The iPhone

I wonder... is the iPhone potentially a great classroom tool? If, say, every student had one they would be a seemingly perfect blend of internet access, podcast receiver, homework reminder, and even personal entertainment when appropriate. Perhaps the need for student computers ion the classroom would be eliminated if all students could access internet via their iPhones. Research could be faster, and students would not have to wait for other students if there were not enough regular computers to go around. Teachers could podcast lessons in on their sick days, or even on their vacation days, thus making a subs job easier. They could just set up the students to receive the podcast and sit back as the students heard the lesson and followed any instructions. Perhaps students could even email assignments from their phones if they were stuck in traffic or were unable to come to class that day. Though such a classroom setting may never exist, it is interesting to ponder what it might look like.

Grrrrrr Wireless!!

*sigh* Normally I am one to sing technology's praises, especially where my laptop is concerned. But for the past few weeks the wireless internet connection has been down up in the apartments and to be honest, I am now more than a little irritated that it has not been fixed. I know that being dependent on technology is not always a good thing, but in our apartment, this dependency on wireless connectivity is a must. My husband works from home so he needs a constant internet feed. We have one - I will say it again: ONE - internet plug-in in the entire apartment, even though it is one of the larger units on campus. Thus I have been unable to send/receive email, etc. from my home for a very long time. I wonder...is there a better way? is technology in this scenario a poor thing to have to depend on? Should we scrap the idea of wireless in favor of a more dependable system, whatever it may be? Let me know if you have any ideas.

Technology Project

For my project, I focused on creating a professional Myspace that theoretically I would implement when I have my own classroom. I set everything up as if I already did, and used info from the school I am observing at to fill in the gaps. I have had my own space in the past but I never really spent much time learning how to really use it. I honestly learned a lot while playing with the program, and I actually think that it could prove to be a useful tool in the classroom. Many kids spend a ton of time on Myspace so I thought that if I created my own site as a teacher then maybe it could be something where kids could have access to class info, ask questions, etc. all while using a program they are already familiar with and enjoy. One obvious possible problem would be disruptive, distasteful, or harmful content being posted or acessed through the space, since hackers can sometimes do this despite password protection. I have yet to work out a way to get around this problem.

Several features that I explored more in-depth were the calendar, the message composer, the blog, the groups, and the address keeper.

1. The calendar is one of my favorite features. In my own class I see using it as a tool where kids can go on and look to see when inportant dates are coming up, like tests, projects, or field trips. While the perks are numerous, there are a few setbacks. One downside is that you cannot repeat an entry - it will not recognize it for some reason. So if i type in SAT on, say, Nov 1 and then later in December, say the 5th there is another one, I have to put SAT 2 for the calendar to register it. Another one is that there area limited amount of labels available. (e.g. "Test" or "Game" are not options.) Also: you have to assign a time to everything, even things like "Christmas Break."

2. The message composer lets you message directly without having to go straight to that person's page. However, it does not work if the person you want to message has a symbol as part of their name, as my sister does.

3. The blog works pretty much as any blog does. The neat thing that I found was that it had spellcheck and the capacity to post podcasts, which I had not expected. The downside to this is if you have more than one class accessing your site they would technically all be using the same blog.

4. I started a group just to see how it worked and, surprisingly, I liked it very much. It functions much like the blog does except that you can specialize each group to meet the needs of different classes. I think that this, along with the calendar, is one of the top features of using Myspace as an educational tool.

5. The address keeper was potentially a cool feature, but, like the message composer, it too struggles with finding specific names/friends if their names are not distinct or do not have symbols.

I feel that i really came to understand a lot more about this program through this project than I ever would have otherwise. I really want to implement it in my classroom, if possible. I feel that I could add this technology to my "expert" list, however I am sure that there is still a lot I have to learn! :)


* AN IMPORTANT NOTE* Since Myspace is a password-protected, member-only site, I was only able to post the link to the site login page on my blog. If you have a Myspace account and are interested in viewing my project, just contact me and I will gladly direct you to my site. If you do not have a Myspace account, I would be glad to show you my project sometime in or after class.

