drewzailik


 * Teaching with Technology Time Log

Technology Implementation Project

Reflection in Word Format

Technology Implementation Project** **Reflection**

The project I designed is an extension of my unit on 17th and 18th century British Literature. I had already taught my unit, but it ended up that we were having a free day before testing. This gave me the chance to incorporate this project before the test rather than after it, which made it seem much more relevant to the students. I had the computer lab reserved for the day, as well as a huge X-Factor which really aided my project that day. In the computer lab was a “technology assistant;” someone who would walk around and help the students with the logistics behind their project. This was a tremendous help for me, as I was able to help them with the literary aspect of their project while someone else could assist them with copying and pasting pictures.

The students seemed to really enjoy the project; it was a break from the daily classroom setting and it clearly was something they had never done before. They were given something very powerful in a classroom: choice. They were free to choose whatever poet they wanted and were free to think and feel however they wanted to feel about the poem. This technology activity I designed gave students to privately and personally respond to poetry. They were also sitting in front of a computer, which made “writing” (aka typing) a lot easier in terms of an oral or written response.

The only problems I really had were that the hard-working students finished pretty early and had ample time; their reward per se was they had the remainder of the period free. I had some students who didn’t do anything until the last 15 minutes of the block, and then I was barraged with a number of “how do I do this?” questions from them. The project, as a whole, was a success, and it produced a number of excellent personal responses to poetry!


 * Electronic Mentorship Evaluation**

I really didn’t use TappedIn as much as I should have. I found myself using technology in my own way, namely in terms of research. I don’t know what I would have done in the classroom without my computer and my overhead projector. I taught daily (and by daily, I mean __every__ single day) using images, music, film clips, and typed notes on the large overhead screen with the LCD projector.

It just so happened that on the first day of my student teaching experience, an overhead LCD projector was installed. It projected itself onto a large white screen at the front of the room and was connected to the computer. This provided me ample opportunities to show slideshows, play music, and show a number of clips (such as “Lord of the Rings” and “The Simpsons”) that tremendously enhanced my lessons. I used technology as my “hook;” I always incorporated some sort of slideshow that I was able to easily manage behind the computer. I always had images of whatever author we were studying, from Lord Byron to Eudora Welty. I used technology for humorous introductions to the lessons as well, such as recreating a slideshow scene from “Jurassic Park” and relating it to Thomas Wolfe’s “The Far and Near.” Some other examples of technology I used were:

- Having students respond to a Peter Brueghel’s “The Fall of Icarus” and relating it to John Donne’s “No Man is an Island” - Showing a virtual “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” using Gustave Dore images. - Showing clips from “The Lord of the Rings,” illustrating the characteristics of the “epic” literary style. - playing music and having students read the lyrics and connect the literature or poetry

On top of teaching with technology, I was in constant e-mail correspondence with a number of my students. E-mailing them allowed me to get their make-up work at time, and to develop a rapport with them outside of the classroom. There were also a number of times when something would come up in class, such as a current event, unclear word, or any other connections, in which additional information was needed. I would walk over to the computer in my class when I had a moment, look the issue up, and inform the class immediately. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know where my teaching would have been this semester without the use of technology. While it was never the focal point of any of my lessons, it was used to enhance the material to a great extent. It provided breaks from reading, appealed to visual learners, and gave me an opportunity to provide supplemental material that both motivated and engaged students.

I am going to do an extension of the unit I taught on 17th and 18th Century British literature. Students will use the website [|www.luminarium.org] and will have the opportunity to do a mini-project on an author of their choice.
 * Technology Implementation Project:**


 * Gloucester High School Technology Inventory Sheet** [[file:Gloucester Tech Sheet.doc]]


 * Website Guide 2/18/2007**

I really like the "tech topics" section on [|www.teachersfirst.com/index.cfm]. I am a bit nervous about implementing classwide technology projects to my students, but these are some great universal ideas. There are some great ideas and lesson units on this site, but they are very general, and are not organized by content area.

The articles and videos on http://www.edutopia.org/php/search.php?query=lesson+plans&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 are great resources for how to implement technology into today's classroom. The website is very concerned with "redifining education in the 21st" century, and as young teachers, it is up to us to do so.

The searchable database on http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/index.jsp is really neat. This idea fosters both collaboration and safe internet use. Since varying websites are provided and have been used by teachers in the past, their trust value increases. Also, as an English teacher, there are a million and one topics to choose to teach. This search engine provides a way for us to search for some more obscure and arbitrary topics. Also, the lessons I searched for, such as "William Faulkner," provide a great combination of learning and using the internet for students.

I am biased to like any website with free lesson plans, and what better than to be from [|http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/.] The discovery channel is amazing. There is an easy pull-down menu for subject and grade level, and selecting English 9-12 brings up a huge list of texts that I know I will be teaching. The lesson plans I have viewed seem to be inline with the contemporary, interactive, and student-centered learning philosophy as well.

I am always looking for ideas on how to integrate technology into the classroom, and http://www.wtvi.com/teks/tools/ is a website devoted entirely to this idea.