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.

Teacher Requirements

I chose to include these sites because different states do have some different requirements, and ultimately I hope to live and teach in Montana, or maybe even Idaho. These sites will not really help me once I am certified and in the classroom, but for where I am now, they could prove helpful.

Web 2.0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

Web 2.0 basically targets the "sharing" aspect of web use. it enables users/subscribers to interact and engage using the internet as a platform for communication, learning, and growth. It is a much more "user-friendly" system than its predecessor. Much of the aspects of Web 2.0 is free, but often with conditions (requiring ads, limiting total content allowed, etc.). It encourages collaboratve efforts and networking.

Examples include:
- Wikipedia
- Myspace
- Facebook
- Podcasts
- Wikis
- Blogs
- Flickr/Picasa
- Skype (a free computer communication service)
- Image generators

Wow...I am amazed at how much this covers! It seems limitless as far as its capabilities - limited only to the imagination! It could really be a classroom perk, especially in encouraging student discussion. Several of my college courses involve student or class blogs and it can be a great way to interact with eachother...especially since the average college student hours of operation are definitly not during the day :) I think that I would definitely consider using a calss blog when I teach, but I would really need a lot more experience with the other things available on the web before implementing them into the classroom. I also really like the idea of podcasts, etc. for study purposes. Many students need repeated interaction with material before they can fully retain it. I would not mind recording my lectures for the students to use later, or podcasting assignments, etc.

Smart board in the classroom

As an English teacher, the smart board could serve some good purposes:
- providing students with ways to interact with the material (e.g. conjugating verbs, diagraming sentences, etc.
- English classes can sometimes be boring so it could be good to mix things up - perhaps showing tutorials or instructional
videos instead of just lecturing
- I like the "Jeopardy" idea for study purposes, especially like with grammar rules, literary terms, or actual questions from
readings they may have done
- I love that the SMART board is so good as a presentation tool, both for myself and also for students. Giving them the
option to present a research paper, etc. using the board could offer those that are technologically inclined a creative outlet

Even though the SMART board could be useful in so many ways, I also think that it is not necessarily an educational must - at least for my teaching style. So much of English learning, especially literature, is greatly enhanced with research and discussion, neither of which would be really advanced by using the board.