English 10 is attempting something new and exciting. We are reading Frankenstein.
Yes. The one and only classic written by Mary Shelley, poor soul. There are varying attitudes toward ole' Frankenstein. It's true that the language is a bit difficult, but the story is fascinating.
In one attempt to engage the students' attention, we spent some time researching and creating a "Mad Scientist Podcast." At first, I wasn't a huge fan of the assignment. There were too many variables that could go wrong but as we are approaching the end, I am finding that it's a great assignment.
Pros:
Use of technology
Relevant
Easy to personalize
Cons:
Easy to be distracted from the main purpose
May be difficult for some students to connect back to the text
The process:
The program that we are using is Garageband, courtesy of Apple. (Hello, mac district!) There are a couple of other programs available like Audacity which are free. Garageband is pretty user-friendly, plus, here is a handy how-to. Garageband for Dummies or a more advanced version: pdf. We spent a couple days in research from a short list of given topics. Then the students sketched out a script and recorded what they learned, uploading it to the class wiki when it was finished.
Reflection:
I like this assignment because it's easy enough to tailor to whatever text we are studying. I think with a couple of tweaks and bugs worked out that it can be a very effective, entertaining assignment.
Any experience with podcasting? Usage in the classroom? Pros or cons that I missed out on?
Remember that for your final PTP projects, you need to 1) SHOW us what you learned in a way that we can see it, 2) REFLECT on the tool on your blog, and 3) discuss IDEAS for how you would use the tool in your teaching, at a level specific enough to attach to educational standards, or at least specific activities and assignments so we can see clearly what you would do.
***Song citation: Artist: Arthur and Yu; Title: "There Are Too Many Birds"***
SHOW: The easiest way for me to show you my final project is to watch this voicethread. (it is quite a handy little program isn't it?) My microphone isn't the best, so I apologize that my comments are solely text instead of video or voice. Here is the link: http://voicethread.com/share/1945088/ It will take you through my project and show you the different technologies I incorporated into my website. Or you could watch the video pitch on youtube (the link is above) which is another quick run-around of my project.
REFLECT: In preparing for the IIC competition, I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. Even though it was a lot of work, I feel that I really learned from it. It was really interesting to see how other teams approached their problems as well. It made me realize that there is "more than one way to skin a cat" and that using technology to solve problems in the classroom is one of many ways. I don't think there will ever be a one-size fits all type of technology, so I was eager to see how different technologies would work together. Diigo was a great program to research with and Google sites and Google groups were so user friendly. Especially with the rate of access to technology growing within schools, it makes it necessary for teachers to be familiar with new technologies. I had a professor once who remarked that he was a digital immigrant, that he was still having to learn the ways of new technology, but that we, his students, are digital natives. I really liked his metaphor because it made the connection really apparent in my mind. Even though my generation is considered "digital natives", the students that we will eventually teach will be even more familiar and advanced with technology that we are! That is both scary and exciting.
It's exciting because of all the new opportunities for learning and growth through this new technology, but it is also scary because of all the bad things that come with it as well. I read somewhere once that ethics are slower to adapt than technology is. So for example, even though people have the technology to eradicate entire cities, the ethics or the moral foundation adept enough to handle such a question hasn't adapted yet to the times. So while we can send videos and pictures all over the world, does that mean it's OK to produce pornography? Of course not. Just because we can, doesn't mean we should. This is something that we as teachers are going to face. Technology is ever changing, and we will have to try to stay on top of it, but even more importantly, we have to equip our students with the critical thinking skills and moral foundation to think through new technologies and help the ethics to catch up.
IDEAS: Like I mentioned in my voicethread, I would really like to incorporate Diigo into my classroom so that my kids would have to use it. I think this is really useful as so much is online, particularly when it comes to research that Diigo is a nice program to use to keep track of sources, comments, or quotes. Whenever I do assign a research paper, I'd like to include diigo as one of the requirements in the rubric.
Other ideas, well, definitely the Google sites. As soon as I get my own classroom, I am totally making my own website. I like the versatility and usability that Google offers. I know it isn't as fancy as some of the other website publishers out there, but for me, it works just fine. I'd rather have a website that looks decent and that is easy to use than a complex program with a really cool website. Teachers are busy enough as it is. The easier Google makes it to use its programs, the better.
I like the voicethreads program, even though I didn't incorporate it into my final project, I can still see a lot of possibilities with using it in the future in my classroom.
Lastly, I like the idea of using a blog as an authentic audience for my students. To make writing really enjoyable, there has to be a purpose to the assignment more than just the teacher. By publishing the students work, if only to a blog, still gives the students a broader audience than just me. It also allows the parents to see their children's work and to be involved in the learning process.
To complete this part of the assignment you will need to work with a youth or parent (not a roommate). (This youth or parent could be your own parents, siblings, children, or spouse if you have children.) Then do the following:
I talked with my younger sister, age 12, about what she knew about internet safety and shared some of the things that I learned doing this assignment.
