O' Captain, My Captain

I recently spoke with one of my professors about introducing multimedia into the classrooms and some of my doubts and fears regarding the subject.  It’s no secret that I don’t like the idea of bringing in technology just for the sake of being a “cool” teacher or to show that I am able to utilize it.  I generally had a more traditional style of teaching in high school (lecture style classrooms, essays, etc.); teachers did not deviate from the norm very often.  This style is what I am comfortable with, but I am learning that I am going to have to go outside of my comfort zone if I want to be successful.  This professor brought up the movie “The Dead Poet Society” and asked what I thought about Robin William’s teaching style throughout the movie.  Obviously I love the way he was able to forge such an amazing bond with his students and inspire them to think outside the box.  He then brought up the scene in the courtyard where he discusses conformity and uses an abstract way to show the way society works.  This in itself is using a different “media” to convey a point.  Brilliance, pure brilliance.  By getting the students out and moving it opens a plethora of opportunities it allows for personal growth and exploration.  Although technology wasn't utilized, he got his students to break the mold and use creativity to convey a message.  By giving his students permission to break norms they respected and trusted him; it was a relationship worthy of envy.

Opening Up

Before I began to read the article “The Book Report, Version 2.0” on podcasting a report I was rather skeptical.  The loss of the traditional book report scared me.  Throughout my educational career I've had some pretty amazing teachers who taught me to completely adore strong sentence structure and correct usage of punctuation.  I think that is what caused me to be leaning away from the spoken book report, but in reading the article I opened my eyes to the other possible aspects of literature that are more strongly highlighted through this medium.  By having the students work in groups, collaboration is essential; this allows students to bounce ideas off of one another.  This transference of ideas may bring struggling students to a more concrete understanding of the story.  It will allow them to open up and begin a discussion of the literature.  In addition to heightened comprehension, this gives students a chance to express creativity while demonstrating their knowledge.  Another really cool aspect I never thought of is introducing music into the mix to set the mood of the novel; this could never be done in a written report.  By choosing appropriate music the students show that they not only understood the mood for the book, but can transfer it to another topic, which is crucial in interpreting literature.

A Look Back..

Writing for Non- Print Media has really made me think back to my high school days and examine what I did in high school and I’d like to share some of my thoughts on that… I always had highly structured classrooms that focused on grammar and sentence structure; I loved these classes, but I did not find myself challenged to show any type of creativity what-so-ever. I was perfectly okay with that, in fact I loved it.  I have never been good at arts and crafts or creating a project that was outside the norm; essays were where I excelled.  Until my senior year, I scheduled to have a few English electives that forced me to think outside the box.  The major assignment for one of them was to journal throughout the semester; generally three were due at the end of each week.  The only issue with the journal was that it could not be just written in paragraph form.  The goal was to create art with our words and thoughts. At the time I hated it, looking back though I am really thankful for it.  Even though my drawing never turned out quite as planned I managed to get my point across.  It forced me out of my comfort zone and I now understand that my teacher was asking us to respond in a multimodal format, he just never put a name to it.  I think that type of learning is crucial in developing a well-rounded student and wish that I would have exposed myself to it earlier in my educational career.     

How I Want It To Work

In reading the text by Kajder, Chapter 3, I found several aspects that I really enjoyed and solidified my feelings.  In the sections that began to cite examples of teachers utilizing digital literacies I connected with the first two rather strongly.  In the first example, Liz, they discussed how as a new teacher she at a school with not much access to digital tools it was hard for her to employ them in the classroom, until she sought out her own means of digital tools.  I often wonder how I will incorporate these tools into a classroom within a school that might not provide an abundance of technologies.  I enjoyed how it presented a multitude of options and showed that it is possible to bring things into the classroom.  The one aspect I especially enjoyed involved the collaboration project with the varying age ranges and geographic locations; I adore this idea.  It makes students realize that there is a world beyond their home town and gets them communicating with the outside world.  I am jealous I never had the opportunity to partake in something like this in high or middle school.  The second example of Brice I really liked his stance on technology.  As anyone who gets to know me learns, I am not a proponent of using technology just for the sake of using it.  I found it refreshing that Brice really took a look at what the students would gain from the technology and focused his lesson around that.  Also he talked about using a product efficiently, not just to create “a huge, splashy end product.” Both of these examples really exemplify how I would like to incorporate digital literacies into my own classroom.   

When Does It Become Too Much?

While browsing the internet for articles that go along with our theme I found on that is particularly pertinent to our class. It discusses what it takes to be a teacher that integrates technology successfully.  One of the areas I agreed most readily with is that a teacher who uses technology doesn't do it just for the sake of using technology.  Just as all other things in a classroom a teacher should have a rationale behind a particular piece of technology they plan on using.  They must ask what the students will gain from it or what process the technology will be making easier.  It is so refreshing to find a resource that advocates this.  I found in high school that teachers would use the available technology simply because it was there or they thought they impressed the students by using it. They didn't impress anyone.  I one hundred percent believe that technology should be introduced sparingly at first into a classroom.  It can be overwhelming if too much comes in at one time. Then once it is in place, when does it become too much?  I can’t be the only one who thinks that some aspects of a traditional classroom need to remain the same and an abundance of technology might jeopardize this.  Just a personal opinion there though.  I could be biased simply because I haven't had a classroom full of technology and what we did have wasn't super impressive. 

http://edudemic.com/2013/02/effective-teachers-who-use-technology/

A Little Inspiration

As this class began I was unsure of what to expect.  The thought of dealing with technology typically has me running for the hills; I could definitely be defined as a hand-waver.  Hopefully that will change and a particular quote from Kajder has opened my eyes.  In chapter 2 she starts with the discussion of a student who clearly utilizes all aspects of available technology.  Through this introduction she states that “we aren't ‘digital natives’ versus ‘digital immigrants.’ We are all learners in a literacy landscape that is unfamiliar but packed with new possibilities.”  Wow.  I had never thought of using technology like this.  In the past I thought of technological prowess as a competition; one in which each man or woman was only looking out for themselves, and the more inclined users looked down upon those below them.  What I am slowly coming to realize is that there will always be new technology and everyone has to learn and adapt to it.  Just as with any new topic, learners gain confidence and knowledge and confidence at separate rates, but each of those learner maintain the right to discover what they can accomplish.  Technology should be exciting to students, it has the capability to open so many doors and create things never before thought possible.  If this philosophy would have been applied in my high school technology classrooms I can’t even fathom how much more comfortable I would feel with technology.  I wouldn't be so afraid that I was going to break any piece of technology I touched.       

Hello Non-Print Media!

My name is Victoria Wise, but I go by Tori.  I am a Secondary English Education Major and cannot wait until I have the opportunity to run my own classroom.  Throughout my educational years I have had a wide variety of teachers, some beyond inspiration and some that just needed to retire. Though I may not have enjoyed dealing with them, they all had an influence on my decision to enter this field.  As  excited as I am, I am full a apprehensions and completely terrified that I'll screw up; I desperately do not want to be the teacher everyone remembers for a negative reason.  Another one of my slightly irrational fears just happens to be blogging.  I find it insanely personal and that is something that has always scared me a little; in addition, I'm not really sure of how to even write a blog.  Hopefully with time I'll gain some insight and through this class I hope to gain some technological skills. I look forward to getting to know you all!