I am currently working as a substitute, but next week I will begin a full-time position teaching 7th-grade language arts. Previously, for my student teaching experience, I have taught 10th and 11th grade English and 12th grade AP literature.
The acronym RAT, in relation to technology in the classroom, stands for replacement, amplification, and transformation. There are many different Web 2.0 tools that could be used to accomplish these three goals.
Firstly, to replace the traditional poster board presentation or even the traditional PowerPoint presentation, students can use Prezi. I prefer Prezi for presentations because the animations are much more interesting and dynamic. Also, Prezi is web-based for easy access from any computer as well as flash based so it can easily be inserted onto a website or blog. Last semester, my AP lit students used Prezi for their ‘Bible Pageant’ group presentation. Because so much of English literature makes reference to the Bible, my cooperating teacher and I thought it would be a good idea for all the students to have a basic understanding of some of the most important Bible stories. Each group was assigned a Bible story, and they used Prezi to present to the class. In past years, my cooperating teacher had all the group make poster boards, but I suggested we use Prezi. The presentations turned out great with most of the group producing dynamic and interesting presentations that were enhanced with animations and many many images.
Secondly, in the future, I would like to use Wordpress to amplify class journals. By requiring students to keep their journal on their own Wordpress blog, they are able to not only communicate their ideas to me, but also to an actual global audience. I will encourage them to use tag their entries so that other can find and comment on their blog. I think that writing knowing that there will be an actual audience besides just the teacher is very exciting. I was required to keep a Wordpress blog for a class I took a few semesters ago, and when people I didn’t know were reading and commenting, it really got me excited about writing it. I ended up creating another blog the following summer when I was traveling around Europe and blogging about that experience.
Finally, one Web 2.0 tool that could transform learning in my classroom is Twitter. I really want to try teaching a novel and having the students each create a Twitter account to tweet as a character from the novel. I think this would be a great way to get the students thinking about characterization, plot, themes, etc. Instead of just writing about the character, they are writing as the character. Granted it's only 140 characters of writing at a time, but it is a platform that many of the students already use and enjoy. I think it would also be fun to have each student choose a famous author and to have them tweet and interact with each other as those authors. Could you imagine a heated twitter debate between Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde? This could really transform the way students learn about aspects of characterization or about famous authors and their lives and times.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteTeaching a novel with your students tweeting as the characters is a very creative idea. I think your students will be engaged and certainly benefit from that experience. Will you set up your tweets where only your students have access to each others characters? Your students must be very creative, Shakespeare can be difficult. I wish you the best in bring your idea to life.
Shakespeare was just the first example that came to mind. I think this project could be used for almost any novel. I don't think I would want to restrict my students to only have access to each others tweets. Part of the fun of this would be engaging with other people around the world. That being said, this project would probably be best and safest if done with high school as opposed to middle school students.
DeleteRyan,
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using Twitter to have your students assume role of characters and authors of the novels that they are reading. Then having them have discussion in those roles will help them gain a deeper understanding of the characters and authors. They might even find that the struggles of those character are not far from their own. Making those text to world and text to self connections that much stronger and meaningful.
Ryan, your Web 2.0 tools and ideas of how you could use them are great. Bringing literature to life to have a deeper understanding and meaning is something that I think would have to well thought out and planned for effective learning. Your choice of Web 2.0 tools seemed to be effective for learning especially with using Prezi. It was not aware of that program for presentations but did look it up. It seems to be on the best for presentations, a 4 star rating and good use for animation and you have done. Being a creative person, I am very much into creative learning. Because I work with adults, sometimes it becomes a bit challenging with choosing the best Web 2.0 tools to incorporate animation that isn't too elementary. There are a lot of good tool out there to enhance learning and finding the best fit as you have is a major key to enhance learning.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas Ryan!
I like using Prezi because I can access it from anywhere since its web-based. I find Google Slides (also web based) to be lacking it shiny and fun features. PowerPoint also has a web based version, but I've had issues trying to use Microsoft's web based tools. I really enjoy Prezi; I hope you get to try it out!
DeleteI see others in the class have use Prezi. I think I am going to try it out for part of the Web 2.0 assignment.
DeleteNot sure on how much buy-in students will get with Prezi (I discussed this on another thread). I've been seeing more pushback b/c of the initial learning curve, and the navigation features may not be worth the time in terms of learning gains. However, the communication aspect is great, but underutilized (commenting, liking, etc.)
DeleteWith respect to Twitter, utilizing the hashtag feature will allow students to communicate without the need to 'follow/friend' one another. A classroom hashtag (#it6230, #sikobio) can be one way to navigate the issues of social media and privacy.
I was inspired by your creativity. Using twitter to teach literature should be so engaging. As educators, we have to work really hard to be creative and engage students in ways they can relate. It is often our goal that once they leave the classroom, what they learned will stay with them for as long as possible. The tools you chose are in the realm of students not only learning but they will ENJOY the process.
ReplyDeleteMany of my students are on twitter all the time already. So I figure trying to incorporate learning into something they already do is a great way to peak their interest and increase engagement.
DeleteRyan, I’m intrigued by your idea of using Wordpress to expose your students’ work to a wider audience. While I can see how this might be very motivating for some students, I wonder if this might actually have a negative effect on engagement for others. Students who lack confidence in their writing and ideas might be reticent about sharing their work with strangers, and students who shy away from confrontation might choose not to give voice to their opinions if they know many people might be commenting. What do you think about having students create their blogs under aliases, rather than their real names? If only the teacher knows each student's true identity, perhaps students would be bolder in their writing.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really awesome idea! My middle school students are always so concerned about what other think of them, and sometimes, I think that holds them back from taking intellectual risks. However, if no one knew who they were (besides me), I think students would be much more willing to go out on a limb with their writing.
DeleteCongratulations on your new position!
ReplyDeleteYou have so many great ideas. Students use social media everyday in and out of the classroom. Incorporating Twitter into the classroom would be one change that would be accepted with open arms from all involved.
Creating a blog and receiving international responses had to be very exciting and interesting. I'm sure your students would enjoy using it. Are there security measures in place to help guard against "stranger danger"?
The 'stranger danger' aspect is certainly something I would consider when assigning a project on twitter. We as teachers should know the maturity level of our students and f they could handle a project like this. It would also be a great opportunity to work in a lesson about online safety and ethics.
DeleteHi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be very creative and in today's society I believe that creativity is needed to help students stay motivated to learn. Also I agree with you regarding the use of Prezi. When using Prezi students are more interested in learning because they can design different frames that are dynamic and eye cathching.