My current classroom experience

Right now the main class that I am observing is digging into the novel Brave New World. For those of you who are not familiar with the book, it is about a very, very futuristic and technologically advanced society that encounters several "difficulties." While students have not done a lot of independent work that would allow them to use technology themselves, I think that the book itself has been really eye opening for them as to how far-reaching technology could become.

another class I look in on is the Newspaper class. The library has several Mac laptops that students can check out and use (with wireless internet on campus everywhere) and students make use of these almost every day. They save photos and article drafts, edit eachother's work using Track Changes on Word, and email back and forth constantly. It is really cool that they have those available to them.

One other class I get to watch is an IB English class. The teacher is very into technology and uses things like an Elmo and a projector and oftec a cd player or ipod almost every day. That is how he transmits homework assignments or collective reading assignments to the class for everyone to see.

Productivity Software

I think that it is safe to say that a vast majority of students today with access to computers are fairly proficient or completely knowledgeable about computer programs like Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. In fact, with the growing interest wth online classes and interactions between students, it is probably safe to also assume that many student are familiar with productivity software like Google docs and Picasa. That being said, I may not have to do much in the way of teaching students how to use these programs, except for those that may be technological immigrants, as I am. However, there are ways that I can herlp them learn to better use these tools - the main way I can do this is through INTEGRATION.

The more I allow students to use mediums other than just Word or pen and paper, even, to present research materials or to formulate projects, the more that they will become accustomed to using these tools in everyday life. If I can give them opportunities to build on their existing skill sets then they will continue to learn and grow in this area. That being said, it is up to me to create lessons and give assignments that allow students free reign to create and explore the software that is out there at their disposal.

Where will I and my classroom be in 5 or 10 years?

I think that it is really hard to say. Right now it is looking like I may be working at a private school in Montana; private school status means that technology access is never really stable. While the one I am looking at working for is pretty financially stable, public schools often have much greater access to state funds, and grants for technology. I see textbooks becoming somewhat obsolete, and interactive learning taking their place - this would, i think, especially pertain to science and history classes. English classes may not be quite so affected, however, due to the lasting creative genuis of the books being studied. I see interactive classrooms and workshops becoming very popular - especially since field trips could be taken right in the classroom. Trips to the museum, to a science lab, all brought to the students' fingertips. Will teachers even lecture? Or will podcasting and online lectures take the place of actually sitting in on a class? Will students learn as much by staring at a screen? Or do they ultimately learn more from having a personal relationship with their teachers and classmates? I know that for me personally, I will proable integrate technology as much as I can, but I will also really make an effort to keep class discussion and hands-on research and experience a part of my classes.

More SMART Board reflections

Since there are not many pre-created lesson plans for English classes, especially in the upper level classes, I would need to create any lessons I wanted to present on the SMART Board. While this would take more time on my part, it may be worth it for some lessons. The Board could prove useful with grammar lessons, especially, as students could see and touch the words and sentences while working with them. However ,with many upper level English classes, discussions are often the predominant form of learning.

I love the idea of being able to play games like Jeopardy on the Board - this could be a great review tool!

Panel Questions

1. In what ways were you most prepared for technology in your classrooms? In what ways were you most unprepared?

2. What is your favorite technology-integrated lesson plan that you have taught?

3. Do you use an online gradebook program or a regular pen and paper system? What are the pros and cons of either?

Assignment #4

*a link to the lesson I presented in class can be found under the "projects" heading on the sidebar*


This activity meets several education requirementst, including the following:
EALR WA.1 - the student writes clearly an effectively.
Component 1.1 - develop concept and design
GLE 1.1.18 - Uses transitions to maintain fluency, logic, and coherence of information, opinions, or ideas (Grade 10
framework: Writing in the Content Areas).
Component 1.2 - use style appropriate to the audience and purpose
GLE 1.2.6 - Vary the complexity of sentence structure and cadence for effect
NETS for grades 9-12: Routinely and efficiently use online information resources to meet needs for collaboration, research, publication, communication, and productivity. (4, 5, 6), and Select and apply technology tools for research, information analysis, problem solving, and decision making in content learning. (4, 5)


Activity Plan: This Smart Board activity walks students through how to use a Thesaurus, especially synonyms. Students will learn how to use the shade feature on the Board to hide later information, how to use their finger to drag and drop information and data that is formatted to do so on the program, as well as how to write with the pens and use the eraser. Students will participate based on a volunteer basis unless it becomes obvious that I as the teacher needs to call directly on students to keep classroom flow going. Learning will be assessed by adequate participation; as the material covered is mainly review, there is not a lot of new information that will need learned.


