So...I found this site and think it's pretty useful. I especially liked the ideas for teaching graphic novels. I know this is a print media, but my love of graphic novels totally outweighs this minor detail. :)
Check it out!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Yes! I Can Use This!
Of all the readings we have done so far, Chapter 3 in the Kist book hit home for me. It addressed my main concerns with bringing new medias into my classroom and introduced tools for getting around these concerns. First and foremost, I learned a new word! Intranet was a completely foreign concept to me, but if it is a way to introduce the web in a controlled and safe manner then I have absolutely no reason for not using this in my classroom. However, first I will have to have a very open and honest talk with my students about the very real threat that is cyberbullying. They need to know that what they post will be being monitored and that it is not alright for them to be mean to others no matter what media they are using. I also liked the rules that were mentioned. I think they are incredibly relevant and concise, and student's would "get it."
Also, from doing this assignment I have realized that I really don't mind blogging. It's a lot easier than I thought it was going to be and I actually get excited to read other's responses to my posts. I truly do think that I will try to integrate this into my classroom now that I know there is a safe way to do it. Students can be as creative as they want to be and the hyperlinking option is awesome! It's relevant and easy! It also would help to avoid a lot of the plagerism concerns I have, because they are just linking to the original rather than copying it as their own. However, a definition of plagerism will still need to be addressed before this is introduced because it is important for kids to know as they prepare for college or the real world.
Finally, I like this idea because, as was discussed in several of my classes so far this year, missing a day and preparing for a sub can be incredibly difficult. Having a "blog day" when I am absent would be super easy. The kids would still be being productive and all the sub would have to do is to monitor them. I think that this is a huge win-win!
Also, from doing this assignment I have realized that I really don't mind blogging. It's a lot easier than I thought it was going to be and I actually get excited to read other's responses to my posts. I truly do think that I will try to integrate this into my classroom now that I know there is a safe way to do it. Students can be as creative as they want to be and the hyperlinking option is awesome! It's relevant and easy! It also would help to avoid a lot of the plagerism concerns I have, because they are just linking to the original rather than copying it as their own. However, a definition of plagerism will still need to be addressed before this is introduced because it is important for kids to know as they prepare for college or the real world.
Finally, I like this idea because, as was discussed in several of my classes so far this year, missing a day and preparing for a sub can be incredibly difficult. Having a "blog day" when I am absent would be super easy. The kids would still be being productive and all the sub would have to do is to monitor them. I think that this is a huge win-win!
Friday, September 21, 2012
The Shock Factor
In another class, I was discussing ways in which to get students excited about English and the shock factor came up. Specifically, we were discussing the short story "A Rose for Emily," by Faulkner in which an elderly woman sleeps with her murdered husband's corpse. Gross right?! However, I still remember this story from when I read it in high school! That's impressive! Clearly, it had an effect on me, even if that effect was that I was totally grossed out.
In teaching, I think that this may be a strategy that is underestimated and I don't like that. It is so simple and yet so effective! Why not teach things that students have an emotional reaction to, or find a way to make them have an emotional reaction to a story? This is where a lot of other medias can come into play as music, pictures, and videos can all trigger these responses in kids. Again, something so simple that can have an incredible impact.
In teaching, I think that this may be a strategy that is underestimated and I don't like that. It is so simple and yet so effective! Why not teach things that students have an emotional reaction to, or find a way to make them have an emotional reaction to a story? This is where a lot of other medias can come into play as music, pictures, and videos can all trigger these responses in kids. Again, something so simple that can have an incredible impact.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The Problamatic Gap
I went to a high school that I would consider to be very "plugged in." We had video studios, a student run broadcast, mobile laptop and camera centers, and several computer labs. However, at home, I had a phone and access to a computer that I hated because it was super slow. I would have dreaded the idea of a teacher assigning homework or a project online because it would have taken me hours longer than doing it by hand. Yes, I could do it, but no, I don't want to do it! I can't help but think that while some of my students live on the computer and would jump at the chance to do an in depth project online, others would be like me and absolutely dread it, or even worse, not have access to the required technologies to even attempt the project. Even if I assign the project in class, I know that this is not fool proof. Technology is touchy and can be problamatic even if the students do know what they are doing. Why would I want to make some of my students sit through this torture that I endured on several occassions in high school? It was awful!
