NETS T2 (Sounds like a sequel!)

I wanted to provide some context for these posts, in case those reading these fascinating blogs aren't sure of who I am or what I'm doing.

As it says in my profile, I'm an honors English teacher at Mason High School in Ohio. I'm taking EDT 610, a graduate class at Miami University - although, sadly, I'm not visiting the Oxford campus every Wednesday night (the class is meeting on the Mason campus).

This class is helping us teachers learn about incorporating technology in the classroom: how can we move our teaching into the 21st century?

This blog is dedicated to the second indicator for the National Education Technology Standards (for Teachers), which is the following:

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to
maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:
a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become
active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using
digital tools and resources
d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology
standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching

By the way, click here to see all the indicators:
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

I'd like to focus on two of the aspects of indicator 2:

a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

I've decided that designing a wiki is my technology of choice for this class. I'd like to design lessons/activities that incorporate wikis, for several reasons:
1. I'd like to let students show off their creativity/individuality. This is really important to me to try to get students to do this in the beginning of the trimester/year. We teachers are constantly trying to get students to work on their writing "voice" (their unique writing personality). I also want students to show off their unique personality in classroom discussions/activities. A lot of times, with lectures and other activities, I rarely get to hear from students or see their personalities/creativity. I do one activity in the beginning of the year: students choose their favorite song lyrics and create posters that they tape on the classroom walls. It's a fun way to have students have a sense of "ownership" of their English classroom.

It's always fun to see the various choices for lyrics: some hopeful, some angry, some questioning. While I'd like to continue with this and other assignments, having the students have their own wiki would allow them to decorate as they see fit. I'm envisioning them putting their favorite art/music/movies/TV shows. I'm seeing them write journal entries on various topics (this will replace the old way of journaling, where I have stacks of notebooks that I have to read and then write comments by hand).

And, with item 2(c), I'm also envisioning allowing students to choose various texts to analyze/discuss. All too often, we teachers choose the texts for students. Letting students find various news articles/short stories/poems to post and analyze will, I hope, engage students and be another conduit by which students can show off their individuality.

All of this goes right at the heart of our good friend Lev Vygotsky, with his social development theory (constructivism) (see it here: http://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory.html). I adhere to Vygotsky's views that students learn when they are active participants, and so I'm excited to really work on designing the wikis.

I think my third-trimester students will embrace wikis. I'm also excited to talk to Katie Klahm as she, too, develops wikis, and her fellow teachers who've already been working with wikis.

I know there will be lots of issues to work through (dealing with what is acceptable/unacceptable content; students who do not have ready access to computers); etc., but I'm looking forward to the challenge.