Wiki Contribution

For my blog contribution, I linked the Shakespeare Teacher. Also, here is the link to my lesson plan and artifact.

Internet Safety, Part 2

I shared some of the information i learned from the assignment with a sister (age 36), who is also LDS.

The resource I shared with her was Elder Ballard's talk that I read. We discussed several of his points, especially the list of seven things that every parent can do to minimize the negative effect media can have on our families. We also discussed other ideas of ways that we can help children and youth make "wise" decisions in their Internet use. The discussion was positive, looking at the ways the Internet can be a positive tool. It was also valuable to gain each other's insights on the topic.

Internet Safety, Part 1

Some of the most important things I learned from the videos and readings:

• Most of what I read and viewed, I was already aware of. However, this assignment was primarily a good reminder to me of the potential hazards of the Internet. It reminded me that the Internet is a massive tool in today's world and that it can have far-reaching effects on children and youth. People today literally have the world at their fingertips, along with dangerous chat rooms, pornography, and media messages. Even when avoiding these blatant evils, there are other damages the Internet can have on youth and children, especially getting addicted to it and losing the perspective of what is true reality.
• The featured PBS Frontline Documentary taught me that if many children and youth are left unmonitored in their Internet access, they are at risk of becoming involved in countless harmful activities. The Internet can be a wonderful positive tool in the home and at school; however, children and youth need supervision and guidance in this endeavor.
• I enjoyed Elder Ballard's talk, "Let Our Voices Be Heard," in which he says that the biggest challenge in media usage is "to choose wisely." If we do this, Elder Ballard agrees that the Internet can be a fabulous tool for learning and communication.

Ways my learning can influence others:

From everything I read and watched, here are three things I think every parent and educator should do to help make the Internet a safe and positive environment for youth and children:

1. Always keep the computer in a public environment - This action alone would have prevented some of the tragic stories shared on the PBS documentary. Although it is important to place trust in your children, I also believe parents have a responsibility to protect their children from a lot of the filth that can simply be happened upon on the Internet. Therefore, I think it is a very wise practice to keep the computer in a public environment. This is something Elder Ballard also suggests in his talk.
2. Discuss potential dangers of the Internet with children and youth - Make clear what information is and is not acceptable to share on social networking sites.
3. Bookmark the most common acceptable sites on the Internet and encourage children to follow the links.

One other thing I learned that can have a positive influence of family and friends is in the Ensign article about sharing the gospel through the Internet. In today's world, when people have questions, they most often turn to the Internet for answers. By blogging and sharing such things as Mormon Message videos, every Latter-Day Saint can have a positive impact on the church's online image. This is one way the Internet can be a powerful force for good, as it has the potential to share the gospel to a much larger audience.

IIC Competition Reflection

After watching all of the finalists' video pitches (which were actually fun to watch I might add), one that stood out to me was the one on teaching persuasive essays using Diigo and Mindmeister. It is true that teaching students to look at persuasive essays critically and outline their own essay is very possible to do using no technology. However, I think one benefit of using Diigo to allow students to look critically at persuasive essays is that they can participate in a larger instructional conversation, commenting on other students' work and gaining more feedback from their peers and teacher. Also, some students may be more visual than others and outlining an essay may be a challenge on paper. Mindmeister allows these students to have a more hands-on experience in outlining, making it more fun and, as a result, encouraging more enthusiasm on the assignment. I think this idea could work very well in an English classroom and break up the monotony of the writing process.

Another video pitch that I enjoyed was the one that set up the "Road to Revolution" class wiki. If I had to pick one that seemed the most useful, this would be it. There are countless pros to this group's idea. It was well-organized, caught students' attention, and offered hundreds of resources to students throughout their unit. Something I really liked was how each day had its own page for students and the teacher, explaining step-by-step instructions of what the students should be doing. The assignment ideas had structure, but also allowed for student creativity. As a student, if I was using a website like this, I believe I would be more excited to do my work and would never question what was expected of me in any assignment. Although this project was designed for a history classroom, I think it could work just as well in many other subjects.

Instructional Video

Here is my instructional video that I created based on Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken."



In considering what lessons or activities could be enhanced by using this technology, I immediately thought of it as a way for students to share their understanding of a piece of literature or poem, looking, perhaps, at symbols and themes within that work. This is the concept behind the instructional video I created. I would implement it in a book or poetry unit, having students first analyze a piece of literature, learn the technology, create their video, and then share their products with the class. Many students, who may have difficulty writing a report explaining a theme or symbol may find it easier to create something like this.

However, another way instructional videos could be used is by the teacher as a way to introduce a subject or to teach a concept. This could range from the book "trailers" we saw in class to videos introducing a theme for discussion. The possibilities really are endless in the ways short instructional videos can be implemented in the English classroom. I believe they are a great way to engage students' attention and to allow them to create their own interpretations of literary works.

Instructional Video

For my instructional video, I decided to do a visual of Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken," which ties in the symbolism in the poem. This type of project could be done by students or presented to students to help them grasp the basic imagery, theme, or symbolism in a poem. Here is the link to my storyboard. I had a very hard time uploading it in the format which I originally made it in. The pictures did not transfer to google docs and the file size was too large for my website, so I just had to make do without the pictures. Instead, I posted their links.

