Alright, so I went off pretty crazy on that last blog post. This will be my continuation...
For a quick re-cap, in David Warlick's book Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century, he lists Priority of Education Questions. The current priority lists:
1. How well are students learning?
2. How should students learn?
3. What should students learn?
But! The appropriate priority should be the reverse order:
1. What should students learn?
2. How should students learn?
3. How well are students learning?
Educators are now focusing more on how well students are doing, but by doing that, they lose their focus on what they are learning. Shouldn't we focus more on the what we're teaching them, as opposed to first focusing on how well it's being done? That is what evaluation is for. Educators should evaluate how effective their teaching is afterwards. But first, we need to focus on the material.
First, I want to highlight a quote that is enlarged on a previous page in the book:
"For the first time in history, our job, as educators, is to prepare our students for a future that we cannot clearly describe."
Later on, he says, "little is being done to rethink what children need to be learning in a time of rapid change."
Yes, we are facing a time of rapid change, and it will only change more and more in future years. Now, literacy is taking on new forms. I can consider myself educationally literate, but am I contemporarily literate? Am I fully literate in terms of a digital, global world? I'm on my way towards becoming more literate, but we need to keep this new literacy in mind as we enter the classroom.
Students need to become as contemporarily literate as possible. Everything now is digital, or done online somehow. Technology keeps going further and further, thus, our classrooms need to do the same. We have to prepare students for this changing future. We have to keep up with the times, because now we have more equipment than just chalk and erasers.
There are many important questions facing ELA educators, but I think WHAT the students are learning seems to be the most relevant answer. Course content is what a class will focus on. This is the material that students will take out of the classroom. First, the material is important, because from there you branch off onto how they should learn that material, and then how well they learned it. These are steps in a process. The kernel comes from what they are actually learning.
What students are learning can mesh into how they are learning it. If we teach them how to be more contemporarily literate, then we can expose them to online sources and technologically advanced learning tools. The"what" can help us move towards the "how." Then, we can assess their learning through how they produce what they have learned.
Moving into a new time, we need to focus first on what students are learning before we should focus on how and how well.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Blogging
http://weblogg-ed.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/WebLoggingSmall.mov
I think it is so cool that part of our homework can be watching videos on the computer, and it still has relevancy to the classroom! These assignments will not bore students.
The vidlog that touched me the most was the first one that I have referenced at the top of my blog. I really enjoyed hearing students' responses on blogging. Their responses really motivate me to use blogging in the classroom. One girl was so excited to write something that others will actually read. She even got to contact the author of her favorite book, The Secret Life of Bees! What an awesome opportunity that we have... We can contact our favorite authors (living of course) or anyone who inspires us within minutes! We have such connections with the internet now that almost anything is possible.
Blogging homework is now fun for students. They look forward to doing homework when it is done on the computer, a source where students flock to already. In a post on weblogs, Kairosnews wrote that "this difference might be because one is 'fun' and the other is 'work.'" Work done on the computer via the internet is not a standard assignment. It does seem different, inticing, more exciting.
I have to admit, I will look forward to doing homework on the internet as opposed to sitting down and completing reading assignments or answering questions/worksheets. I will save my online blogging for last so I can enjoy my last assignment of the day. I don't consider it hard work at all really, perhaps because it also interests me.
Let's face it: teenagers are all over the web, and they are active, active, active. I have observed classrooms where students look like they are going to fall asleep at any minute. Once I enter the computer lab, these same kids are as alive as ever. They are so interested to surf the web and check out what's new. As educators, we have to listen to this shift in teenage interest.
On this webpage, http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/166/report_display.asp, it was reported that "Fully half of all teens and 57% of teens who use the internet could be considered Content Creators. They have created a blog or webpage, posted original artwork, photography, stories or videos online or remixed online content into their own new creations." Students are already creating and writing on their own. If we want to motivate them to do work that seems relevant and useful to their lives, then we will grab their ultimate attention, and they will learn. We can't stay fixed in paper in pencil activities. We need to move to what's new. We have to change with the times. Change is everything.
Perhaps my ultimately long blog shows how enticing blogging is. If I had an assignment to report on blogging through textbook questions or written reponse, I would not have enjoyed this assingment. Students might not even complete the assignment. I went on and on about blogging (this is my first post... I will have another tomorrow), and I am not done on the subject. What a motivor---the blog.
