Bloggin Away

How can I count the ways my students loved this project. When asked, I found that most of them had had some experience with a blog, but most definitely not for educational purposes. They could not believe that they were assigned to play with this technology.

Student smiles are so fantastic. I sprinkle them on my Kashi in the morning to give me that extra boost.

English 10 blog

We will publish their Self-Portrait assignment sometime next week. I want them to do a final polish before the rest of the world has access to their work.

The Express Who You Are Unit

I used this IEP assingment as an opportunity to experiment with technology in the classroom. This unit was designed for my poor English 10 class, on whom I bestow the badge of High Guinea Pig.

The Blog unit is linked to a Self-Portrait unit, which seemed to work well. When I teach this again, I will link the blog lessons with something a little less personal. Some of my students were hesitant to write about anything too personal since it was to be posted online.

Following are the links to the five lessons that I taught.

Lesson One
Lesson Two
Lesson Three
Lesson Four
Lesson Five

I Heart Rubrics

What would my rubric look like for grading the digital story?
Well, I would use the modified Alaska State Standard W4.2: Uses a Variety of Forms. Here it goes.

• 4-1 Does the student understand purpose, audience, and form/structure?
• 4-1 Is the product unique, yet appropriate?
• 4-1 Is the organization logical, with transitions, an inviting introduction, and a satisfying conclusion?
• 4-1 Has the student created an attractive layout?
• 4-1 Has the piece been proofread?
• 4-1 Are all elements and appropriate additions present?
• 4-1 Did the student follow directions exactly?

I am very familiar with grading by the state standards and feel that I can quote them in my sleep. Cheers.

Lo! Internet Resources

I use the Internet daily to help fuel my creativity. Though the resources I use are many and vast, there are several that I visit on a regular basis. Following are my favorites.

• National Council of Teachers of English This is the queen of all things Language Arts in America. I always check in for news clips on censorship and tips on how to become a better teacher and person.
• Teachkit A bit unorganized and completely quirky, this British site offers so many lesson plan and activity ideas for Language Arts teachers that I don't know where to begin. One can find extremely creative ideas for every lesson from basic grammar and vocabulary to Shakespeare, Milton, and Flaubert.
• The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) This website has saved me more times than one. I visit OWL for help with research and citations. Purdue also offers help with grammar questions.
• Library of Congress The jackpot of all primary documents. There is a great portal into the world of poetry; however, it is lacking a bit in the Literature category. I love perusing this site in hope of a little interdisciplinary journey.

Following are just a couple of sites that I have discovered, have used, and still love to play with.

• Interactive Folio: Romeo and Juliet Love it. This is such a useful tool for students who miss class days during a R&J unit. Plus, it's just good clean fun.
• Visuwords This is not your mother's dictionary. For each word you type into the search box, Visuwords gives you a graphic representation of that word and oh so much more!

Miss Eveline

Well, I finally finished my digital story. I had it all finished a long while ago, but just could not get it polished to the level I wanted. The interesting part of this whole process is that while I was struggling with the timing of my frames to the music I chose, the song won an Oscar for best song in a movie. I hope you enjoy.

I learned a thing or two during this process:

• iPhoto is wonderful! I scanned my photos in and then altered them to my delight.
• To alter the duration of your slides/frames/photos, one must remove all effects.
• Students are going to have a lot of questions about this project. Baby steps will be necessary.
• I love beautiful things: language, music, fashion, and feeling.

All in all, I think I learned more about myself in the creation of this project than I did about the content. Isn't that what we ultimately desire to instill in our students?

I hope that Joyce would be proud and that Eveline can find some peace.

Basically Children

We are living in an age of increasing dependence on technology. So, it must follow that we should bolster our children with computer dexterity -- the younger the better. However, if we all agree that wielding the power of whizzing electric currents is a mighty responsibility, would it not be in our best interest to steep the mailable beings in essential life skills? "Preparation," states Lowell W. Monke, author of "The Overdominance of Computers", "does not necessarily warrant early participation." Children should learn to respect and nurture their internal power before handling the exterior power that the world will hand them.

Monke's support for delaying technology education until "later grades"

• A child must learn how to interact in his or her world
• We must be aware of a child's cognitive development
• To succeed academically, it is vital that students develop internal qualities
• Young students must learn analytical skills in order to make the tough decisions they will be asked to make in the future
• Technology should be introduced slowly and with great respect
• University of Munich economists determined that increased student computer usage lowered achievement on standardized tests
• Heavy computer usage stunts emotional growth by limiting the amount of face-to-face interaction between human beings

I agree with Monke that our (American) lifestyle is increasingly technology dependant; however, I feel that the author surrenders human power to the computer. Let us not forget that computers do not rule us and that human beings are perfectly capable of pushing the "off" button.

The classroom is an ideal mecca for human interaction. My classroom will always be whizzing with quit witted remarks and emblazoned discussions. In this setting, technology can only be used to enhance human communication, not replace it.

All the Seas of the World Tumbled About Her Heart

James Joyce is notoriously difficult to teach. He is a creator of stlye not plot. This assignment will inspire my students to wade through the heavy language and imagery of Dubliners.

Dubliners is a collection of short stories that act as snapshots of the city. There are four distinct sections: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life. In each section, Joyce explores the theme of paralysis through duty, loss of innocence, marriage, politics, and death. As a final assessment, students will create a digital interpretation of one of the stories. They will need to address:

• Point of View
• Major/minor characters
• Central conflict
• Setting
• Major images, symbols, and figures of speech
• Importance of title
• Themes
• Moment of epiphany
• Soundtrack

I created the story map above outlining the story "Eveline," which is an exploration of the struggle between duty to self and duty to family.