What I Have Learned (Final Reflection)

This semester I've learned how useful technology can be in a classroom if it is used correctly to enhance lessons. I've learned that too much technology can be a bad thing sometimes (especially if it distracts from learning or puts the emphasis on the technology instead of on the concepts being taught). To go along with that, I've learned that technology can be an appropriate vehicle for teaching the materials or lesson, but it shouldn't be the entire lesson or emphasis itself. I'm excited to learn more technological resources that I can use in my classroom to enhance my lessons and the concepts I teach.

I think one of the most useful technological resources that I learned how to use this semester was when I learned how to make a blog and a class website. I think in today's increasingly technological world parents will appreciate being able to monitor their student's progress through checking an online website for assignments, homework, grades, etc. Also, I think blogs are great ways for students to discuss what they have learned in class and submit informal writing assignments.

I'm glad I was able to take this class because it has made me more confident in my technological skills and also more aware of different resources available to teachers. I'm excited to start student teaching soon and put what I've learned in this class into practice!

Read Write Think

Read Write Think is a website that offers great teaching ideas for English teachers. It has lesson plans on a lot of different topics, as well interactive things. For example, I taught a lesson in my practicum class a few weeks ago about the elements of a story. On Read Write Think there is a whole segment on elements of a story (with lesson plans relating to a lot of different short stories). There is also an interactive tool involving plotting out a story on a diagram. Read Write Think is a great resource for any English teacher. Check out the home page here!

Personal Technology Project Part 2

Here are the artifacts to go along with my project. Enjoy!








Here also is the writing assignment to go along with my lesson plan.

Writing Assignment #9 for Ninth Grade English

Topic: Using your concept map on whether young love is good or bad, write a persuasive essay on how you feel about young love. Is it a good thing that should be accepted by society or is it a detrimental thing that should be fought against? Make sure to address and counter the opposing side in your essay. Also make sure to use plenty of supporting details to back up your opinion. Why do you feel the way you feel and how can you convince others to think the same way that you do? If you’re struggling with deciding whether or not you support the idea of young love, consider making a pro and con list and working from there.

Models:

TIME for Kids “Sample Persuasive Essay: To Drill or Not to Drill”
(http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/media/hh/pdfs/samplepapers/persuasive_sample.pdf)

“Summer: 15 Days of 2 ½ Months?”
(http://www.thewritesource.com/studentmodels/ws2k-summer.htm)

Purpose: To persuade

Audience: Teacher and classmates

Length: At least 1200 words (about four pages)

Format: Typed and doubled spaced in 12 pt. Times New Roman font with one inch margins all around

Grading Criteria:
Clear thesis statement: 20 points
Concrete development and supporting detail: 20 points
Addressing/countering of opposing viewpoint: 15 points
Effective Conclusion: 15 points
Organization and flow: 15 points
Correct grammar and mechanics: 15 points

Deadlines: First draft due December 8th
Second draft due December 11th
Final draft due December 14th

Personal Technology Project - MindMeister

For my personal technology project, I learned how to use MindMeister to create concept maps to help students brainstorm and plot out their ideas visually before they start writing. I used concept mapping in a lesson plan to help students brainstorm their ideas before writing a persuasive essay.

The lesson plan is as follows:

Concept Mapping Lesson Plan

PLANNING


Date: December 1, 2009 Class and Grade Level: 9th Grade English

Title/Subject of Lesson: Using Concept Mapping to Brainstorm about Young Love

Objectives:
Students will be able to explain the pros and cons of young love
Students will be able to decide whether or not they are for or against young love
Students will be able to prewrite and brainstorm by creating a concept map
Students will be able to list reasons on their concept map supporting why they are either for or against young love
Students will be able to use their concept maps to write a persuasive essay on why young love is either good or bad


State (or District) Core Curriculum Standard(s):
Standard 2, Objective 2a

Concept(s) to Be Taught:

