Interview Question

I just thought it was interesting that in some recent interviewing the question about technology came up about 98% of the time. And thanks to 307, I was able to come up with on the spot lessons I might teach using new technology. I am almost positive the interviewers did not even know what kind of computer "program" I was talking about.

But most importantly, they seemed to be impressed!

In other words, the new technology we are learning right now just might be the thing that lands you a job!

Did You Know?

The YouTube video "Did You Know," was quite interesting. Not only did it reference exactly the point Friedman tries to make, but it also made a point about teachers. The video asks us as teachers to question whether or not we are preparing our students for an unknown future. Are we preparing our students to be one of the "new middlers" that Friedman discusses?

The answer is no, we are not preparing them, if we are forcing them to read old texts that they have no interest in. We need to find a way to connect with our students, find out what they like, etc. If that means taking the class to the library to take our texts, then fine. If that means reading news articles on the web, then fine. We need to make our students feel ownership over their classroom, and of course bring in technology to enforce that ownership.

In my opinion, to help our students grow into this new world, we need to have them reading current literature. We need to make sure in the ELA classroom that our students are staying current with the technology that is used in the classroom. Which means that, as teachers, we will have to take a seat and let our students teach us new technology. We need to consistently be looking for ways to teach ELA through technology. In this way, we will be working to prepare our students for the "English" they need in the real world.

The literature they will be reading at their jobs will be on a computer screen, and anything they write will of course be typed. Or, if we think about the YouTube video, maybe we do not even know yet what kinds of technology our students will be using to read and write at their jobs. But we should be constantly learning, just as our students do, to be able to be familiar with the changing world.

Digital World

After reading, "Adolescents and literacies in a digital World" by King and O'Brien, I am left slightly confused. I agree with much of what they say about changing the old styles of teaching literacy. It is these old styles that teach "illiteracy." I personally think the articles used a little too much jargon. I think it would have been easier to read if you did not have to go back and figure out what each sentence actually meant.

According to the first article, teachers use the word "play" to refer to technology. This is a backwards way of thinking. I agree with the article that students should not just be playing with technology, they should be using it as a learning tool. I think that technology can be used to prepare students for jobs, and it can be used to prepare ALL students. The article also discusses tracking, and the fact that students who are not college bound are not even taught how to get a decent job.

Most of what the article disclosed about schools was not a surprise to me. I know there are better ways of "managing" education, but the hard part is facilitating change.

Teaching to the Middle

After reading the series of articles in www.nytimes.com, on middle schools, I see the growing issue of where to place students. If we take away middle schools, the next step is figuring out where to end elementary school and begin high school. I certainly think students might benefit from attending smaller elementary/high schools.

According to the articles, there are many difficulties that exist within today's middle schools. These are students at a highly transitional stage in their lives, and they are forced into "the middle." Teaching middle school seems to be a job that many teachers take if they HAVE to. It is a teaching position where students need to be nurtured as their entire world changes without their consent.

In relation to technology in the classroom, I think it is important to use technology when students are at the middle level. If their reading ability is dropping, find something they will enjoy reading or writing about. Find, through technology, ways to engage students in motivated literacy activities. I think that if we start using technology as a tool to teach reading and writing, the young-drop-out rates will drop. I certainly agree that if middle schools are not working then we need to change something. I am curious to see how the options they are trying in NYC schools work out.

Teaching Adolescent with Video Games

Using Video games to promote adolescent literacy, this is the idea that was presented during a session at the DATE conference. They presented us with video games that tell a story. Their idea is to hook students with video games and then delve into deeper topics. One of their ideas was to discuss setting as it applies to video games. Another idea was to discuss the messages video games are conveying. Both ideas help promote critical thinking. A third idea, was to look at video games and their scenes or images as a class, or use gaming like we might use book clubs and give students an outlet to be expressive.

The presenters also gave us sample lessons and activities to use with gaming. I think the best way to use video games in the classroom is to use open source games that can be accessed for free on the internet. The video game was certainly interesting, but I think you would need to be quite talented with video games to begin with before you could teach them in class.

Dealing in the Digital

One of the technology sessions that I attended during the D.A.T.E. conference, was "Dealing in the Digital: Explorations in Literacy." The presenter for this session was Dr. Kjersti Vanslyke-Briggs. This session was about everything that we have been working with in Eng 307 class. Kjersti talked about the need for us, as teachers, to prepare our students for a competitive job market. This means incorporating important technology skills in the classroom. But it is not only using the skills it's using literacy as a social practice.

Critical literacy was discussed a few times during the session. One of the ideas with using technology in the classroom is that students will begin to critically analyze everything ranging from websites to wikis. Kjersti also stressed the dangers of using the internet with students. Teachers need to pay close attention to what their students are doing in the computer labs, be watching for misuse and misinformation. Limited use and availability is another danger or risk of using the internet, not all students have access.

One website Kjersti mentioned, was www.archive.org. This particular website allows someone to figure out how long the website has been around, and who is running this website. Another website was, www.easywhois.com. This website allows the user to see who runs a website. Both of these sites work to help students find accurate information on the internet. Many of the other information and websites that Kjersti mentioned we have already used or discussed in class.