it has come to an end . . :(

I read Malcolm’s blog again because I agreed an was interested in a lot of the things he had to say. Once again, I totally agreed with most of what he said in his blog, especially in his 9th post when he talks about getting parents involved in children’s school work. He points out that blogging allows parents to be more involved (if the blog is a public blog; some teachers recommend private, password protected blogs, others stress anonymity, i.e. every student creates an internet name and signs a contract stating they will NOT use any real names or references to school or location) in the students homework. Hopefully if you get parents involved in homework they become more involved in their child’s education in general.


The next technology skill I would like to learn would be a toss up between working closely with a good grading/lesson planning software (one that could stand the test of time; one that wouldn’t be useless after three months because something else came out) or learning to use a smart board. I’ve never seen a smart board in action (I’ve seen the examples of the book and even talked with teachers who use them with much frequency). I think that both of these are important because one allows the teacher to be organized and up to date with grades and tracking student progress as well as keeping all lesson plans organized and easily accessible and the other really gives the students an opportunity to become more engaged and more a part of what they are learning. So they both have huge advantages and I’m sure that by the time I graduate I will have used and be comfortable with both because I believe I have to take another technology class that deals with integrating technology into the language arts classroom.


I suppose that I have already covered part of how I hope to accomplish my technological goals by saying that I have to take a 4000 level technology class aimed specifically on teaching language arts (reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, etc) to students using technology. In my classroom I plan on trying take trips to the lab frequently (if I don’t have computers in my class) and I would have them use programs like GetAClue, which helps with vocabulary development (I wrote about it in my last journal entry) especially if I teach grades 10 or 11 because that program in particular would be great for SAT/ACT/FCAT preparation. I also plan on using blogging as a way for students to communicate outside of class about assignments, and also because parents can be more involved in viewing their students progress. I read many blogs by teachers that stress that though it can be hard to get students motivated, blogging for class has helped many students become more involved: one teacher said that it gives the quiet kids in class a chance to talk, and some of the more “nerdy” kids who know a lot about technology become popular because everyone wants to know how to change their icon or add a background picture.

The Web & Teachers: Working Together

In another education class that I am taking we learned about the importance of students learning new vocabulary words. We also learned that it can be difficult for students to learn new words and that you should vary your strategies for the highest effectiveness. In my search for something on the web I came across a software program that helps students build their vocabulary, which is definitely different than any other vocabulary learning strategy I‘ve ever heard of. It is also a great tool for English language learners, which as well all know isn‘t something that‘s going to end any time soon. I figured that it would also be a very effective tool in preparing for the SAT or ACT and even the FCAT tests that high school students spend hours preparing for as well as giving students a break from the normal monotonous vocabulary/analytical skill building activities. GetAClue software (www.getaclue.com) seems like it would help out a ton in the classroom!


In my classroom I would try to get all my students on the computer, using this program, once every two weeks, if possible. Whether it be a bi-weekly class visit to the computer lab (if I don’t have computers in my class) or a schedule where 5-10 students use the program a day, I think that exposing kids to new vocabulary is very important for reading comprehension as well as testing purposes. This program gives the teacher access to student scores, and the program can also be used in multiple classes with the scores being shown only to class teacher, uses pre and post test information to gauge student progress and improvement, it also helps teachers formulate offline, printer handouts to help study words at home or to create quizzes and tests based on the activities (so teachers can make sure the kids aren’t just going through the motions). You can also create individualized quizzes based on student progress with the program. I would definitely use this tool -- anything to make vocabulary more interesting.


It’s a bit tough for me to talk about a web resource I haven’t really used much that I think I would use in the classroom. But when I was doing my PowerPoint2, I found a site (www.literature-study-online.com) that seems to be a very valuable tool. I’m not sure how wide their database spans but it seems to have a lot of good articles about themes, symbols and underlying meaning in literature and would be a good research tool for any English teacher, especially if the teacher hasn’t read the novel she/he is teaching in a while. It would also be a good resource for students, probably in grades 11 or 12 for research papers, as there are a lot of critical articles.

safety, ethics & the internet: chapter 8

I’m pretty familiar with virus’s and virus scanning software so there wasn‘t a lot that was new to me in this chapter (I had to buy a new computer because I contracted some horrible virus at an airport terminal). I was interested to learn that schools use firewalls, just like us, to keep unauthorized people from accessing secret information, such as student and faculty records. The same firewalls are used within the school to prevent students for accessing private information. I’m already very familiar with system failure, as I’ve lost many a paper and/or projects due to such unfortunate occurrences. I’m glad that this book does talk about virus scanning and it’s importance; I scan weekly and have firewalls and everything I can but that is only because I’ve lost a computer because I wasn’t smart with the networks that I connected to. I liked the ethics part as well, I’m sure I will reference the “Computer Ethics for Educators” once I have a classroom of my own.


I don’t have a back up system, but my mother and father do, for their office computers so I’ve always just assumed school systems had them. I’m sure once I have a classroom computer with grades on it, I’ll back up all the time. When the chapter gets into copyright laws and students and/or teachers webpages something else came to my mind that I read the other day. It was a newspaper article about a teacher who was home sick with the flu, surfing the web and she came across her students blog and found out way too much information. I think this book should have more on blog etiquette (a.k.a. don’t write what you wouldn’t want your teacher reading or make your blog friends only) as well as rules for the teacher (don’t read your students blogs or view their myspace profiles) so that the lines of the student teacher relationship don’t get blurred.Also teachers should be aware of what they are putting out on the web because it's just as easy for students to find teacher blogs as it is for teachers to find student blogs (in some cases the students even know more than the teachers!!).


As a teacher, I plan on definitely backing all of my information up so that a system failure or power outage won’t cause me to loose all of my information. I will also use virus scanning to make sure that my computer doesn’t become infected. I’m sure the school will have rigorous firewalls set up so that all of the school’s personal and private information is never accessed by someone not authorized to do so. I will try to be aware of all the new developments in technology because I know that it is very important to the lives of today’s students. I will also uphold all of the ethics that were discussed. I never really thought about applying all of the things I use so often (virus scan, software licenses, internet ethics, privacy measures) to teaching and my future as a teacher. I also plan on encouraging my students to use correct internet ethics because what you put on the internet never leaves and several large employers are beginning internet background checks where hired people surf the net trying to find what your name is attached to out in cyberspace (underage drinking, drug use, etc.).