Blog for EDL 719

I tried to post this on the wiki for EDL 719, but every time I go back, it is deleted. So here it is...


To first answer Keith’s question, I believe that any person can walk to any classroom at any time and day and see the answer. Student engagement is down and teachers are not only expected to teach but to ‘entertain’ the students so they are engaged in the lesson. Technologies such as iPods, cell phones, social networking sites, etc. have caused some people to rethink their values. For instance, instead of listening to teachers, students will text each other because they don’t and cannot see the value of the education. Some students think they don’t need to know this stuff in the real-world and if they do, they can always Google it. Technology has made some lazier. Why learn the information when one can research it and in a matter of seconds and have the answer? I believe that the innovation of technology and social networking sites have created students who cannot learn and think like we did; that is why project based learning is needed. In times past, education was primarily focused on learning the important content for each subject area, then assessing this content knowledge with quizzes and tests at the end of a lesson” (45). Well, due to change, technology, and social networking, the old days and style of learning is gone. If students cannot connect lessons to their life, forget about teaching them.  We need to start including, adapting, and integrating 21st skills such as financial, health, and environmental literacy to core subjects.
 
To help myself better understand what project based learning would look like in my classroom, I need to first include and engage the students. I like the phrase “Learning is Earning” found on page eight in the book. I think I can link this to engagement. So many students tune school out because they are not getting paid like a regular job. Students cannot link that an education will later pay them. I think that is the first battle with students is to teach and show them how learning is in fact earning.
Project based learning “involves projects focused on solving complex, real-world problems using a case study approach. Students work in small groups to investigate, research, and create solutions to problems that could have multiple solutions and methods for reaching them” (111). This description has helped me focus on my project for this class. I like having mini investigative groups to solve problems in many different ways. The only problem I have with this is will the students get sick of this? Will students become overwhelmed with multiple projects and become bored with school?

I do see problems with project based learning in our district. The book points out that in order “To create a 21st century school system, these interlinked support systems must all work together:” (118). How will we get EVERYONE on the same page including every school, teacher, staff member, students, parents, and administrator? This is the biggest challenge and hurdle that I see for us. The best answer I have is to try it out and compare and contrast data from a project based class to a more traditional class. Facts cannot be proven wrong.

If anyone wants to see more examples of project based schools, Catalina Foothills in Arizona is a great example. Here is a link to the YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UndA8HIiwc

FINALLY

Finally, after three MORE hours, I created my video of Maycomb from To Kill a Mockingbird. I ended up creating it in MovieMaker, uploading it to YouTube, and then embedding it to the wiki. So much technology!!!!!

Technology vent

Okay, after spending many, many hours yesterday trying to make a movie, I am hoping it works better today. It was a very easy program, but when I hit finished, nothing was there. I'm hoping it was just a problem with the site, and it is fixed today.

EDL 755 Reflection # 4

Video Games: Reflection # 4

           

I surprised myself as I was reading Video Games and Learning. From the first sentence of the first chapter, I went in defending the way I teach without video games. My thoughts were counter arguing almost all of Squire’s ideas. The ironic thing, I am not opposed to video games in the classroom. I just thought his arguments lacked educational background and depth. I found myself questioning his reasons and how to apply his method of connecting video games to Montessori’s education philosophy. I honestly think this type of teaching would, as of right now, only work in a charter school, not a public school. After reading the book, I found myself sorting out what I agreed with, what I disagreed with, and how this would look in my classroom.