Concept mapping/brainstorming
Persuasive Writing

Materials Needed:
Concept map transparency (created from mindmester.com)
“Young Love: Yes or No” Concept Map Sheets (created from mindmester.com)
Blank concept map sheets (created from mindmeister.com)

Strategies to Be Used:
Group Discussion
Modeling
Concept Mapping

PERFORMING

Announcements: None

Continuation from Previous Lesson: We’ve been reading Romeo and Juliet, a play about two of the most famous young lovers of all time. We’ve also been learning about the elements of effective persuasive writing. Now the students are going to need to decide whether they are for or against young love and, using a concept map they’ve created, they will need to write a persuasive essay that convinces their readers that the opinion or stance they’ve taken on young love is the right one.

Lesson Presentation:

A) Getting Started:
· Ask students how many of them are fourteen years old or older
· Ask students who have any personal sources of income (paper route, allowance, mowing lawns, babysitting, part-time job, etc.) to raise their hands
o Ask those who raised their hands if the amount of mone they make from those jobs is enough to support a family or be self-sufficient
· Now ask students if they think it’s okay for people younger than eighteen to get married (it is legal in Utah to get married at age sixteen with parental permission)
· How about younger than sixteen?
· How about at age fourteen?
· Discuss the fact that, although Romeo and Juliet were both fourteen when they married, their love stories is one of the most enduring of all time
· Pose the culminating questions: is young love good or bad? Is it acceptable or unacceptable? Why?
· Ask each student to decide whether or not they think young love is a good or bad thing and write their decision down on a piece of paper
o Give them adequate time to do this

B) Directing the Learning:
· Put a concept map transparency on the overhead and tell students that the question posed is a tricky one and so we are going to practice a way that will help us be able to think of reasons to support our opinions (either for or against young love)
· Fill out the concept map transparency about a different issue the class proposes (i.e. whether or not school should start at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m.)
o Show students that you put the main issue in the middle and then have supporting reasons branching out from the middle section
o Model this so they understand how concept mapping works
· Pass out the example concept map sheet illustrating how someone who thinks young love is a good thing might web about their opinion on a concept map in order to expand their ideas and come up with supporting details and reasons
o Model this enough that students know how to concept map themselves (at least on a basic level)

Assignment:

1. Guided Practice
· Pass out the blank concept map sheets and have students write in the middle bubble whether they think young love is a good or bad thing
o Ask them to then write four main reasons why they think young love is good or bad in the four bubbles branching out from the middle one
o Then have students write three supporting details to back up their four main reasons of why young love is either good or bad
§ Walk around while students do this to make sure they understand the concepts and to see if they have any questions
2. Homework
· Ask students to use their concept maps to write a rough draft of a persuasive essay (employing the elements of effective persuasive writing that we’ve talked about in previous class periods) that convinces their readers that the stance they’ve taken on young love is the right one
o Encourage students to use the supporting details they included on their concept map to back up their opinion and be more persuasive
· Pass out a writing assignment sheet that explains all of the assignment’s details and provides models of persuasive essays for students to refer to

C) Bringing the Lesson to a Conclusion:
· If time allows, have students engage in a mini-debate about whether young love is good or bad (have all of those for young love on one side and those against it on the other side and encourage them to use the supporting details they wrote on their concept maps to help make their arguments more persuasive)

Evaluation:


Activity to Avoid Wasting Time
Doppelgängers and “Googlegängers” (I got this idea from Professor Ostenson)
· Write the word “doppelgänger” on the board and ask if anyone in the class speaks German or knows what the word means
o Explain that doppelgänger is a German word for someone’s double or look-alike
Doppel = double, Gänger = goer – Thus a “double goer”
o Ask students if they have any doppelgängers of themselves that they’ve seen or heard about from others
Fun discussion will ensue!
· Now put up the word “googlegänger” and have students guess what it means based on what doppelgänger means
o “Googlegänger” means a google goer, or someone’s double on google
o Ask students if they’ve “googled” themselves and what they’ve found
o Quickly discuss people’s google doubles and your own google double if you have one
Fun discussion will ensue!
· Shows students how fun language and word meanings can be!

