Technology Integration Plan

  

The lesson I chose to teach is a lesson on The Odyssey. The lesson begins with an overview of the text with a class discussion, small group discussion, and Q&A, and is assessed with a group project and a student-taught lesson. This lesson should last 4-6 weeks.

After each student has read Homer's The Odyssey, I will direct a class discussion (aided by a PREZI presentation) where we will discuss the main ideas behind the text, the plot, and a very basic character analysis. The students will be broken up into four equal groups; each group will represent an island that Odysseus visited on his way back to Ithaca. They will have access to the Internet, if need, to look up certain words and phrases in the text that may not be understood. I will walk around to monitor discussions and contribute to the discussion if necessary. The groups will answer and analyze the following questions:

• What occurred on the island? 
• What were the personal obstacles Odysseus had to overcome? 
• How did his character develop?
  
  

 This will promote a democratic learning environment where everyone will learn together by help one another “fill in” unknown details and find clarity. Vygostksy’s zone of proximal development explains: “the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. By participating in small group discussions, assuming that each student fully read the assigned text, they will be able to help each other reach new and higher levels of understanding.

THE FOUR ISLANDS

Island ONE: Circe’s Island: Circe turns Odysseus’ men to swine but Odysseus is protected from her magic with the help of Hermes, a god who gave him a magical herb called Moly. Years pass, but Odyssues does not realize how long he has been on Circe’s island. Before Odysseus departs, Circe finally tells him that he needs to find the blind prophet Teiresias in the Underworld.

Island TWO: Cyclopes’ Island: Here, Odysseus and his men find the Cyclops’ cave, lured by cheese and wine left in front of it. The Cyclops traps them inside the cave, where Odysseus and his men determine they must blind the Cyclops then sneak out under his herd of sheep.

Island THREE: Calypso’s Island: Odysseus finds this island after drifting out at sea for a significant amount of time. It is an island inhibited by women lead by a nymph named Calypso. Enamored by her beauty, Odysseus spends seven years with Calypso. Hermes finally convinces Calypso to let Odysseus build a new ship and sail home.

Island FOUR: Scylla and Charybdis: Odysseus chooses to sail for Scylla, a six headed sea serpent, rather than Charybdis, a giant whirlpool. He did this because he knew that if he went to Charybdis, the whole ship would be destroyed. However, if he went toward Scylla, six men would die. A sacrifice the brave Odysseus had to make.

After about 15-20 minutes of small group discussion, the students will jot down a list of discussion questions for the entire class to discuss. The class will then have another full-class discussion where I--as well as other students--will ask and answer any of these questions.

THE GROUP PROJECT
After each "island" has sufficient information and has analyzed how their given island has developed Odysseus's character, they are to create a PREZI presentation that they will present to the class. The groups will need to put together a 20-minute lesson on their island. The lesson must include videos (either from YouTube or recorded at home) as well as photos that relate to the island. Their lesson must explain the three questions they were to answer during their group discussion in DETAIL. They are to show an extensive understanding of their island, Odysseus, and the other characters involved. They must also make a handout for the class. The handout can be an outline, fill-in the blank or matching questions, or they may even make a game, as long as the handout will give their fellow classmates a better understanding of the other islands.

PEER EVALUATION

Each island will be judged and evaluated by their peers on:

-        The comprehensiveness of their PREZI

-        Depth of knowledge about their island

-        Use of videos, photos, and any other multimedia

-        The comprehensiveness of the handout and if it appropriately correlates to the presentation

The reason why I chose PREZI over using a PowerPoint is because PREZI is fun and interactive. Students will have a list of fun templates and will have to be very creative when making their presentations. They are able to imbed music, videos, and pictures—much like PowerPoint—but PREZI takes more time, is much more visually appealing, and has a collaboration mode in which all students will be able to work on the presentation at the same time.

My Google Spreadsheet can be found here.

