Twitter In Class

Even though Twitter is a social media app, it can definitely be used in a classroom. According to an article on US News, “In fact, nearly 80 percent of faculty members are using social media in some way, according to a recent survey of nearly 2,000 college faculty by the Babson Survey Research Group published in April.” I found this statistic interesting, because a lot of people use social media, but a lot of people assume teachers do not. However, it is a great thing to use as a teaching tool.  For example, you can have students make up fake accounts for characters in the book you are reading and write tweets that they would say, backed up by quotes from the book. Or, you could use it as a vocabulary lesson and have students search “hashtags” for different words and tweets they find. Regardless, this is a good way for students to get involved in the classroom and it is another way teachers can use technology in a positive way. 

Article link: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/05/24/5-unique-uses-of-twitter-in-the-classroom

Dropbox In a Classroom

Dropbox is such a great tool to have in any classroom, not just English. You create a username and password, and you can access any documents in your computer from anywhere, only if you have Wi-Fi. However, you can ask your class to join and you get more memory, and the students get to put documents up and see all of yours. This way, if they are not in class one day, they can just put the file in Dropbox without being there. That makes it so much easier for everyone, not just the student. Also, you can create different folders, so you can have a folder for every class. This is such an easy way to share files with your class. Also, if it is summer break and you know who your students are, you can add them to Dropbox and send them things like summer reading information. Whenever a file is added to Dropbox, your computer alerts you, so they always know when something is being added. This also makes group work so much easier; instead of having to meet up, students can just create a folder in Dropbox and put everything there. This program is such an amazing tool; you can transfer music, pictures and PowerPoints, so your students can never say that their email wasn’t working. Being able to access Dropbox from anywhere makes everything so much easier, and every teacher should have it in their classroom.

Storyboard

Storyboard is a great way for students to come up with interesting stories for characters in the classroom. This is also a great way to teach characterization. By using Storyboard in a classroom, students can come up with different characters and create a story for them. This is a great way for students to get involved. I liked this website so much, I ended up integrating it into my final lesson plan. Also, there are many different options on this website, so you can use it as an informative lesson, a fun lesson, or as a collaborative lesson. You can also use this website for assessments; you can have them create a story board based on something they just read; this is a fun way to assess the students, and they will not even realize they are being tested. This makes it really versatile, and can be used for so many different things. Overall, this is such a great tool to have in your classroom. Students love it because it is fun, and teachers love it because students are still learning, even though they are having fun!

Technology Integration Final

             The lesson I chose to use for the technology integration plan was dry and dull; however, by enriching it with technology, it became more fun, relatable, and effective. It is a three day lesson that encompasses the technology standards we have been learning about all semester. The lesson was on romantic poetry; it simply asked students to read the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley and analyze it, and then have a discussion about the themes of the poem. However, I recreated the lesson and made it more fun for the students.

                The students will come to class and I will give them a brief explanation of the poem “Ozymandias.” In the show Breaking Bad, there is an episode with the same name, and a YouTube video of Bryan Cranston (the main character in Breaking Bad) reading the poem as a preview to the episode. We will watch this video and talk about what the video made us think the poem will be about. I chose this video because I think a lot of students will relate to it. Many students watch Breaking Bad, and if they do not they have probably heard about it. However, in case they have not, we will watch different clips of the episode that parallel to the poem. This will simply be an introduction to the lesson, so the students can come up with their thoughts on the poem.

                After the introduction, we will move onto the content. The students will read the poem silently, and after we will discuss it as a class. The students will ask any questions they have. We will mainly talk about how the poem still has themes that relate to our culture today. The poem talks about a man whose grave has a quote he once said, and even though he died many years ago, his legend still remains. To build off of that, I will use the computer to look up different famous and legendary people, and the students will write down what they remember these people by. Some examples would include Steve Jobs, Paul Walker, Nelson Mandela, Brittany Murphy and James Gandolfini. If the students do not know someone, I will explain who they are; if they were an actor or actress, I will show the students clips of their more famous work. This will be interesting to them because they are all relevant people in their lives, whether they realize it or not. At the end of day one, I will assign students with their groups for the project the next day.