I also have three artifacts I made that I'll bring to class.

Teaching with Technology - Directory of Online Resources

This website is a great place to go if you're looking for technology teaching resources. It is very extensive with links to a variety of resources. Check it out here! Hope it's helpful!

Tiny Chat TV

Hey all! I just discovered a cool new resource for teachers to use to upload videos to the web. It's called Tiny Chat TV and it can be used to create your own channel to stream videos to the web. I was thinking it would be a good idea to use in a classroom because you could create a separate channel for each class so your students are only viewing videos uploaded by you or their fellow students. It seems like it would be a little safer than youtube. Here's the link if you want to check it out: Tiny Chat TV.

Personal Technology Project - MindMeister.com

I've decided to do my personal technology project on using the web mapping tools on MindMeister.com. I'm excited to learn how to use this tool better because I think it will be really helpful to know in an English class. I can use web mapping and brainstorming maps as part of pre-writing activities to generate ideas before students begin drafting. I'm excited to learn this new technology tool!

Technology Teaching Idea - Google Earth

Last winter semester I took TMA 457 about teaching using the media. It was really interesting and I learned a lot of useful technological tools that can be used to enhance a lesson. One thing someone in my class presented on was Google Earth. She showed how you could use Google Earth to make a lesson more interesting (especially if the lesson has historical aspects) by showing on a Google Earth map where a certain thing took place.

For English majors this could be used to show where an author was born, lived, died, wrote certain novels, etc.

For theater arts and performing majors, this could be used to show where a certain ballet or play was written and first produced and where it has since been performed.

There's a way on Google Earth that you can create your own pinpoint destinations with details about the locations you've selected. Using this tool you could have all the locations pinpointed and project them as part of a powerpoint presentation. It would be a great way to interest students in what you have to say a little more and to help them understand more about the locations behind what you're teaching them.

Click here to download Google Earth and get more teaching ideas!

Instructional Video

My video is about the differences and similarities between metaphors and similes and provides examples of each through images and voice over narration. I hope you enjoy it!
I had a lot of fun making it and would appreciate any feedback.

I also uploaded it to TeacherTube. Click here to check it out (but remember that you have to be a member and sign in to watch it).

Also, just to make sure I cover all the bases on the assignment ...

Here's my storyboard:

Scene One:

• Cool background layout with “Metaphors and Similes” shown in text and a voiceover talking about how this video will discuss what metaphors and similes are (as well as their similarities and differences)

Scene Two:

• A picture showing a woman’s face on one side and a rose on the other with a voiceover saying that a metaphor is a device of figurative language that authors and poets use to compare two unlike things using “is” or “are” (or their past tenses)

- i.e. (to a woman): “Your face is a rose, beautiful, red, and sweet-smelling.”

Scene Three:

• A picture showing the moon on one side and a lamp on the other with a voiceover saying that a metaphor comparing the two pictures could be “the moon was a lamp glowing over the entire world and bathing us in its light.”

Scene Four:

• A picture showing rain on one side and tears on the other with a voiceover saying that a simile is a device of figurative language that authors and poets use to compare two things using “like” or “as”

- i.e. “The rain falling down outside my window was like the tears streaming down my face.”

Scene Five:

• A picture showing the sun on one side and a smiley face on the other with a voiceover saying that a simile comparing the two pictures could be “your happy disposition is as the sun smiling down on everyone.”

Scene Six:

• Text saying “Metaphors versus Similes” in the background (differences and similarities)

- Metaphors say something “is” something elseo

- Similes say something is “like” something else

- They both make comparisons using figurative language

Scene Seven:

• Credits and background music

and ... here's the Utah State Core this project fulfills:

Standard 1, Objective 3 (Comprehension of Literary Text): Comprehend literature by differentiating the uses of literary elements in narrative texts, Part E. Compare types of figurative language (i.e., simile, metaphor, and symbolism).