           

“We [are] responsible for our own learning” (pg 1). Agreed. “Learning cannot occur if children are forced to sit with their attention on their teacher; learning requires the ability to follow one’s interests, engage the senses, and test ideas” (49-50). Agreed.  These are about the only two comments that I agree with Squire. Students, rather they realize this or not, are responsible for their own learning. Students do not come to school to see their teachers work. Instead, students come to school to work. Unfortunately, some students have not realized this ‘aha’ moment and think school is a place where the teachers should find information, give it to them, and tell them what to do with the information. Students expect their teachers to think, work, and create for them. In order for students to want to work and learn, the material does need to be engaging, fun, and collaborative. I also agree that if I were to use video games in the classroom, the video games would have to be participatory and designed by knowledgeable designers. Where I differ with Squire, is that I don’t necessarily agree that video games are the answer. Not every student is interested in video games. It’s hard to teach with just one medium when you have over one hundred students with different likes, dislikes, and personalities. I also disagree that video games do not have to simple models or contain bias much like textbooks. Instead, video games should provide many perspectives from many different countries to produce well-rounded students.   

The disagreements between Squire and me are huge. First, he claims that people should learn video games on page 15 because video games “are developing academic interests and learning academic content,” engaging, and participatory. First, not every game is accurate in academic interests. Throughout the text, he claims that video games can teach geography, history, etc. For instance, World of Warcraft has numerous servers with basically the same cities. Yes, an avid gamer will know the name of cities, recognize landscapes, people, how they dress, terms, etc. My question is: How is this accurate to the real world? This is a fake, utopian world that does not exist. This teaches students about virtual worlds, not the world in which they live. Secondly, he claims that this teaches students terms and languages. As an English teacher, I can honestly say that the language taught in this collaborative, participatory world is not academic language that would land a student a job. Sadly, this language is showing up in formal essays, job resumes, tests, etc. Video games are causing confusion between two different types of worlds: virtual vs. reality. For example, I was traveling home from a graduation party with my husband. I made a comment and his response was “QQ.” I looked at him very confused. He simply replied that this was the new way to say, “Why don’t you cry about it.” Apparently, “QQ” is a symbol for tears on World of Warcraft. I did not and still do not understand why he did not just say what he meant instead of the symbol. This is not proper academic English, and this is what video games have taught my husband. As I also read  Squire’s claims of what video games offer, I found myself not only disagreeing but linking his thoughts to the “Level of Content Integration” by James Banks from Dr. Parks’ multicultural class. The content learned from video games only focuses on level 1 and level 2, which is basic topical information. In order to teach high level thinking, content needs to be at level 3 or level 4, where students learn multiple perspectives, make change, and connect to real life. My conclusion is that video games do not teach high level thinking. 

I also appreciated Squire’s in depth explanation on how the Sims is an academic video game. I, on the other hand, disagree. He claims that the Sims allows players to create goals, work toward goals, achieve goals, promotes creativity, works on relationship building skills, scrapbooking, and storytelling skills. He also claims that the Sims is a great participatory game because it allows “players the ability to produce and distribute content” (pg 31). The Sims also allows and gives “players the tools by which they could make unique game experiences that they wanted to play (like having the band the Damned move into their neighborhood and pee on their floor” (pg. 32). First, how is having a band pee on someone’s floor educational to a high school student? Funny, yes; educational, no. I am an avid player of the Sims. In my experience, this is what the game teaches: cheating to get what a person cannot have. The first thing I Goggled was a cheat code to achieve as much money as possible, so I could buy everything I wanted. When I play, I create an ideal, perfect world that does not exist. The game also only promotes level 1 and level 2 from Banks. The newest game, however, does offer an expansion pack to travel around the world. Once at this new land, the landscape is of highly recognizable historical land makers. Another problem with the Sims is that it is a very Americanized game of what Americans what and appreciate. It teaches that the ‘American Dream’ is wanted worldwide. Also, not every family in the world can afford to buy this program (or other programs) along with its many expansion packs. With its many drawbacks, I can actually see me using the Sims as a tool in my classroom.

Surprisingly, I am not opposed to using video games in the classroom. I just think the right video game for the right project needs to be used. It is also a shocker, that after I vented about the Sims as not an academic game, I would use the Sims in one of my lessons. My first thought in how I could apply video games into my classroom, was a project with To Kill a Mockingbird. I have students draw the town and houses through quotes from the book. I could do the same project with students who play and have the Sims at home. The Sims 3 allows players to create a town from scratch. My students could create the town of Maycomb. The students then would upload their town on the Sims’ Exchange. It seems like a fun option to my project for some students, but not all.

