Final Project: Increasing Students' Understanding of Evaluating Books Based on Relevancy and Biases

Lesson Plan Analysis Map

Session One:

I am using the SmartBoard and its projector, as well as a computer and the American Library Associate Website to lecture students about banned/challenged books to help students’ process data. I will use the SmartBoard pen to write down students’ responses to banned/challenged books to accomplish the initiation and participation in a range of collaborate discussions.

Next, I separate the class into four smaller groups to work on defining terms such as censorship, banned, challenged, and controversial. Using the computer, the groups record their responses into a teacher-made, group specific GoogleDoc Spreadsheet; while students discuss the prompt, they work on producing clear and coherent writing that is appropriate to the task as well as using prior knowledge to generate new ideas. As students finish, I project their documents from the online class discussion board to the SmartBoard screen, again using the computer and projector, thus having students use technology to produce and publish shared writing products, completing online interaction and collaboration with peers. Lastly, a large group discussion based on the projected materials helps students accomplish the initiation and participation in a range of collaborate discussions (formative assessment).

For the formative homework assessment, students have to use computers and the internet to access their blogs to creating a blog post inventing a banned/challenged book title and justify why they chose the title. Students use technology to produce and publish individual writing products while also applying existing knowledge to generate new ideas.

Session Two:

Beginning with the distribution of hard copy (age and subject appropriate) challenged books and direct instruction, I separate the class into two groups to read two different challenged books; while students are reading, they are able to determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development. Students then use computers to find a group specific GoogleDoc Spread Sheet set up as a T-Chart (diagnostic assessment): on one side, they enter controversial quotes and on the other, they explain why they are controversial to determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text. As students finish their group work, they complete online interaction and collaboration with peers and communicating information effectively.

The formative homework assessment is a blog post. Using computers, the internet and their spreadsheets from class, students pick one quote from their GoogleDoc Spread Sheet and use wordle.net to determine the meaning of words and phrases. The blog post requires technology to produce individual writing products the students apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas and create original works as a means of personal expression.

Session Three:

I use the SmartBoard, its projector and the persuasive paper rubric (formative assessment) handout to help explain the day’s activities to students, which will open into a large class discussion to answer questions.  The two large groups split into two smaller groups, each taking a position: supporting or opposing the banning of the challenged book to be presented the next day for an in-class debate (performance task); students will use their computers, the internet, Google, and four provided, reliable websites to conduct a short research project and gather relevant information from multiple digital sources. To be effective they must collect, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information while processing data and reporting results to collaborate with peers to identify solutions. Students then use the Persuasion Map (diagnostic assessment) to map out their arguments to write informative texts, introduce a topic, develop the topic with well-chosen facts, use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic and provide a concluding statement or section that supports the information or explanation presented.

Session Four:

I use the SmartBoard, its projector and a computer to project any digital media students brought in for their debates, which must have applications integrated effectively with multiple processes and diverse perspective with multiple sources of information. As students begin their debate (performance task), using their Persuasion Map (diagnostic assessment) and hard copy books from the day before, students present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically and make strategic use of digital media in presentations to enhance reasoning. After the debate, I use the technique of question and answer to allow for other students to participate and practice adapting speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.

The final summative assessment is an essay. Using a computer and the internet, students swap their Persuasion Map (diagnostic assessment) with a student on the other team to write a two to three page essay from that opposing side (due the following week). As students use these technologies to write their paper, they write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence as they analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information to process data. In relation to the debate performance task, the essay is a summative assessment because it measures the students' ability to evaluate literature from both sides of the argument, once verbally and once in writing.  

Original Lesson Plan via readwritethink.org 

Hunger Games Assessment

Due to my CURR-314 course, I feel that I am constantly searching for new ways to evaluate my students and make my lessons effective. When I was in sixth grade, I remember doing "mock trials" for characters in fairy tales. It was a great deal of fun, and a very interesting lesson! I feel that this type of tool should be used for grades beyond sixth grade (I never participated in a mock trial again) and can be used to aid in the understanding and involvement with the curriculum. As many classrooms are beginning to teach or talk about The Hunger Games, I feel that this very popular and well written book could be used in this way. I found this article about a Hunger Games Mock Trial that was used during "take your child to work day" in a law firm. It is very apparent how easily one could transfer over this idea into the classroom.