Kajder talks about this gap between tech savvy students and low tech students in her book when she says "that within every class of students or every room of teachers, some will have seemingly instinctive skills when it comes to wroking with new technologies and others will struggle to find the button to turn it on" (35). I never want my students to dread what we are doing in the classroom, but how do I engage these two groups of students that are literally at opposite ends of the spectrum?
I apprecitated Kajder's representations of the teachers, but for my own classroom I have a slightly different take. I liked Liz's idea (38-41) and the variety of texts that she introduced in her classroom. Of the teacher's represented, I am most like her and would make it my responsibility to bring these differing "texts" into my classroom. However, I would give the students more options in the project segment of the lesson. I cannot force students to use these new technologies, but I also can't inhibit it or ignore the fact that they are out there. So, why not compromise? If a student wants to do his project online then fine. I will tell the student what technologies we have available and that it is his responsibility to make sure it works when it is time for him to present. However, I will also have the option to do it the way that I would prefer as I feel that the ideas and concepts that the students are learning are more important that the "glitz" of the final project. Why not have an option for a storyboard? Same ideas, no computer necessary! :)
We live in a technologically advanced society. I can't argue with that, nor would I want to as technology has improved my life. That being said, I think the focus should be on the students learning rather than the medium through which this learning occurs. It is up to my students to decide which way they want to learn and as long as the concepts are being internalized I am going to call the lesson a success!
Kajder talks about this gap between tech savvy students and low tech students in her book when she says "that within every class of students or every room of teachers, some will have seemingly instinctive skills when it comes to wroking with new technologies and others will struggle to find the button to turn it on" (35). I never want my students to dread what we are doing in the classroom, but how do I engage these two groups of students that are literally at opposite ends of the spectrum?
I apprecitated Kajder's representations of the teachers, but for my own classroom I have a slightly different take. I liked Liz's idea (38-41) and the variety of texts that she introduced in her classroom. Of the teacher's represented, I am most like her and would make it my responsibility to bring these differing "texts" into my classroom. However, I would give the students more options in the project segment of the lesson. I cannot force students to use these new technologies, but I also can't inhibit it or ignore the fact that they are out there. So, why not compromise? If a student wants to do his project online then fine. I will tell the student what technologies we have available and that it is his responsibility to make sure it works when it is time for him to present. However, I will also have the option to do it the way that I would prefer as I feel that the ideas and concepts that the students are learning are more important that the "glitz" of the final project. Why not have an option for a storyboard? Same ideas, no computer necessary! :)
We live in a technologically advanced society. I can't argue with that, nor would I want to as technology has improved my life. That being said, I think the focus should be on the students learning rather than the medium through which this learning occurs. It is up to my students to decide which way they want to learn and as long as the concepts are being internalized I am going to call the lesson a success!
Friday, September 14, 2012
The Effectiveness of Movies?
I recently had a class where the major assignment was a lesson plan that meshed a movie with a literary work. I originally thought that this was an absolutely fantastic idea, but upon observing some members of the newest generation i don't know if I can say this with total confidence anymore.
For instance, I have a niece that "relaxes" by listening to her iPod, while half watching t.v. and simultaneously chatting with multiple friends on her electronic tablet. How on earth can I expect her, at 11 years old, to sit through an entire movie? I guess I understand that this multitasking is important as her grades are stellar and she has a solid friend base, but how much is to much? At some point she is going to have to sit through an important, although boring, meeting or lecture and I don't know how confident I am in her being able to be "understimulated."
I am not sure how problamatic this is, but maybe part of the problem isn't in the teachers not introducing technology, but in that they don't institute the "right" technology or enough of it? However, how much is enough, and where do I draw the line? I don't know how I feel yet. Just wondering...
For instance, I have a niece that "relaxes" by listening to her iPod, while half watching t.v. and simultaneously chatting with multiple friends on her electronic tablet. How on earth can I expect her, at 11 years old, to sit through an entire movie? I guess I understand that this multitasking is important as her grades are stellar and she has a solid friend base, but how much is to much? At some point she is going to have to sit through an important, although boring, meeting or lecture and I don't know how confident I am in her being able to be "understimulated."
