You Ignite the Light
  • Teach Them How to Learn
  • Infuse Information Literacy
  • Inquiry Based Learning
  • Individualize to Maximize
  • Read Aloud, Think Aloud
  • Designing Teachers
  • Going Virtual
  • Power Up Learning
  • Johanna Riddle
"Everywhere, everyday, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet.  And we should tread lightly."
                                                               -Sir Ken Robinson

Johanna Riddle

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I provide coaching,  instructional design, and direct and distance instruction for diverse populations, ranging from elementary education to professional development for adults. I currently work as a Lead SEED Coach with Volusia County Schools, through a New Teacher Center grant. My goals are to empower every child to love to learn, to understand how education can change their life, and to help them make crucial connections between learning, real life, and their dreams. 


Resume'

johannariddle_resume_2013.6.pdf
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Selected Presentation Venues:

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Professional & Program Spotlights


2010 
The Changing Face of Education,
Texas A & M University

2007 
Making the Most of the Resources at Hand
T.H.E. Journal 

2006  Adobe TV: K-12 Education Showcase (video)

2005  Teacher Spotlight on the Power of Education,  Orlando Sentinel

2004,
Art Links with Education, Daytona Beach News Journal

Selected Journal Publications


September, 2011
Teacher, Adventurer, Citizen of the World--Choosing the Road Less  Traveled

 May, 2011
 Playing Around With Technology
  
March, 2011
Out of the Box … Media, Technology, and the Small School  Initiative

January, 2011
 
When ‘Birds of a Feather’ Try Their Wings

 September, 2010
How Sweet It Is--One Teen’s Take on Classroom Management Software  and the Future of School-to-Home Communication

July, 2010
Through the Computer Screen--On the Other Side of the  Webinar

June, 2010
IVLA Selected Readings


 
May, 2010
A New Kind of Book Club
 
 March, 2010
 
21 Things--Kinder, Gentler Tips for Effective Technology  Infusion
  
 
January, 2010
 
Podcasting in the Classroom--A Sound Success
 Reprinted in Write Now! (Pearson, 2012)

Fall Quarter, 2009
Florida Education Leadership Journal
Teaching in the Nexus


 November, 2009
Samsula Academy: Old School, New Tricks

October, 2009
Is Piaget Declasse'?
 
 
September, 2009
These Lessons Pop!

May, 2009
The Long Climb of Technology Infusion

 June, 2009
Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

 July, 2009
The Collaborator
 
July, 2009
Redefining the Role of the Teacher


 March, 2009
Celebrating
21st-Century Learning at the International Student Media Festival

 
 
January, 2008
The  Summer Travel Blog: A 2.0 Travelogue to Bridge Summer “Down Time” 
 
 March, 2006
Bookbinders:
Fusing Technology, Image, and Literature 

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Contact me:

johannariddle@gmail.com
Engaging the Eye Generation (Stenhouse, 2009)
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About the Book

Book Review, Education Briefs, August 10, 2009: Riddle,
Johanna. (2009). Engaging the Eye Generation: Visual Literacy Strategies for the  K-5 Classroom. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

A  gap exists between what students learn in schools and what they need to be  successful in the 21st century (Partnership for 21st Century Schools, n.d.). The  challenge many teachers face is determining how to best infuse practical  strategies into their daily lessons that address this problem. Johanna Riddle  addresses the question of how in her book, Engaging the Eye Generation: Visual  Literacy Strategies for the K-5 Classroom. Riddle stresses that it is not  necessary to change what we are teaching, but how we are teaching. In fact, with  successful integration of visual literacy skills, Riddle shows readers the  potential for enriching and deepening what is currently taught in most  schools.

In  the introduction, an expanded view of literacy is defined with the help of the  North Central Regional Education Laboratory. Eight categories of literacy are  listed: basic literacy, scientific literacy, economic literacy, technological  literacy, visual literacy, informational literacy, multicultural literacy and  global awareness. By combining the use of many of these literacies, Riddle  effectively writes about integrating multimodal literacies into classroom  instruction. However, the main topic of this book is visual literacy defined by  the North Central Regional Education Laboratory as the ability to "interpret,  use, and create visual media in ways that advance thinking, decision making,  communication and learning" (p. 3).

Riddle,  an educator with twenty-five years of experience, invites us into her classroom  to witness how she successfully began using and integrating multimodal  literacies. She honestly shares her own learning curve and gives readers  permission to start changing their instruction even when they fear they do not  know enough. Riddle explains that the importance of teaching students to  critically analyze, manipulate and produce visual information was more important  than her own comfort level with visual literacy integration. She realized that  her "students' need to know superseded my need to know it all" (p. 33).  Throughout the book there are examples of teachers learning with and from  students.

This  concisely written text contains numerous examples of lessons in K - 5 classrooms  in which students were engaged in meaningful learning that is innovative,  challenging and high-quality. Issues such as standards and lack of computers  that tend to be hurdles in implementing this type of learning were addressed. In  the first chapter, a clear connection between language arts standards and visual  literacy is articulated. Evidenced through actual classroom examples, it is  apparent that every content area is strengthened by a strong visual literacy  emphasis. Riddle emphasized collaboration throughout the book, "Born out of  necessity--when you have a handful of computers and a class full of students,  shared learning becomes part of the experience" (p. 48).

Readers  can find ideas for projects that address multiple literacies, along with  examples of easy to use rubrics that were co-constructed with students.  Strategies and structures, such as a structure for problem-based learning (p.  44) are helpful additions. There are many resources and websites  highlighted--including a number of free resources. Issues that worry teachers,  such as copyright and Internet safety are addressed. For example, Riddle
provides a list of websites where students can find stock photos that are  copyright free for students to use in slide presentations. Pictures of real  student work can be found throughout the text. "Can You See It?" boxes inset  into the text offer tips, resources and suggestions for implementing a  curriculum that addresses visual literacy. Real classrooms and the students in  them are at the heart of this book--there are examples of how to appropriately  scaffold and differentiate learning experiences for all levels of learners and  their specific needs.

It  is clear from Riddle's classroom examples that she moves between short whole  group lessons to small group and individual work. She understands that she  should guide and facilitate her students' learning, but demonstrates they are  able to learn more if they are released to think, ask questions, research,  collaborate and create in small groups and individually. Similarly this short  text gives the reader a compelling rationale for implementing visual literacy  strategies, ideas for doing so, permission to begin even if the teacher knows  less than his/her students and tools to continue this learning and  exploration.

Engaging  the Eye Generation is a relevant, engaging text for preservice and inservice  teachers of all experience levels, as well as administrators and instructional  coaches. I highly recommend this text for a literacy or social studies methods  course or as a book study for any school community that is serious about  transforming instruction to ensure that their students will be leaders who "will  find innovative solutions for global challenges ahead" (p. 112).

Reviewed  by Tricia DeGraff, Assistant Teaching Professor, Institute for Urban Education,  University of Missouri-Kansas City.



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