As a teacher, I was not surprised to learn that a 2002 study “found that kids’ internet use shows that when they want to learn something personally meaningful, they look online” (15). I don’t agree that the answer should be to incorporate video games. Yes, video games allow students to collaborate and blog on the internet. Sometimes, however, that information is not academic. I also agree that “While schools remain static, learning is changing” (14). Again, I do not think that the answer is to change our current education system to video gaming. Video gaming is a hobby. Hobbies are fun and teach valuable lessons. Too much of one thing, however, creates problems and may disengage students. I found it funny when Squire said that “Any time we turn a child off to learning rather than awakening their intellectual curiosity, we’ve failed” (15). His method of teaching is a turn off to some students. That is why I think this system would only work well in a charter school setting where some students would excel. I see that an education system that focuses solely on video games will lack in communication skills such as interpersonal. There is more to life than gaming. That is why I think video games may be great for one project, but not the focus or design of a whole educational system. 

Blogs for EDL 719

Just to let you all know, I emailed Keith and our blog for the books is set up on Keith's wiki.

Taking the afternoon off :)

After working hard all week and yesterday, I am taking some me time this afternoon. I was happy to finish the first book and third reflection for EDL 755. I plan tonight to start reading the first book for EDL 719. I hope we know where to post our online discussion soon. I tend to read/write notes at the same time. I also like to blog or write reflections right after I read as the information is current in my mind.

Until then, grad parties :) Tonight, however, back to work on reading/writing.

Web 2.0 staff development presentation (Pixlr and Glogster)

I have decided to use Pixlr and Glogster for my web 2.0 presentation for EDL 719.

EDL 755 Reflection # 3 on Technology Matters

“Devices and machines are not out there that invade life. We are intimate with them from birth, as were our ancestors for hundreds of generations” (Nye, 2006, preface) is one of the first sentences quoted in the textbook, Technology Matter, written by David Nye that got my mind spinning with confusion and philosophies about life. Right from the start, I found myself asking, does technology shape us, or do we as a society shape technology? Nye argues that technology is not determinism, “The doctrine that all events, including human choices and decisions, have sufficient causes” (Dictionary.com). Instead, Nye argues that technology is uncertain and cannot be predicted. I, on the other hand, found myself disagreeing and arguing more with Historians, which believe that technology is the development of “social forces, personal needs, technical limits, markets, and political considerations” (49). I think that in order to be successful, technology has to be predictable; that is the capitalism way  (one needs to predict what will be successful in order to be successful). To further prove my point, my mind was trying to wrap and link technology to the economy and cultural influences. To help show my metacognition while I was reading, I will reflect on my internal thoughts and uses for this information on some of the ten questions.

           

First, the chapter “Does Technology Control Us?” is a philosophical question, almost like why do human beings exist. I never thought of technology as a controlling factor in my life, but then I started to think deep. I thought of my mom who cannot go five minutes without checking Facebook, text someone, or talk to someone on the phone. I thought of my students who cannot go seconds without texting. After reading this chapter, I honestly think that technology controls us and we control technology. First, technology controls us by creating obsessions. I honestly think that people become addicted to technology such as the internet, computers, cell phones, etc. My students cannot fight the urge to check their phones, text, or Facebook during class. I have had students tell me that they had to go to the doctor because their fingers and thumb hurt. The diagnosis: too much texting. Much like carpartunnel, students are starting to have medical problems in their fingers, hands, and thumbs because of technology. Nye believes that technology “push[es] society toward the future” (22). As I read this section, I found myself wondering if this future would be a bright future? Do we really need technology in the future? Our ancestors, hundreds of years ago, didn’t have an eighth of the technology that we have today; they lived. Maybe not has entertained with video games or social networking, but they still lived. One could argue, though, that they would have lived longer had they had advances in scientific technology, but then what is technology?:  I found my brain trying to establish one possible definition for technology. To me, technology is “social evolution” (3). Technology should be used to bring the world together into one place. Technology links people together. Technology is a communication device. Technology is something new. Digging deeper into my thoughts, I found myself asking, what isn’t technology? At some point, an invention is new; thus, everything, at one time or another, is/was technology

