Technology and The Teaching of Reading: Comics authoring

Assignment 8.1:

Technology based reading activities                                                                                            

In this session we will be looking at how technology may help in teaching reading. But before that, we will firstly look at how people approaches the teaching of reading, in this case is the teaching of EFL (English as Foreign Language) reading. Check the following link:

Reading approaches for an EFL class

Now, lets' see the following websites which shows how EFL reading experience can be enriched by using technology:

Technology helps teaching reading

Having read about some tools and technology assisted reading resources in the website above. It is time for us now to get the feel of how actually technology may help with reading by checking the following websites:

• An example of the text to speech tools - here (Natural Reader)
• An example of word games - here WORD GAMES
• An example of Interactive reading by British Council
• A sample of A Phonic reading can be found here

So, can you feel tell the difference between paper-based reading activities and interactive ones like the above? I believe children today prefers the interactive ones. But what do you think?

In the following website you can even find more collection of web-based reading activities that can be easily and freely accessed:

Kids online reading games

And what shall we do if we want to create our own web based interactive reading activities? The tool by half-baked software offers the possibility for you to do so. Check this:

Cloze Reading Activity made with HotPotatoes

Hot Potatoes is an easy to use authoring tools that can be used to create different web-based learning activities. One of them is the CLOZE READING activities as shown in the link above. You can also use it to create a matching activity, crossword, multiple choice activity etc. Check the following videos on how to create a cloze reading activity by using Hot Potatoes.

a. Creating cloze activities with JCLOZE in HOTPOTATOES

b. You can also create a drag and drop cloze reading activity see the sample video here and how to create that in this video

To download the HOT POTATOES software you can click HERE or click the logo below

Once you downloaded the tool, HOTPOTATOES, in group of 5 (see PAGE section, about the groups and their members). Make  a cloze reading activity by using JCLOZE in HotPotatoes. The length of the reading text should be no less then 100 words, and no longer than 150 words.

To submit your work, save it in HTML formal and compress the files into ZIP format. For instruction on how to create ZIP files check the video below or if it does not work click here:

Comics and the reading activity                                                                                                                       

Another way to promote reading activity is by having students to read comics. By reading comics students will get visual references as well as the feeling of relax and thus makes the reading activity more enjoyable. The following website talks about using comics to promote students literacy skills:

Promoting students literacy skills through comics reading 

Then how we can easily create our own comics for reading exercise /writing exercise purposes? We have a lot of ready to use tools actually, available on the internet. By using these comic creating tools we can actually help students to have both reading and writing exercises. So check the links below:

1. Toondoo

2. Chogger

3. Pixton

Assignment 8.2:

Now, Still with your group (See group page), make comics using one of the tools above, and once you finished making a comic, submit the file and name the file with your group names or send me the URL of your comics.