Technology as a Partner

Like most English teachers I have used technology as a tool to deliver information to students, or house information for students.  I have used the Smart Board in the room to show snippets of films that are related to our reading.  I have also created websites for students to reference class notes and find assignments.  In the past I created Web quests for younger grades to help them do research.  However, how much of the technology in my room is a real partner for students in their quest for meaningful learning?

            Most of my reflection this week is focused on my 11AP Literature and Composition class.  One of the theories of meaningful learning states that teachers need to be able to articulate how students need to think in order for them to truly learn.  This is one of the biggest obstacles in teaching.  Teachers need to teach students to think to learn, and not for the purposes of giving the teacher the “right” answer, but to have students become more analytical thinkers. To this end, the first thing I teach them is how to annotate.  Only by being active readers can they effectively analyze text and be able to express themselves in their writing.  I emphasize that annotations are personal, with no right or wrong answer. That being said, I also emphasize that they need to be able to support their theories with examples found in the text. Since the majority of the works we use can be found online, through Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org), students have the option of using the website Scrible.com, which allows them to add sticky notes to an online text.  Students like that they can color coordinate their notes for easier referencing.

            The AP classes are also working on a website of their own.  It will be their study guide and will be housed within our class website.  The students are using Weebly to construct the site and are working in groups.  I don’t tell them what needs to go on their study guide; instead we brainstorm ideas of what they might like to see there.  They then work in groups to create the materials while one group works on the creation of the site.  The work is done in my room with Chromebooks.  This is really handy since each group is able to work on the same document at the same time.  I am also able to see what they are working on and comment in real time as they work.  The one requirement I ask of them is that each segment of the study guide needs to be interactive. I don’t want pages of notes, but rather tools to help them check their understanding of the material.  So far the groups have created vocabulary quizzes, Jeopardy style games based on some of the novels read, and one group is working on a quest type of video game using Hamlet and the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in the play. The students are using a tool that requires no coding, and they are enjoying the process. The website is scratch.mit.edu.         

My twelfth graders recently had to write a research paper.  I broke up the assignment into various parts.  The first part was all about them.  I wanted this paper to mean something to them, so I asked them to think about a social issue that they cared about.  They needed to write down everything they knew about the subject and then write eight to ten questions they had on the topic.  These questions drove their research. My school district subscribes to various databases, and I chose SIRS by ProQuest to have my students begin their investigations.  Articles are arranged by subject and date on the database, making it easy for students to find the latest information on their topic.  However, they were allowed to use Google, and I spent time reviewing how to discern which websites were reliable. Using Google docs students were able to help each other through the various editing stages of their research and, later, of their paper. I believe that my having students choose their social issue, and create their own guiding questions makes the research a more authentic task.

            I also used Google classroom to have the students turn in their assignments.  Docupus and Goobric, both additions to Google Sheets, work with Google classroom to allow me to attach a rubric to the assignment, grade the work, and then share it with the student.  The students receive my comments, as well as the rubric, and a grade.  I haven’t experimented with allowing students to use Docupus as an editing tool yet, but it is something I will attempt soon.

            Overall, I believe that I am making strides in having technology be a partner in my students’ learning, however, there is still more that can be done.