Final Blog: Technology in the Classroom

ü  How important is it to incorporate technology into your classroom? What are the benefits to you and your students? What are some of the challenges? What are the important lessons you will take with you from this class and use?

Using technology in the classroom is becoming increasingly important. It is a great way to connect with students and allow them to use something that comes naturally to them - especially if the content does not come as easily to them. Because of the changing technological mind of society, this may just become the way to teach in the future.As a teacher, using technology is great because there are simply things one can do using technology that a paper, pencil, chalkboard, white board, etc. cannot do. For students, it allows them to think creatively and use things they feel comfortable with. It is going to be challenging to keep abreast of all the new technology, but in order to be an effective teacher, it is something I feel I must do.  It will also be difficult with the changing technology to use things from year to year, but perhaps if things are upgraded they will be better to work with. Some of the things I'm sure I will use include: Smartboards, innovative lesson plans, Movie Maker, and the lesson plans on Word. Probably the thing I will use most often is Google Docs. I definitely have heard of Google Docs, but I never really used it. I know that (as of now..) I plan to use a lot of writing in my classroom, and this will be an easier way to do so that is also environmentally conscious. Overall, this class taught me a lot about things I can do with technology in English - something I truly did not think I would get out of the class. I can't wait to use it in a classroom in the future!

Copyright for Teachers

Copyright for teachers is definitely a sticky subject. It surprised me at how much is actually against the law. It also surprised me how many of my past teachers got away with things. I know we've watched movies in class that had nothing to do with what we were studying on days that were either half days or towards the end of the year. We also often used songs in projects and presentations. I also have had several teachers just copy short stories, books, and random other things either from originals or the internet. As far as outside of school, I've seen people have movie groups in church and township activities all the time, and I'm pretty sure they never paid anyone. I believe it is my job to teach copyright to students because that way I know I will have to be in the clear all of the time. Also, it can help them in the long run to realize what is right. I can do this by setting an example. I have to practice what I preach. Copyright is tricky, however, and I feel like I would have to look into the topic more.

Good and Bad Digital Portfolios

http://sherlinjohn.info/

This is definitely an example of a good digital portfolio. It is well organized, but it also has eye catching graphics. It was one of the first examples that popped up on Google, so it obviously attracts attention. Because she is a web designer, it is great that she has so many examples. Her portfolio is even an example of her work!

http://www.geocities.com/Baja/8205/pcstudents.htm

This is a bad example to a T...it is actually one of the first results when one Googles "Bad Digital Portfolio" in both the images AND the web search. The colors lack any appeal, the website has no been updated, and the information is haphazard and not consistent at all. Apparently this school has not done anything since 2001.

Video Lesson Plan

I definitely think using video projects in a high school English class is going to come in hand in the future. I know I loved acting out scenes from books, especially Shakespearean plays because reading them out loud definitely helps with understanding. Filming them would be a great way to incorporate other areas of the play, including settings, costuming, and speech. These are all things that would have to be taught before the actual project was assigned. The way Shakespearean plays were produced was MUCH different from today's musicals and plays. 

OBJECTIVE -Have students understand the costuming, setting, and speech patterns found in Shakespearean times -Produce a short (5-7 minutes) video of a particular scene from Act I

PROCEDURE

Day One: Discuss Costuming and Setting of Shakespearean plays. (Show several examples, including Shakespeare Reduced) Day Two: Discuss Shakespearean Speech Patterns Day Three: Discuss individual scenes with student groups Weekend Homework: Students film videos and edit them to be due during the next week.

HOMEWORK

The videos will be due by the next Friday, edited and put together.

PSA Project (a)

Our group video project worked very, very well in my opinion. Alyssa and I worked well together, and we listened to each other continuously throughout the project. I think using the music to convey feelings instead of using words made our PSA unique and standout amongst the rest. I think we could have improved some of the quality of the shooting, but that proved to be difficult because of the angling of some things in my room (where we shot most of the scenes). Next time, I think I would have made sure the film at a different time of day,  because the light coming through the window also caused some problems throughout the scene. I also would have realized the camera had a microphone too, because we didn't realize this until later into shooting. I definitely will take away a newfound respect for directors from this project. I also now know how much work goes into something that indeed looks amateurish. I also realize now how much working together with someone who is willing to put 100% into the project is definitely a benefit. :]

PSA!

Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive white boards definitely are fun to play with. They are a great teaching tool when used properly. They enhance teaching because of the capabilities and creative ideas that are limited only to the mind of the teacher. The technology was difficult for me to use. I am left handed, so it takes awhile for me to realize I need to watch my dragging hand when I write on the board. Also there are times when I am too short to reach certain things on the board. It was also difficult because I tend to touch the board when I teach, and that sometimes knocks things off of alignment. The pros to having the technology in the classroom is that almost everything is in one screen. It is the overhead, the white board, the television, the computer. It is everything anyone could need in the classroom. However, it is limited in ways. The screen is only so big, so for writing long sentences or doing math equations it poses some problems. One of the lesson plans I wrote in the past involved the "Plot Roller coaster" and I felt that if I could use the white board to draw different things and highlight certain areas, the lesson would have been improved.

For English, I feel like it is difficult to get creative on the Smartboard. It was nice to be able to highlight and circle things with different colors not limited to the number of markers I have. It was also nice because it allows for more creativity. I love the split screen feature. That would come in handy when comparing and contrasting writing styles. Overall, I feel like the Smartboard is better suited in elementary classrooms, but I can see the benefit for secondary as well.

Software Skills

I definitely think it was important for us to take the time to learn the different software skills. The Microsoft programs are so common to us, that we fall into a rut when using them, and do not realize the benefits of using such a good program. The software we used with the Smartboards was particularly beneficial. I have only ever truly seen Smartboards being used as glorified PowerPoints, or at most glorified whiteboards.

I think the Smart Software is the most beneficial to me. I saw so many things that I honestly cannot wait to try and use in my classrooms. The different grammar exercises were interesting and showed a different way to approach the topic. I also really liked the concrete poetry games. They were fun and showed a different way to approach this type of poetry without the need to be artistic.

In fact, I'm so looking forward to using the grammar activities that I'm going to be using on for my class presentation.  I know I am going to be fumbling slightly the first couple of times I use the Smartboard and the software, but I know soon enough I will feel completely comfortable using it.

Inspiration & Web Resources

While I believe Inspiration is very useful for Elementary classrooms, I found it hard at the beginning to find many uses for the program in a secondary English classroom. Some things I could use the program for include:

1. Brainstorming ideas about a certain topic/author/novel/character before the class embarks on a unit, and then do the same thing at the end to see what was learned.
2. Use the mapping tool to create a relationship diagram to discuss complicated relationships, such as the relationship between everyone in Wuthering Heights.
3. I could also use the tools to map different areas of grammar and show what each area does specifically.
4. Inspiration would come in handy while mapping character plot-lines and growth in stories, especially those about dynamic characters.
5. The Venn Diagrams found on Inspiration would also be valuable.
6. The mapping tool would be amazing to show students how to plan for a paper.
7. On the other hand, the mapping tool could also be used when editing a paper and highlighting what needs to be fixed.
8. Using the webbing tool would also work well with test review. Highlight several important aspects such as character, symbols, and themes in easy to read formatting would allow students to study easily.
9. I personally believe that using the websites the school gives teachers are going to be the easiest way to connect with students. However, it is difficult planning a website that is actually user friendly, so I believe that keeping an (updated) map of the website would be helpful.
10. Finally, using mapping tools to discuss connections between history and the literature of the period will help students understand why certain things are happening in the story.


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My favorite web resouces we've covered in class was definitely United Streaming. I found a lot of the movies and clips on the website to be very helpful. In school, my teachers would order movies, but they often did not get there on time, and we had to move things around. United Streaming is just so easy, and it is literally always there. I think I will use this and Rubistar the most, because they seem to have the most for secondary level teachers. Overall, many of the web resources could prove to be helpful, however.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is something that I wasn't really familiar with before this class. It was really interesting to learn about it. I think of myself as pretty technologically savvy, I use Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and now Blogger frequently enough...but Social Bookmarking has escaped me.

Even so, I think Social Bookmarking could have a place in classrooms. I know as a student in school, I constantly was doing long term assignments where the teacher would say "you can use this website" or "this website is a good reference.." and of course, by the time I got home after the rest of classes, 2 or 3 club meetings, and obligatory dinner with the family...I could NOT remember the website/could not read my own handwriting.

One way this would work is in this situation: projects. If students have a long-term project such as a research paper or presentation, I could put these links on the page and simply direct the students there. In the same vein, I could have resources such as Purdue OWL and other MLA websites and resources. That way, I won't have to repeat myself over and over again.

Another way is to have students do independent research on a topic, and have them bookmark their research. I know in my English 11 class we did a section on colleges. This would be the perfect place to arrange bookmarks of colleges that specialize in popular majors such as: business, premed, English, education, and so forth.

Finally, another way to use Social Bookmarking is to supply students with extra reading. Perhaps the links could lead them to popular online magazines, newspaper websites, or creative sites.

I believe Social Bookmarking is a great way to either enhance a class or unit, or even as an "extra" for students trying to get ahead.