On the other hand, I also think that we control technology. Technology is only as successful as the people who demand it, want it, and buy it. For example, compare DVDs to Divix. We, as the consumers, preferred the DVD format. The result, DVDs excelled while Divix flopped.  It’s basic economics, which is supply and demand. If the market does not demand the technology, the technology will disappear as quickly as it was invented. My conclusion, Nye is right that “We are intimate with [technology] from birth.” I believe that machines, or technologies, do invade life but only because we as a society embrace it, crave it, and desire it from birth to death.

The next chapter that struck a chord with me was “Is Technology Predictable.” I would say, yes. We as teachers need to predict technology in order to produce productive citizens who can be competitive in the global market. Teachers need to forecast technology so we can teach students how to adapt, and use technology. We will teach the future inventors, engineers, entrepreneurs, and designers. Without forecasting, we are failing our students. We also need to predict the future in technology in order to survive economically. While reading The World is Flat, I realized that my job description as a teacher may change. I may have to market myself in order to continue to teach. I need to understand and predict that technology may allow me to teach from home or to different countries. Realizing that, I can get a head start on the competition by experiencing and experimenting with such technologies. The problem with predicting is that “forecasts and predictions are so hard to make is that consumers, not scientists, often discover what is ‘the next big thing’” (39). I have to try to predict what the consumers want with education. Meaning, I have to predict what my students, parents, and the government want in the future with education in order to be ahead. It’s scary, and technology makes the world scarier with so many different paths it can lead.

Lastly, the chapter entitled, “Work: More, or Less? Better, or Worse,” got my blood boiling. Yes, technology has many positive attributes such as a global connection; however, technology is not all sweet. One trend that technology brings is the elimination of jobs. I found myself wanting to incorporate this section of the book into my Speech Communication class. We discuss Interpersonal Communication skills and the role technology plays with communicating. I immediately thought of The World is Flat again. I remember reading a section that fast food restaurants have the technology to take an order in a different state from which the person is ordering the food. That eliminates jobs and face-to-face communication. This is a slippery slope that I want to teach my students. The goal of the lesson would be to be wary of technology. Yes, it is great for communication, but a person should not become dependent on it because it can hurt basic needs. For example, I found a young entrepreneur presenting her invention to a group of people on TED. She created a robot that not only makes jokes, but can be a person’s friend. Also, I found a YouTube video of a person in Japan marrying his video game character. We are losing interpersonal communication, and this makes me believe that the more technology we have, the worse it will get. Technology is replacing face-to-face communication and friends. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs proves that humans have basic needs such as a sense of belonging, love, and touch. The result could be that technology could lead us onto a dangerous path of “culture of death” (70).

After reading the book, I think I have more a negative view on technology. It is great to use globally to communicate, but technology has the ability to go too far. I love how the text ends with a scare tactic of the future by comparing what the world may look like to novels such as 1984. Again, I found myself wanting to connect this idea to my LA 101 and LA 201 classes. I teach short stories set in the future such as “The Pedestrian,” and “Harrison Bergeron.” Both short stories provide a daunting glimpse of the future with the continuation of technology. Technology, on the other hand, has many good points. It does make the world of over six billion people seem small. I think that problem lies within society. After reading this text, people cannot let their “destructive technological drives” take over reality.           