To adapt the The Hunger Games into an interactive mock trial, I would have to break my students into groups. I feel that if the class is large, I can propose two different trials. Firstly, there could be a trial similar to the one in the article that charges President Snow with the crimes he commits in allowing/continuing the Hunger Games. The second trial could be Katniss and Peeta's trial in the Capitol for defying the rules of the Hunger Games. From there, the students could divide into defense or prosecution; if there are many people volunteering for one side, then I would have to split the groups myself. From there, the process of research, representation and various other aspects for a court proceeding will begin.

I think the most fun in this lesson will be integrating technology. The students could use clips from the movies to show the recorded data of the defendant(s). This would be a great visual tool in the "court room." Further, students will need to do research on how court proceedings occur, this capitalizing on the internet to come up with strategies for their teams. Each student could create a blog as their character (prosecutor, witness, defendant, judge, etc) with required daily updates. In this way, students have a quick way to come up with topics and work together outside of the classroom by commenting on each others posts. Another useful tool would be a SmartBoard. If students were aware of how to use a SmartBoard, and many are, they could use it to project text from the novel and create interactive visual data to share in "court."

This would be a performance assessment as I am asking students to act out a trial that would demonstrate their understanding of the literature. There would have to be several check points for the students to make sure they were on track and give them small grades along the way. I feel that it would be intimidating to have a huge grade just be on the actual day of the "trial." While that is obviously important, it would not be fair. Therefore, I would want to grade them along the check points. Perhaps there could be checkpoints to research, the opening and closing arguments, the script, and who will be called for witnesses with the questions to ask. Further, grading them while they participate in their blogs will be useful to continue to track progress and give grading boosters. It is not uncommon for students to be overwhelmed while performing, therefore, packing in additional grades should help alleviate some of the pressure about grading and allow them to focus on the success of their group.

Books and Movies: Moving Toward Synthesis

I had originally started my blog questioning the use of videos in the classroom. Often, as English teachers, we are met with students who ask us, "Why can't we just watch the movie?" As I have already discussed, my cousin, who I am tutoring for READ411, has a general dislike for reading and prefers movies. As a future English teacher, my first reaction is to not show the movies that are based on books. I should be trying to instill a love of literature and an appreciate for the written word for my students! Reading a beneficial on so many levels - beyond being able to read the street signs and restaurant menus - reading analytically allows us to see more truths about ourselves and others. So yes, as an English teacher, I need to develop these skills for my students.

So do films based on novels have any value in the classroom? Yes, I now think they do. Clearly, this class has changed my opinion about integrating technology in the classroom. If students enjoy watching the movies, why not show them? Overall, the movies can help them better understand the literature and visualize the characters. It also opens up a whole new set of assignments and evaluations. Students should be able to compare and contrast between the books and their movies. Students should be asking WHY! Why are certain scenes filmed differently than they are written? Why are some scenes in the book completely deleted in the movie? What is changed or added in the movies that lacks in the books? Why is that important? Does it add to or take away from the themes and motifs in the books? They could blog about it, write compare and contrast essays about it, and work through group assignments all based on movies that they may have already seen.

I found this list on Amazon.com of the 25 best books that were turned into movies. Although I may not read all of these books with my class, it is important to note that The Hunger Games became a movie this year. The entire Harry Potter series was made into 8 movies. The Great Gatsby is being remade into a movie to come out this year. Even To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scarlet Letter were made into movies. Not to mention the conversations that can be had about movies that use themes to modernize them: "10 Things I Hate About You" is based on Taming of the Shrew, "The Letter A" was based on The Scarlett Letter, and "West Side Story" was based on Romeo And Juliet. Clearly, these movies are being made and based on books for specific reasons that speak to the validity and craft of these novels.

I can now see the value in teaching books side by side with their movies. What better way to relate to students lives than to develop a vocabulary with them that enables them to have the  movies versus books discussion? While it is easier to watch a movie than it is to read a book, it is a great academic tool to use both together to develop a more intellectual understanding of both books and movies!

"Revolving Door" Teachers

As an aspiring teacher, the conditions of the work environment in education are of great concern to myself and my peers. We often hear that there are no jobs, or to get a job the key is to get a masters in special education, or the key is to not get a masters until you start teaching because as a new teacher, getting hired with a masters costs more money. We're told to tutor, or to not. To substitute, but only in the district we want to teach in, if we can get our substitute license. We are often given hours of advice on what to do or not to do at an interview, what to wear, who to have as a reference, what our GPA and Praxis scores must be... It can send any aspiring professional's head spinning.

