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Communities of Practice in

Tech & Literacy: A Dynamic Example from

the Field

http://bit.ly/virtualcop-aerintlconf

Yue-Ting Siu, UC Berkeley & SFSU

Charlotte Cushman, Perkins School for the Blind

Cyral Miller, TSBVI

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Today’s Objectives

• Describe: A “Community of Practice” and its value

in expanding access to educational resources.

• Discover: The Paths to Literacy site, use of social

media platforms, and interactive features.

• Discuss: Ways a Virtual Community of Practice

supports teachers and families in literacy activities.

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What is a

“Community of Practice”?

“Communities of practice are groupsof people who share a concern or apassion for something they do andlearn how to do it better as theyinteract regularly.”

-- Etienne Wenger (2006), Cognitive Anthropologisthttp://www.ewenger.com/theory/

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Elements of a CoP

The Domain:Shared interest and values

The Community:Members interact and learn from each

together

The Practice:Mutual development of a shared repertoire of resources:experiences, stories, tools, and ways of addressingrecurring problems - a shared practice

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Levels of Participation

From: http://wenger-trayner.com/resources/slide-forms-of-participation/

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Relevancy to Itinerant TVIs

• Invite different and informal levels of

participation

• Focus on shared values, goals

• Combination of mentors and mentees

• Access to shared expertise, experiences

-- by Etienne Wenger http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/2855.html

(Harvard Business School, 2002)

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Example:

Teachers’ technology use

Teachers and students in

general education:

1. Improved infrastructure

2. Increased funding and

availability of technology

3. Standards for tech

instruction in pre-service

4. Professional development

• Learning communities

• In-service trainings

TVIs and students with

visual impairments:

1. Improved infrastructure

2. Increased funding and

availability of technology

3. Standards for tech

instruction in pre-service

4. Professional development?

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Differentiated Tech Use for

TVIs

• TVIs are the gatekeeper

• Device-specific knowledge is

insufficient

• Must flex tech in response to:

- student needs

- subject/content

- technology constraints

• Toolkit changes quickly as

technology progresses

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What’s next?

• Provide solutions using a “what works”

approach

• Create professional networks for better

access to resources and development:

• Social media

• Virtual networks

• Nurture communities of practice (CoPs)

• Introduce skills and start building CoPs

in pre-service!

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What is Paths to Literacy?

• A community of practice that is dynamic

• A symposium or think tank that gives

people access to ideas and conversations

about literacy

• A home to multiple platforms, including an

interactive website, Facebook, Pinterest,

and Twitter

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Content Areas

The site is divided into 12 content areas:

1. General Literacy2. Learning Media

Assessment3. Emergent Literacy4. Multiple Disabilities5. Braille6. Struggling Readers7. Print8. Writing9. Dual Media10.English Language

Learners11.Auditory Strategies12.Math Literacy #A

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Features of the Site

• Blogs

• Strategies

• Resources

• Technology

• Research

• Instructional Guidelines #A

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Value of Registering on

the Site

• Email notifications of blog posts

• Subscribe to learn when posts are made in different areas

• Make comments, ask questions

• Submit a post and earn continuing education credit! #

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Interactive Possibilities of

Site

Conversations/comments

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Dear Paths

http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/dear-paths

Sample questions include:- Parent of child with CVI looking

for suggestions- How can I teach my deafblind son

about the passage of time?- Which video games are

accessible?- I need ideas about teaching the

concept of “wide”.- Where can I find out about the

methodology of teaching braille?

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Social Media

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Facebook

★ Great way to share information quickly!

★ Conversation threads and meaningful engagement

continue to increase

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Twitter

★ The Power of the #

★ Immediacy -- Connecting quickly throughout the day

★ Quick links, such as Assistive Tech. resource list

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Pinterest

• Tool to visually organize information

• Locate ideas on topics and themes that are of interest

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Finding the Community

We need to go to where the discussions are

happening:

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Pinterest

• Comments on posts on website

• Dear Paths

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How do people follow us?

Note that these numbers are old and we now have more than 5,000

people registered across all platforms. #A

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Who is in our community?

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Non-Registered Users

• 136,500+ unique visitors to the site since launch in April 2012

More than 520,000 page views during that time

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International Community

• Visitors from 196 countries

• Spanish-language posts

• Cross-cultural content

• Posts from UK, Australia, Argentina,

Canada, Philippines

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Some of our favorites!

• Student-Made IEP Book

• Making Toast: Conversation Boxes

• O & M Literacy: “Routes “Journals

• Test Down and Teach Up: Task Analysis of a Duck

• Flying Fingers: Fluency Instruction for Beginning Braille Readers

• Using the iPad to Develop Literacy and Social Skills

• Toy Bars and Literacy

• Using the Preferred Learning Medium to Design a Communication System

• Follow-up Q & A from above

• Word Processing on the iPad Using VoiceOver

• Montessori Activities to Promote Pre-Literacy Skills for Tactual Learners

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What would you like to see

from the community?

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https://www.facebook.com/ptliteracy@PathstoLiteracy

http://www.pinterest.com/pathstoliteracy/

http://bit.ly/virtualcop-aerintlconf

• Yue-Ting (Ting) Siu, TVI & Doctoral Candidateyueting.siu@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/yuetingsiu

Twitter: @TVI_ting

• Charlotte Cushman, Project Manager Perkins School for the Blind

charlotte.cushman@perkins.org

• Cyral Miller, Outreach DirectorTexas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

millerc@tsbvi.edu

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