The Online Plume

Serious Scenarios

2008-04-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

We all know that technology can be a great tool in the classroom, but what happens when our technology breaks down? Today we explored our options for when technology ruins our carefully constructed lesson plans. As innovative teachers, we simply have to think quickly. We will have technology malfunctions, so we must be prepared for them. Although it may take up more planning time, one of the best things we can do to combat these "serious scenarios" is to always include a Plan B with our lessons! Take the time and be prepared; this is what good teachers do!

Technology-based Lesson Presentations!

2008-03-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hello again! It's been a long two weeks with no posts, but I am back! March 10-14 was our Spring Break, so obviously, we did not meet! We did have class scheduled for March 26, but since the class was going to be a planning session for our technology-based lessons, Ms. Williams gave us the time to work at home instead. I was actually really glad about that, because I still needed more time to think about what exactly I wanted to do!

This week we presented our technology-based lessons in class. I know it's shocking, but I managed to use The Turn of the Screw yet again! My lesson was on how to communicate professionally through e-mail. In many classes, I hear teachers complaining again and again about the "unprofessional" e-mails they receive from students. The common complaint is that students often revert to the common “netspeak” when using technology (i.e. instant messenger, e-mails, etc.), so I decided to base my lesson off of this idea to try and close the gap between letter writing and e-mail writing. The lesson actually worked perfectly with the novel too, because at the end of chapter seventeen, the governess plans on writing a letter to her employer! :-D

I also really enjoyed seeing the other presentations. My peers (as usual!) came up with wonderful ideas to incorporate technology into their lessons. I really liked the lesson which used the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. I thought it was a great idea to have students use tape recorders to experiment with the difficult dialect of the text. Many students would give up trying to read this book simply because of the difficulty of the language, but I think a lesson like this could inspire students to be more willing to be engaged with the reading.

Well, next week is Ms. William's Spring Break, so we won't be meeting for class. Enjoy the break, but I'll be back on April 9!

E-Guest Speaker

2008-03-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today our LAE4860 class interacted with an E-Guest Speaker via a Web Conferencing program on the computer. Ms. Diedre Price spoke on "Rewriting the Composition Classroom." I really enjoyed her lecture and her ideas, but it was very difficult for me to focus during the conference. I can see how this technology could be useful, but it was just so difficult to focus when the speaker wasn't physically in the room. I think this issue would be a serious problem for many students as well. If I used this kind of technology in my own classroom, I would definitely have an assignment to accompany the speaker. During our class, I knew I would be distracted, so I took notes. I would have my students do the same if I didn't have an assignment to give - It is just too easy to become distracted.

On the positive side, however, Web Conferences would be a great tool for inviting a diverse group of speakers into your classroom that otherwise wouldn't be able to join the classroom environment in person! I can just imagine how wonderful an experience this tool could be - Endless possibilities really... But you'd have to be a pro to get it to work properly and keep your students' attention!

Mini Think Tanks and Crazy Big Tanks

2008-02-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

What-what-what is a mini think tank?! Today we divided up into mini think tanks to work on a Technology-based lesson by Ms. Williams. I think there were 5 or so groups, and each group had a different author to research. Basically, each group member had a different role and contributed to the assignment in some way. There was a researcher (the person who researched as much information about the author as possible), a synthesizer (this person who went through the research to choose the most relevant and interesting information), and a designer (the person who gathered and organized all the information chosen and designed the slides for the Power Point presentation). Our group had Arthur Miller, and I think the whole "think tank" idea was perfect for this sort of activity! I liked having set roles, but I guess I would still be worried that one student would end up doing the majority of the work or something. If I used this activity in my classroom, I would definitely walk around the room to check how much progress is taking place and to give verbal cues on how much time is still left for the assignment. I also liked that the groups presented their Power Point at the end of class. This would be extremely beneficial in classes where students tend to be distracted or off-task. There is no other choice but to work as quickly as possible -That is, of course, if you want your full participation grade! :-)

Film Clip Lessons!

2008-02-20T20:19:00.000-08:00

Today we presented our Film Clip Lessons! I was pretty excited because I found such a creepy clip to accompany my lesson! I guess I am still amazed by the variety of things you can find on the net - Really, it amazes me! I used a short segment from a longer clip I found on YouTube which can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhqQEnASvJ0 (4:42-5:30). It was a clip from the movie The Innocents which is based on The Turn of the Screw. The clip is just one part of the lesson which is based on investigating elements that contribute to the mood in a work (i.e. writing, film, music, etc.). I really thought the clip did a great job of portraying this one particular scene; plus, it gives the students something new to do in class besides staring at the whiteboard!

I was also really impressed by a number of the lessons my peers came up with. I really liked the PS I Love You clip which was paired with the novel 13 Little Blue Envelopes. It made me want to see the movie and read the book! The Mark Twain claymation clip was extremely disturbing, to say the least, but I think students would definitely be interested in what Twain wrote after watching it! That's a plus, right? :-D

Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines

2008-02-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed the presentation on Copyright and Fair Use Laws today. We watched a short film created by Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University titled A Fair(y) Use Tale (The film can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo). This video was both hilarious and informative. I didn't realize how many restrictions there were on copyrighted materials! I felt a bit overwhelmed by what we can and cannot use, but I understand the importance of following these guidelines nonetheless. If someone used my work without crediting me, I would probably be upset, so there has to be some type of accountability to make sure people don't plagiarize or misuse someone else's work. But seriously, some of the laws are intense. I wish teachers had more freedom for instruction in the classroom in regards to copyright and fair use guidelines, but alas, one can only wish!