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development

Using Tumblr In the the Classroom

Have you heard of Tumblr? Tumblr is a social media website where you can create and follow other blogs that are similar to your interests. It's one of the most popular, if not the most popular, blogging websites for teens and young adults. I think it would be something great to use in the classroom and here's why:

1: It's very popular.
As I've already said, Tumblr is extremely popular amongst high school and college aged students. Most of your students have either heard of Tumblr and may already have their own blogs. With that being said, it won't be hard to learn since students are already accustomed to it.

2: It promotes a sense of community:
Tumblr allows you to "reblog" (repost) blog posts and pictures that you like from the people you follow, thus creating a sense of community. It's easy to access your followers because they all show up on your "dashboard" (Tumblr newsfeed), meaning that you won't need to have to search too hard for a certain follower.

3: It's easy and fun!
Tumblr is a very fun website to express your opinions, post and share pictures, and communicate with your followers. You can easily search different posts through what is called a tag. It would be a fun tool to bring into the classroom.

So, how would I bring it into the classroom?
This could be an assignment for Catcher in the Rye, for example. It would be a week long assignment. Each student would be required to make a new Tumblr account and follow the rest of his/her students' Tumblrs. Every night they are to reblog different pictures and quotes and make a nightly blogpost as if they were Holden. Each post would be related to his likes and beliefs. At the end of the week, we could have a discussion on the blogposts they wrote, the pictures/quotes they reblogged, and why those posts were posted. I think it would get students to think like Holden if he were alive today (he would definitely be the kind of person to have a blog) and compare it to how he was depicted in the book.

What do you think? How could you use tumblr in your classrooms?

Mandatory Technology Seminars

As previously stated in earlier posts, sometimes the problem with technology is that the teacher doesn't know how to properly utilize it. It may not be the case that they don't want to know how to use it, it's just that they don't have the time! Sometimes these new technologies, like the SMARTBoard for instance, is put into the classroom without the teacher's knowledge or consent and the teacher is supposed to either:
1) already know how to use it, or
2) is supposed to read the manual to learn how to use it.
And let's be completely honest--how many people would honestly sit down and read a manual on something they didn't want to use?

So,  I think there should be a mandatory technology seminar, workshop, or emporium, that every teacher, no matter how young, old, or level of experience, must take at the end of the summer. They should be introduced to popular technologies that could possibly show up in their classrooms and how to use them properly and effectively.

I also think teachers should be taught how to use the technologies that students themselves are using (such as iPads and other tablets) and how those kinds of technologies could also be used in the classroom. I think students will be more engaged if they're using technology that they're already accustomed to.

Now, I understand that not every school has SMARTBoards, iPads, or any other hi-tech devices, but these seminars could also provide online technologies that students could use at home or at the local library.

While I do know that these seminars do exist, many of them are only optional and attract the teachers who like using technology. These workshops should be mandatory for every single teacher. The fact of the matter is times are changing and new forms of instruction are making their ways into the every day classroom. Instead of working against them, it's time to work with them.

Studying with Quizlet!

During middle and high schools, I was terrible at studying. I was terrible at studying because I truly didn't know how. I would think to myself "Well, I already read the assigned reading and practiced the homework lessons, so why should I study?" Making notecards took too much time and I never wanted to "waste" that much paper on a test. I never took notes; I relied on just listening to what the teacher said and hoping I could remember it for the exam.

That method of thinking definitely worked for me in high school, but it didn't fly once I got to university. I was bombarded with homework assignments, chapter reading, quizzes, and endless amounts of note-taking. When it came to my first exam, I failed. Terribly. It was because I didn't know how and what to study. By this point I was already planning on failing out of school. Then a fellow student suggest I utilize a website called quizlet.com

I. LOVE. QUIZLET! It's an online learning tool where you can make electronic notecards to help you study. Then, when you're done with the notecards, you can play games that help you memorize. It's fun, easy, and extremely user friendly. There is even an option that "auto-define" option with definitions from the internet as well as other Quizlet members for when you're not entirely sure what the correct definition is.