I was surprised at how much she was aware of. But I guess this makes sense seeing as she is probably more techno-savvy than I am. She told me about internet viruses and email spam and a little bit about cyber bullying. I asked her if she knew what to do if she was ever bullied online and she told me immediately to go to an adult and tell them about the problem.
I talked to her about online gaming and why it can be a problem. I also talked about the anonymity of the online world and how things are probably more easily exaggerated because they aren't face to face. It was pretty easy to talk to her about this kind of stuff, mostly because she isn't addicted to online gaming or social networking or other stuff. If I were to talk to someone who had these serious issues with the internet, the conversation would have probably been a bit more awkward and difficult to get through. It was a valuable experience to talk frankly with my sister about these issues and to more clearly define my position and beliefs on the topic.
What were the most important things I learned from the readings?
I think the biggest thing that I learned was the fact that while the online world and the real world are two different things, the rules of civility apply to both. You shouldn't have to change the person who you are from one arena to another.
I also learned that I have a choice in what I consume on the internet or through the media. I don't have to passively accept what is given me, but actively participate with the wider world deciding what is or is not appropriate. I like what Elder Ballard said in his article, Let Our Voices Be Heard "Brothers and sisters, refuse to be used. Refuse to be manipulated. Refuse to support those programs that violate traditional family values. We may be a small voice to begin with; nevertheless, let us speak out and encourage a more uplifting, inspiring, and acceptable media." It is tempting to take a "woe is me" stance when looking at the media offerings. Oh dear, I am the only one in the world that objects to this kind of material, when that is usually not the case. More often than not, there is plenty of people that will agree with you, it's just a matter of standing for what you believe in. How will what I have read influence my actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
I think if we can very easily get overwhelmed with everything that has been asked of us and therefore, I liked what Knutsen and Oswald argued when they stressed moderation. "A critical element in avoiding problems is to understand the importance of balance in our lives." Charles D. Knutson and Kyle K. Oswald Just a Game?
While they are discussing moderation in the time and energy spent on virtual games, I think the same could be applied to our lives as teachers and parents. Yes, we need to spend time and teach our children how to be safe online, but we can't overwhelm ourselves with controlling every instance of interaction with modern media. I appreciated what Elder Ballard said about the calling to be a mother or father."Father and mother are callings from which we will never be released, and there is no more important stewardship than the responsibility we have for God’s spirit children who come into our families." Elder Ballard Let Our Voices Be Heard
By spending sincere time and attention to our families, the parents can become the heroes and role models that our children can look up to, instead of Hollywood. "Children and youth are confused and misled by the deviant behavior they see demonstrated by so-called stars they admire and want to emulate." Elder Ballard Let Our Voices Be Heard What internet safety issues am I likely to face as a teacher and how will I address them?
The issue that I will probably face the most and the issue that I am probably most nervous about is the issue of cyber-bullying, mostly because it is so anonymous. Both the bullies and their victims hide their virtual actions under the real world. I hope that I could encourage a friendly and respectful classroom and stress the idea that Dr. West said in his article, Improving Online Civility, "Our real-world relationships can be harmed when our spouses, children, friends, and associates feel they are being ignored and replaced by the chime of a new text message or the allure to check Facebook. Like many things, virtual relationships and technologies can become addictive and should be used in moderation." I hope that I would be aware of these issues and convey a strict no bulling, cyber or otherwise policy.
This is a little intro video for reader's theater.
Standard: Standard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.
Objective 3
(Comprehension of Literary Text): Comprehend literature by differentiating the uses of literary elements in narrative texts.
Opening title: And now, introducing....Reader's Theater
Sound: hands clapping moderately
Explanation of the assignment
Introduction of the the Text: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
ASSIGNMENT: Find two videos on Youtube that use multimedia (images, music, video, etc.), and critique how well the creator of the video followed copyright. Point out what they did right, and what they did wrong for each video, and how they could correct their mistakes to make them correct. Embed the video in your blog and post your analysis on your blog for others to read and read through your group members’ critiques too. This should give you several examples of right and wrong ways to use multimedia correctly. Title: 10 Things I Hate About Commandments What they did right: First off, this parody is extremely well made. For the most part I think the obey most of the rules and guidelines of fair use policy. I don't think they are making any money off of it. At the end of the movie, they cite Paramount Pictures, the actors portrayed in the trailer and the singers of the songs used in the video. The original movie, The Ten Commandments, is somewhere around two hours and twenty minutes, so the 1:20 run time of the trailer is far below the allowed 10% of the original. That would be like 22 minutes! What they did wrong: Even though the creators of this parody cited a lot of the information, I feel like they could have been more comprehensive in their citations. For example, at the end of the video, they mention in text on the screen that Usher, Fat Boy Slim, Beyonce and The Romantics' songs were used but they don't state which songs they used, which albums they came from or if they were purchased legally. Albeit, none of the songs were played for more than thirty seconds. Still, it would have been nice to know what songs were which instead of just stating the performers. How could they correct their mistakes: Just a brief edit including the rest of the information would complete an already well done project.