EDL 755 Reflection # 2

Day three and four were less overwhelming and easier to follow. As we were learning Pixlr, Screencast, and reviewing Wikies, again my mind was races a million miles a minute full of potential learning opportunities for my students. I also was thinking of ideas on how to incorporate the above tools personally.

Pixlr is by far my favorite program learned in the last four days. I really wished I had known about this program two years ago when I got married. I wanted my photographer to edit a few pictures. I really wanted him to change some pictures black and white except for the flowers. I was disappointed when he never returned my email; however, this website allows me do fulfill my wish two years later. I spent two hours at home changing five pictures from my wedding.  My husband will love that I will be buying more wedding pictures, especially two years past the date.

I also feel that I can use Pixlr in the classroom. One of the first ideas sparked was incorporating Pixlr with Glogster. When I had my sophomores create posters via Glogster for an independent book project that was actually part of a Wiki, many students wanted to upload personal pictures to make the poster more fun and personal. Unfortunately, most were stuck with odd uploaded pictures or the dull clip art pictures the website offered. I can use Pixlr now for students to edit pictures first, and then upload the pictures to Glogster. I also can easily implement Pixlr with Voicethread during the To Kill a Mockingbird unit. I have freshmen create a narration to a collage of pictures. The rationale is to share their life story with the class so that the class can experience what it is like to walk in another person’s shoes. To walk in another person’s shoes is a huge theme in the novel. Pixlr would allow students to edit baby pictures all the way to current pictures. Students will easily be able to change embarrassing expressions or change an attribute in the picture to distract the audience.  One of the best selling components for me to use Pixlr in the classroom would be that students would be able to connect this lesson with their life. This is a life skill. High school students tend to be obsessed with pictures (I have caught students taking pictures during class time to later upload on Facebook). Students would be able to use this website for school work, personal work, and show it to their parents to use. Students could teach students and parents a lesson learned in English, which is a huge bonus.

Screencast, on the other hand, was a bit harder to use. I think it is a nice website to use if a student does not have an audio recording device at home. I do think, however, there are better programs to use. One such program is Audacity. When I have students create audio and/or videos, I usually have them use Movie Maker or Audacity. I don’t see, at this point, a bonus in using Screencast over Movie Maker or Audacity. I have used Movie Maker to create a video as well as just audio. Also, one does not need to use Screencast to upload a video to Youtube. It is just as easy to create a movie in Movie Maker and upload it to Youtube.

Another feature discussed and learned in class was Youtube. I love Youtube, and so do my students. I would love to post videos, especially in my speech class, for other students to view as a model. It would be awesome to not waste valuable class time to show a model of what I want a project to look like. Instead, I can guide students to Youtube, and tell them if they want an example, look on their own time. Unfortunately, privacy laws will hinder this. A child or parent may have a problem with posting work on the internet for the world to use. I understand this concern, as I too do not want my face plastered around the cyber world. I have two choices: I can either send home a sheet for parents to sign granting me permission to upload videos to the internet, or continue not using the internet in that way. I am wary of sending home permission slips. Many students may forge their parents’ name, which would provoke more problems. The solution, I can encourage students on their own to upload their videos to the internet.

The last website discussed was Wikispaces. I have had my sophomores create a wiki page for the purpose to share information with the class, and the world, about their independent novel choice book. The project, on paper, was 21^st century based. Unfortunately, the students were not eager to learn Wikispaces. I had many students ask me to change the project to PowerPoint instead of a Wiki. When I asked why, they responded that a Wiki was too hard to learn. After three class periods, and twenty whining sophomores in each class, my emotional state of mind was drained. I started to dislike Wikispaces and second guess the project. Not giving up, I had the students complete the project. The finish product, however, was depressing and way below my expectations. After today’s class, however, I no longer blame Wikispaces for an unfriendly website. Through my reflections, I realize the problems and limitations the project had. First, the students only worked with Wikispaces once a month. Obviously, they were not learning the website and could not retain how to navigate the website. Secondly, I needed to push the collaboration part the Wikispaces has to offer to make a real audience for my students to give them the motivation to create high level projects. Through the lecture today, I better understand how to manage and create that collaboration. My only wish would be to create a global connection for my students. I learned to appreciate Wikispaces a little more today. I do, however, feel that Google Sties still may be a better choice for my students.