Smart Board technology could very well prove useful and beneficial in my classroom; it could especially help in drawing students in and getting them to interact with eachother and the material. A hands-on approach to learning could also help draw out students from diverse backgrounds through bringing the learning down to a manageable level that moves at their own pace. However, if the class was quite large, learning and participation would be minimal due to time constraints.

Internet issues

Students today are faced with many internet and computer issues - some threatening and some not. Some threatening issues are: cyber bullying, adult chat rooms, online sexual predators, etc. Some other non-threatening issues are: lack of access to computers or having, say, a Mac whose internet program is not necessarily compatible with all internet explorer websites and programs.

Filters, guidelines, etc. are some helpful things that schools and teachers can do to help guard students from threatening internet issues. As for the other issues, there is often not much that educators can do to help, other than encourage use of public library computers, etc. Also - if as a teacher I knw that there are students in my class with limited or no computer savvy or access, then I can give assignments with alternate choices that do not necessarily need computers.

Teach42.com

This website is really an interesting one...and I ran across it quite by mistake :) The main text (when I looked at it) was on how to get other teachers and people in general web 2.0 savvy. It also has "lonks" to other programs like Twitter which, as far as I could tell, was a sort of tech/teacher myspace...where poeple could ask questions to others and vice versa. Interesting. Another interesting site was del.icio.so - it seems that it was a site that has links to tech in ed info like "MODEL ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES IN THE SCHOOLS."

All that to say, this may be a site you want to check out :)

K12 Online Conference

The conference I listened to was "Cell Phones as Classroom Learning Tools" by Liz Kolb. (A link to this online presentation can be found on my blog under the Projects title)

NOTES FROM THE CONFERENCE:
She has a corresponding powerpoint to go with her spoken presentation...really helpful!!!

1. Audio recording: the teacher could do so and then post lectures online for students to access; the student could record for their own personal reference
- cell recording could be transfered into podcasts (gabcast, gcast, hipcast, evoca) 3 of which are free. it transfers your cell data into a podcast. - no uploading, no hassle. you can set up your account to automatically post to your blog, and many other cool features.
she goes through one of the accounts step by step; the one she used had up to 60 minutes available per recording

2. Phone conferencing (with up to 200 people, depending on the program and account you use)
TalkShoe and FreeConferencePro are two available accounts that do this

3. Note taking (Jott, Brain cast, etc) - they are correlating online programs - either audio or the program will transfer the vocals to typed text.

4. Teachers are also going out and recording authors reading their own works, etc and then playing them for their classes as a sort of "interactive classroom experience"

5. Having kids use their cell phones as research or homework tools - conducting and recording interviews, recording library research, etc.

6. Giving quizzes, etc. over the phone - by having kids call in to the teacher's phone (and thus the program the teacher is linked to) and then follow the prerecorded instructions.

7. Photo blogging (using your camera feature on the cell phone) - using programs like Flickr and Bubbleshare to create slideshows, etc.

8. Video recording - Eyespot, Jumpcut, YouTube, etc are programs that students and teachers alike can use to prepare video presentations for the classroom. This could be useful for classroom projects, especially if the school does not have any available for classroom use.

