Shakespeare On and Off line

Reference:
Chasteen, S., (2005). Lesson Plans for William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Retrieved September 26, 2007, from
http://people.colgate.edu/schasteen/educ453/lessonplans.htm.

Cummings, M.J., (2007). Twelfth Night, or What you Will: A Study Guide.
Retreived September 26, 2007, from http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xTwelfth.html#Twelfth.

Field, Mr., (2002).Twelfth Night Revision.
Retrieved September 26, 2007, from http://www.twelfthnightsite.co.uk/index.htm.

Subject: Grade Eight English
Activity: Students have already read the hardcopy of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. At the beginning of class they will view a brief clip from the movie “She’s the Man”. Then the student’s activity is to visit the website http://www.twelfthnightsite.co.uk/index.htm
and play the games at the end of the page. The games give a good idea of the student’s comprehension of the play. After they have played each game once, students will go to the class blog and record how they did in the games as well as write a brief paragraph on who their favorite character is and why.
GLOs:
Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
SLOs:
Students will identify explicit and implicit ideas and information in texts: listen and respond to various interpretations of the same text.
Relevant ICTs:
C1-students will access, use and communicate information from a variety of technologies.
C5- Students will use technology to aid collaboration during inquiry
C7- Students will use electronic research techniques to construct personal knowledge and meaning.
P1- Students will compose, revise and edit text.
P3-Students will communicate through multimedia.
P4-Students will integrate various applications.
P6- Students will use communication technology to interact with others.
F1- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the nature of technology.
F2-Students will understand the role of technology as it applies to self, work and society.
Rationale:
Shakespeare has a tendency to scare students because of the complexity of the language and it has often been taught in boring ways that make students dread studying Shakespeare. Through integrating various technologies such as: the hardcopy, which gives students the opportunity to experience the language; the movie clip of “She’s the Man”, which puts Shakespeare into a modern context that students can understand; the online games, which are a fun way of evaluating learning and understanding; it makes Shakespeare less intimidating and more understandable for students. They may even actually begin to enjoy Shakespeare!

Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Technology integration is using various forms of technology to enhance student's experience in the classroom. Technology has come leaps and bounds in the last twenty years. I remember my first experience with computers in elementary school. It was on old clunky computers with a black screen and green or white graphics of very poor quality. We never used the computer in class, nor did teachers use PowerPoint or LCD projectors. We only ever used the computer to play games, or figure out how to move a turtle with the arrow keys. Now there is a t.v and DVD player in most every classroom. Computer labs are frequently used for research and typing schoolwork. Teachers use PowerPoint to help explain a lesson. Part of my diploma exams for English and Biology were done on a laptop provided by the school. For Social Studies we used the Internet to do research for essays. I took keyboarding all through Jr high and grade ten. This is technology integration.
One of the best examples I ever had of effective technology integration was for my Biology 30 class. Mr Konrad gave us a list of topics that we had to look up using the Internet in the school computer lab. We had to find three or more sites that gave solid information and bookmark them when we found them. Then we had to make up a PowerPoint presentation using found information and present it to the class. I found it to be really helpful because the assignment got us using the Internet, browsing sites, learning about our topic, evaluating and analyzing information, but then we had to turn around and put it to practical use.
We also used the school laptop computers in my English class to type up in-class essays and assignments. This often was not such a good experience. My English teacher Mrs. Davidson had very little experience with the computers so whenever something went wrong, she was unable to help us and had to call in a different teacher. Also there were a couple times when the computers would freeze up or shut down randomly due to a system error. This was extremely frustrating when you were in the middle of writing an in-class essay. Once we had to close our computers and hand them in and the in-class essay had to be written out by hand!
Overall I think that technology is an extremely useful resource and could be a huge benefit to teachers and students. Allowing them to interact with various information from around the world; communicate with the teacher and other students; doing research and experiments. However I've also had bad experience with technology in the classroom. Teachers that have little or no experience with technology look unprofessional and only waste time in their efforts to get things working. If I had a dime for every time I saw a teacher ask a student for help getting a computer or TV up and running, I would be rich! Another potential barrier is a lack of funding by the government for smaller schools. Kids in larger centers with more funding have an advantage of these resources, whereas kids in more rural centers miss out. This creates an unfair advantage and student's learning could suffer.