Tool to Use When Setting Up a Classroom

Hey everyone! Recently in one of my classes we had to depict what our ideal classroom would look like and have. We also decided what set-up we wanted for desks. There's a great tool on the scholastic website that can help you set-up a classroom (you choose the size and shape, what you'll have, and where it all will go). It's great because it helps you think of where you might put things you don't usually think about like windows and doors. Click here to check it out!

Instructional Video Storyboard

Here is is!

Instructional Video Storyboard/Outline
Scene One:
· Cool background layout with “Metaphors and Similes” shown in text and a voiceover talking about how this video will discuss what metaphors and similes are (as well as their similarities and differences)
Scene Two:
· A picture showing a woman’s face on one side and a rose on the other with a voiceover saying that a metaphor is a device of figurative language that authors and poets use to compare two unlike things using “is” or “are” (or their past tenses)
o i.e. (to a woman): “Your face is a rose, beautiful, red, and sweet-smelling.”
Scene Three:
· A picture showing the moon on one side and a lamp on the other with a voiceover saying that a metaphor comparing the two pictures could be “the moon was a lamp glowing over the entire world and bathing us in its light.”
Scene Four:
· A picture showing rain on one side and tears on the other with a voiceover saying that a simile is a device of figurative language that authors and poets use to compare two things using “like” or “as”
o i.e. “The rain falling down outside my window was like the tears streaming down my face.”
Scene Five:
· A picture showing the sun on one side and a smiley face on the other with a voiceover saying that a simile comparing the two pictures could be “your happy disposition is as the sun smiling down on everyone.”
Scene Six:
· Text saying “Metaphors versus Similes” in the background (differences and similarities)
o Metaphors says something “is” something else
o Similes say something is “like” something else
o They both make comparisons using figurative language

Goodreads - A Great Resource for English Teachers

Lately in my class on teaching reading we have been talking about how important it is for English teachers to always be reading in order to discover new books to share with their students. We've also talked about how students like to know what kinds of books their English teachers like, especially if they share common interests. This has made me think that Goodreads would be a great way for teachers and students alike to share books they like with others and to open up discussions both inside and outside of the classroom about learning. Check out Goodreads online to set up an account and get talking about books!

Internet Safety

I had a lot of fun researching things on internet safety for this assignment. I feel more prepared to teach my students and future children about how to be safe on the internet. For the reading activity I read the talk "Finding and Sharing the Gospel Online" by Michelle Stocking in the October 2009 Ensign. She talks about the importance of using the internet to spread the Gospel message. The end of the article has some good tips on internet safety in a section called "Better Blogging." The most important thing I learned from the article is to avoid specifics in blogs and be discriminating about what pictures to post online. This will influence me as a teacher and parent because I can help my students and children be more aware about internet safety especially when blogging. Finally, I can have a positive influence on family and friends by making them aware of safer ways to be on the internet, blog, and network.

For the video portion I watched part of the PBS Frontline Documentary on how growing up online influences today's youth. I also watched some news reports on how teens are influenced by the internet, including one on the top five ways teens jeopardize their identities online. Finally, I watched some movies about how to be safe on facebook.

I learned a lot about the dangers children face online from predators and cyber bullying that I wasn't fully aware of before. It makes me more aware of things I can do as a teacher and parent to keep my students and children safe while allowing them to access the valuable resources that can be found on the internet. I can go to our class website and click on the video links to find more information about teaching internet safety, I can check my class members' blogs, or I can google internet safety on teachertube. I'm committed to empowering my students by teaching them about internet safety so they can safely navigate the web. I'm likely to face internet safety issues like difficulties associated with forming a class blog and keeping students safe. I'll address this by making the blog private and teaching my students what not to share on their profiles (like full name, birthday, age, address, schedules, etc.). Finally, I can leverage the power of the internet and enable my students to learn in a safe way by first informing them about the dangers of the internet and precautions they can take to be safe online.

