A Reflection on "Writing Re-Launched"
Lines that stuck out to me while reading:
"Digital writing assignments match the real world."
It's so apparent as I teach, coach, and grade standardized essays how rare and unique the strict essay format is. Why do I teach it? To prepare them for high school and college. But if this a format that they won't need there, should I be teaching it at all? Digital writing assignments do make a ton of sense for real-world prep, but do they for high school? How do I find this out from hs teachers and their expectations? Or, how can I incorporate the two? I love the idea of using GoogleDocs, which I have used before, but I do get a bit nervous about having kids make accounts.
"As part of their oral presentations, students were required to include a technology-based visual aid, such as an interactive poster made through Glogster or a word cloud created with Wordle."
I recently used Glogster in Elite and really liked it. I think this would be an awesome addition to a presentation, especially since it's more interactive. Wordle is fine, but it lacks the depth of Glogster.
"Historically, collaboration is 'thought to be cheating' in schools, says Eidman-Aadahl. But outside of the school setting, in higher education and the workplace, she says, 'collaborative writing is huge.'”
True! Though I really don't enjoy collaborative writing, it is one way that I've written more as a professional. It's so valuable to recognize other writing styles and how they coincide/overlap/differ.
"Another distinction between the two types of writing is that while traditional writing formats, such as journaling, are frequently used for private reflection, digital writing is almost always meant for an audience. Once published, digital pieces, such as blogs and YouTube videos, are often widely available and searchable on the Web."
It's so funny that even though I don't always enjoy collaborative writing, I have witnessed kids love it! They really do appreciate having an audience. They are more clear, more focused on details, and happier to revise. I love when they take their writing seriously.
"Digital writing, by showing students how writing can be used, often enhances the drive to learn the basics."
Ah! Yes! Showing HOW writing can be used. I love this idea of finding a variety of ways that students can learn how writing is used.
A snarky comment, just because I'm dork and I have to:
"A friendly letter is more likely composed on a smartphone than on stationary."
Hmm. I wonder if this author realizes that one of the beauties of technology, spell-check and grammar-check, can't catch mistakes like this one with a common homophone. Not all friendly letters are less likely composed while standing still...
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
"An Idea Whose Time Has Come"
This past month has been crazy.
Between collecting 120 essays and attempting to grade them in a timely manner (how long is "timely" anyway?) and trying to buy a house (eeeeee!), I have unintentionally shirked my blogging responsibilities. For shame.
However, just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been reflective. Oh, I have!
1. I forgot that I used to do audio comments while grading papers. The kids loved this! Why did I ever stop? I only did one class at a time. Could I do 120? Hmm. I need a microphone...
2. A co-worker grades papers using her "pen" and her computer as a tablet, then she saves them to Moodle. I have no idea how she does this, but I want to learn. This allows her to keep a copy of the paper she graded. Brilliant. All my graded and returned essays are floating in an abyss of binders/lockers/recycle bins.
3. I used stations/centers once in the last month. It was a beautiful mess. By that I mean, the kids were all engaged but it was a bit of a chaotic scene. I want to do this again, but better.
And so, on to my official reflection on "An Idea Whose Time Has Come":
The article opens with an illustration about how much access kids have to technology and how they utilize it. I couldn't help but think about some friends of mine who recently had a baby; he's now 4 months old. The mom mentioned that she is getting the new iPhone and they're going to keep her old one and give it to Fletcher to play with. At 4 months old, this kid is getting an iPhone. I don't even have an iPhone! So, for him, he could begin the BYOT initiative as early as daycare. But seriously, how many other kids are in this same position? I bet more than I realize...
I appreciate the positive, can-do attitude of this article on students "Bringing Your Own Technology." It is so easy to get hung up in the nitty gritty details of programs like this because we are scared. Yes, scared. I am well aware that my students, at least the ones with regular tech access, probably know more about their devices (and technology in general) than I do. It's not because I don't try; it's because it's second nature to them and they spend way more time acclimating themselves to it. But it's scary to relinquish control and not be exactly sure how a lesson will go. I like that Sheninger says that his school, "did not let excuses, such as equity, stop us from moving forward with an initiative that is turning out to have real value to our students and teachers." While I think the word "excuses" should be changed to "realities," I get his point. Move forward. At the very least, TRY.
Between collecting 120 essays and attempting to grade them in a timely manner (how long is "timely" anyway?) and trying to buy a house (eeeeee!), I have unintentionally shirked my blogging responsibilities. For shame.
However, just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been reflective. Oh, I have!
1. I forgot that I used to do audio comments while grading papers. The kids loved this! Why did I ever stop? I only did one class at a time. Could I do 120? Hmm. I need a microphone...
2. A co-worker grades papers using her "pen" and her computer as a tablet, then she saves them to Moodle. I have no idea how she does this, but I want to learn. This allows her to keep a copy of the paper she graded. Brilliant. All my graded and returned essays are floating in an abyss of binders/lockers/recycle bins.
3. I used stations/centers once in the last month. It was a beautiful mess. By that I mean, the kids were all engaged but it was a bit of a chaotic scene. I want to do this again, but better.
And so, on to my official reflection on "An Idea Whose Time Has Come":
The article opens with an illustration about how much access kids have to technology and how they utilize it. I couldn't help but think about some friends of mine who recently had a baby; he's now 4 months old. The mom mentioned that she is getting the new iPhone and they're going to keep her old one and give it to Fletcher to play with. At 4 months old, this kid is getting an iPhone. I don't even have an iPhone! So, for him, he could begin the BYOT initiative as early as daycare. But seriously, how many other kids are in this same position? I bet more than I realize...
I appreciate the positive, can-do attitude of this article on students "Bringing Your Own Technology." It is so easy to get hung up in the nitty gritty details of programs like this because we are scared. Yes, scared. I am well aware that my students, at least the ones with regular tech access, probably know more about their devices (and technology in general) than I do. It's not because I don't try; it's because it's second nature to them and they spend way more time acclimating themselves to it. But it's scary to relinquish control and not be exactly sure how a lesson will go. I like that Sheninger says that his school, "did not let excuses, such as equity, stop us from moving forward with an initiative that is turning out to have real value to our students and teachers." While I think the word "excuses" should be changed to "realities," I get his point. Move forward. At the very least, TRY.
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