Copyright Assignment

This video, posted by a math teacher, is a clip from the old television show Abbot and Costello. It is good, in that it demonstrates to students all of the tricks that can be performed with numbers. However, it goes over the three minute limit for video sharing by six seconds. Therefore, the only thing this teacher needs to do to improve this video is to cut off at least six seconds, which is doable.

This video on writing offers a lot of excellent quotes from renowned authors. It is good that the creator tells who said each quote, however, he or she does not offer a source to find any of the quotes. Also, the music playing in the background is never referenced, but plays for two full minutes. This is an issue only because this video is posted on the internet; otherwise, it would not be an issue.

Change in Plans

As I continued working on implementing Voice Thread as a digital storyteller, I decided that it didn't work for what I was trying to do. So, after seeing it demonstrated in class, I decided to look into prezi.com instead. I went through the tutorials and tried to think of different ways I could implement this technology in the classroom. One thing I thought of was using it as an outline before drafting a paper or report. This way, the students are creating a visual aid that they can later use when presenting the report to the class. Therefore, they are outlining and making the presentation at the same time.

Here is the lesson plan I created for this idea.

Here is the sample book report I created using the technology.

VoiceThread

Since we will be learning about iMovie in an upcoming project and I own a Mac, I decided to explore using VoiceThread as a digital storyteller. I knew very little about VoiceThread previous to this class and found it very interesting to work at actually creating one this weekend. I think students could easily grasp this technology and it could be a very fun way to transform their writing into a visual and audio presentation.

However, I think there is another way that VoiceThread could be beneficial in the secondary classroom. Students can comment on each other's work, therefore the teacher could start a discussion and allow all of the students to record their own comments, making it a virtual classroom.

Internet Communication Project Proposal

For the internet communication project, I am interested in exploring digital storytelling. I've seen it used many times in other classrooms and I think it could be an excellent tool in an English classroom to allow students to share their writing in another medium.

Shakespeare: Subject to Change

Recently, I came across the website, Cable in the Classroom, which offers some excellent suggestions on how to implement video into the classroom. One thing this website offers is an interactive Shakespeare page that has received numerous awards since it launched in 2003, including The Web Awards Competition - "Outstanding Website 2003," USA Today -- Online Edition -- "Hot Pick," and the American Library Associations Great Web Sites for Kids. I think this website would be a great addition to any English classroom studying Shakespeare as a way for students to grasp vocabulary and format, as well as plot structure.

English Classroom Website

My classroom website is up and running at this link:

http://sites.google.com/site/englishclassroomsite/

I actually really enjoyed making it and think that this could be an incredibly useful tool to communicate with students.

Website Discovery

So far in this class, my favorite discovery has been Google reader. I had no idea I could put all of the websites I follow in one place, rather than scouring the web trying to find out if they have been updated. It's definitely something I will use, not only in looking at educational websites, but also other sites that I take a personal interest in. However, in looking for additional educational websites, I came across the website - 50 Must-Read Up and Coming Blogs by Teachers. It is a mecca of valuable resources for English teachers that I thought I would share. I highly recommend looking at some of their suggestions.

Personal Learning Network

The first blog I chose to subscribe to is YA-Lit -- the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. This site offers hundreds of ideas of excellent, up-to-date titles in the young adult market, along with reviews for each one. This is a very valuable resource for English teaching, as it keeps teachers in touch with the latest books out there for his or her student population, as well as information as to the content of each book.

The next blog I chose is a unique site entitled Six Things. Each post consists of six items related to English language teaching. As a TELL minor, this website offers some excellent ideas in helping ESL students, such as book recommendations for English language teachers. It also offers interesting trivia and explanations on cultural differences.

Another good blog that I discovered is Weblogg-ed, a valuable resource regarding technology in the classroom. The author, Will Richardson, keeps readers up-to-date on technological issues and practices in the classroom, covering everything from practical advice to ethical debates.

Another blog related to technology in the classroom is the Edublogger, which offers similar information as Weblogg-ed, but sometimes more practical applications. The information covered in this and the previous blog is material I would otherwise find difficult to follow. Therefore, these are valuable additions to my Google reader.

Finally, an excellent content-specific blog I found is the Shakespeare Teacher, which covers new ways to teach Shakespeare. The author answers specific questions from teachers, along with innovative activities for teaching the bard's different plays. This is definitely a fun and useful website for any high school English teacher.

All of these websites have different things to offer that can help any English teacher become more effective by keeping up-to-date on the various issues related to the field.

Basic Background

In considering my background with technology, I feel like I am currently at a "basic" level. I can use the basic softwares--PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc. Yet, if I am confronted with a software that I am not familiar with, I can most often figure it out using available resources, especially the internet. Sometimes I consult this website or just google it.

One of my main problems with technology, however, is simply an unawareness of what other programs exist that are available for use in the classroom. I know that I probably am not even aware of half of the possible resources I could be using. Therefore, my hope for this class is to expand my knowledge of what technologies are available and how I could implement them in my teaching.