After the discussion on Copyright Laws, a few of us still had to present our WebQuests. I was very happy with my lesson considering this was the first WebQuest I ever created! I used Henry James' The Turn of the Screw as my novel, and I think it worked well! If I ever taught this book in a real classroom, I would definitely use this WebQuest, but I think I would still have to add more details and more resources. All in all though, I think it turned out better than my original!

Last, but not least, we discussed some plans for the Film Clip Lessons we will be presenting next week. We have to create a lesson plan where we use a film clip to accompany our lesson. My brain is blank right now, so I think I'll just wait until I can browse on the net. I'm sticking to Henry James, so who knows what I'll be able to find! :-) :-/ :-D

WebQuest Presentations!

2008-02-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

Today we had a WebQuest feast, courtesy of my creative classmates! I really enjoyed seeing what everyone came up with considering the broad spectrum of options we had. As I had discovered before, WebQuests take a lot of time, but they seem to be well worth the effort invested. I tried to place myself in the shoes of the middle/high school student, and I really think that students would enjoy participating in many of the activities we saw tonight.

Unfortunately, I have bad news to accompany this post... I lost my flash drive! :'( I have no idea where it went, but this morning I had to start all over again on my WebQuest. Thankfully, Ms. Williams is allowing me to present next week along with a few others, so hopefully I can get my act together and bust out an even better presentation than the one I had before!

A WebQuest

2008-01-30T19:40:00.000-08:00

When I was reading for class, I felt like I had been transported to another decade. WebQuests? I had no idea WebQuests even existed! I felt a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. Once we began discussing the benefits and inconveniences of this large undertaking, I could see how a WebQuest could be very good or very, very bad.

A WebQuest requires a good deal of preparation from the teacher. There is no room for glossing over details when it comes to creating one of these masterpieces. Everything must be clear and organized; if it's not, you risk wasting untold amounts of time. Yet, if prepared thoughtfully and with painstaking care, the only risk you run is seeing your students working hard - And seriously, what kind of teacher would frown at that?

We started working on our own WebQuests in class tonight. I'm using The Turn of the Screw by Henry James again - I hope to be a few steps closer to compiling some sort of Unit Plan... Muahahahahaaa! At first, I was becoming a bit annoyed by the linking process. For some unknown reason, it wouldn't let me link the text that I had placed into a shape. I finally figured out a different way to do it, but I think there has to be some easier way. Anyway, I'm not really a fan of what I have so far. I need to get a better grasp of what I want to do with the novel before I really get into it.

Get thinking, woman!

The AUP

2008-01-23T19:24:00.000-08:00

To update on my last post, I finally finished my Power Point! I made my presentation more of a tool to help guide discussion in class, rather than the typical lecture presentation. Something that I thought was innovative was that I also made it interactive! On a few slides, I made the option to have a student type in-class notes while we discussed the topic. Maybe it's been done before, but I thought this was a neat way of using Power Point! Not only is it more interactive, but we can also save the Power Point on a class-to-class basis and use it as a study guide!

In class today, we discussed the importance of Internet Safety. We created our own Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and Consent Form. I'm still somewhat apprehensive about using the internet in the classroom. I feel like all this paperwork really won't matter if we don't enforce it. We have to be vigilant over our students when they are using the internet. Thinking back to my school days, I don't know how some of my teachers could justify not watching us. In my classroom, I will definitely be watching my students. I hope the school I work at will have some sort of internet tracking program, but either way, teaching internet safety and appropriate use will definitely be a top priority!

Power Point

2008-01-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

Today in LAE4860, we discussed some thoughts about integrating technology in our classrooms. We also discussed the benefits of working with Power Point in particular, and we began working on creating a Power Point presentation. I have had both great and terrible experiences with Power Point, but today's lesson was about using Power Point in a new and innovative way.

Unfortunately, I only made three slides!!! <--- 3 exclamation points for dramatic effect :-O

Sometimes I feel SO behind when it comes to using technology. It seems to absorb so much more of my time and effort in comparison to my colleagues! Still, I do agree with what we said in class: The best way to become a tech-savvy teacher is to use technology and practice using it!

I like the way my Power Point is going though. I'm aiming to use it as an aide for a discussion-based lesson on The Turn of the Screw. I think it'll turn out to be a great tool, but I really hope I don't spend more than 2 hours on it. 2 hours will be my limit... Ok, maybe 4...

Welcome to The Online Plume!

2008-01-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of class in LAE4860: Using Technology in Teaching Language Arts. I don't really know what to say right now - Not too much has happened! :-D I have a number of questions that keep swirling around in my head though: In what ways can we use technology in the English classroom? How can we use technology to its fullest potential? Will I be able to use technology efficiently and effectively in my classroom?

I am far from being a connoisseur of technology, but I hope I can become one. Frankly, technology FREAKS ME OUT! Excitement and anxiety are both swirling around in the realm of The Online Plume... What will be next?!