Autobiography Revision

I can honestly say that my eyes have been opened in many ways on the usage of technology. No longer is my computer just an expensive typewriter. I was always comfortable with using and learning about technology, but my knowledge on how to use it diversely in the classroom was limited. Prior to this class, the idea of a blog just made my eyes roll. Now, however, I can envision the blog of them in the classroom. This use of a wiki interesting and interactive and even though I cannot really see how to use them in the English classroom, I want to keep it in the back of my mind just in case I can find an authentic use for them. I think that the podcast would be a good tool to use for discussion and literature circles. My favorite technology that I have learned about was the digital story. I like to do background lessons for the literary works that I work with in the class and I feel that the digital story would be an engaging way to accomplish that. They can also be used as an assignment for the students to engage with and explore writing in a different way.

Letter to Administrator

Mr/Ms. Principal:

I would like to take a few minutes to tell you about an exciting technological teaching tool that I feel would be very valuable not only to my own class, but also to most content areas throughout our school. I recently took a "teaching with technology" class at the university where I was exposed to this technology. The name of this technology is WebInquiry.

WebInquiry are projects that are "open inquiry learning activities that leverage the use of uninterpreted online data and information." (http://edweb.sdsu.edu/wip/overview.htm) This basically means that students are given subject matter and sometimes a basic objective. They use the internet to answer the questions that they may have on the subject. Don't worry--the students will not be all over the internet "willy-nilly" during instructional time. There is a method to the maddness. The above web-site gives teachers and students the six stages spiral path to inquiry which includes a: hook, questions, procedures, data investigation, analysis, findings.

As you can see, WebInquiry is a technological tool that gives students and teachers an authentic way to generate inquiry, seek out answers, and formulate conclusions. WebInquiry can lead to higher levels of thinking and is in line with Bloom's taxonomy. Not only do I think that WebInquiry would be useful in my classroom (especially with the addition of the analytical portforlio piece), but also I have found by talking to other teachers that it could be useful across content areas. Please take time to look at the above website for yourself and would appreciate the consideration of implimenting the tool for the upcoming school year.

Thank you for time,

Chris Webb
English Department

Chapter 8

I would like to respond to the information in chapter 8. I find the information on the podcast very interesting along with the examples that the author give of our they are being used in the classroom. I find that the podcast could be a very interesting and authentic activity that could be used for multiple purposes; however, I have to admit that actively using them in my class still seems a little intimidating. I have, however, used a downloaded podcast in my class when teaching speech writing. I downloaded a Fredrick Douglass speech to play for the students as we discussed the speech techniques.

Digital Storytelling

I would like to respond to my experience with digital storytelling. I have to admit that initially, I was dreading doing the digital story; however, after I got over my main stumbling block (the script), putting together the story was easy and dare I say, fun. After view all of the other digital storys in class, I can really see how effective the digital story could be in the classroom. In a time when students are so product driven, my digital story is truly one of my core philosophies and one that I have conveyed to students. Also, I like to do background information when I start a new reading project and the digital story would be an effective and engaging way to introduce new books.

Chapter 4

Ok, wikis, I really do get it. However, I still am having trouble envisioning the pervasive use of them in my classroom. Perhaps, that is my hang-up. It does not necessarily have to be a pervasive use wikis. As an English teacher, I can see the use of the wiki with the teaching of feature articles. Also, and probably more relevant, I can see the use of wikis with exploring background information and way-in texts with working with certain literary works. I do think that in a situation in which the teacher has a "smart" classroom and all the students have proper computer/internet access, that the use of a wiki in the classroom could be very useful for many diverse aspects of the classroom community.

Flickr project link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8836442@N03

The core content for the project is:
SC-HS-3.4.7
Students will:
· classify organisms into groups based on similarities;
· infer relationships based on internal and external structures and chemical processes.
Biological classifications are based on how organisms are related. Organisms are classified into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on similarities that reflect their relationships. Species is the most fundamental unit of classification. Different species are classified by the comparison and analysis of their internal and external structures and the similarity of their chemical processes.
DOK 2
--based on the external structures of the plants.

Chapters 3, 5, and 7

In looking at the information in chapter 3, I have to say that the prospect of employing blogs in the classroom seems both exciting and daunting. As an English teacher who likes to use journals in instruction, I feel that the use of blogs in the classroom could lead to more relevant, higher-level thinking in regards to literature and writing. I am, however, still a little confused on how to set up a class blog. Also, I wonder about the legistical aspects of requiring students to blog when some students may not be able to have access to internet.

Research Strategies

When I research, I usually start with the computer by employing "google" or "yahoo." I do this because it is usually a good, quick way to at least start a search and helps me narrow my search. However, I am still a little "old school," where if I need more formal research, I will go to the library and search out books and journal articles.

Reading Response chps 1-2

In response to chapter 1, I have to comment that I was surprised by the number of adults (44%) that were currently using the internet for publishing writing; however, I was not surprised by that number when it was in regards to posting photos and sharing files (mostly music I assume). I do agree with the statement on page 5 that stated that the internet would and does make it easier for students for access primary sources.
I would totally agree with the idea of today’s students being “digital natives.” In my experience student teaching at a laptop school, I found that the students were much more inventive than the teachers at getting around certain controls and prohibited websites. I would also agree with the idea that today’s students do not learn as linear as we once did with what the author call their “hypertext minds.” Being a new teacher that was not in school during the digital age, the differences in the learning styles have been very apparent to me.
In chapter 2, I have to admit that I may be a little overwhelmed that all the ways to use the internet and more specifically, blogs. I do, however, like to use journal writing as part of my openings in my English class. I feel that with using a blog format, that I could go paperless and would be able to better keep up with the student’s writings. I also feel that I would be able to develop relevant and critical writing prompts for the class. Along with this, I have to agree with most all of the points the author makes on pages 27 and 28.

First Post--Autobiography

As an older student, I feel that I have come a long way in regards to my comfort level and acceptance of the growing use of technology in both my life personally, educationally, and professionally. When I first entered college in 1989, the school still had a writing lab that consisted of typewriters and were just establishing the use of computers as data-word machines. I have always been accepting of the use of technologies and their growths in use in our lives (even though I resisted getting a cell phone until last year).
I got my first computer in 1995 and it was mainly used for entertainment. Soon after, when I re-entered college, I began to use the computer as an expensive typewriter. Although I was not resistant to the use of computers, I really had no practical use for the computer at that time other than for writing papers. I also began to have to use computers more often at work in my previous job in EMS. It really was not until the last 4 to 5 years when I started using DSL at home that I began to use the computer in more diverse ways.
I feel that the use of computers and technology in the classroom in not only helpful, efficient, and a valuable tool for the teacher, but also is becoming more and more essential and relevant to the lives of our students as well as needed for their futures. During my student teaching, I was placed at Moore High School. Moore is a school that has a laptop program for its students. I was very impressed with how effective the program was in not only lesson planning and delivery, but also in how the students could become instant involved in discussion, research, and writing. The experience was very enlightening, especially in comparison to some of the other schools in which I had taught and been in.