For example: I want to study Shakespearean language. I can't remember what "zounds" means, so I type it in on the front of my "notecard". Then, underneath my notecard, I click "auto-define 'zounds'". A pop-up notification appears with web and user-contributed definitions of zounds. I find the definition(s) that make the most sense, then I'm done!

The thing I like the most about Quizlet is the fact that it helps me study through easy computer games. They're simple, fun, and I truly believe they help! I use Quizlet every time I need to study; it's much faster than physically making notecards and much more fun. I would definitely refer it to my future students who find themselves struggling with trying to find good studying habits.

Have you heard of Quizlet before? What do you think of it?

Have You Heard of PREZI?

Are you tired of seeing and making the same, boring PowerPoint presentations for various classroom projects? Have you ever heard of Prezi? Prezi is an online presentation tool that turns those flat PowerPoints into fun and engaging presentations that are sure to wow your classmates. You can even convert your current PowerPoint presentations into Prezi Presentations!
Here's a YouTube video of an awesome Prezi
It's very simple to use! Prezi is a free tool with a multitude of fun templates that take your presentations to the next level. You could of course buy Prezi, which contains more tools and templates, but I think this is a great website for students and teachers who want to make a simple, yet interesting, presentation.
There's even a free upgrade for students and teachers with an .edu email! (More applicable for college-age students, but they're still students nonetheless)
The other great part of Prezi is the "Collaboration" feature. With this feature, you're able to collaborate with up to ten people in real time--meaning you don't have to log off in order for someone else to use it. Each collaborator has an avatar so that you're able to see who is editing what.
Prezi is also available for the iPad, which I think is awesome. Now-a-days, especially for college-age students, more people are buying and using iPads to take notes in class instead of investing in an expensive computer. With Prezi for the iPad, students will be able to work on their presentations on the bus ride home, on the train, in the car... anywhere!
Ever since I was first introduced to Prezi last year, I've never made another PowerPoint presentation. I truly believe both students and teachers would love using Prezi for their future presentations. It's fun, interactive, and (most importantly) FREE!! How much better can it get?!
Have you used Prezi? What do you think?

Collaboration Canvas

This week I "remixed" another student's PLAYground canvas that focused on the creation of walls and barriers through music. As a a future English major, I'd like to show students how music and art have also managed to break walls and break barriers between different groups of people. In my canvas, I wanted to show different musicians and poets who were made famous through some of their social commentaries on race, class, sexuality, and gender. I mostly focused my lesson on Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" (which was originally a poem written by Abel Meerolpol) and how that song possibly could have impacted a highly racist society like it was during the 1930s and 40s.  I also provided links to other songs/poems that are social commentaries. I think that music is the spoken form of poetry, and it's very important as an English class to look at the literature that it's composed of. Here's the link to my canvas. Enjoy!

Do You Have a Favorite Technology?

As I thought about this week's post, I started drawing blanks. I've come to realize that in my many years of being in public institutions with up-to-date technologies, I cannot think of one technology that I truly enjoyed or even benefited from. I remember having a SMARTBoard, which we never used, and we frequently utilized the COW (Computer On Wheels) in gradeschool, but there was never a technology that made me think "Wow, I've learned so much." Even today as a senior in college I have not yet found a course that fully utilizes some form of technology that has helped the learning process.
Is this bad? Am I not giving technology enough slack?
Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate a good PowerPoint presentation, but most of the time I feel as if I'm just copying down the notes instead of actually paying attention to the lesson. I've heard of excellent technologies that actually record lectures as you take notes, but I've never actually seen one distributed in the classroom.
I want to love technology in the pedagogical world, but I truly cannot think of one form of technology that I've loved other than film. I cannot think of many technologies that I would want to bring into my classroom. Am I too old school? What do you think? Can you think of some of your favorite technologies that you would use in your future classrooms?

