Reflection #10

Videos in the classroom.  As a student, I often feel like it's a bit of a teacher cop-out; as a teacher, I feel a little bit of the same.  Videos are engaging, however.  How can a teacher effectively utilize a video in the classroom so that students don't see it as a "babysitter" but are actively engaged and, in turn, excited about the lesson?

I think it depends on two things: content and context.  The content of the video needs to be either extremely relevant to the lesson or completely irrelevant (shown in class merely as a bonding mechanism for the students and teacher).  Teachers risk losing student interest or respect when the content of the video is in between the two extremes.

The context of the video also needs to be correct in order for the video to be effective.  Videos should not replace teachers.  Within the context of teacher instruction and commentary, the video can be an effective and engaging learning experience.  If the teacher mentally "checks out" during the video, however, students will do the same.

Videos can capture students' attention in ways that traditional instruction cannot, but, like all technological tools, they must assist the teacher and not replace her.

Reflection #9

Today, in one of my classes, we were giving presentations on various Sherlock Holmes stories.  My group used the run-of-the-mill PowerPoint presentation, and I suspected that everyone else would do the same.  The rest of the groups, however, did not have a technological element at all.

It particularly struck me when one group presented a comparison of Holmes and his archenemy Moriarty written on a chart that they unrolled.  I started pondering about how immersed classrooms are in technology, so much so that it's shocking when we don't see it.  Merely 10 years ago, this was the standard mode of presentation.

The group's lack of technology almost served as a shock factor for me.  It made me pay attention more, just as the inclusion of technology in a class 10 years ago would have done.  Perhaps we are so used to technology that taking it out of the classroom is now more engaging than leaving it in.

Of course, I understand that this is not always the case and that technology has a valuable place in classrooms.  It engages students in ways that traditional instruction never could.  However, in our age of techno-mania, perhaps a return to the basics--a technological detox, if you will--would benefit students.

Week 13

Frequently Used Features:

• Word
• Cut, copy, paste, highlighting, spell check, paragraph formatting, headers, editing tools (comments, track changes, etc.), and various formatting tools (lists with bullet and numbered formats, etc.)
• Excel
• Graphing tools, sorting tools, functions and calculations for statistical purposes
• PowerPoint
• Most of the basic tools from Word, layout tools, inserting pictures and graphs, design themes, presentation tools

Potential Activities to Learn Basic Office Programs:

• As a future English teacher, I find the editing features of Word especially helpful.  Students could practice peer editing their essays on computers utilizing Word's editing features.
• Word also has citation tools that I have yet to explore.  I can imagine that these tools would be especially helpful to English students.  I could have students create an annotated bibliography of resources for a research paper using the citation tools offered through Word
• To learn the features of PowerPoint, students could create a presentation for a book report in which they have to incorporate pictures relevant to the book or characters, as well as a video or sound clip.

Reflection #8

It has recently struck me how much social media now has links to students' self-esteem. This self-esteem-social-media relationship doesn't just affect students, either. A quick google search uniting "self-esteem" and "social media" produces a mass array of articles, some of them scholarly, postulating on the connection between the two with primarily negative results.

Facebook is the prime perpetrator of causing low self-esteem. One article notes that Facebook's often "picture-perfect images can be especially difficult for teenagers to grapple with because they’re often hyper-conscious of measuring up to their peers. It’s a tender and critical stage in life — a time for forming an understanding of who you are." Teenagers need affirmation, and they're looking to Facebook to provide it. But Facebook is a poor giver of encouragement.

How does this phenomenon affect us as teachers? We need to realize how much social media can affect students' moods, from euphoria to depression. Perhaps social media is creating a gap in our society in which we expect it to provide feel good comments which we would otherwise require from others. While students certainly spend mass quantities of time utilizing social media, they spend even more time in the classroom. Maybe teachers should pick up where social media often leaves off. Students still need teachers to care for them, and a timely word from a teacher can make all the difference in the world. Never forget to encourage your students.

Week 12

1) What piece of classroom technology do you find engages older students the most?
2) What is the most difficult aspect of teaching in a secondary classroom?
3) What is one thing that you wish you would have known as a student/first year teacher?

Week 11

I chose to scout around The Innovative Educator for technology and other educational insights.  The blog was engaging, and I found myself wanting to read more entries.  I chose to comment on a post by a guest writer entitled 6 Reasons Why You Should Use 6 Laptops in Your Classroom.  The entry addresses the issue of insufficient technology resources in public schools.  It suggests that students collaborate using one laptop per group.  I think this is a fantastic solution because it forces students to polish other skills that will be useful in future careers in addition to learning the day's lesson.

On browsing through the site, it seemed that teachers, appropriately, submitted most of the comments.  I think posting an entry as a student enhances the learning community because it puts those of us in training in contact with those who are innovating directly for the classroom.  Through blog comments, theory can meet practice.

Technology Project Plan

I am doing my Technology Project on musical storytelling.
Audio and voice recording >>