I am not sure how problamatic this is, but maybe part of the problem isn't in the teachers not introducing technology, but in that they don't institute the "right" technology or enough of it? However, how much is enough, and where do I draw the line? I don't know how I feel yet. Just wondering...
Readings for Sept. 17
First and foremost, I really liked the article by Short, Kauffman, and Kahn because I feel like they made some excellent points and I hope to integrate some of what they talked about into my classroom. I think it is important for future teachers to realize that students come to us already having previous experience in using multiple sign systems, but to often in schools we take this freedom of expression and learning away from them by telling them what to do. How is that fair? I believe that my students will learn best in an environment that is tailored to their needs, whatever their needs may be. Hopefully, I will never be a teacher that stifles their creativity and inhibits their learning.
That being said, I also loved that they touched upon the idea that there is no "wrong" answer in many literature discussions. This brought back a powerful memory for me as I witnessed a teacher employ this way of thinking to great success. In eleventh grade, we read "The Awakening" (by Kate Chopin), and in the end it is strongly implied that the main character commits suicide by swimming into the ocean and letting the waves carry her away. However, in a literature discussion one student disagreed, arguing that it never explicitly said she never came back and he thought that she would regret leaving her young kids and swim back. My teacher struggled with this idea as that obviously was not what she thought the ending was, but she never told him he was wrong and respected his ideas, even letting him complete an assignment as if she weren't dead. This has stayed with me all these years, because yes, I am going to disagree with students, but I never want to tell my students they are wrong, especially if they can back it up with logical reasoning. It is all about respect in the classroom.
But, back to the main point of the article, I love the idea of art in the classroom because I think that many times kids work better with less restrictions. They aren't afraid to mess up if they know I am not going to grade it and I love risk taking in english class. I have always been someone who needs to doodle or draw pictures to get my point across and I will encourage this in my students. They are more than welcome to write/draw/paint/record whatever they want in their classroom journals and I will be happy to look at all of it because my main goal will be to get them engaged in learning. As was mentioned in the article, the most engaging presentations involve multiple medias and sign systems, and this goes both ways. I plan on not only encouraging these behaviors in my students, but I want to employ them in my lesson plans as well. Hence, this article wasn't just helpful in gaining strategies, but also in critiquing my own teaching style to become more well rounded.
Finally, the most powerful moments for me in learning are when I can relate something I am learning now to previous knowledge that I already have. This intertextuality, as it was referred to in the article as, is super important because knowledge is a journey, not simply a destination, and that is super important!
That being said, I also loved that they touched upon the idea that there is no "wrong" answer in many literature discussions. This brought back a powerful memory for me as I witnessed a teacher employ this way of thinking to great success. In eleventh grade, we read "The Awakening" (by Kate Chopin), and in the end it is strongly implied that the main character commits suicide by swimming into the ocean and letting the waves carry her away. However, in a literature discussion one student disagreed, arguing that it never explicitly said she never came back and he thought that she would regret leaving her young kids and swim back. My teacher struggled with this idea as that obviously was not what she thought the ending was, but she never told him he was wrong and respected his ideas, even letting him complete an assignment as if she weren't dead. This has stayed with me all these years, because yes, I am going to disagree with students, but I never want to tell my students they are wrong, especially if they can back it up with logical reasoning. It is all about respect in the classroom.
But, back to the main point of the article, I love the idea of art in the classroom because I think that many times kids work better with less restrictions. They aren't afraid to mess up if they know I am not going to grade it and I love risk taking in english class. I have always been someone who needs to doodle or draw pictures to get my point across and I will encourage this in my students. They are more than welcome to write/draw/paint/record whatever they want in their classroom journals and I will be happy to look at all of it because my main goal will be to get them engaged in learning. As was mentioned in the article, the most engaging presentations involve multiple medias and sign systems, and this goes both ways. I plan on not only encouraging these behaviors in my students, but I want to employ them in my lesson plans as well. Hence, this article wasn't just helpful in gaining strategies, but also in critiquing my own teaching style to become more well rounded.
Finally, the most powerful moments for me in learning are when I can relate something I am learning now to previous knowledge that I already have. This intertextuality, as it was referred to in the article as, is super important because knowledge is a journey, not simply a destination, and that is super important!
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