As there is a great deal of concern about how to get a job, we can often forget to worry about what it will be like once inside a classroom. We all have the image of the classroom we want to teach in, or at least I do. An affluent or blue ribbon school with computers, smart boards, and other various technology. We hope to co-teach or team-teach, have time to help our students after school, and have great support from our supervisors.  For my peers who desire to teach in urban districts, they look forward to the companionship with their future peers and the action of making a difference for students who deserve a wonderful education, no matter where they live.

Unfortunately, it appears that these dreams are becoming just dreams. According to the article "Why They Leave" from the National Education Association, more and more teachers are feeling dissatisfied with where they work. This feeling of discontentment is causing  the national turnover rate for all teachers to be 17%, and "in urban school districts specifically, the number jumps to 20 percent." Even more upsetting, 1/3 of "of all new teachers leave after three years, and 46 percent are gone within five years."  I'll be joining the workforce as a new teacher, hopefully if I can find a position, within a year and these numbers are extremely imtimidating.

The article goes on to site standardized testing scores/No Child Left Behind standards,  a lack of support, a lack of discipline from students, low pay, low funding in schools, and low respect from administration combined with the general attitude of society that teachers are unintelligent as reasons for leaving. One of my family members that is a teacher has been telling me for years that she often spends money out of her own pocket to get her students supplies, or be able to teach her lessons. Another family friend who teaches in a target district in South Jersey has told me that the students don't care about their education, and neither do their parents; the administration in his district does little to nothing to support their teachers, including in matters of disciplining students There is the national assumption that "those who cannot do, teach." Meaning, those who cannot be artists, actors, writings, scientists, mathematicians or published historians turn to teaching as a way to make money. I remember the panic in my high school when Governor Christie began to slash funding for schools, as well as the depictions of the struggles within the Teachers' Union about pay cuts, pay freezes and benefits.

Overall, the teaching climate has become more than rocky, and it only takes a few minutes to search Google and find all of these very frightening statistics. So, for those of us who feel that teaching is what we are supposed to do - those who feel that the moment when a student "gets it" or the "light bulb goes off" are worth the struggle, how do we begin to deal with all of these pressures stacking up against teachers? The main idea I can produce is to make friends with staff and peers in the school. For days that are difficult and disorganized, I would imagine that leaning on other teachers would be a necessity. For days that are wonderful and cohesive, sharing the experience with another teacher could be extremely beneficial. Further, as a unit, teachers can start to change their work environments, if we work together. There will be difficulties in all jobs, but leaning on each other may be best.

Let me know what you're thinking by leaving a comment! I'd love to hear other ideas about our situations as aspiring teachers!

Facebook, Google and Online Professionalism

The topic of Facebook, Google and Twitter are hotly debated in most of my classes. Professors constantly warn us that if we wish to have a job in the future, we cannot have any scandalous or questionable photographs or statuses on any of those sites. It's an easy warning to ignore - telling ourselves we'll worry about it when it gets closer to our employment, or simply deactivate our Facebooks when we seek employment. The issue of online privacy is an extremely important topic, as now employers are demanding employee passwords to Facebook. Clearly, the line between real life, private life, public life, and professional life are getting more and more blurred; I am feeling more and more uncomfortable.

On one hand, I agree that people should not be posting ridiculous pictures or statuses on their social networking sites. I've changed my name on Facebook, made myself unsearchable, took down my wall so my friends couldn't post rude comments, I have to approve all photo tags, and I only post statuses with song lyrics or the usual "I need coffee!" as I drink coffee everyday. I have to go to all of this trouble to have a Facebook - which I use to keep in touch with family members that live far away, keep up with alumni in my Greek organization, and capitalize on the multi-message feature to get group work done. Emails are nice, but they tend to get jumbled with messages, even when all parties are CC'ed on the email chain. When a group is larger than two people, being able to send 3+ people one message on Facebook is a convenience I can hardly do without. I spend a large amount of time making sure that my Facebook is not questionable or scandalous. So, why am I so concerned about employers asking for social networking passwords?

