Spell Check - A Technological Assist

In today's world, nearly all written communication, at least in it's final format, is accomplished via some type of word processing program.  I would encourage my students to utilize spell check while writing, as well as in a final check of their work.  Ultimately, however, students should realize that they are in control and responsible for the final word choice in the document.


I found a wonderful lesson created by Mary Rizzo that teaches elementary students how to use spell check.  Find the lesson here:  http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3019.  It is important for students to specifically be taught the appropriate method for using spellcheck tools so they are aware of the limitations of the tool (eg.  grammar mistakes, homophone confusion, contextual nuances, etc.).  Students should also be instructed on proper spelling through phonic awareness, repetition, memorization and other "ground-up" techniques so as to not become reliant on spellcheck.  The process is similar to math studies where students first learn all the building blocks of basic computation, including memorization of times table.  After this is mastered, calculator usage is introduced. 

Due to the increased push toward electronic communication and self-expression through multiple digital media formats, children should be introduced to spellchecking earlier than they may have been 10 years ago.

Text Readability

I tested out several different text options and how small changes in type can affect readability.  I hadn't previously realized that Word had the Thesaurus tool embedded within the program and had never heard of the readability analysis.  Below are my results. 

The 1st paragraph was typed in Times New Roman 12 point font.  In the 2nd paragraph, I increased the font to 14 and chose Comic Sans MS for the age group I intend to teach - 1st - 4th graders.  I think it looks a lot more "kid friendly" even though the wording is the same.  The 3rd paragraph was changed to Century Gothic, 12 point font - one of the original sans serif fonts.  In the 4th paragraph, I increased the word spacing to 1.2.  I think this made the paragraph more difficult to read due to the eyes having to scan a bit further than they typically do. 

Finally, in paragraph 5 I used the Thesaurus tool and replaced a few words.  The original paragraph had a Fleish Kincaid Reading Ease of 61.6 and a grade level of 8.  After the few small changes, the Reading Ease increased to a 71.7 and the grade level came down to a 6.2. 

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         In this unit, we will be studying voting in America.  We will examine who is eligible to vote and who is not.  We will read several documents and write an opinion paper with references to our documents to support our responses to the questions, “Should voting be compulsory in the United States?  Why or why not?”  To get things started, let’s find out what you already know about voting.

            In this unit, we will be studying voting in America.  We will examine who is eligible to vote and who is not.  We will read several documents and write an opinion paper with references to our documents to support our responses to the questions, “Should voting be compulsory in the United States?  Why or why not?”  To get things started, let’s find out what you already know about voting.

            In this unit, we will be studying voting in America.  We will examine who is eligible to vote and who is not.  We will read several documents and write an opinion paper with references to our documents to support our responses to the questions, “Should voting be compulsory in the United States?  Why or why not?”  To get things started, let’s find out what you already know about voting.

            In this unit, we will be studying voting in America.  We will examine who is eligible to vote and who is not.  We will read several documents and write an opinion paper with references to our documents to support our responses to the questions, “Should voting be compulsory in the United States?  Why or why not?”  To get things started, let’s find out what you already know about voting.

            In this unit, we will be studying voting in America.  We will look into who is entitled to vote and who is not.  We will read some papers and write an opinion essay with references to our papers to support our responses to the questions, “Should voting be required in the United States?  Why or why not?”  To get things started, let’s find out what you already know about voting.

A journey in Technology Literacy

Well, this is my first attempt at blogging.  As has been pointed out to me, this is in and of itself a new form of literacy!  I also learned how to download a podcast mp3 file lecture after several failed attempts.  I am super excited about this concept and wish that all of my professors would adopt this practice for every lecture!  I am a super busy, working mother who is also going to grad school full time and trying to maximize every minute of the day.  I cannot express the number of times I have lamented about the "loss" of time I have every morning and evening commuting back and forth to work.  If I could have every reading assignment available in an audio format, I really think my life would be a lot easier.  I am excited about the opportunity to learn more about the available technologies related to literacy throughout the upcoming semester.  I hope I can apply several of these strategies in my future classroom to benefit my students.