Unit Plan Canvas

Happy Sunday, everyone!
This week I made a lesson plan on a PLAYground Canvas regarding to my post from two weeks ago on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Without being repetitive, I just want to stress the importance of reading and fully understanding Hamlet, or any Shakespearean play for that matter. My canvas is an introduction to Hamlet's soliloquies. During my lesson, we will learn what a soliloquy is, what it does, and what Hamlet's soliloquies reveal about himself to the audience. The hardest part for me was actually making the canvas! I wasn't sure where to put what item and how big to make it. I wanted it to have some sort of flow, so I made the video (which is a great commentary video) quite large so hopefully people will understand that they should watch the video first. I also provided supplementary videos/links below to video, so again, hopefully people will understand.

Music in the Classroom

When browsing through other classmates' (including my own) blogposts, I've seen some postings about integrating film into the classroom. While I think this is a great idea, have any of you thought about bringing music into the classroom as well? If film is considered a technology, why not music? Music is something that is part of everyone's life, whether we listen to it or not, and I think it would be a great cross-curricular vehicle to utilize.
Music is the kind of audio poetry that opens our eyes--and ears--to the outside world. It brings forth memories as well as deep conversation. I stumbled over this artcle by Johns Hopkins University that emphasizes the utilization of music integration in the education system. The article opens up a discussion on how and why music can be utilized. "Music helps us learn because it will:

• establish a positive learning state
• create a desired atmosphere
• build a sense of anticipation
• energize learning activities
• change brain wave states
• focus concentration
• increase attention
• improve memory
• facilitate a multisensory learning experience
• release tension
• enhance imagination
• align groups
• develop rapport
• provide inspiration and motivation
• add an element of fun
• accentuate theme-oriented units"

Music can be about anything from current events and social awareness to even the basics such as the ABCs. You might ask, "It's easy to use music in the English and History classrooms, but what about Math and the Sciences?" Well, think back to when you were a kid: did you ever learn a song about numbers? I remember learning a song about how to count to five that I'll never forget.
Music is something that we take with us outside of the classroom. I think bringing some form of music would not only interest and engage our future students, but it is something that can be taken away and remembered outside the classroom and, hopefully, for the rest of our lives.

"Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents." - Ludwig van Beethoven

Technology and Pedagogy

I think the hardest lesson through out the high school and college experience (for English classes) is learning--and most importantly understanding--Shakespeare. The reason why I chose this lesson is because Hamlet is one of the most taught Shakespearean plays, yet a very small percentage of students actually understand it. I believe Hamlet is a wonderful play full of great lessons, and it is an injustice to students when those lessons are not taught properly. The lesson plan can be found here. I believe this lesson helps students get a better understanding of what Hamlet is really saying and the importance of a soliloquy. Although I found this lesson to be rich, I did see gaps between the lesson, strategy, and the technology. The only technology used is YouTube, which is a fantastic source, but did not really delve into other forms of technology that might help the students better understand the text. To be honest, I think it's a little hard to find multiple forms of technology when it comes to looking into drama and plays. Yes, a SmartBoard could be used, but will that really help the learning process? I believe watching a YouTube or film representation of a text is sufficient, and even necessary, in helping a student physically see what is happening in a given text. Along with close reading and classroom discussions, a visual representation of Shakespearean text will definitely give students a better understanding of the tough language that turns students off to begin with.

Lesson Plan Spreadsheet.

Technology Dependency

This is your first year teaching and you've worked all week long on the perfect presentation: You found an inspirational, yet informative, video on YouTube, your PowerPoint presentation is absolutely beautiful, and you finally figured out how to utilize the SmartBoard and all its functions.
Today is the day of your presentation and you couldn't be any more excited. You get to class early with just enough time to prepare for your oh, so wonderful lesson. The adrenaline courses through your veins as you walk up to the podium and begin to set up. Your students start to file into the classroom-- some groggy with a Case of the Mondays, some eager to learn, and others indifferent--yet you greet them all with a cheery smile. The second bell rings as you hit the "power" button..
Nothing happens.
Taking a deep breath, you hit the "power" button a second time with just a little more force. Nothing. You can feel your control of the classroom start to slip through your fingertips as you once again hit the "power" button...

