Rita Oates

So glad to see NCTE "plugged into" this technology!

In July 2008 I ran a small conference for my company where teachers shared how they use web 2.0 tools to increase K12 student communication and collaboration. The head of ICT for the Kenya Ministry of Education was a keynoter, talking about the power of blogs and student email in a country where not all schools have electricity. (We had 125 people from six countries, 20 states and Puerto Rico.)

I'm very interested in teachers documenting best practices with new technology in myriad ways to increase communication, cultural transmission, and a variety of 21st century skills. Instant language translation speeds communication (with some attendant imperfections, always a challenge). Issues of student safety and security abound, yet as educators in language arts, we must continue to help students evaluate information, think critically, present information in engaging and coherent ways. How do we leverage the power of mobile devices such as iPods and cell phones to extend the school day and student learning? How can ELL students in Bosnia or China help our US students become more interested in writing clearly? Can literature circles go not just outside the classroom but outside the country?

I straddle the worlds of language arts education and communication technologies. I've taught high school English and journalism, been a high school publications adviser, and led the education team at the first online service in the US with color and graphics: VIEWTRON (1983). For almost 8 years, I was in charge of ed tech for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. There, I got a huge grant to create computer-delivered ELL materials, which became the award-winning Steps to English Language Development from Jostens. More recently I was program chair for Educational Computing and Technology at a Catholic university in south Florida. When I was very young, I led a panel discussion in 1979 on computers in teaching English at the San Fran NCTE convention...first session in NCTE history on that topic. WOW have things developed since then! Mila Fuller is such a wonderful addition to NCTE!

I'm on Twitter: @RitaOates and welcome questions and comments from language arts teachers and book lovers!