     I am very appreciative of the new technology sites I have learned about in the past four days. I see the value of most of the sites to integrate them into my classroom. My goal is to not only use the websites once, but to try to incorporate Pixlr, Google Sites, and Wikispaces into each unit. This will build confidence with my students with using technology. More importantly, however, students will learn technology skills and integrate the skills in to their everyday life.  

EDL 755 Reflection #1

After spending the last two days in class working with Google, I feel at ease with what Google has to offer. I did not realize how big Google actually is or how much Google has to offer. In my eyes, Google may be the next Microsoft office but better because it is free. After learning about Google Sites as well as Google Docs, I am intrigued and determined to implement these new features into my curriculum.

The learning process was a rough patch at first. I found myself nervous about learning a new technology tool. Sometimes I feel like this is just the new and latest gadget that will only be replaced with another one in the next five minutes. I found myself in the shoes of my students. For some odd reason, I was afraid to hit the wrong button; I did not want to break the site. Of course, I know that part of the learning process is to experiment and learn from failure. I became one of my freshmen students, too afraid to hit save or a button. I did not want my information lost in cyberspace. This is an odd emotion for me to experience; I am a fast learner. For instance, I taught myself School Loop (program the Howard-Suamico School District uses for teachers’ website) and PBworks in two hours last summer. None of that matter, however. I was afraid. Fortunately, after a few minutes and with Josh on my left and Tim on my right, I relaxed. The realization that I was not the only newbie to Google and watching other classmates struggle put me at ease. Tim provided great advice that sparked confidence in my Google Site building ability. He simply stated that PBworks and Google Sites are similar; thus, I became positive. A weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I realized the connection. I had built a similar sight by myself. Google, however, has more to offer with better eye appeal. I am happy to say that in a matter of two days, I have switched my PBworks over to my new Google Site where I have a class fish tank, questionnaires, and much more. I am convinced that Google is the new 21^st century tool that will lead my students and myself to building powerful projects and create fun, valuable learning opportunities.     

I will be able to easily adapt Google Sites into my daily lesson plans. First, my goal is to switch my team taught LA 101 class over to one hundred percent project-based, which will heavily rely on technology. I am fortunate to be part of the downstairs purple pod team who was granted a cart full of twenty-two mini laptops for students to use. With these new gadgets, I should have easy access to technology for at least my one team taught LA 101 class. I plan to use Google Sites as a project much like a wiki. Students can share information about books and make real life connections on Google Sites through creating pages. While looking over the wiki page, zperiod3group4.wikispaces.com, my mind was immediately flooded with ideas on a similar assignment (partly because the page was based on Romeo and Juliet, which is a drama covered in my class). I was a fan of PBworks and Wikispaces, but since I was introduced to Google Sites, PBworks and Wikispaces are in the past.  Essentially, I can have my students create a similar Wikispace but use Google Sites instead. A Google Site offers more gadgets, layouts, options, and even has Shakespearean gadgets that would be perfect for a similar assignment. When I had students create a PBworks wiki, I had too many problems with the site’s navigation to the point where I was not planning on doing the assignment ever again. With Google Sites, I can have students complete the same assignment with a program that is easier to navigate, which will hopefully create student engagement and motivation, especially with all of the interesting add-ons!  

