Online Literacy Program Blends Content and Technology Expertise

Akron, Ohio, Feb. 28, 2002 — A cutting-edge, electronic literacy project teams The University of Akron Center for Literacy with the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). SIRI: At Work in Your Classroom provides ongoing professional development for K-4 classroom teachers.

The ODE has contracted the University to prepare three online courses on Guided Reading, Comprehension and Word Study as a follow-up to Summer Institute for Reading Intervention (SIRI) workshops. The project is administered by the University's College of Education Center for Literacy in partnership with The East Regional Professional Development Center and the University's Learning Technologies and Scholar/Learning Services.

Dr. Evangeline Newton, director of the Center for Literacy and principal investigator for the project, says this new program uses state-of-the-art technology to bridge the gap between SIRI workshop lessons and their actual application in the classroom.

The program showcases video examples of SIRI alumni using and adapting best teaching strategies in both urban and rural classroom settings. The video clips are accompanied by teacher narrations reflecting on the teacher's choice of strategy and its effectiveness. Further support is provided through chat rooms and threaded listserv discussion groups where participants can engage in ongoing electronic dialogue.

"SIRI: At Work in Your Classroom offers participants three online, one-credit hour courses with separate sections for K-2 and grades 3-4 classroom teachers," Newton says. "The content supports the new Ohio English Language Arts Standards, the Ohio Literacy Initiative framework and the recently passed Federal Education Bill. Teachers have the opportunity to design lesson plans which will be peer reviewed and then submitted for refereed review by the Ohio Resource Center in Reading, Mathematics and Science for possible inclusion on its Web site of best practices."

"The follow-up courses are more opportunities to expand the learning and understanding of teachers across Ohio," says Joan Burrier, executive director of The East Regional Professional Development Center, which serves Ashland, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit and Wayne counties. "Online course work is especially inviting in that teachers can work at their own pace and on their own schedule."

The SIRI: At Work in Your Classroom program will be hosted on The University of Akron Web site beginning April 1. For more information or to register for a class, contact Dr.Giannina D'Agruma at (330) 972-6266, visit the Web site at www.uakron.edu/outreach (click on Professional Development) or call your local professional development center.

The University of Akron is the public research university for Northern Ohio. Founded in 1870, it is the only public university in Ohio with a science and engineering program ranked in the top five nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

Serving approximately 24,300 students, the University offers more than 350 associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and law degree programs and 100 certificate programs at its main campus in Akron, its Wayne College branch campus in Orrville, and at sites throughout Medina and Summit counties. For more information, visit www.uakron.edu.

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