Who-Said? A literature game delivered as a podCast is an educational, language arts focused podCast which delivers a quote from literature daily and asks the listener to identify the character who delivered the quote, the work of literature it came from, and the work's author. I plan to incorporate this podCast as a daily icebreaker in my Senior English/AP English classroom as a means for students to dig into literature and to earn extra credit. AP English students are asked to identify a variety of works on the AP exam and to have a knowledge of several works we will not have time to discuss in class- so this podCast will help open their eyes and minds to popular works of literature as well. I will have the podCast accessible through the class website and students will submit their responses via e-mail to earn extra credit which they can apply to quizzes or exams.
SHAKESPodosphEARE: A podCast devoted to the study of major works of British Literature, especially Shakesepeare's. is a podCast that provides readings of Shakespeare as well as analysis of Shakespeare's work- it also provides readings of British literature and analysis of these works. I will utilize this podCast as a means to supplement our unit on Shakespeare. Shakespeare is often a difficult read and so much of it can be absorbed simply by listening to it rather than reading it. This podCast will also allow students to hear critical application of Shakespeare and analysis that they may not at first come to on their own.
GrammarGirl
is a weekly podCast that provides knowledge on grammar. Students will be able to access this podCast throughout the year and search for specific podCasts that relate to their personal grammar issues. As specific issues repeate themselves in the work of students or are an evident issue amongst the class, I will utilize GrammarGirl to supplement an in class discussion on the issue students are having. The episodes are brief and applicable with several examples. I will have a weekly grammar quiz that relates to that week's grammar issue as discussed in class and on GrammarGirl. Grammar, despite being focused on primarily in junior high, needs reinfocement and practice throughout secondary education.
Friday, November 13, 2009
podCast Connections
For the podCast I discussed one of my favorite creative software applications we discussed this semester: photo sharing. While I use this tool regularly in my everyday life I had not thought about applying it in a classroom setting. By incorporating photo sharing with an ongoing course assignment of daily documentation by students, students will be able to share what they are learning about English, its connection to their lives, and do so through a creative outlet.
After listening to the podCast I was reminded of some of the other great tools we've learned to utilize over the course of the semester. One of my favorite ideas though was for utilizing YouTube to send fitness clients video demonstrations of workouts. This could also be applied in the classroom, rather than creating a complete powerpoint of lecture for students who missed class or generating several emails to absent students- how easy would it be to create a classroom YouTube channel and update it daily with a brief overview of what was discussed, assignments, and their due dates. This would also be a great access point for parents to check in on their students and to learn what is going on in their classroom. Cool!
After listening to the podCast I was reminded of some of the other great tools we've learned to utilize over the course of the semester. One of my favorite ideas though was for utilizing YouTube to send fitness clients video demonstrations of workouts. This could also be applied in the classroom, rather than creating a complete powerpoint of lecture for students who missed class or generating several emails to absent students- how easy would it be to create a classroom YouTube channel and update it daily with a brief overview of what was discussed, assignments, and their due dates. This would also be a great access point for parents to check in on their students and to learn what is going on in their classroom. Cool!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Literature in Times of Economic Upheaval
Please take a moment to view the following playlist. It will give you a brief introduction to our unit on works of non-fiction and literature in times of economic upheaval. We will be reading two texts during this unit, The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan and The Breadgivers by Anzia Yezeirska. After reading both texts; as a class we will explore some of the documents captured by The Federal Writer's Project (WPA) and discuss the manner in which collecting stories of ordinary lives changed not only the face of literature but American culture as well. You will then each conduct an interview of your own (utilizing the same form writers did for the WPA) and you will use this interview as a means to synthesize your own understanding of literature in times of economic upheaval and translate it into a written or creative work. (More details to come, for now enjoy the video and expose yourself to what we will be discussing over the next month).
Friday, November 6, 2009
Using Social Software Tools in the Classroom
I plan to incorporate Picasa as a creative social software tool into my English and Debate classrooms. Too often students in English and Debate classrooms are 'left behind' when it comes to utilizing creative technology beause "it's not how these classes are taught". I think the opposite, these two classes provide a need for synthesis with more creative thinking and technological advances.
Picasa is an element of the Google suites that students will utilize throughout their time with me. It is a photo sharing IRA that allows users to post, edit, and share their photos with specific people or everyone. It also acts as an online 'storage facility' so that students can access their images from any computer with internet access and do not consume valuable space on their home or school computers.
I am going to utilize Picasa as an ongoing classroom project. While it may seem strenuous or time intensive, this project will allow students to synthesize a creative process with their classroom learning and it will allow for a more thorough understanding of whatever area we are studying. Students will have access to a series of digital cameras (if they do not have their own) and will be required to take a picture daily and relate it (via its caption) to the course material. Students will then upload these images to their Picasa accounts and share them with the class. These images will act as course participation points for the day (so if a student is absent they can still have the opporutnity to participate in the course). Utilizing this process will allow students to think about the real life connections of the course material. At the beginning of each week students will view a photo collage of everyone's images for the previous week and we will discuss their implications of the course material. We can utilize the images as a referent for discussion.
For example, in Debate when discussing trade embargos students can utilize images of household items they may go without if an embargo were to be enacted. In English, when studying the origin of language, students could photograph their house and discuss the American prototype of housing. Students will also have the opportunity to propose their own experiments utilizing Picasa so long as they relate to course material throughout the year, i.e. a student wants to photography themself everyday for a year as a means to discuss character development and identity in various literary works.
I hope that through the creative expression offered via Picasa and taking photographs, students will find connections between the course and their lives, and that they will begin to feel more comfortable with the course material. Students who struggle with writing or in class discussions will also be provided a creative and alternative opportunity to share their knowledge with their peers and myself.
Picasa is an element of the Google suites that students will utilize throughout their time with me. It is a photo sharing IRA that allows users to post, edit, and share their photos with specific people or everyone. It also acts as an online 'storage facility' so that students can access their images from any computer with internet access and do not consume valuable space on their home or school computers.
I am going to utilize Picasa as an ongoing classroom project. While it may seem strenuous or time intensive, this project will allow students to synthesize a creative process with their classroom learning and it will allow for a more thorough understanding of whatever area we are studying. Students will have access to a series of digital cameras (if they do not have their own) and will be required to take a picture daily and relate it (via its caption) to the course material. Students will then upload these images to their Picasa accounts and share them with the class. These images will act as course participation points for the day (so if a student is absent they can still have the opporutnity to participate in the course). Utilizing this process will allow students to think about the real life connections of the course material. At the beginning of each week students will view a photo collage of everyone's images for the previous week and we will discuss their implications of the course material. We can utilize the images as a referent for discussion.
For example, in Debate when discussing trade embargos students can utilize images of household items they may go without if an embargo were to be enacted. In English, when studying the origin of language, students could photograph their house and discuss the American prototype of housing. Students will also have the opportunity to propose their own experiments utilizing Picasa so long as they relate to course material throughout the year, i.e. a student wants to photography themself everyday for a year as a means to discuss character development and identity in various literary works.
I hope that through the creative expression offered via Picasa and taking photographs, students will find connections between the course and their lives, and that they will begin to feel more comfortable with the course material. Students who struggle with writing or in class discussions will also be provided a creative and alternative opportunity to share their knowledge with their peers and myself.
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