I also plan to use Google sites as my every day communication tool with students and parents. Last year, again, I used PBworks. PBworks is essentially the same thing, but Google Sites is more appealing to the eye and user friendly. What really made me switch over, however, was the fact that I can incorporate Google Docs. I love that I can help students at home with projects. All students have to do is write a question on the document on my Google Site. I also love the feature that allows other students to answer questions, too. Students are not only learning from me but also from their peers. I also like how I can control an evaluation about myself. Our school offers a student and parent survey, but some of the questions are not meaningful to my teaching practices. Also, students and parents are not likely to fill it out. I can direct and have students complete the survey in my class or for homework and have the results sent directly to me! I also love how information from the questionnaire is organized by Google Docs. This saves me time. I love how my Google Site makes my website interactive for my students and also allows me to display my personality. 

I am not sure how I will incorporate Google Docs into my classroom other than the question and answer page on my Google Site. I know that as students continue their journey in the English department, they will be exposed to Google Docs. It would be a great tool to use in the classroom to have students quickly write and share. I also, however, see problems with Google Docs. The first, and obvious, would be the availability of technology. Yes, I am lucky to have a cart full of twenty-two laptops. I do, however, have to share the cart with four other teachers. I have to be realistic. As of right now, my plan would be to use the computers for my one LA 101 team taught class. Yes, I will use Google Docs, but I still like the idea of having students save their files to their school drive or flash drive. I love to have backup plans to my backup plans.  

The last two days have opened up my eyes to Google. In some ways, Google may be on the path to monopolizing the internet and the worlds’ information. Google, however, is easy to use and convenient. Google offers me a solution to running around my classroom like a chicken with my head cut off looking for a flash drive to save students’ work to finish at home. Instead, Google offers me an easy solution: One home and one place where everything is stored.  

Googlesites and Docs

I just spent the last three hours finishing my googlesite. I am very pleased. I know that it was not necessarily a class assignment, but I wanted to finish the site before the class ended. I do have one question, though. When I went on my husband's computer to view my site, the google doc under my question and answers page was asking for him to sign in to his gmail. Do you have to sign in to a gmail account in order to write on a google doc? I have the document set to public, too.

Excited about Googlesites :)

I just spent the last few hours working on my Google webpage and I am happy to say that it is mainly done. I am excited to switch my PBworks over to google. I like how I could add gadgets into each page. I have Shakespeare quotes, random facts, and leadership quotes on my front page, LA 101, LA 201, and Speech page! I also was able to have a virtual class fish tank. I like the idea of a 'virtual' class tank. I had a real fish my first year, and it was interesting...At least in the virtual world, I and students cannot hurt or kill the poor fishies.  Anyhow, here is the link to my new webpage thus far. I am hoping to link it to my homepage at school soon!

One quick question or two: Does anyone know how to take the history off so students cannot click and see the history? Also, does anyone know how I can have students write on some pages, but not others? I want students to be able to write questions and answers as well as take a class poll/survey on my teaching. Any help is always greatly appreciated!

https://sites.google.com/site/hollferg/

Late night thoughts about unit and ideas needed

As I am trying to sleep, I am kept awake by thoughts of my unit, Speak. I am currently puzzled about the ebook we can make for EDL 719. I know it is supposed to be supplement materials, but I am having a hard time figuring out what to put in it. Any ideas?????? I will teach literary terms, plot, characterization, MLA, copy right, and vocab with the book, but I am puzzled on what should go in this extra resource that I will not have time to cover in class.  I really need ideas, please!!!!

The only idea I have is to create some kind of court case or hypothetical bullying instance that may be similar to the book. I can create a file that gives background information and clues.The idea would be to list suspects with clues and have students crack the case. I could have students present their findings and ideas to the class as a court case. Through deductive reasoning, I would expect students to figure out what the problem is and design a court case or possible appropriate punishment to be delivered to the class. I would have to give time in class for this, but it might be a fun side activity that brings in a real world connection.  What do you think? Any other ideas, again, would be very helpful.

Overwhelmed rant

After the start of our second grad class today, I found myself overwhelmed with user names, passwords, and options. My first thought is that if I feel this overwhelmed, how will my students feel in the classroom? I want to utilize web 2.0 tools, but it is hard to remember all the tools and remember the passwords and user names. I liked Aaron's post where he suggested the idea of implementing just a few of the tools.