9. She suggests creating ringtones (as a class project) where the ringtone is classroom information

10. Sending texts: as class reminders, especially (TextForFree, Reactee, etc.)

11. Field trip tools

12. Phone Search Tools (Dictionaries, encyclopedias, calculator, Internet on the phone, etc)

13. Calendar, Notepad, etc - using the calendar and notepad features on cell phones to help organize students and encourage time management and prioritization


* many of these things she outlined, however, are things for the teacher to do...except for perhaps the recording aspects
*many of these programs offer landline options for those who do not have cell phone access
* all of these programs have privacy capabilities and other options available

This was a fairly long presentation, and also fairly redundant, since many of the programs and options she talked about were linked or revolved arund the same topic, such as taking notes or recording lessons. One of the things I had a hard time with was getting my mind around the classroom settings where this type of learning may be useful. I could see it, perhaps, in a newspaper, journalism, photography, or research class...and perhaps even in a very lecture-laden class setting as a recording tool, but in the average everyday class setting, this may prove to be more trouble than it is worth. For myself, I lean more towards the interaction and discussion kind of teaching and class setting, so I really would not have much need for these programs. I think it is important for kids to learn good, solid note-taking skils, and if we give them technological "outs" they will never learn. I also think that this is something where students (and teachers too) could spend more time developing and using these programs that it may cut into time actually spent learning in the classroom.

Distance Learning

This article was interesting because I had never really thought about how far-reaching and involved distance learning could be. To quote the article:

"But these virtual field trips, as Moncrief calls them, go way beyond traditional distance learning. Rather, vRoom offers realtime, two-way communication that includes social networking tools such as instant messaging, application sharing, breakout rooms, interactive whiteboards, and a live webcam—ensuring meaningful communication and offering a project-based learning environment that engages all students in the subject."

I read this and think: "Wow - I would love those experiences!" It is amazing how involved distance learning has become...to think that students can now engage in webcam conversation, instant messaging, and interctive whiteboards is just mind-boggling. The interesting thing, too, is that in order to have this kind of distance learning there needs to be professionals on the other ned of things that are willing to put in the time and energy to enter into conversation, etc. with students.

"On a Quest for English"

This article was really interesting, which is why I posted a link to it under the special needs heading on my blog. Basically the article's premise was that video games and virtual/online program can be effective tools for helping ELL students master conversational English. At first I was skeptical, especially since one of the games highlighted in the article was World of Warcraft, but as I read I began t see that perhaps the people spearheading this idea may be on to something. The cool thing about video games and virtual programs is that they are available to everyone...and with advances in the internet, people can link to and play with other gamers from across the world.

I encourage everyone to read this article and look for other articles about related things - it really is interesting!

Assignment #3

Adding technology to my lesson plan would be relatively easy...and would actually be something that the students kept a part of their assignments throughout the semester. Since the mediums for their technology integration would be already in place in public areas of the internet (blogging, etc.) there would be no need for software or anything like that that I would need to install on indiidual school computers. I had also considered having a class blog like the one we do for this class set up so that the students could just post to that, but at this point that is not in existence so I just went with the individual approach. I think that adding a technological aspect to the assignment would give students another outlet besides just writing to express themselves. Students may also feel a bit more comfortable with web-based assignments since many of them will spend time doing things like that on their own time. Some possible challenges to this particular lsson plan would be the variety of online ways that students have available to post things. A myspace posting of the assignment for example would possibly be less in-depth and academic than, say one posted to a uniform class blog may be. There are just a lot of variables and unknowns with doing the assignment this way...but I think that it also gives the students more room to be creative. NETS for this assignment include: (based on student NETS, since the given address in our hw assignment was not loading)

1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media

Google Docs and Spreadsheets

I posted a link to Google Docs and Spreadsheets - found under TEACHING links. it seems that it is a means of posting documents...even insofar as to allow others to post their own documents on your site as well. I m going to play around with it...then blog more about how it works. :)

Mac users please note: Safari currently does not support this program, but they are working to extend Safari to be able to. In the meantime, firefox WILL support the program, so that may be a viable second option for Mac people.

Inspiration and gradebook technology

The two links I aded to my blog are my feeble attempts to use Inspiration technology. In my mind, that software has great potential - especially for those students that are more abstract thinkers or are technologically geared. I hope to experiment with the program a lot in the next thirty days...perhaps if I get proficient with it I may get the actual software. The gradebook software we played around with in class really amazed me. It has potential to be a really effective tool in the clasroom - making life easier and more organized for the teacher. I really am interested in experimenting with different programs; hopefully I will find one to use when I am a teacher.