Letting an employer into the private messages of my Facebook is an invasion of privacy to me. It would be like handing over my cell phone to have them read through all of my text messages, or have them join the phone line whenever I made a phone call. Yes, I use my Facebook for practical means, but it is also for social networking, and conversations that are eternally "archived" and can never be deleted should not be for my employer to view. To relate this back to the classroom, it would be as if I provided that password to all of my professors now and had them evaluate my personal life. Further, if I were a teacher, I would imagine this situation would be the same if I told students that to receive their grades in my class, they would have to provide me with access to their social networking pages. It's one thing if a person wants to expose every detail of their entire lives to the internet - believe me, I am shocked at some of the things I see in my news feed - but for those of us that are working to keep ourselves professional, why the push to go further into our lives?

For my future students, this would be essential for me to discuss. There's the educational debate about using social networking in classrooms. I've seen teachers use Facebook as part of their curriculum - having students make pages for book characters, for example, is a fun way to check a students understanding of characterization and content. It becomes fun for students because they are using a social networking tool they do everyday to bring relevance to a classroom topic. I've seen the same for Twitter - assignments where students have to tweet from the perspective of a character in the novel, or pretend to add themselves into the book and tweet from that perspective - are also inventive and fun. I could see how Google+ could become a great classroom assignment. Each student could make a page for a character, and add their other classmates' characters to their "circles." Overall, I've seen these type of assignments be extremely effective and hope to implement them in my own classroom.

Still, using Facebook and Twitter in the classroom would necessitate the conversation of online professionalism and personal privacy. The same way that these technologies have started the "cyber-bullying" campaign, they must also spark discussions of privacy. I can understand why people feel that what they do outside of school or work is simply that: outside of school and work, therefore, not effecting either. Unfortunately, we do not live in a world like that anymore. I want to give my students as many tools as I can to be successful in and out of the classroom, thus taking time away from the more structured curriculum to discuss this important and controversial topic. As technology becomes more and more integrated into our lives, conversations about safety, respect, bullying, permanence, and responsibility must also become integrated into our lives.

Cell Phones are Causing Serious Problems

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding cell phones in the classroom. The schools I've been observing and tutoring in do not allow cell phones to be used in the classroom, thus ignoring the possible positive advances that integrating cell phones into the classroom may have. To take a better look at the controversy, I googled "cell phone use in schools" and found this article, "Some Schools Rethink Bans on Cell Phones" which looks at both sides of the situation.

Firstly, as most smart phones are now mini-computers. They can be used to note-taking and sharing, homework logs, internet browsers, email, GPS, taking pictures. The article points out that students can use their cameras to take pictures of projects to show parents, and of the board in class when students need clearer notes. As 70% of students now have cell phones, it is easy to see why allowing phones in the classroom is useful and could enhance a students education. As we are always trying to find new ways to make our material relevant to student's lives outside of the classroom, a cell phone seems to be the perfect tool to capitalize with.

Unfortunately, students do not just use their phones to take notes and other school appropriate activities. Frighteningly, there have been reports of students snapping photos of other students in the locker room while changing for gym class. Further, in class "sexting" and rumor spreading quickly becomes a distraction to the learning environment. Students also use their phones to cheat inc lass and text each other answers. Obviously, these actions are distracting, disturbing, and a clear violation of school rules.

So, what do schools do? One solution is to reward to students for appropriately using their phones. Another, is to do what "administrators in DeKalb County, in northeast Alabama, began confiscating phones this school year, keeping them for 30 days and searching them for evidence of cheating, pornography or other “illicit activities.” If such evidence is found, it’s turned over to the sheriff’s office." I personally have a huge problem with going through students' phones in this manner - it appears to be illegal. I couldn't imagine searching through another person's phone in the hopes of finding some "illicit" information.

As a teacher, and a user of a smart phone, I can easily see the advantages of allowing phones. Especially in an English classroom where I'll be taking notes on the board and doing verbal discussions. On the other hand, I am weary of allowing students to use their phones in class should they decide to use the spell check on their phones for a vocabulary quiz or use google to seek answers on a plot/content quiz for a book. I doubt I will allow my students to use them in my classroom. There are so many other ways to integrate technology, and I plan to provide other ways of providing my students with notes to reduce the anxiety of in-class-note-taking. I feel that the temptation to step away from school appropriate actions is far too great for students to resist. If there are other ways to keep students on task with their phones without feeling like I am policing them, I may be open to the idea, but as for now, I cannot validate students using their phones in school.