Another concern that I have is will our students feel burned out of technology if we are all using it all of the time, especially if we are using the same web 2.0 tools? I love technology, but I don't want to overwhelm my students or myself.

I am hoping that I will be able to implement ideas for EDL 755 with my project-based learning until in EDL 719. I am still fearful of what the whole process looks like with project-based learning. What happens in the middle is my big question. Hopefully, reading the books will help.

On a side note, I am feeling very overwhelmed with the reading for both classes. How am I going to be able to read 9 books, build a unit, a presentations, and write reflection papers in about one month??? I know that I will finish it all, but I am afraid that I might burn out on my summer break.

Interesting article by Times "10 worst fictional fathers of all time"

This came up on my Goggle Reader feed, and I found it interesting to read.  Here is the link! Enjoy!
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2078151_2078159_2078123,00.html

Essential Question

Why is it for project based learning, that there can only be one essential question?  I know that I need to make my curriculum relate to students to have higher engagement, grades, and motivation, but I feel that if I have just one essential question I may be missing out on standards and benchmarks. For example, last night I posted an essential question for Speak, which was directed to be student related. After thinking about the question over night, I fear that my question lacked depth. I also want to teach literary terms, plot, etc. with Speak but how do I do that when my essential question is solely based on a real life connection? Can I have more than one essential question or should I make the more English curriculum driving questions and mini lessons? I am just trying to figure out what how to incorporate everything I want to teach with Speak in one question...

Project based unit idea

Here are my ideas for this unit thus far. Please respond by offering ideas for improvement with the unit and driving question.

I have decided to make my unit center around the novel Speak. I have not taught this book before, and will be teaching it to my LA 101 classes. I figured my driving question could be something like: How have and how are my secrets keeping me from my full potential both personally and academically? It has been awhile since I have read the book, but basically the main character, Melinda, is a victim of rape at a party. She calls in the crime and when the police come, she tells no one why she called the police. Her friends all disown her because Melinda got them all in trouble. The book centers around her freshman year of high school while hiding this secret. I was hoping to make a real life connection between Melinda and my students.
I want to center the book around characterization, self reflection, and research. I plan to have students create a glogster poster as a check point, and the end project may be showing how Melinda has changed as well as how the students have changed by symbolically showing this through art (much like Melinda did with the tree). Students could create a tree or something else and show how the tree grows so does Melinda and so do they. At the top, I could center it around goal making and students can predict what will happen to Melinda and goals for their future. Also, are there any ideas on how I can pull a research component in? I want to have mini lessons on the big six and start teaching MLA with this book. I was thinking of having students take their glogster poster and turning it in to a characterization paper. I fear that a poster, paper, and project may be too much!? I was thinking that the poster and paper (maybe just a quick write) would also be check points, too.

I also am getting lost in the idea of what happens for mini lessons in a project based unit. Is this where I discuss chapters in the book, discuss literary terms, quizzes, etc? Also, how much time should be given to work on the projects in class?

This are just a few of my late night thoughts as I try to sleep...

Project Based fears

I have been pondering a possible project based unit for awhile. For a few months now, I have also thought of the idea of making one of my three preps totally projectbased. I am willing to switch my LA 101 to project based, and I want to,  but I have my fears. For one, I am not fully sure what a project based classroom looks like. Yes, I know the beginning and the end, but it's the middle and process part that scares me. My fear is that my class may turn in to a joke or 'easy' class where students do not work. I also have been thinking of just changing my team taught 101 class and keeping my regular ed 101 the same so I have data to compare and contrast from. My hope would be that the project based classroom has better data that I could share and convince others to use this teaching method/style.  I really want to make this switch, but I am afraid of not knowing what to do in the middle of the unit. I hope my team teacher has ideas and is willing.

First day of grad class

I am sitting in class trying to figure out all of this new technology stuff, and how I can implement this in my classroom!