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[Technology 978] Re: INTERNET UNIVERSE FOR STRUGGLING READERSmaureen hoyt maureenh at azcallateen.k12.az.usTue May 1 12:30:16 EDT 2007
I think this is a great project! The CNN site http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/archives.html and the California project http://www.cdlponline.org/ and this leveled reading http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/ are some sites to look at. Have you considered some fiction/drama/poetry too? Maureen Hoyt Basic Education Manager ACYR 602-252-6721ext 223 fax: 602-252-2952 www.azcallateen.k12.az.us www.az-aall.org -----Original Message----- From: technology-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:technology-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mary Jo Meade Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 10:09 AM To: technology at nifl.gov Subject: [Technology 977] INTERNET UNIVERSE FOR STRUGGLING READERS Hi all... I am working on a project that will serve struggling adolescent and adult readers and English Language Learners. Alternative Lens (working title) will be a digital library containing engaging, visually lush, content-driven, nonfiction readings packages, each presented at three or more reading levels and, likely, in Spanish. I would greatly value the group's input - questions, comments, suggestions, Valium!!! (I will put more details about Alternative Lens in a second email.) ..................................... PREMISE: Because the most compelling websites, books and magazines are written for proficient readers, struggling readers are denied access to the deepest, most fascinating and thought-provoking stories - precisely the kind of material that can sustain student motivation to read and learn despite previous failures. APPROACH: Through collaboration and special agreements, Alternative Lens will harvest education/outreach materials from tax-funded and nonprofit entities worldwide and translate the "best of the best" into themed readings packages on all subjects. Through journalistic storytelling, thousands of magazine-style, nonfiction articles will build engagement in older struggling readers while reinforcing classroom learning and vocabulary. On-demand vocabulary help will include not only simple word definitions, but also images, animations and interactives that help cement comprehension. The goal is to provide this nonprofit library free of charge to everyone everywhere. ........................................ Background: I have been a journalist for 30 years, working as a reporter, copyeditor, magazine art director, and newspaper graphics editor/art director. I have spent the last 10 of those years blending journalism and education, creating learning materials on history, science and the environment for children and the general public. In early 2005, I stumbled upon the story of the Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians ( www.kdla.ky.gov/resources/kypackhorselib.htm ), women who, riding horses or mules, traveled up rocky creekbeds and muddy trails in the mountains of rural Kentucky to deliver reading materials to remote homes and schools. The creative spark for Alternative Lens came from that Depression-era W.P.A. project. The Web offers a nearly unlimited supply of great learning materials, but those materials of greatest interest to adolescents and adults are generally crafted for proficient readers who have acquired age-appropriate knowledge bases. Alternative Lens was conceived to blend the skills of journalists and educators in order to create a deeply engaging learning environment for the underserved population of older struggling readers. In the summer of 2005, I was hired as part of a TQE grant at the University of Colorado/Colorado Springs to develop a pilot science reader program for middle school English language learners, and most recently I worked for the English Language Acquisition Unit at Colorado Department of Education, where we worked to find funding for Alternative Lens. There is an Institute of Education Sciences grant pending, but I am continuing to search for startup funding and a permanent home for the project. I own Limber Pine Learning, a tiny one-person business, but I will become a cog in the nonprofit Alternative Lens project when it births. Contact: Mary Jo Meade Limber Pine Learning / Alternative Lens 2301 Stepping Stones Way Colorado Springs, CO 80904 719 / 632-3978 limber.pine at earthlink.net AltLens target constituencies: * Older struggling readers, middle school through adult * Low-income language, racial and ethnic minorities * English language learners * Older special ed. students * Disabled adolescents and adults * Struggling readers in vo-tech programs * Students in migrant-, family- and workplace-literacy programs * Students in post-secondary remedial reading/writing programs * Incarcerated adolescents and adults Access points: Alternative Lens will use the Internet for general distribution, but all readings packages will be available as downloadable pdf files for classroom use. Select content also will be delivered via CD-ROM and newsprint readers for constituents without Internet access. AltLens will rely on the power of printed material in hands, as well as the Internet. Harvesting existing material for an underserved population: Most of the resources needed to build the foundation of the Alternative Lens project already exist, and more harvestable materials are being created every day. Federal, state, county and municipal taxes pay for research and discovery, museums and archives, and public education/outreach materials that serve up text, images, animations, video, sound, maps, timelines, interactives, step-by-step diagrams, and an almost boundless supply of primary-source materials, much of it on the Internet. Partnerships with other developed nations and education-driven nonprofits worldwide will provide additional harvestable education/outreach materials. A partial list of current collaborators: * National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico * Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse, Dr. Nancy Shanklin * National Park Service (national and regional offices) * U.S. Geological Survey * National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration / Boulder Labs * Denver Art Museum * Colorado Division of Wildlife * Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Department * University of Colorado/Colorado Springs' College of Engineering and Applied Science >From a letter of support for Alternative Lens: "Your work will be of great interest and assistance to literacy coaches and teachers as they work to help students develop reading skills that will apply across all content areas. Access to content resources that are written for students' various reading levels and of high interest are important to students' continued literacy development and success. Your ideas for this intervention are both exciting and excellently conceived." Dr. Nancy Shanklin / Director Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse - www.literacycoachingonline.org University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center School of Education and Human Development The Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse is joint project of the International Reading Association - www.reading.org - and the National Council of the Teachers of English - www.literacycoachingonline.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/technology/attachments/20070501/ee93ed5d/attachment.html
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