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This is the kind of situation we've seen being played out over and over again, mostly amongst our classmates. But these are the classmates who will someday become teachers, just like you and me.

This is the kind of situation that we can also learn a very valuable lesson from: do not become dependent on technology. You can have the most state-of-the-art computers, SmartBoards, and every other new and innovative technology made for the classroom, but we have to remember that these are just tools for learning, NOT the basis of learning. I feel like many of us, especially the younger generations who plan on teaching later in life, have become very dependent on technology and won't know what to do when the technology fails on us. Our first thought it to panic when we should already have a Plan B--or even a Plan C, D, and E.

Although integrating technology in our future classrooms is very important, I think that it is even more important to always, always, ALWAYS have a back-up plan that does not involve having to use any form of tehcnology. Nothing is scarier than the thought of losing control of your future classroom.

Looking Back on Technology in The Classroom

One technology I truly could not stand during high school was the SMARTBoard. For those who may not know, the SMARTBoard is an electronic interactive touch-screen whiteboard. One may think, "An interactive whiteboard? How neat!" Oh, on the contrary. I do not believe SMARTBoards aided the learning process--or even made class any more interesting--in any way possible. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Most teachers weren't taught how to use the SMARTBoard so they weren't able to reap the full benefits:
There weren't many features to the SMARTBoard; all there was was an electronic clicker (so that you didn't need to be in front of a keyboard when presenting a slideshow) and a "save" feature for saving notes that were taken in class... All of which I believe can be done with out a SMARTBoard. Even so, many, if not all of my teachers had no clue how to use it. Over the summer, our school installed SMARTBoards in every classroom but never gave teachers a guide on how to use it! The few who figured out how to use it became frustrated with the new technology. It glitched, constantly froze, always needed reconfiguration, and usually distracted the class from getting the lessons completed in a timely matter. By the time I graduated, I did not know any teachers who utilized the SMARTBoards in their classrooms.

2. There is nothing "new" or "innovative" about the SMARTBoard:
The SMARTBoard only combines two useful technologies: the computer and the whiteboard. While I do believe that the SMARTBoard is a cool idea and that it does make the user a little more media savvy, it does not make learning any easier or any more fun. To put it simply, it does not bring anything new to the table. It's a touch screen whiteboard with a clicker; all it does is replace an already very useful technology with an even more expensive one. I don't believe that teachers who choose to utilize the SMARTBoards in their classrooms are any more progressive or effective than teachers who choose not to.

3. I feel like SMARTBoards are better for younger grades, not high school students:
I was first introduced to SMARTBoards during my sophomore year of high school. To be honest, I wasn't at all impressed. Yes, things could be moved around on the whiteboard, but I did not find it useful. In fact, I thought it was a little childish. I think SMARTBoards would be better in the elementary grades; kids love seeing things move around on a big screen. As far as high school goes? I think the students are a little too old for that.

I haven't seen or used a SMARTBoard since high school, so maybe the technology has proved to be more useful and successful in all classrooms. For now, I am not a fan. Don't get me wrong, I'm very open to trying new technologies in the classroom; I just think there's such a thing as too much technology...

History of Technology in English

The Mass Production of the Pencil (With an Eraser): Making English Classes More Productive Since 1900.

Using Technology in My Future English Classrooms

It's so discouraging to me when teachers all over turn up their noses to the mere thought of using technology in the classroom. I, on the other hand, think it's a great and useful tool that all teachers should familiarize themselves with. I think that many ought to understand that today's youth is VERY different than the youth 10 (and even 20) years ago, and if the teachers can't keep up with their students' technologies, then they'll quickly lose interest in the classroom.

