Online Learning Modules

Content Area Literacy

Vocabulary Development

Objectives

When you have finished this module you should be able to do the following:

  1. Explain why vocabulary development is important for comprehension.
  2. Identify the general types of technology that can help with vocabulary development
  3. Identify several free and commercial technology-based (i.e., software programs or web-based utilities) dictionary and thesauri
  4. Locate, download, install, and use technology-based dictionary and thesauri.

Introduction

By working with the materials in this module you should be able to meet the objectives specified above. The information presented in this module will be more meaningful to you if you work through the activities in the order in which they are presented (i.e., read the Introduction, view the video clip, complete the readings, and finally explore the technology resources).

You will need Adobe Reader to access the items in the Readings section below. If it is not already installed on your computer, Adobe Reader can be downloaded for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Video Clip

Google: The fastest online dictionary

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6637137266365385928&ei=17vFSPu0AoL8rAL8zeG5BQ&q=dictionary&vt=lf&hl=en

Readings

National Reading Panel Report can be downloaded at http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/Publications/subgroups.htm.  Read pp. 228 – 236. This should help you meet objective 1.

Technology and Teaching Children to Read (http://www.neirtec.org/reading_report/rdgreport.pdf)  provides recommendations for teaching new vocabulary and suggested technology that can be used for vocabulary development on pp. 12 -13. The table, Vocabulary Instruction (p. 23) illustrates the link between the recommendations from National Reading Panel Report and the potential uses of technology to support the recommendations. This can help you meet objective 2.

Technology Resources

These resources will help you meet objectives 3 and 4.

Commercial, freeware, and web-based dictionaries and thesauri

1.  Commercial Talking Dictionaries

2.  Freeware

  • WordWeb (http://wordweb.info/free/) is a thesaurus and dictionary for Windows that looks up words in other programs. It can be used off-line, but can also look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia. This program does not provide auditory output. The paid version allows users to highlight and/or copy the word and definitions; these could then be pasted into a text-to-speech program (See module "Providing Auditory Access to Text.") to be read  aloud.

3.  Online Dictionaries and Thesauri

Although these products do not offer speech output, text-to-speech tools (See module "Providing Auditory Access to Text.") that read web pages can be used to provide auditory access to many of these resources.