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Thoughts on Education

Jennifer — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 03:19:43 +0000

I have been interviewing at schools in Virginia over the past few weeks and it has forced me to think about the aims of education and the changes in society that are affecting what we teach and how we teach. Technology and diversification seem to be the hot topics of education right now; teachers must be prepared to address both of these issues both in and out of the classroom. What I learned through the interviews is that I incorporate both of these aspects into my lessons on almost a daily basis. I can’t remember a class where technology was not at least discussed, if not used as the basis of the lesson. It is so intrinsic in my students’ lives that I cannot help but to address their use of iPods, myspace, the internet, cell phones, or other forms of technology every day. A fun creative writing assignment has been for students to rewrite scenes from the literature we read that incorporate modern technology. I’ve gotten Holden Caulfield text messaging Jane and Frankenstein’s creature using a blog to relate his tale of woe. These exercises have led to great discussions of both the literature and its connection to modern life.

As for diversification, the district i am currently employed by is both economically and ethnically diverse. It is actually easier for me to address diversity because my students can look around them and see that they all do not come from the same backgrounds yet they all have something to contribute to class. My subject area also makes is easy to address this aspect of education because I can incorporate literature from authors of various cultures and backgrounds to further explore these issues.

On another note, the great blog experiment is extremely successful. I am most impressed with how my students are commenting on each others’ responses and are offering each other support and constructive criticism. This is something that cannot be achieved in the classroom on a regular basis because there simply isn’t time for it. And the blog discussions invariably flow over into the classroom, generating even more interesting interaction among the students and putting the class into their hands. I am very happy with this idea and would be inerested in hearing from others who are using blogs in the classroom. I even suggested to a colleague who teaches creative writing and journalism that she consider using blogs in those classes because it’s an excellent platform for getting students to share writing.

Blogs for Everyone!

Jennifer — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 01:39:48 +0000

This blog was begun as an assignment for a grad class I am currently taking. I am enjoying it so much that I am definitely going to continue with it after the class is over. It also gave me the idea to use blogs in my classroom. I set up another blog for my humanities class and am having all of my students create their own in order to share their writing and comment on each others ideas. This format will allow them to get more than just my perspective on their work in a platform that will be more viable than peer editing in class. Along with our classroom blog we will be studying the use of blogs in other formats, including news, entertainment and communication. When I approached the topic with my class I was surprised at how many students were not aware of this tool. The students who knew about them were familiar with them mostly from myspace but did not realize that there was more to blogging than simply using it as an online diary. Creating this blog has taught me so much about the world of blogging beyond personal journaling and I hope to do the same for my students.

Technorati tags: education blogs technology classroom

Tools for the Digital Age

Jennifer — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:30:55 +0000

Check out the techLEARNING blog for cutting edge information about technology and teaching. The article titled “Laptops are 21st Century Pencils” has some interesting insights into different methods being used to integrate laptops into schools as a learning tool.

There is one site referenced in that article that I would like to point you toward. It is called epals and it offers tools for educators to increase communication through technology. They focus on safe methods for students to interact with others through email, blogs, book clubs and a mentoring program that connects students to various local businesses. There are many tools for teachers to use in the classroom and it includes a forum where teachers can share ideas and projects or find support in the confusing world of digital technology. Epals and edublogs both have safe and easy to use blogging tools to incorporate in the classroom. I am going to set one up for my next unit on existentialism in my honors Humanities class to allow students to share ideas and support each other.

Anyone else using blogs or other technology tools in their classrooms? How successful has it been?

Technorati tags: education technology epals blogs learning tools