Best and Worst of Tech & Topics.

Hmmmmmmm. What did I like most about this class? Besides the environment, all the interesting people, and Mr. B's awesome teaching style? Probably learning all the cool new ways to impress future students :)

I'm a pretty tech savvy person, my dad usually calls me when he needs help, and I learned so much from this class. I love Prezi and Glogster...but my ultimate favorite has got to be Join.Me. I can not get enough of that site! Plus this was a class I never got stressed about. Having a heavy work load was very stressful this semester, but this class was not about stress at all! It had a very chill quality about it, and instead of a teacher classroom feel, it felt like a teacher boardroom and we all got together.

The worst part about Tech and Topics? I'm actually kind of sad that it is over, because I feel like there is so much more to learn! It's like we only scratched the surface of all that the internet has to offer to teachers. Besides that...I am afraid that I am going to forget how to do some things, but other than that.. I loved this class! I'm definitely going to miss it.

Does Technology change the way we teach?

Considering that I'm writing this blog post for a class called Technology and Topics, I would have to say Absolutely!

Technology has opened the door to so many things that we have never been able to even comprehend before. Using smart boards seemed like a futuristic idea when I was in grade school, and now even it has become obsolete in some schools.

We can now connect with people instantly across the world instead of writing letters, hoping they don't get lost in transit...and translation! Instead we can come face to face with multiple countries and learn together collaboratively. It's simply amazing.

We can even link computers together so that everyone can have a hands on experience with the classroom (Join.me Try IT! you won't be disappointed I promise). Plus look what that one choir director did... he connected people from all over the world to create a global and virtual choir. If you haven't seen it, check it out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs

I think that by having basically the world at our fingertips, technology has definitely changed and possibly improved the way we teach. This is true especially for this generation who is so reliant on technology.

Technology Presentation Overview

Even though I did not have to present on a Web 2.0 technology idea, we did discuss them in class.
I really loved Join.me which is a website that allows you to hook up to other computers so you can all be connected. You can have one person take control of all the computers, or the 1st person can allow others to control as well..
I think this would be extremely helpful in classrooms. The teacher could connect with the student's laptops to show them information, and help to present ideas with other students. The students could use it as well, for group projects. They could all write on the computer they are hooked up to. This would be helpful if the group could not meet outside of school, so they could work together no matter what. The teacher and students could peer edit papers, write articles, make presentations. Basically they have the whole Internet to do anything, and they are connected while doing it...

Gotta love 2011.

Is there Value in Learning from Fiction?

As an English major, I answer that with a estatic YES! (woohoo) Even though fiction is not wholly true, there are so many life lessons portrayed in all that we read. Through all of Shakespeare's works we learn of love, jealousy, lust, hatred, and power, just to name a few. From Elizabeth Bennett we learn what it takes to be an independent woman falling in love. Through Tom Sawyer we learn about consequences of our actions and the overwhelming love of adventure throughout our young lives. Each fiction novel, or even a modern fiction story, exemplifies some kind of value that allows students to connect their own lives with these stories. Of course, as an English major... I may be a tad biased, but I whole heartedly believed that learning from fiction is very valuable indeed.

Presentation Critique Paper

Kelly Krebs

3/24/11

Presentation Critique

Tech and Topics

I introduced the Shakespearean sonnet in my mini-lesson, and it went better than I expected. I was extremely nervous in the beginning but I loosened up as the lesson went on. I introduced the main components of the sonnet including the quatrain, the couplets, and the rhyme scheme.

I think I introduced the components well, and it helped to explain the background and explain why the sonnet is called the Shakespearean. Shakespeare is arguably the greatest writer in the English language, and so I find it important that my students know and recognize his work. Although Shakespeare did not create the English sonnet, he was the most practiced of the writers in this type of sonnet. I think it was also beneficial to have the “students” come to the front of the room to identify the components after I had done an example myself. This way I could see that the students could both understand and complete this activity on their own if I had them to it on their own.

There are a couple things I need to work on to improve on my teaching skills. I realized that when I do get nervous I would start to mumble and turn my head from the room. So not only do I look like I am talking to myself, but my students miss what I am saying. I also realized that I stood still. Now in this room, I couldn’t move too far around the room because of the stationary camera, but when I get my own classroom it would be helpful to walk around so I can monitor the students and answer questions that they may have. I think walking around would also be beneficial because then I am entering the students space. This will show them that I am there to help and I am on the same level as them, while still maintaining that I am first and foremost their teacher.

Another nervous habit was when I would hold my arms in tight to the side of my body and only wave my forearms. It looked stiff and uncomfortable, and that is not how I want to be viewed by the students. I also noticed that I hold my hands together a lot and rub them together. This creates a closed off attitude and I don’t want the students to think that I have a closed off personality. I want to be open and available, and I don’t want to give off that kind of feeling.