For the doing part I talked with a mother in her fifties who has a teenaged boy who just got a facebook. She was already aware of internet safety issues and very good and helping her son be safe on the internet while still being able to network with his friends. Her son doesn't have any personal information on his facebook like full birthday, location, phone number, or pictures that could help someone track him down. Also, she has the password to his account so she can monitor what he does online and he can only be online if she is in the same room because she has the password to log into the computer. She's already doing a great job on keeping her son safe! Some things I shared with her were the importance of not posting schedules or detailed statuses on facebook, having private blogs, not posting age or location, and monitoring children's internet usage. She was already doing a lot of great things so there wasn't a ton I could share with her but I was able to discuss the importance of internet safety with her and learn some tips she has developed over time that have helped keep her kids safe online.

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"

In a few days we are going to be discussing Poe's "The Raven." Please read the poem and then watch the above movie to get a feel for the setting and mood of the poem. Then click on the below link to access a worksheet about the poem that you need to fill out by Wednesday and bring to class. Some things to keep in mind on tone (what we'll be talking about on Wednesday): tone is basically the general mood or feeling of the poem. For example, the tone of a poem or piece of literature could be happy, sad, uplifting, surprised, angry, etc. Think about this as you read and listen to "The Raven." What is the tone or mood of the poem?

Assignment Sheet.

Want to know more about Poe? Click here for his biography.

Want to know what tone is? Click here.

What does a Raven look like? Click here for a look at one!

Stuck on vocabulary? Click here for some help.

Reading and Writing Interest Level Survey

Class,

In order to gage where your reading and writing interest levels are, I would like you to take a survey I created. Please click on the link below to take the survey. Be completely honest! I will only be looking to see if you completed the survey and won't be grading or judging you based on your responses (although it might break my heart if you say you hate both reading and writing passionately!)

http://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_bEHyptzioH1SbXK&SVID=Prod

Picnik Experimenting

For the picture I uploaded into my Introduction page, I had some fun editing it in Picnik (such a great resource and free!). First I resized it so it wasn't huge and wouldn't take up a ton of space on my blog post, then I sharpened it a little bit to make it look a little more antique-ish, then I changed the color to a more sepia tone, and finally, I changed the exposure a little bit. It was really fun and I'm glad I found out about this great online tool!

Introduction

Hi class! My name is Miss Austin and I'm excited to be teaching you English this year! We are going to learn so much together, read so many great books and short stories, and improve our writing skills. I'm excited to get started! A little bit about me: I am from Layton, Utah and will be graduating in English Teaching from BYU in April 2010 I'm engaged and will be getting married in December so wedding planning is keeping me pretty busy :), and I went on a study abroad last summer to London and was able to go to Paris for a weekend. The picture to the left was taken at a cafe in Paris drinking hot cocoa. It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget (the whole study abroad - not just drinking cocoa).

I have always loved to read and write, which helped me decide to become an English teacher. Another thing that influenced my decision to teach English was my ninth grade English teacher Mrs. Workman. She was phenomenal! She made English fun and accessible and something that my peers and I looked forward to. I hope to do that with you this year and to get you excited about reading, writing, and communicating your ideas! Communication and critical thinking skills learned in English will help you in any career you choose.

This website is where you can go to see what we'll be doing in class each day and what assignments I've posted. This is also where I'll post questions for discussion so you can voice your opinion on the things we're talking about in class. Also, this website is a great place to post questions for me about assignments or concepts we've covered in class. I'm looking forward to a great year teaching and getting to know you better!