I think it is so cool that part of our homework can be watching videos on the computer, and it still has relevancy to the classroom! These assignments will not bore students.
The vidlog that touched me the most was the first one that I have referenced at the top of my blog. I really enjoyed hearing students' responses on blogging. Their responses really motivate me to use blogging in the classroom. One girl was so excited to write something that others will actually read. She even got to contact the author of her favorite book, The Secret Life of Bees! What an awesome opportunity that we have... We can contact our favorite authors (living of course) or anyone who inspires us within minutes! We have such connections with the internet now that almost anything is possible.
Blogging homework is now fun for students. They look forward to doing homework when it is done on the computer, a source where students flock to already. In a post on weblogs, Kairosnews wrote that "this difference might be because one is 'fun' and the other is 'work.'" Work done on the computer via the internet is not a standard assignment. It does seem different, inticing, more exciting.
I have to admit, I will look forward to doing homework on the internet as opposed to sitting down and completing reading assignments or answering questions/worksheets. I will save my online blogging for last so I can enjoy my last assignment of the day. I don't consider it hard work at all really, perhaps because it also interests me.
Let's face it: teenagers are all over the web, and they are active, active, active. I have observed classrooms where students look like they are going to fall asleep at any minute. Once I enter the computer lab, these same kids are as alive as ever. They are so interested to surf the web and check out what's new. As educators, we have to listen to this shift in teenage interest.
On this webpage, http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/166/report_display.asp, it was reported that "Fully half of all teens and 57% of teens who use the internet could be considered Content Creators. They have created a blog or webpage, posted original artwork, photography, stories or videos online or remixed online content into their own new creations." Students are already creating and writing on their own. If we want to motivate them to do work that seems relevant and useful to their lives, then we will grab their ultimate attention, and they will learn. We can't stay fixed in paper in pencil activities. We need to move to what's new. We have to change with the times. Change is everything.
Perhaps my ultimately long blog shows how enticing blogging is. If I had an assignment to report on blogging through textbook questions or written reponse, I would not have enjoyed this assingment. Students might not even complete the assignment. I went on and on about blogging (this is my first post... I will have another tomorrow), and I am not done on the subject. What a motivor---the blog.
Books Weekend
So, this weekend I spent many hours in both Barnes and Nobles and Borders. What are your preferences? I think I'm pretty partial to Borders...but that's just my opinion. I love browsing new books and old ones. I actually bought Jennifer Donnelly's A Northern Light because I have only heard amazing things about it. I know she is coming to this school soon---does anyone know when? I want to read the book before she comes.
At the Barnes and Nobles in Ithaca, right now they're having a lot of sales. They have tables set up in the middle sections that have book displays, $2/book. I picked up one book from this display. There was a compilation of survivor-themed short stories that I bought. I try to think about books I can use in the future.
I also have been reading Augusten Burroughs. Has anyone read any of his books? I picked up Dry and Magical Thinking, because I just finished Running with Scissors, which I find absolutely bizarre (thus, I love it). Do you like his writing? I find him inspirational. He inspires me to maybe write someday myself. I know it came out as a movie, but I wanted to read his memoir first, and now I really want to see the movie. I'm also a fan of Mr. Baldwin.
Wrapping it up, I was also wondering... do teachers get discounts at book stores once they have their job? What a dream that would be. There was a couple tables set up specifically for current teachers, or current students, f.y.i. I know you can become a member of Barnes and Nobles if you pay, but shouldn't teachers get a perk for some kind of discount in their field?
Just some questions, thoughts, and ideas to ponder...
At the Barnes and Nobles in Ithaca, right now they're having a lot of sales. They have tables set up in the middle sections that have book displays, $2/book. I picked up one book from this display. There was a compilation of survivor-themed short stories that I bought. I try to think about books I can use in the future.
I also have been reading Augusten Burroughs. Has anyone read any of his books? I picked up Dry and Magical Thinking, because I just finished Running with Scissors, which I find absolutely bizarre (thus, I love it). Do you like his writing? I find him inspirational. He inspires me to maybe write someday myself. I know it came out as a movie, but I wanted to read his memoir first, and now I really want to see the movie. I'm also a fan of Mr. Baldwin.
Wrapping it up, I was also wondering... do teachers get discounts at book stores once they have their job? What a dream that would be. There was a couple tables set up specifically for current teachers, or current students, f.y.i. I know you can become a member of Barnes and Nobles if you pay, but shouldn't teachers get a perk for some kind of discount in their field?