I think my greatest problem will be my expressions. I have always been a joker, and in a classroom there is a certain time and place. I need to make sure these kids understand that I am first and foremost their teacher. Only after I have firmly established this relationship will I be able to joke and laugh with the students. A teacher of mine once said it is ok and healthy to laugh at yourself in a classroom, but only when you have fully established a line between teacher and friend.

I also think I need to better acquaint myself with technology. The smart board wasn’t orientated so it was difficult to write on. I could also maybe use a different type of presentation besides just the smart board so as to incorporate more active participation with the students. If the students all had individuals laptops I could have them choose their own sonnets to identify.

Overall, though, I think I did pretty well, but through my experiences I hope to become a better teacher. I hope to learn from these mistakes and other mistakes that I may make and become the teacher that I one day hope to be. I’ve had teachers that have inspired me to become just like them, and I hope to one day make them proud.

Portfolio Based Assessments...Yea or Nay?

To be honest, this is the first time I have heard about portfolio based assessments. I've always been graded on what I did at one time, for a test or a paper. I've never had to collect everything I've ever written and turned it in to be graded.
So as Jessica and I sit in Panera she explains the assessment to me. This is what I've gathered:

• You may or may not have to turn in papers during the year. Instead the assignments are assigned and you work on them throughout the year with the teacher.
  
• Then you collect all your work and make a portfolio that you turn in to your teacher that contains the best editions of what you have written.
• The teacher then grades it as does a state grader, and they average the two grades.
  
• The teacher can challenge the grade of the state grader and bring in a third, but then the third grader has the final say on the grade of the student's work.

The Pros:

1. This gives the student chances to improve their writing (I'm speaking for Language arts) and fix mistakes that they might have made. This gives them a chance to fix their mistakes and produce a truly great piece of writing.
2. This also allows a student to challenge themselves to create a portfolio. It requires time and a lot of planning and organization skills. It helps the student to become more efficient with their time, etc.

I can see that their are Cons to portfolio based assessment, but that is for another time.

What's it like you critique yourself?

I think it is extremely beneficial to critique yourself. While watching my video, I never realized how many nervous actions I have and now that I can see them...I can get rid of them! I don't want to look like a nervous newbie teacher, so this gives me an advantage to see what I've done wrong and how i can change it. It was fun watching my video and seeing myself teach. It wasn't too hard to criticize myself because I could tell from just watching what I needed to change.

Video Editing 101

Hmmm, what does video editing mean to me?

I think it's primarily a chance to fix your mistakes. In real life, we don't often have the chance to take back something that was said, or something that we did. However, in the technology world editing allows the person to show their best side, or just how intelligent they are. It gives us a chance to fix flubs of speech, or awkward moments in a new situation (like teaching a mini-lesson in front of your peers.).

However I think that there is also a down side to video editing. We always see on the news when they interview someone that it only last a couple of seconds. Obviously the people were interviewed for longer than a minute, so by only leaving a second or two, we misconstrue the true meaning.

So there are both sides to video editing, and I'm looking forward to editing my video tonight! I think it will be extremely fun. Well....hopefully..

Plus Maybe I'll be able to drop a few dress sizes, who knows? Video editing it seems can do anything.

Sonnet lesson with Technology!

I incorporated my lesson introducing Sonnets with the smart board. I introduced the sonnet using the smart board and then i'll have the students separate the sonnet into its sections (with the smartboard)

WYSIWYG vs HTML

I've never really been that into using HTML codes for many things. I've noticed that if you get even one letter or number wrong, or the sign you are using is backwards, then the entire code is changed. Your font has somehow changed to Wingdings or some other equally confusing picture language and the cute photo of the puppy has turned into a picture of Al Pacino. You then have to spend more time looking through the code and fixing what you can in some vain hope that when you click "preview page" or "save page" that everything is back to normal.

But with WYSIWYG (fun new anagram), what you see is what you get...literally. It is easier to program, and you know exactly what is happening on the page you are trying to design. By being able to actually see what you're doing allows the creator to take more innovative liberties. There is no guessing or praying that the code has the right amount of letter:number ratio.

While HTML was a great source in the past, WYSIWYG and others like it, are definitely the new future program devices.

Creative Commons

This is a picture of a fuchsia flower...one of my favorites. I found it using creative commons. This photo was taken on July 25, 2007 in Dornoch, Scotland, GB, using a Canon EOS 350D Digital. It was taken by Foxypar 4/ or John Haslam. I thought it was such a beautiful picture!
Attribution- http://www.flickr.com/photos/43145783@N00/894100260




Copyright laws are confusing and as an aspiring English teacher, I need to learn the rules. Many teachers use handouts that they find in a book or a website, and the best thing to do is to make sure that you credit the site or the book where you found the information. If you can't get permission from the person who wrote it, at the very least cite them for full credit. It's like writing a paper for class. If that ingenious paper wasn't your original idea or words, tell us where it all came from.