School Calendar

Diamond Fork Junior High School Location and Map

View Larger Map

Teacher Tube Video Analyses

The first video I watched on Teacher Tube one about Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." It was made by a student by the sound of it and was basically an overview of different literary devices Poe uses in the poem. Here's the link to the video if you're interested. I liked how the creator only used a few images and background music to supplement her voice over about the process Poe went through when writing the poem. She had a picture of Poe, a picture of the word "Nevermore" in the shape of a raven, and a still shot from The Simpson's parody of "The Raven" (so she didn't use more than 5 from the same artist). She also had background instrumental music. I don't think she violated copyright laws blatantly because she didn't have two-and-half minutes of a popular song playing (and could have gotten the background music from a site like Free Play Music). However, even though the images she used were only supplemental and not excessive, she didn't cite any of her sources. If she had included a references list or works cited page at the end I don't think she would have violated any copyright laws at all except by using the still shot from The Simpson's episode - somehow I don't think that qualifies as fair use but I'm not sure.

The second video I watched was one about Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." Here's the link for it. I really liked this video a lot - it was a really creative way to discuss different interpretations of the poem. It was basically an animation (for lack of a better word - check it out to see what I'm talking about) showing a forest with two separate paths and a traveler trying to decide which one to take. It also included an image of the poem in its entirety which is okay because the poem is less than 250 words (144 to be exact). I don't think they violated any copyright laws because the animating all seemed to be done by whoever made the movie and did the voice over. The only copyright laws I can think that the creator may have violated depends on if they got the animation from another source and didn't cite it.

My Google Reader Experience

So I'm new to the whole Google Reader thing but already I've found that it's a great way to stay in touch with what other people are saying about education and technology. I like how Google Reader sets up everything so it's really easy to see the new posts from your different feeds - sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed trying to keep up with different people's blogs and suggestions (even though I'm sure they're great) and I like how Google Reader organizes it and makes it a little more accessible. So far I'm connected with the Edu-Blogger (Brother West's blog), Web-logged, and two feeds about using technology in an English classroom (already I've gotten some good tips about using webcams or podcasts in class projects). I'm also connected to my group members' blogs will make it easier to see what things they discover. I'm excited to get better at using Google Reader because I think one of the greatest resources we have as teachers is other teachers' ideas, suggestions, comments, etc.

Inspiring Quotation

Here is a quotation from President David O. McKay that I absolutely love about the importance of teaching. It's on a plaque in the McKay Building so you may have happened to see it at some point.

"I think it must be apparent to every thinking mind that the noblest of all professions is that of teaching, and that upon the effectiveness of that teaching hangs the destiny of nations." - David O. McKay

Sometimes I feel like people look down on teachers as taking the easy way out somehow - like deciding to teach is a cop-out profession. I like how this quotation expresses how important it is for society to have good teachers. It reassures me that what I'm doing is worthwhile (although I may still get scorned by students from other "more impressive" majors).

Background with Technology and Goals...

I have always liked working with and being on computers. I'm no computer wizard by any means but I have worked in the computer labs at BYU for barely over a year now and through working there and going through the training I have become more familiar with Microsoft programs and better at trouble-shooting computers. I've also had experience learning new technology tools for teaching inmy TMA 457 class (about integrating media and teaching in English and Theater classes). So I'm excited to learn more skills in this class to use while I teach! I think technology has opened so many doors in teaching and has given us new opportunities to open our students' minds. My goals for this semester include learning about and mastering programs I've never worked with that I could use as a teacher and improving my computer skills in general. I'm excited to learn about useful and fun programs that I've never been introduced to before.

Experimenting with Gadgets

Welcome to my IP&T 286 Blogsite! I'm excited to blog about the things I learn in this class and to get better at navigating blogger. I've created some blogs before (for other class assignments) and so I know the basics of blogger but I decided to experiment with adding some gadgets to my blog to make it a little more exciting. (Also, on the blogging rubric Rick said it would be a good thing to add gadgets to make our blogs a little more personal). Anyway, the first gadget I added was a picture of my fiance and me, I also added lists of other websites I like to visit, links to other blogs, a poll, and an "about me" section. I hope those additions made my blog a little more fun and help you get to know me a little better!