SmartBoard Technology Made Easy by TeacherTube

SmartBoards are becoming more and more common in classrooms in afluent districts - and even some target districts, as grants are given to teachers to try and increase testing scores. When I graduated high school, almost every classroom was fitted with a SmartBoard, and I'm sure, by now, every classroom has a SmartBoard. I vaguely recall teachers chatting about professional development seminars and weekend sessions dedicated to the use of a SmartBoard, but only my math teachers used them. Even in my science classes, which had a long list of math problems and the possibility of videos, diagrams and other interesting things to be added to a lesson with the use of the SmarBoard, there was very little acknowledgement of the board being there.

So, why SmartBoards? You can save data sets to them as you write on a document. You can connect them to your files to show students, play movies, and finally get rid of overhead projectors with transparencies. Erasing the board is no longer a necessity, as the digital documents seem to scroll on forever, and this is a much quicker way of keeping track of how far in the lesson each class went. I found this video on TeacherTube which gives a basic, but useful, overview of how to operate a SmartBoard.

Although this covers the basics, I can start to see how a SmartBoard would be used in an English classroom. I could upload a piece of the assigned reading and annotate it with the class; I could then save the annotation to be given to students later as part of their notes. Being able to use the SmartBoard as a projector screen would be great during class! How interesting would it be to show Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, while have the uploaded book pages next to the movie. This way, instead of forcing students to look down at their books and then back up to the screen for the evaluation process of see how the lines are read, it would all be provided and lower the levels of distraction. As a time saver, I can upload students documents and/or my notes to model for the class.

TeacherTube in general is a great website! There are lessons, documents, videos and audio on the website. Even just clicking around, there are endless ways to capitalize on what the website provides! I would really suggest that any educator at least look at it and evaluate how they can use it in their classrooms or lesson plans.

Interactivity #5

The teacher I interviewed is a sixth grade English teacher who works in a school district close to Montclair State University. She works at one of the technology focused schools in the district. The students have to take a technology class as part of the their core curriculum; the technology classes are given the same weight as their science, English, math and history classes. Despite working in a technology focused school, this teacher did not know about the NETS-S 2007. She felt that the standards were interesting, but appeared to be more like guidelines than requirements, in comparison to the NJCCCS.

Although her school district has not begun to implement the NETS-S, she did acknowledge that because of the focus in her school, each teacher is required to incorporate technology into their lessons on a regular basis. It is more likely that the technology teachers know about the NETS-S than the English department. Further, she acknowledged that students are already involved in many projects that are suggested on the NETS-S website. There is a commitment to technology and proficiency with technology within her district.

I was a little surprised at the response of my teacher. I had assumed that she would be aware of the NETS-S because of her specific school within the district. On the other hand, there are already technology requirements within the NJCCCS and I know that this teacher works very diligently to work these standards into her lesson plans. I was not at all surprised to the description of the school district’s dedication to technology and the advancement of their students in this area. It is very clear that technology is going to continue to have an impact on education, so having the training and competency in this area is necessary for teachers.

As a future educator, I would want to bring up the NETS-S to my district or colleagues as a positive addition to the NJCCCS. Where the NJCCCS gives the standards that we, as educators, must meet to be successful in our career, NETS-S gives suggestions for how to better complete that. It’s important to remember that technology is a key part of learning, and I feel that any of the NJCCCS can be met with the aid of technology. Therefore, it is necessary to give students the ability to be independent, creative and intelligent/informed about their technology choices. Just from taking this class, I have been exposed to countless ways to integrate technology into the classroom to make my lessons more interesting and applicable to student’s lives outside of the classroom. Truly, NETS-S gives additional guidelines and suggestions to accomplish these things. I have updated my Lesson Plan Analysis from my previous Interactivity to add the NETS-S to the NJCCCS. Overall, I feel like the lesson improves the more a teacher can identify why and how they’re designing their lesson plans.