I love using pictures and/or movie clips in any presentation that I create, and I will definitely continue to do that well into my teaching years. I have got to remember that although I was the person to match up the words with the pictures; I would have nothing if it wasn't for the people who took the pictures or wrote the movie. So here's to you accomplished and amateur photographers and movie makers! I promise I'll share the credit.

I'm not scared...honest i'm not.

I’ve discovered that I have many fears associated with being an educator. Of course, I over analyze and I’m probably psyching myself out, but I’m still concerned. I think my major fears are definitely my connectivity, with students and also safety issues.

I’m a very energetic person, and I always have been. I guess I’m afraid that things I say or things I assign will offend the students, even though I definitely will not mean to. For Example, I had this amazing teacher at my high school who taught religion. We read Malcolm X and many students disagreed with the book and seemed to be offended by it. That’s acceptable. Well my teacher was the kind of man who tried to push students so they could form their own opinions better. So he would say things that opposed what the students believed. When I went back to my school the next year, he had been fired, because the students had complained to their parents so much. It was because the teacher was actually making the students work for what they believe in, and he was the first in my high school to do that. I was very sad to see him go, because he honestly helped me grow, and it’s a shame to see that the other students could not see that.

So, long story short. I want to push my students to be better writers and great analytic thinkers, but I don’t want them to think that I am pushing my own beliefs or thoughts on them.
Another fear of mine are the issues regarding students and fighting. It sounds silly to mention, but it’s a legitimate fear of mine. Jessica has told me of a special class that teaches educators on how to disable a student without hurting them or touching them inappropriately. I’ve always been taught to defend myself in anyway necessary, which is why I have taken self defense classes. So I just really need to take that class I think.

I guess I feel like being an educator is a scary business when you think of all the laws, all the guidelines, the parents, the rules. One false move and you may lose your job! I am, however, looking forward to the task. It sounds like a great challenge.

Prezi for Legal Brief

Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing on Prezi

Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing

Citation: Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing

Topic: Taxpayers paying for transportation of children in private schools

Issue:
The issue is that the plan was considered to be unconstitutional because it violated the Due Process Clause (part of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution) and the Establishment Clause. Another concern of the court was that the boundary lines between church and state were being crossed in this case.
Facts:
o A tax funded school district in New Jersey made up a plan that allowed reimbursing schools for the transportation of private school students. A taxpayer challenged that this violated the Constitution prohibiting state support of religion and it violated the Due Process Clause

o This plan created by the district was acting under a statute that allowed schools to regulate the transportation of students.

o A state court had ruled that the plan the school district had developed was unconstitutional, but the Court of Errors and Appeals of New Jersey reversed that decision.

o It was argued in November of 1946 and decided on February 10, 1947

o It was thought to violate the Due Process Clause which says that the government must respect all the legal rights that are due to a person according to the law

o The plan was believed to breach the Establishment Clause which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” and is part of the First Amendment to the Unites States Constitution.

Findings:
The vote was 5-4 in favor of the school district plan to reimburse schools for transportation of students in private schools.
Chief Justice Vinson, along with Black, Reed, Douglas, and Murphy voted in favor of the plan
Justices Rutledge, Frankfurter, Jackson, and Burton opposed
Rationale:
Justice Black represented the majority opinion. He said that paying for the buses didn’t violate the Establishment Clause. The authorization of this plan did not improperly assist schools in gaining more students because they had transportation. He compared this plan to taxpayers paying for policemen and firemen who protect the children in the private (parochial) schools. He also said it was said it was permissible because they reimbursed students of all religions and the payments were made to the parents and not to any religious establishment.

Justice Rutledge represented the dissenting opinion. He said that the plan did in fact violate the Establishment Clause because the money was taken from taxes that are taken from people from all religions or faiths. That money was then used to further the religious education of students with other religions or faiths and that violates what the Establishment Clause. He said that if this is allowed on the grounds that it promotes education, why not pay for all costs of schooling.

Implications:
The court case was the first to incorporate the Establishment Clause. Since then there have been many similar cases that deal with the separation of church and state and the figurative wall that divides the two. It has been a long struggle to balance the Free Exercise clause and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It is also a struggle for educators. While transportation is the issue in this court case, I think a larger issue is more important to educators. Everyone is guaranteed the right to free speech and to choose and practice their own religion, so educators must be wary of the affiliations that they may have. Just because a teacher is a practicing Catholic, Jew, Muslim, or any other religion does not give them the right to force their own thoughts and beliefs unto the students. There is a line, albeit a thin line, separating church and state.



http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0330_0001_ZS.html
http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/court/ever_v_boar.html
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=330&invol=1

Tips for a Good Presentation

Let’s See.. What makes a good presentation?