One of the biggest and fastest growing technologies is the technology of the social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pintrest... the list goes on and on and continues to grow in volume and popularity. So, instead of turning up our noses, we should embrace these extremely useful technologies and integrate them into in our current and future classrooms.

In the perspective of a future English teahcer, I believe that I could use social media two different ways: As a learning tool and as a networking tool.

AS A LEARNING TOOL:
Example: This week we'll be finishing Shakespeare's A Midsummers Night's Dream. In order to ensure that my classroom is understanding the text, which might I add can be very challenging for a student to understand, the class is to make a Facebook profile for each character of the play. For each assigned chapter, the student is to update their character's Facebook profile--adding "favorite" quotes, updating bios, and adding statuses. Not only will each student have a better understanding for the text, but they'll develop a much more in depth analysis of each character.

AS A NETWORKING TOOL:
One reason why some students don't do their homework is because they 1) didn't write it down or 2) simply forgot what the assignment was. Instead of emailing me and hoping that I will reply back, I think setting up a Twitter profile with updated homework assignments would be great! Twitter can be accessed online and through Smartphones, and tweets can also be sent to your phone if no internet access is available. Students can simply go to my Twitter page. They could also ask me quick questions about certain assignments!

Another technology I find to be extremely useful is film. Films and books go hand in hand. Yes, some film adaptations to certain books are excruciatingly bad, but there are many awesome movies that can help students better understand books they might not have otherwise wanted to read. Again, I'll use Shakespeare as an example. It's easy to say that the hardest part of reading Shakespeare is getting through the language. It makes me so sad to see that students hate Shakespeare because they believe that he is a bad playwright, but simply because they can't understand a word he's saying! As a way to eviate the pain it is to get through an unfamiliar text in an almost foreign language, showing film adaptations of Shakespeare plays will definitely help give students a better understanding of the text.

So, in regards to using technology in the classroom, if ya can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Technology Autobiography

It's very easy to say that technology is one of the key factors to everyone's lives, whether we like to admit it or not. Personally, the three most important communication technologies would have to be email text messaging, and phone calls.
My preferred communication technology of choice is email. I find that through email you can reach a mass amount of people in an orderly and somewhat timely matter. Email is especially effective for me as a student; most of my professors will only respond to emails, especially if I'm enrolled in an online course. Emails are a lot more formal than text messaging, which I love, but, unlike text messages, can have a much longer response time.
In today's day and age, especially amongst the youth, text messaging is a blessing and a curse. For starters, it is possibly the fastest way to connect with someone at any given time or place with out having to make a phone call and (possibly) disturb the person one is trying to contact. The downside is that text messaging can be distracting and a nuisance to people around the person who is text messaging--or texting as we like to call it now. In my opinion, texting doesn't give me the same kind of satisfaction as actually talking with a person on the phone.
With the increased usage of emails and texting, it seems like we rarely use our phones for the one purpose it was originally intended for: making phone calls. I personally love talking on the telephone! Nothing is nicer than being able to call up my friends and loved ones to see how they're doing. I can't physically see their faces, but hearing their voices is the next best thing. Unfortunately, the use of phones to make actual phone calls is slowly but surely becoming less and less popular. We would rather send a text or an email than pick up the phone and talk to someone--or even talk to a person face to face.
As far as learning new information, I believe emails are my best tool. Again, as a student who frequently checks her email, I am subscribed to a multitude of online journals and news/pop culture websites. I get new information sent directly to me--without having to wait 2-3 business days for it to arrive in my mailbox. Email is an excellent tool for educational and recreational purposes.
In comparison to the students in the video, technologies have become some sort of "third hand"; I am always connected and, in a sense, I feel sort of naked with out it. It's fast, easy, and incredibly convenient. It's hard for me to think of a time when technology did not have a helping hand in my life. In contrast, the students in the video, my means of communication were mostly based on person-to-person contact, whereas their means of communication was through the masses, e.g social media and websites. Their technologies gave them the power to be creative; they are able to express themselves through their blogs and other "technologically hands-on" media.