technology in teaching

So, I had the pleasure (and I’m not being sarcastic) of reading through some great blogs this evening. The breadth of options can clearly be overwhelming; I’m going to have to learn how to search for blogs specific to teaching goals because I could easily end up pouring through blogs all day. I don’t know how Sherry found the group that comprised the Thing 4 list, but kudos to her for all that work. 

As a parent and as the ninth grade dean, I found the cyber bullying piece inspired. Maybe the heading that included PBS helped with the sense of confidence going into it, but I was pleased to find that there is a whole community dedicated to helping kids bravely navigate this new world. Please read to get a sense of what this guy is up to and up against!

A topic that seems quite hot right now, from Daniel Pink to Sir Ken, surrounds us at Beaver: encouraging kids to think and work creatively, to ask questions, to engage. The piece arguing that the world won’t see another da Vinci for a long time, until schools approach learning in a very different way, reminds us what is important. Take it in at and see what you think.

And lastly, for some practical, interesting, we-all-need-to-do-this-better stuff — rethinking the power-point presentation. Less stuff on each slide forces the presenter to know her material, engage with it, turn it into a story, and keep her audience rapt. Here’s the link, and have fun. But I’m not going to bother with the link because I think I’m messing it up somehow — will provide link if not!

Clearly Web 2.0 has lots to teach me. I can imagine so many ways to incorporate technology into ninth grade English classrooms but worry that I’m going to run out of time. I know it’s only early October, but it seems that there’s no end to ways to enhance students’ learning, and how can it possibly all be incorporated into a curriculum that already feels full and pressed for time? At the same time, the answer lies somewhere in the middle, I know. By providing more opportunities for students to engage with the material, learning will actually be easier and more efficient, which will open up more time?? At least, that’s how I’m spinning it!!

When I think of the lifelong learner habit of having the end goal in mind when developing curriculum, I’m reminded of an activity that Beaver faculty participated in years ago: Imagine the Graduate. As a faculty, we spent time exploring what habits of mind we wanted for our students to have when they graduate, and from there, teachers examined their own curriculum to see where we were introducing and promoting those habits.

That activity stayed with me because picturing the end goals (or ‘backwards design’) of any unit should inform what happens from the start. If I want students to understand the concept of a tragic hero, we need to build that understanding from the first conversations, journal entries, and activities. When reading all of the texts during the year, the tragic hero needs to be a guiding principle and a thread that connects all the texts and many of our protagonists.

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