Just some questions, thoughts, and ideas to ponder...
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Social Bookmarking
So, I am project leader, and my group is working on social bookmarking. I'll be honest, I had no idea what this was until I looked it up online and in our class book. After research, I understand what it is, and, to be quite honest, I am excited to get started on it!
Social Bookmarking, basically, is like having a list of favorites. You click on different categories which will lead you to websites that correspond to that category. My group's theme for our webpage is, obviously, English, Education, and Technology. Our main focus is to put together a list of useful websites for us future teachers, with a special focus on technology, since that is the class' focus.
The website we are using is www.furl.net. Check it out if you're at all interested. I suggest that others choose to do this project for an upcoming block. It's simple once you get the hang of it. In the book, the author was saying that teachers use social bookmarking in the classrooms. They compile bookmarking on a private site that only their students can view. I think it sounds like a pretty good idea, but I need to become an expert at it before I start thinking about using it in a future classroom of mine.
I'll update you further as I understand social bookmarking more as I go along...
Social Bookmarking, basically, is like having a list of favorites. You click on different categories which will lead you to websites that correspond to that category. My group's theme for our webpage is, obviously, English, Education, and Technology. Our main focus is to put together a list of useful websites for us future teachers, with a special focus on technology, since that is the class' focus.
The website we are using is www.furl.net. Check it out if you're at all interested. I suggest that others choose to do this project for an upcoming block. It's simple once you get the hang of it. In the book, the author was saying that teachers use social bookmarking in the classrooms. They compile bookmarking on a private site that only their students can view. I think it sounds like a pretty good idea, but I need to become an expert at it before I start thinking about using it in a future classroom of mine.
I'll update you further as I understand social bookmarking more as I go along...
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Technology and the Standards
Technology just keeps changing and changing and changing. In elementary school, going to the computer lab was a big deal. My class could go once a week, and we worked on old Macs, each one with no mouse. Now, students have constant access to computers in schools and in classrooms.
Using all sorts of different technology in the classroom is a great way to keep interest in material. Film, photography, audio, and other technological texts should be included as much as possible. This is a necessity in these everchanging times.
In a class I observed, the students wrote poetry throughout the semester. Each student had the opportunity to record their poems online to share with whoever they wrote the poem about. Students were so excited to be able to hear themselves on the internet and share their poetry with others. What a cool Christmas present, sending a link that goes to you reading a poem online?
Activities like this will adhere to the standards and will grab students' interests in English material. Think about it.
Using all sorts of different technology in the classroom is a great way to keep interest in material. Film, photography, audio, and other technological texts should be included as much as possible. This is a necessity in these everchanging times.
In a class I observed, the students wrote poetry throughout the semester. Each student had the opportunity to record their poems online to share with whoever they wrote the poem about. Students were so excited to be able to hear themselves on the internet and share their poetry with others. What a cool Christmas present, sending a link that goes to you reading a poem online?
Activities like this will adhere to the standards and will grab students' interests in English material. Think about it.
Who Am I?
Hard question of a title to follow up to, isn't it? Let me give you a little background on understanding me and the purpose of this website.
I'm Jami, an aspiring English teacher, an avid reader, and a creative writer. I want to spread my passion for reading and writing to all my students, eventually. Many writers have inspired me to want to teach and spread their ideas and stories. Many writers have inspired me to want to write my own ideas and stories. My inspirations range from Ernest Hemingway, Dave Eggers, Kurt Vonnegut, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, and most recently, Augusten Burroughs. Musicians also have a fantastic ability to produce writing--don't overlook it. Jim Morrison, Anthony Kiedis, Eddie Vedder, and most of all, Bob Dylan, have also been inspirations.
Stay tuned for more...
I'm Jami, an aspiring English teacher, an avid reader, and a creative writer. I want to spread my passion for reading and writing to all my students, eventually. Many writers have inspired me to want to teach and spread their ideas and stories. Many writers have inspired me to want to write my own ideas and stories. My inspirations range from Ernest Hemingway, Dave Eggers, Kurt Vonnegut, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, and most recently, Augusten Burroughs. Musicians also have a fantastic ability to produce writing--don't overlook it. Jim Morrison, Anthony Kiedis, Eddie Vedder, and most of all, Bob Dylan, have also been inspirations.
Stay tuned for more...
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