What do I want to achieve this semester? What are my goals for myself? For my students?
STUDENTS:
* read more authentic texts, ones that will allow my students to have a broader worldview. My students need to be able to join the conversation. This means they must be exposed to what's happening in the world around them, and then comment about these events in an educational forum. Can accomplish this through various writings on cnn.com, time.com, msnbc.com, espn.com, etc.
* write more in response to readings. Can accomplish this through responses to the articles/stories that I post, and ones that they post.
* have mature discussions about literature and their thoughts on various topics. Due to limited class time, these discussions could take place via online postings.
* work on writing voice. Allowing students to have a discussion about literature, and also have them journal frequently, will help students develop their writing voice. This means I'd also want students to discuss pop culture, along with any topics that interest them, to allow them to write as they speak.
ME:
* write more. Practicing the craft of writing has many benefits for my students and me, including modeling how to analyze text, or how to I apply the effective writing techniques I want my students to adopt. I see me possibly having a blog, where I could respond not only to items I've been reading but also share with students various observations (journaling). It's important that students are able to have many discussions with me - and for them to see my writing, and what I write well or not so well.
* show my students that I'm a lifelong learner, thinker, reader and writer.
* establish stronger relationships with all students. Being able to have online discussions will allow me to spend more time with each student. I'll get to hear from students who rarely speak in class. I'll learn their personalities, and this enhanced relationship will spill over into the classroom (with classroom management, and with students feeling more comfortable to speak because they've "spoken" so much through our online discussions).
I'm not sure how I'm going to achieve all of the ideas listed abov. I know Edline has the ability for students to post online articles, but I don't know if Edline has discussion boards and other attributes that I'm seeking. I think Wiki is an option, but I know very little about it.
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
About Me
- Fred Reeder Jr.
- Fred easily gets swept away by the depth of Wordsworth and the profundity of Frost. He also thinks Tesla rocks.
The World Is Watching ...
Fred, Well done! I agree with your plan to utilize technology tools to expand your students’ worldview, increase writing opportunities, expand learning beyond the classroom, and develop their writing voices.
ReplyDeleteYour students and other teachers will certainly benefit from your demonstration of lifelong learning, writing and use of technology. Your example will result in best practices that can ultimately benefit the profession of education
I look forward to following your progress as you use tech tools to model the effective analysis of text, demonstrate successful writing techniques, and create an alternative virtual forum to encourage reluctant students to fully participate and benefit from your class.
Hi Fred,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I'm jealous that the title of your blog is better than mine. :) "Reeder's Digest"-- that's classic!!
Also, before I forget to mention it... EdLine DOES have a discussion board forum on it. I used it last year with my students during the last week of school in one of our computer labs, and we just kind of goofed around with it. Ideally, I'll use the discussion board with a class novel or poetry unit this year, but for just playing around, the kids were SO into it. They thought Language Arts was the COOLEST thing ever that day. ;) I'm sure your building-level technology coordinator would be happy to assist you witih putting up a discussion board if you wanted one.
I think that your goals are fantastic- specifically the ones about letting your students see your writing (including your "rough" writing). I haven't been able to make myself that vulnerable to my students yet; I show a lot of my writing, but it's usually polished. :) I think that is something that I'll try to foster in my class as well.
And, yes, I definitely think that wikis and blogs are a great fit for my age group... But I wonder sometimes if they are mature enough to take it seriously or if they would just use it as yet another social networking tool. I'd like to think that I could set reasonable and respectable boundaries for the posts, but it still makes me a bit apprehensive. (This also makes me a bit apprehensive, as I would definitely be a pioneer in the L.A. Department here @ the middle school. I know that no one else uses blogs and wikis continuously with their students.)
Thanks for your feedback, and I'll see you in class on Wednesday! :)
-- Katie
Hey Fred,
ReplyDeleteFirst I have to agree with what Kathryn said about your blog title...I Love It!!
I think reading your ideas about how to involve your students with technology in your classroom has really opened up a few ideas of my own. When you were talking about placing writings in a blog for your students to talk about and discuss gave me some ideas about using a blog of my own for my students. I figure I could have the students listening to music on-line and blogging their own comments about the music, what a new way to discuss style and likes/dislikes! Of course, Kathryn brings up some very strong points about students being mature enough to handle it the correct way. I guess that there would have to be some very strong guidelines in place as to what type of comments would be acceptable in that setting.
Lots to think about! Thanks for giving me a great new idea! I look forward to reading more in the future.
-Scott