided to combine our regular large group presentation offering with more interactive small group roundtable sessions.  We’ve gotten positive feedback from our members about this format as it enables attendees to enjoy a 40-minute formal presentation made by the winner of our annual Computers in Reading Research Award and then meet in several small group 30-minute breakout sessions to talk more intimately with researchers and other teachers wanting to share their ideas about how technology can be used to improve the quality of reading instruction. At the 2012 IRA convention, we will host Renee Hobbs, our 2011 research award winner, and 18 different roundtable sessions, in three groups of six breakouts each. 

A second TILE-SIG project that I am proud of speaks to the amazing amount of expertise that lies within our membership. Our newsletter now boasts regular columns such as Voices from the Field (by Denise Stuart), Educational Blog Watch (by Mike Putman), Book Reviews (by Brenda Stein Dzaldov), and Summaries of TILE-SIG Presentations for SIG members unable to attend IRA’s annual convention. Elsewhere, this past August, seventeen TILE-SIG members volunteered to contribute to a blog series featured in Reading Today Online that posts weekly segments on topics including online composing tools, exemplary classroom websites, technology tips, research briefs, and professional development initiatives around infusing technology into the literacy curriculum. Recent posts by Jill Castek, Rick Ferdig, and Marjie Podzielinski, for example, illustrate just a few of the many ways that IRA and TILE-SIG members seek to support classroom teachers. 

2. What are the benefits of joining your SIG? 

The biggest benefit to joining the TILE-SIG is having regular access to formal and informal professional development opportunities and the insights of our over 190 members. Our membership is distributed mostly between classroom teachers and literacy researchers, although some hold positions as technology specialists, school administrators, or educational consultants. IRA members seeking to be more actively involved in initiatives related to technology and literacy are highly encouraged to join us and think about how you can help the SIG to better meet your needs. In addition to these networking opportunities, registered members receive our SIG newsletter two to three times each year; they can submit proposals to present at our annual TILE-SIG session; they work closely with members of IRA’s Technology Committee to assist with technology-related charges; and they can become more active as a SIG committee member. We are currently investigating opportunities to partner up with other SIGs for a social event at the annual convention as well.

3. Are there any future projects in store for your SIG?

One exciting new venture that TILE-SIG members Denise Stuart, from The University of Akron, and Paula Saine, from Miami University, are heading up this fall involves coordinating efforts to more formally connect our members who have volunteered to serve as liaisons between the TILE-SIG and their local/state reading associations. The TILE-SIG has members in almost every state in the United States as well as in at least six countries. Our hope is to find more ways to effectively share our resources and learn how our SIG can better meet the needs of classroom teachers seeking to improve the quality of reading instruction through the use of new technologies. Through these liaisons, we also hope to meet teachers doing exciting things in their classrooms and invite them to share their work with our members.

And finally, I think our most exciting future venture involves developing a professional, peer-reviewed journal for sharing research and teaching ideas related to literacy and technology. Beth Dobler, from Emporia State University, and Denise Johnson, from the College of William and Mary, have volunteered to head up this project and are hoping for the online publication for the inaugural issue of the Journal of Technology In Literacy Education to appear early summer, 2013.

4. How does one join your SIG? 
The easiest way to join our SIG is to visit IRA’s TILE-SIG website. From here, you can download the one page registration form and mail it with your $10 annual registration fee to our membership chair, Joan Rhodes, at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her contact information is included at the bottom of the form. Please note that you must be a member of IRA in order to join the TILE-SIG. There is also space on the form to indicate your interest in serving as a TILE-SIG committee member or liaison with your local reading association.

5. Is there a website, newsletter, or another way to find more information about your SIG? Is there a person that prospective members can contact?
To get a sense of our TILE-SIG offerings, you can download a recent newsletter or access several previous newsletters by selecting the Newsletters link at our TILE-SIG wiki. From the wiki, you can also explore handouts and presentation materials from previous TILE-SIG annual conference sessions and relevant resources connected to several years of Technology Pre-Conference Institutes, which are hosted collaboratively by members of TILE-SIG and IRA’s Technology, Communication and Literacy Committee. You do not need to be a member of the SIG to view the wiki; however, only SIG members will be given access to the wiki as content contributor.  To learn more about our SIG, you can contact me (Julie Coiro, President of the TILE-SIG) at jcoiro@mail.uri.edu or our membership chair Joan Rhodes at jarhodes2@vcu.edu. For more information about our newsletter, you can contact our co-editor Michael Putman at michael.putman@uncc.edu. 

 

If you would like Reading Today Online to feature your SIG, please contact readingtoday@/.