 

Test Scores Defeating Good Teachers

My READ411 professor, Doctor Weiner, sent us this article about a week ago. At first too busy to read the articles, I'm glad I saved the email to read over what he sent us. Every teacher worries about our students' test scores. We worry that if they don't do well, they may be placed in a remedial course the next year or perhaps, not understanding a concept on the SAT will keep them out of the college they want to go to. Now, we have the additional concern about our careers. This article from the New York Times describes how misleading test scores can be and how Hard Working Teachers can be Sabatoged When Student Test Scores Slip.

By comparing the percentages from the previous school year, when students had a passing rate of 97% and this year when students had a passing rate of 89%, the "teacher score" suffered. These teachers, as is pointed out in the article, have a long list of credentials and are trying to give students tools of learning beyond how to take an exam. They work to make their classrooms relevant and teach skills that the state does not require, but will be useful later on. It's frightening to see that 20+% of a teacher's evaluate is based on the scores of their students.

As an Englsh teacher, I feel that I have an extra concern with the standardized tests because English is viewed as being potentionally subjective in grading.  Even if a student completes the standardized test formula structure of a paragraph/paper, it's possible that a grader that doesn't like the student's word choice or examples could give my student a lower score on the exam. I do not want to be a teacher that spends 6 out of 10 months doing test prep, as there are many teachers who do this and I have been in classes where a teacher mainly focuses on test prep. I feel that there are more valuable lessons to teach and skills for students to master than how to answer a standardized test, but reading all of these articles makes me nervous for how to accomplish that while trying to ensure that my students will do well on their exams.

Rubric Problems

In my ENWR-371 class (Teaching Writing Grades 6-12) and CURR-314 class (Assessment of Learning) we're currently discussing rubrics. What makes a good/bad rubric? What is less intimidating to students? How can I convey the goals of the unit within a rubric? As is true with most topics in education, trying to make a rubric from scratch is difficult, and trying to make a rubric in the vacuum of theory classes is even more difficult. So, I turned to Google for a little help and clarification of rubrics. I was overjoyed to find several rubric creating websites! RubiStar, teAchnology, and RCampus were three useful websites that I found. Almost all of the rubrics on this site meet the standards discussed in CURR-314 and were simple to understand, a necessary adaptation discussed in my ENWR-371 course.

Rubrics are so important to English classes. As an English teacher, I'll be assessing my students' ability to write and comprehend literature. Most of my assessments will be performance tasks,with a few tests (perhaps on grammar, spelling, history of a an author or a novel) mixed in. The rubric is key to evaluating a performance task because it gives a range for students to be graded on, and shows their target areas of improvment in a subject where not every answer is cut and dry, right or wrong. Thus, the websites I found provide a great springboard to develop effective evaluation strategies in my classroom.

Interactivity #4

Lesson Plan Analysis Map

I chose this lesson plan because I felt that it had a good handle on how to relate sonnets back to the lives of the students, as well as having a fun activity to complete for the class. Overall, many teachers only teach Shakespeare when it comes to sonnets, and the power of a sonnet is lost because many students automatically assume they cannot understand anything by Shakespeare. I particularly like that the lesson started off with a modern sonnet, and then eventually circled back to Shakespeare in a very comprehensive way.

Overall, I feel that the lesson did not have many gaps. When adding in technology, I tried to focus my efforts on adding to the paper work that was originally described in the lesson plan. For example, instead of handing out worksheets that students can lose, I would publish the worksheets/notes onto a class discussion board where they can be accessed at anytime. Also, I felt that publishing the poems onto blogs is very important to help relate the activity to the students’ everyday life, as well as accomplishing more of the Core Curriculum Content Standards. The problem presented now with my version of the lesson plan is that if a school does not have access to computers for every student or a smartboard, then many of my adjustments are impossible to complete.

Although I do not feel that the technologies I presented are essential, I do feel that they are more effective than the original lesson plan. Having students publish work makes them take a certain level of pride in their work that would be difficult to accomplish in private drafts. Also, the technologies I’ve presented makes for easy note-taking, assignment collecting and adds relevance to the lesson.

Education and the discussion of same-sex marriage

A few days ago while I was on facebook, I couldn't help but notice this article on my newsfeed. The article was posted by the facebook group New Jersey Teachers United Against Governor Christie's Pay Freeze. They were sarcastically remarking that Christie was jealous he had not thought of this himself, as he had just voted down the right for same-sex marriage in New Jersey.