Blogging in the Classroom

I first started blogging three years ago. Some friends had moved away and we were all moving on with our new lives and we quickly fell out of touch. I heard about blogging and started one up so that my friends and I could maintain our communication over the distance. My experience with Blogging so far has been a positive one and I can see how blogging could be a beneficial thing in a classroom.

To begin with blogging was convenient for my friends and I because we spent much of our time on the computer to begin with. Between checking email and homework assignments it seemed a simple thing to blogger.com and check for new posts and write a quick update. It seems that the majority of students are in a similar situation. As more of our world moves online, what with Msn, Face book, Internet schooling, email and tons of other information, many children and adolescents are spending more time on the computer. A blog could be a very useful tool for a teacher, if properly used. For one thing its easy and convenient for most students to use. As they are already on the computer it would be a small thing for them to click to the class blog to check up on new homework assignments, comment on a peer's project or ask a question. Blogs are very interactive in that it does not need to be limited between a teacher and students. Parents could be involved, monitoring their child's interaction in the class. Other teachers could also be connected; available for questions or comments. While I feel that there is no replacement for one on one interaction in a classroom, a blog opens up a whole new side of education. Online discussion between classmates allows for positive thinking and new ideas. As every student could have a personal blog linked to a main blog, it would allow for teachers and parents to track writing assignments and progress as students thinking grows and matures. Should a student need help a posted question could be instantly responded to by either the teacher or a peer. Blogging serves to take the intimate learning environment of the classroom and put it into a relevant context that students know and understand. A sick or snowbound student could keep up to date by following class discussion and reading links on the blog.

While I am a big advocate for blogging in the classroom there are a few concerns that have been brought to my attention. There are always concerns when children and adolescents spend a lot of time on the Internet and a blog would give them an excuse to spend more time online. But it also opens students up to the possibility of online stalkers and child predators. The issue of privacy is huge. How can students be comfortable blogging and sharing their work online if they are constantly have to worry about sharing too much information. I know that it is possible to make a members only blog, but a computer hacker or programmer could easily find their way around that hedge. There is also the thought that setting up a classroom blog makes assumptions about the socioeconomic status of the class. There may be individuals in the class that don't have access to the blog, except in the school. This could lead to exclusion, feelings of inferiority/superiority etc. My last concern is that I would hate to see blogging or the internet take over the actual classroom. Social skills and personal development happen as students interact with each other and the teacher face to face. Not to mention students are taught to think about others as opposed to just themselves. There is a community aspect of the classroom, that I don't think blogging could duplicate.

Overall I think that there is definelty a place for blogging in the classroom, with the technological advancements of our age it seems to be a force that cannot be escaped. But I do think there is a place for it, as long as teachers and schools are aware of the dangers and make attempts to protect their students.

Who am I?

My name is Bev and this is my first year at the University. This is my third year of post-secondary education and I'm very excited to be in the Faculty of Education. I am from Northern Alberta and I have spent much of my time in the mountains working with young people, so coming to Southern Alberta has been a bit of a culture shock. I first realized that I wanted to go into Education in the summer before my grade twelve year. I was sitting around a campfire listening to my parents talk about a teacher that had had a very negative effect on my younger brother. As I listened to them discuss a teacher's impact on students, I suddenly realized that I wanted to be one who impacted the lives of students, only for the positive not the negative. As I sat in that chair staring into the fire, it was as if I received a special call to go into teaching and in that moment I felt a love and a passion well up in my heart that has continued to grow even up to this day. One of my favorite things to do is work at summer camp and I have spent the last four summers working as a camp counselor and wrangler. And I love nothing more than watching young people learn and grow over the course of a week and then seeing how much they change from year to year. I love watching the light come on in their eyes when they finally understand how to sit on a horse. Or watching their confidence grow, as their experience broadens and they become more and more sure of themselves. Kids and teenagers have so much life and passion in them and so much to offer the world, and I love being a part of that exploration and quest. I am very excited to begin my career as a teacher.