Amy Cottle
Curriculum & Instruction
Marshall University

Abstract: This is a description of how a classroom teacher started using Web 2.0 tools to integrate 21st century skills. The students participated in a blogging project where they posted their writing and commented on other students’ writing. They also had the ability to post podcasts. The teacher moderated the blogging activities, and provided revision and editing suggestions to students. After participating in several blogs, the students completed a survey to evaluate their attitudes about blogging in the classroom. Findings indicated that all of the students liked blogging on the class blog site, and most of them preferred using the site to publish their writing.

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Yvonne Skoretz
Curriculum & Instruction
Marshall University

Abstract:This action research study documents one teacher’s implementation of Clay’s (2001) literacy lesson format as an intervention model during Tier II instruction in a West Virginia elementary school. Individual tutoring sessions occurred over five weeks with a first grade student. DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) (Good & Kaminski, 2002) assessment data collected before, during, and after the intervention reveal an improvement in phonological awareness and knowledge of the alphabetic principle. The author asserts that it is the quality of instruction during the implementation of literacy lessons that led to gains in literacy acquisition skills.

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