                At the beginning of day two, the students will sit with their groups I had assigned the day before. We will talk about the project they are going to do in class that day. They will be picking one of the people we talked about in class the day before, or making up a character. They will have the class period to create a storyboard for their character. They will have certain criteria they have to meet, such as creating a backstory for their person, and describing what the person will be remembered by. This will be a very exciting way for the students to come up with a characterization, but also relate it to the poem we read. It will also be good for them to use this technology; mainly because it is fun, but also to get them more used to using it and becoming more comfortable with being assessed on their ability to do so.

                On the third day, the students will present their story boards. I will assess them on their ability to present effectively but I will also be making sure they accurately used the technology, and were proficient in doing so. Students will also be assessing their classmates and will give each other feedback when they are all done. This promotes constructive peer feedback, and will help the students become better and more comfortable with talking to each other.

                Overall, this lesson implements different technologies, and will help students learn romantic poetry using the different technologies. These are all fun and interesting ways for the students to learn. Because they are different, they will not even realize they are learning! These activities will help the students with technology practices, peer feedback, creating websites and comic strips, and becoming overall better learners. Overall, this semester has helped me implement these lessons and become more comfortable with integrating technology into my classroom. This three-day lesson is just one example of that.

 

My Big Campus

                My Big Campus is a free online tool that any educator can sign up for and benefit from. This online classroom can be accessed from your laptop, computer, phone or any other technological device so that learning can be extended beyond the classroom. This website is 100% safe from pop-ups and ads, and also lets parents go on and monitor the progress of their students.

               The website has many features that are great for classrooms. For example, there is a profile section where students come up with a profile and talk about themselves so the other students in the class can get to know them better. There is also a Library section where students can look up scholarly articles that they can use for things such as research papers. Educators can use the Groups function to put their classes onto one page, and can even be used for sports teams and clubs.

This website helps you create a virtual classroom where students can interact with each other and you as an educator. Teachers can create tests and quizzes and the students have to take it on the website. They can see their results right away and the website keeps track of their progress. Also, you can see where the students did well and need improvement, which helps you focus on all your students’ needs.

Many educators and students have already started using My Big Campus, and for very good reason. This website is great for all students, and helps them get a more interesting and exciting education. Most of the students who have started using this website really enjoy it, and it is definitely a great tool to have in your classroom.

Canvas Remix

At first I had a hard time coming up with a canvas I could remix. However, once I saw the title “The Struggle Between Good and Evil” I knew I had finally found a canvas I could actually incorporate. Because Hamlet talks a lot about good and evil, and making bad decisions, this was a perfect canvas for me to remix. I added pictures that showed decisions in Hamlet that were not good, and also a video of Hamlet killing Polonius to show one of the worst decisions he makes, and how his judgment was so clouded by hatred for Claudius. I did not have to remove anything from the original canvas because it did not carry over to my new canvas. Overall, I think these two units would work very well together. Using Art and Music along with English is always really interesting and really exciting for any student; I also found a few standards that still aligned with the lesson.

Remixed Canvas

Kidblog In a Classroom

Because it is vital as educators that we use technology in our classroom, we must always be aware of the evolving and changing technologies that we can utilize to make our classroom as enriching as possible. One website I found that would be great in a classroom is Kidblog. Kidblog is a free website teachers can use in their classrooms, and students can also join for free. The website does not make students give any personal information and there are no ads. Because it is safe and reliable, many teachers use it to get their students more involved.

                Kidblog is a free blogging site all students can sign up for free of charge. Once on the website, they can blog from anywhere, including their phones and iPads. Teachers can use the website to start discussions and have the students answer, whether in class or for homework. They can also create presentations and display them on the website; overall, this is a great tool to have. In an English classroom this would be great because you could start a discussion in class, and then have the students complete it for homework.

                This website is a great tool to help students be more engaged in a classroom. Almost four million students have already joined, and that number will likely continue to rise once people realize how amazing this site really is.