Of course the presenters need to be knowledgeable of the subject they are presenting on, so that if there are questions that still are not answered throughout the presentation they will at the very least know where to direct the question or hopefully be able to answer it themselves. To the same effect, the presenters should not read every single detail off the slides or whatever equipment they are using unless absolutely necessary.

A good presentation includes a presenter who engages the audience in what he is trying to portray. A presentation is meant to teach or show the audience something of importance, so when the presenter actively engages his/her audience, it allows the audience to become invested in the topic at hand. Also, if the presenter engaged the audience with questions or comments during the presentation it would help keep the audience interested in what the presenter is going to say next.

It would also keep the audience interested if the presentation (should it be a powerpoint, or other kind of visual presentation) was not one of just words and endless talking, but items like: video clips, images, sound clips, and others that catch our attention.

A good presenter makes good eye contact when speaking. He pulls the audience in by looking at them when making a point, inviting the audience to see his point of view. It is extremely disconcerting to watch a presenter stare at the back of the room while presenting. More than once, I have looked behind me to see what this person is staring at.

Finally the presenter should allow time to effectively close his presentation, with ending comments and final questions so that all the information the audience needs is covered, or the audience knows where to find follow up information.

Technology and English Class; What could be better?

Soh Bee-Lay and Soon Yee-Ping did a study in 1991 on a group of students from different parts of the world and introduced them to a “global classroom”. These groups, one from Quebec and one from Singapore, used fax machines, word processors, computers and email to communicate back and forth while reading books chosen by the two different schools. At first the students communicated through email and had a chance to get to know each other, for example, their hobbies, interests, favorite movies, etc. The studies showed that soon the students began to talk about their own perceptions of issues surrounding their own culture or worldly issues such as pollution, the ozone, etc.

While the students interacted for a trial period of three months, the teachers sought to then combine the two school’s curriculum. Two literature texts were selected, (one by each school) in hopes that by integrating these two stories it would help bridge the classrooms together in hoped of uniting two completely different cultures to student’s personal experiences and backgrounds, while also utilizing the computers to interactively learn. The students from Singapore chose “Little Ironies” by Catherine Lim, and the students from Quebec chose a story titled Luke Baldwin’s Vow by Morley Callaghan. These stories were chosen because they raised “the universal questions that cultures all over the world explore in their folklore and literature- the moral and social issues about the significant differences that exist between one part of the world and another” (288). The students first read each of the selections, and there would be discussions within the schools. Using different types of software the students selected formats that helped them express their own reactions to the texts. They formulated assignments for the other students and sent them by email. When the other students received the information they lead discussions and circulated the information back and forth.

Although this article is from 20 years ago, it was and still is an inspired plan for students. It is amazing, (and it 2010 easier) to take two completely different cultures from around the world and bringing them together though the internet and other technology. It is infinitely easier for students to communicate, whether it is through Facebook, or Skype, blogs, or other communication devices. I really responded to this article and I thought it would be a great and challenging idea to bring to my own classroom. There will be students in every classroom who abhor the thought of reading assignments for homework because sadly not many student love reading the way others do. It is likely very irritating to have students come into class without doing the reading. However most every student knows how to do things on a computer that many couldn’t even believe was possible twenty years ago, and by linking those two things, English and technology, there are many possibilities to get students interested in doing the reading and enjoying writing a paper, or easily finishing their homework instead of dreading English class the next day

So we introduce the internet, with its wide array of communication throughout the world and a solution is conceivable. Now instead of students discussing amongst themselves the themes in a Shakespeare sonnet day in and day out, they could argue with students from Italy, Spain, Japan, France, or anywhere in the world. The article mentioned some examples that the students did, including (which caught my eye) making up plays. Now the students could do the same thing. They could record their own versions of a sonnet, make up actions to go with it, and we would email the video to our “pen pals” and the students from abroad could analyze and discuss what they had seen. We could even have live discussions over Skype with the two schools. The opportunities for this kind of interaction are endless now. The students could co-design blogs, or websites that are devoted to learning different texts depending on the subject, whether it be classic novels, contemporary novels, the sky would be the limit.

The article and I agree when it said that this kind of global classroom would hopefully help students learn to assess their own work and the work of others and help to improve the writing abilities of the students so it is clear and effective to defend their own ideas. Also we would be able to bring two different cultures together and show just how little the differences may be, all in one small classroom.

Article:

Yee-Ping, Soon, and Soh Bee-Lay. "English by E-mail: Creating a Global Classroom via the Medium of Computer Technology." ELT Journal Volume 45/4 Oct. 1991: 287-92.