Special Needs and Students

I chose to dedicate a section of my blog to students with special needs because it is becoming such a prevalent issue in the classroom. Inclusion and mainstreaming has made the classroom a place where virtually every kind of student and every kind of learning ability/disability could be present. As such, teachers need to be equipped to accomodate those students as best they can. The links that I posted provide what I believe to be valuable information about some of the most common special needs found in classrooms, and also offer ways in which a teacher can work with the student to help them achieve. Autism and ADD/ADHD are really hot topics right now - teh sites that I chose were fairly comprehensive in how they dealt with those issues. they offer explainations of what exactly a student with those special needs may be prone to do, as well as tips for helping them in the classroom. Practical examples and an emphasis on the behavioral problems that such students may present in class are really helpful for teachers. Two web sites that proved interesting were the ones dealing with low and high achievers, as each present differend special needs in the classroom. in the area of high achievers, especially, it is important for us as teachers to find ways to challenge them without heaping more on them just because they are capable. I also included a general web site as well as one covering behavioral problems because they will be fairly prevalent, even in high school.

Reading, Writing, and Grammar

I decided to create these link sections because the study of English is so widespread; there are so many different aspects: literature, poetry, writing, spelling, conventions...the list goes on and on. I thought that by dividing them into some sort of grouping I would make it a litle easier on myself when I am looking for a certain help aid online. Instead of searching through the entire collection, now I can access the links according to their group.

I LOVE the grammar games website that I found. While the games and content may be a bit elementary for high school students, I found myself thoroughly engaged as I worked to accumulate points and identify grammar in sentences. It could be a fun alternative to lecture for the students. Also - the questions get somewhat progressively harder as they go along.

The site about getting an "A" on an English paper will be a good site - both for myself and my students. I could use it as a grading resource and a standard for teaching to make sure that I cover all my bases in essay writing criteria. My students could use it as a personal checklist and writing guide from their own homes - instruction put into different terms than what I may have used to explain things. I added the writing prompts site because it intrigued me. We used writing prompts to start class when I was in high school and i remember loving them and looking forward to them every day. There is such a wide variety of prompts on this site that I could always keep things fresh and new in my class.

I love Sparknotes because of its simplicity. To be perfectly honest, many works of literature are difficult to understand in their entirety, and Sparknotes breaks them down into manageable chunks and also offers information on major characters, and sections on themes, symbols, and motifs found in eack work. This could be a valuable resource both for myself and my students. The Shadow Poetry site was interesting because it was a mix of "professional," published poetry and amateur poetry. The site offers contests and poetry writing avenues that could be of interest to students. It also offers a wide range of topics to choose from, as well as detailed looks at each different type and style of poem that would prove helpful when teaching poetry writing to the class.

Lesson plans, examples, games, informational sites, and more abound in the websites I listed - I am excited to get to make use of them in the classroom.

Teaching Resources

I was able to track down several really cool sites that I think will prove helpful throughout my teaching career. The "Teaching Today" site is one that I would like to explore more; it has teaching tips, lesson plans, etc. There is a section where you can type in a search item, for example: field trips, a section where you can search by letter or keyword, and many other things that place information at your fingertips. I thiknk that currently my favorite thing about the site is the teaching tip of the day. Appropriately enough, todays tip is:

"Solve Technology Lessons as a Learning Community - View technology breakdowns as an opportunity for community-building. Ask the class to work together to solve the problem. Technology, when it works and when it breaks down, allows students the opportunity to practice real-life problem-solving skills. The role of the teacher can now shift from teaching to helping students make connections through trial and error and hands-on exploration. Don't panic when technology breaks. Instead, involve and encourage students in the exploration of a solution."

The "Creative Teaching" website is pretty generic, mostly just a place with links to sites that have creative teaching ideas. "Education World" is really awesome - kind of like "one-stop-shopping" for the education society. There are tabs within the site for lesson planning, technology integration, school issues, and several more. The "read, Write, Think" site is especially helpful for my concentration: English. It offers Lessons, Standards, Web resources, and Student materials all geared towards helping English teachers get the most out of their students and help them be the best they can be.