I think that the points here are of great concern to myself as a future teacher. I believe that same-sex marriage is a right. I have many homosexual relatives and friends who are waiting for the day when they can marry who they want. But on the other hand, I am not unaware of the fact that depending on certain positions I take as an educator, and how public I make them, I may not get hired or could be fired. I know that identifying as being a homosexual, publicly, can restrict people from getting jobs.

With all of this debate about state laws, the first amendment, religion, diversity, acceptance - I am curious how/if I can voice my opinion on such matters. Does Newt Gingrich have a point that teachers who are trying to be neutral are doing a disservice to their students? This is a very complicated subject, but it's a very big concern of mine, and I'm sure other future teachers in this class.

Interactivity #3

I feel that the group was as authentic collaborative as it could have been with such a large group, that did not have an in-person class to discuss a meeting time. Myself, Girard and Giuliana were able to meet on person on Friday, February 24 to discuss how to make the spreadsheet look and discuss ideas and terms from the book. I had emailed the group about the creation of the spreadsheet, accomplished by Girard, to help share the document with the group members because I have been using Google+ and Google Docs for a few months. Overall, I appreciated the collection of data from each member and although we could not all meet in person for various reasons (work, class, commuting, etc) we were able to work to put the speadsheet together in a cohesive way.

I feel that the inventory lists will help me a great deal with READ411! I am tutoring my cousin, and as much as I appreciate the examples from When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers, my cousin (who prefers movies to books) isn’t as thrilled. I feel that many of the websites that incorporate games - Spelling City, AAA Spelling, or Game Zone - within the lessons will help her a great deal with basic reading skills such as sight words and multisyllabic vocabulary. I really appreciated Girard's wordle example - I could use this with my cousin as fun way to teach her the pronunciation of multisyllabic words! Overall, creating the spreadhsheet has allowed me to see a variety of useful teaching tools that I would not have found myself, and although I may not be able to use them for the tutoring I am doing with my cousin, I could most certainly use examples for a classroom setting.

Stricter Standards in NJ: Will it be Effective?

 I found this article, using Google, about what Governor Chris Christie and Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf plan to do in New Jersey's failing schools.

Stricter Standards, will it work?

It is obvious that the gap between well funded, affluent districts and underfunded, impoverished districts is becoming more and more extreme. When I did my observations for CURR210, we visited Arts High, which was considered a well funded school within Newark. They only had one smartboard for the whole school, and the computer lab was already outdated. Looking back to my high school experience, at a blue ribbon district, we had a smartboard in every classroom, even if the teachers never used them, and we had MacBooks in our computer labs. The gap between districts makes me feel uneasy, and as a future teacher, I struggle with how I will prepare all students - despite their economic background - for college, testing, and how to be educated in a democratic setting.

While I can understand why Christia and Cerf want to be increase the standards for target districts, extending the school day so students have to walk through their possible dangerous areas at night, may not be as effective as they're hoping. Also, putting pressure on teachers and firing entire boards or groups that they administration deems as problematic may create more issues. Instead of beating down teachers, Christie and Cerf should be focusing on how to get proper funding to impoverished districts and keep track of where the money is going. By blaming the teachers, we are still not focusing on students' home lives or funding for schools. Even in "successful" districts, where Christie and Cerf admit they will "take the pressure off" of, there can be ineffective teachers and misuse of technology. In my opinion, there needs to be a radical shift in the pedagogical views of the state.

Read the article, and let me know what you think!

Books versus Movies: What's an English Teacher to do?

I have been tutoring my cousin in reading for a few weeks now for my READ-411 class and everytime I go to visit her, we get into the same debate. She tells me that reading is boring, it takes too long and movies are easier to watch/understand. And while there are a variety of comprehension reasons that I can logically reason through and try to help her develop to enjoy reading a little more, I can't really argue against her position that watching movies is easier than reading. I also cannot argue that this opinion about movies is unpopular - infact, most people choose movies over books. My discussions with my cousin normally center around Harry Potter, and even when I tell her that the books are more interesting because the movies lose much of the detail and plot that the book can develop, she calmly explains to me that the movie is maximum 3 hours and reading the 500 page book may take her weeks when you add it into her school work, soccer practice and visiting friends. Again, I can't argue.

I also stumbled across this blog post when googling the issue of movies versus books:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/85938

42% of college graduates never read another book! I wish I could argue with that ... but in talking to recent college grads, as well as watching my parents growing up, reading just isn't as easy or calming as watching TV/Movies.