For myself, I will use social bookmarking all the time now. It will come in handy when I'm researching for English papers so I do not have to bog down my own "favorites" section. I also do a lot of online shopping, so this will help when it comes time to buy Christmas presents, I can make a category about that so I can buy presents for other people, and know what to tell them when they ask what I want.

GoogleApps*

GoogleApps is a program that I have been aware of for a few years, but I have never truly used. In my experience, they have a 50% success rate for groups that I have seen use this application. I do believe the integrity, maturity, and dependability of the groups working with GoogleApps does have an impact on how well the system works.

Advantages
The advantages of using GoogleApps are numerous, there is no doubt. One of the better advantages I believe is that groups do not always have to get together or have one person in charge of combining parts of a project. It is also great for students or group members that perhaps do not have, or cannot afford, the costly Microsoft Office Package. Another advantage is that GoogleApps saves as someone types, so work is not lost by accidentally clicking the X. Also, if one works in GoogleApps, a crashed hard drive or USB drive put through the wash does not mean everything is completely gone. On the same thread, if something is stored on GoogleApps, it can be accessed with ease from any computer, no need for USB drives or external hard drives. After playing around, I also found that Google Picasa 3 (a picture editing program) works seamlessly with the Presentation maker. The feature of being able to just open and close documents, not having to extract them, is also a positive in favor of GoogleApps. The biggest advantage of this application is that it is FREE, not hundreds of dollars like Microsoft Office.

Disadvantages
GoogleApps is still definitely lacking in some situations where Microsoft Office excels (pun not intended). Microsoft Office provides templates to make things such as newsletters, invitations, name tags, etc whereas GoogleApps does not. Not helping this situation is the fewer number of features that GoogleApps has. There appears to be more freedom to be creative in Microsoft Office. Another disadvantage is the simplicity of GoogleApps. Everything seems to be Economy (from Charts to clip art to transitions) whereas in Microsoft, things have a higher quality feel about them.

While I still would choose Microsoft Office products over GoogleApps, I believe GoogleApps is giving Microsoft good competition, and with a few tweaks and a few more years, Microsoft could be in trouble!

Incorporating Blogs into the Classroom

Using blogs in a classroom setting may seem a daunting task to some, but I believe it can be done in a beneficial way. When I was in middle school, instead of writing in a paper journal I used Xanga, the mostly forgotten social network that was more of an online journal. Remembering how fervently I updated this gave me ideas about how to incorporate blogs into the classroom.


My desire is to teach high school English literature. Epistemologically, I believe that I learn best when I do not realize that I learning. My voracious desire to read books was awakened in my 9th grade Honors English class. Every Friday we would have reading time to sit and read books of our choosing, and we would communicate via journal to both our teacher and our friends in the classroom. The journals were marble Composition books, and as you can imagine, by June they were falling apart, and many of us had three or four that took up room in the classroom and the desk. My teacher would have to take these notebooks home to respond, and seeing him lug 50+ books out of the classroom was humorous. Instead of using marble composition books, using a blog could be a great alternative. That way, if the student finished the book on Tuesday, her or she would not have to wait until Friday to write about. Likewise, other students could respond in a timely manner so they would not have as much work to do over weekends. I know I am not strong enough to carry many composition books, but I can carry a laptop and my phone. I also can type much more quickly than I can write, which would both cut down on my time, but also lengthen and personalize my writing. 


Another idea I had was using blogs to discuss the books we read as a class. Instead of handing out paper (using both trees and supplies), I could just have the students respond to the questions either in a comment on my personal blog, or in his or her own blog. I could then use the Smartboard or projector and focus in on comments that students made. This would also help with participation. I know as a student I sometimes was shy about answering questions in class, though I sometimes had insight. I also noticed that the students with the best insights were the ones that did not always pay attention in class. This is a way to engage those students in the lesson, and praise them so the strive for success. 


The advantages for these lessons are numerous. It would engage more students who prefer using type to communicate efficiently. It would also cut down on "dumbing down" words because of spelling errors. I believe this is a way to see what students are really capable of, and what they are hiding behind. It also uses less resources for the school: ink, paper, toner, etc. Also, may students are using computers for Facebook, Twitter, Google, Youtube, Itunes, innumerable things. Even I find myself doing homework that can be done on the internet first. There are, however, some distinct disadvantages as well. In a time of economic depression, computers/internet may not always be available to students, especially in urban environments, but this could also pose a problem in rural areas as well. Computers labs may be an option, but students may not always get a chance to go to the lab, let alone get work done. Of course, accommodations can be made, but one must be respectful of the feelings of all students. 


I think blogs can be a very useful tool in classrooms, but they cannot take place of instruction and face to face conversation.