I can give a million practical/academic reasons why reading is important. I can give even more reasons why reading is emotionally/psychologically important.

So I'm asking for some help - how do I get my cousin to enjoy reading? How do I get students to pick the book over the movie?

I've had many teachers ask the students to read the book first, and then show the movie after the book has been read, or show sections of the movie while completing sections of the book. Is this helpful/useful, or does it demonstrate even more how easy it is to watch instead of read?

Interactivity #2

Images Found Using Google Image Search:
Student using computer
EasyBib Logo
Wikipedia Logo
No Fear Shakespeare Logo
Spark Notes Logo

How I made this image:
I used Google Image search to find the picture of the student on the computer, then searched for the logos of each "study aid" found on the internet. The use of computers and its impact on, specifically, English classrooms, is what I am show casing here. I used the computer editing program on my MacBook to copy the various logos onto the computer screen, and then made a collage out of the images using picnik.com. I added the caption at the bottom also using picnik.com.

Interactivity #1

My three most influential technologies are:

My cell phone

Facebook, Twitter, Google+

Microsoft Word

All three of these technologies have shaped how I learn – in and out of school – from elementary school. I remember when my mother got her first cell phone, a gray flip-phone, and not being able to have my own until High School. My first grasps of how to “social network” began with AIM and MySpace, now Facebook, Twitter and Google+ have replaced those tools. Microsoft Word, as an English major, has completely shaped the way I understand how to write and edit my papers, beginning in the computer lab of my elementary school in fourth grade.

My cell phone has legitimately become an extension of myself. I have a Droid, which I bought myself, and I always have it on me. I bring my charger around with me. I play games like Angry Birds when I’m bored; I text my friends non-stop; I call my mother when I’m missing home. There are normally a few hours a day when I don’t use my phone, either in my sleep, in class or when my phone dies and I’ve forgotten my charger. My smart phone has become so important in my life because of the apps. I have all my social networking apps, my game apps, my internet browser, email apps, weather apps, map/GPS apps, sports and news apps – I feel that the list goes on and on, but I have them all, and they keep me up to date on the world, the weather, my friends and my sports. I love the convenience my Droid provides for me.

Facebook, Twitter and now, Google+ are my social networking sites. I tend to lose a little self control when on a computer – I feel the need to constantly be checking these sites. I don’t know what the need stems from, to be honest, because normally, once I’m on the sites and procrastinating on my homework, there isn’t very much going on. I have my Facebook to keep connected with my family and my twitter to tell the world what’s going on – in 140 characters or less. Google+ has better privacy and is easier to use than Facebook, so I’m hoping more of my friends and family join Google+ so I can leave Facebook alone.

Microsoft Word has had an extensive impact on the way that we write and read. The grammar rules of Word are becoming standard, and the spell check is a beautiful thing. I adore the convenience that Word provides me when writing papers. I could not imagine what it was like to write on a typewriter, where every letter and word was completely permanent. Now, I can write entire paragraphs, flip everything around, change spelling and check grammar, edit my thesis statement, and print. It’s amazing. Even though I can acknowledge the benefits of Word, there are drawbacks. Many times, I remember my English teachers in High School lamenting, “This generation doesn’t know how to spell.” I feel that they’re right. I cannot spell well – even my phone has spell check – and I always capitalize on the tools provided. Further, many students do not know the difference between “there and their” or “where and wear” or “you’re and your” because there is no grammar tool sensitive enough to edit those improper uses in Word. As wonderful as the technology is, the drawback can already be seen.

I feel that my three technologies, as well as my usage of them are very similar to the students in the videos. Olivia used her MySpace, I have Facebook, Twitter and Google+. As acknowledged by the first student in the second video, “Technology has taken over writing and reading” and I can see that in my own dependence on Microsoft Word. The second girl in that same video describes her cell phone as her “third hand” and I can absolutely relate to that sentiment. Overall, my use of technology is very similar to those students, and as I continue to learn from technology and my future students, I’m sure I’ll stay close with their needs and uses. I’m looking forward to integrating different technologies into the classroom as a way to teach material, and then, as a way to create various homework assignments. I would never want to become stagnant as a teacher, and with the speed that technology is changing, I will have the tools I need to keep updating my lesson plans and never grind to a halt.