Reflections on Using Teacher Web

1. Describe at least two ways that the use of a class website like TeacherWeb could be used to support your future teaching. Provide some specific details for each example.

I will definitely have a class website, whether it is TeacherWeb or another host. One reason for this is that from my perspective as both a student and teacher, I find that organization plays a huge part in how much work students are able to complete, and how much respect students and teachers have for one another.

Using a class website means that I can provide an advanced calendar in a central location that is accessible from anywhere, and that shows when readings, assignments, and tests are due. This eliminates paper waste, the problem of students losing assignment dates or not writing them in their planners, and also helps students who want to look ahead and plan around sports schedules, family vacations, dentist appointments, and the like.

I strive to make my classroom as transparent as possible - I will never "trick" students, withhold important information, or otherwise mislead them. The class website, again, provides a central location for me to upload all assignments, class handouts, grades, and the like. If a student misses class or loses an assignment, they know where to look to see what they've missed. The gradebook is fantastic as well, as I will keep it as up-to-date as possible. A student could then look at their grade at any point during the semester without having to come to me and look it up. And parents could look at the website and see exactly what is going on in their young adult's classroom, which again, would cut down on confusion, or simply phone calls/visits to my classroom to see what's going on.

Due to a lack of funding in most districts, classroom supplies might be lacking, or outdated. Having a single list of links to important sites such as the MLA guidelines and literary terms is a great way for students to find basic information they need on their own, rather than asking me how to perform basic tasks over and over again.

Finally, assuming that my school has the capabilities, I will be doing a lot of multimedia, collaborative projects with my students. Students will therefore be spending a considerable amount of time online, and I think it's only practical that they have an online site to go to for whatever information they may need while working on their projects.

2. Identify 2 ways students could use a class website like TeacherWeb to enhance their learning. Provide some details for each way identified.

A lot of what I mentioned above applies to students as well as teachers. In addition to the practicality and convenience of being able to access handouts, assignments, grades, and resources at one website, I also think students could create websites like the TeacherWeb one for their own projects. It's a great way to organize and present information on a research topic, or a collaborative performance assignment.

Blogs and Wikis in Education

1. Identify and describe three interesting/innovative ways blogs and/or wikis are being used in K-12 classrooms.

Edublogs.org lists ten ways that blogs are being used in classrooms. I've included the ones I find most interesting below:

• to post materials and resources


• to host online discussions


• to create a class publication


• to get students blogging


• to share lesson plans


• to integrate multimedia of all descriptions


• to organize


• to get feedback

I've witnessed many of these wonderful results firsthand, as one of my teachers utilized blogs as a tool for exploring weekly critical and/or creative responses to the readings we did in a graduate level course I took. She posted the blog prompts on the class website, along with the due date for each prompt, and kept a blogroll on a second page of the website. We were responsible for reading the prompts (there were always two options) and posting to our own blogs, as well as responding to two classmates' blogs.

I had such a great experience that I ended up keeping my blog and I try to post a couple of times per week. Blogs allow our innermost thoughts, ideas, and creativity to be shared across an open network and are accessible by anyone with a computer and an interest in similar ideas. They are less stuffy and formal than traditional papers, and there is a live audience beyond the teacher - I've actually got three people (whom I have never heard of nor met following my blog).

And it works at the lower levels as well. Several high school English teachers have set up blogs for their classroom and have helped their students set up individual blogs as well. They use the main blog to post a writing assignment, reminders about upcoming reading/classroom activities, and comments regarding class discussions. The students, in turn, access the main blog, read the prompts, and write in their own blogs. Generally, teachers have students post, and then require them to respond to two other bloggers' posts. Some teachers do not have their students create blogs, but instead, have students respond in the comments section of the main blog. Students are often more candid than they would be in a more formal assessment, and more descriptive than they would be if called on randomly in class. They also allow for students to post photos, videos, or other multimedia to enhance their writing, or simply serve as a visual representation of a student's response to a text, an event, or an emotion.

2. Describe how you might use RSS readers/aggregators within a classroom setting.

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It is used to update frequently published information, most frequently, from blogs and news headlines, in a standardized format. An aggregator is a website that is used to collect these headlines. From Wikipedia: "The user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed's URI or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds."

Basically, instead of having to visit numerous sites to check for updates and information, a teacher or student could visit his/her aggregator for an organized collection of headlines and descriptions in one location.

RSS aggregators are great for all sorts of teaching purposes. They could be used by a class to follow news about a certain topic or time period that they are studying, or by the teacher, to keep up with changes in educational policies, to keep up with the blogs of other educators, to keep up with author blogs, to keep up with topics in a teacher's field, or simply to keep up with the news (especially helpful for history/current world problems teachers).

3. Describe at least two pros and two cons of using blogs and wikis in education.

Pros:
Both blogs and wikis allow students to interact with one another, with a live audience, and with the text by allowing collaborative work (wikis) and through comments (blogs) and links to others who are writing/blogging about the same topic. They allow students to interact with authors, scientists, and others who have taken their work to the level of 2.0. Before the internet and before collaborative spaces were created online, this was nearly impossible without an enormous amount of funding and luck.

Wikis, but especially blogs, maintain a record of student writing and activities: essentially, these online spaces act as a permanent portfolio of student work that can be accessed from any location at any time by any employer, friend, parent, teacher, or other interested party. They are a great way to showcase student work and ensure that it doesn't get lost in the paper shuffle.

Cons:
As with anything new in education, blogs and wikis will need to "prove," their worth - to parents, administrators, and possibly other teachers. There will be parents who deem these online spaces unsafe for their children. There are issues of anonymity vs. public record: should students post under their own names so that their work can later be found doing a simple search, or should students remain anonymous to protect their privacy from unwelcome eyes?

Then there is the issue of access. Blogs and wikis require online access, but prior to that, they require enough computers for the entire class to access. If the classroom is not equipped with enough computers (few are) library or computer lab time will have to be scheduled. If the school has a conservative firewall, this too will have to be navigated.These physical considerations must be taken into account. In addition, there is the matter of the digital divide. Some students will have computers at home and may be eager to work on their blogs and/or wikis on their own time. Other students have no access to a computer, let alone an internet connection. How will you handle requests from students to spend outside time making their blogs/wikis extra special?

Despite these concerns, perhaps because of these concerns, I find that the pros for using blogs and wikis outweigh the negatives. Exposure to technological devices that might serve students both personally and professionally in the future is incredibly important and rewarding. Digitally literate students will have not only technology at their fingertips, but the ability to explore, create, analyze, and adapt to all kinds of situations. What teacher wouldn't want that?

MI in the Classroom

Discuss which of the multiple intelligences you have strengths in and then discuss some of the core characteristics of that (or those) intelligences.

The results of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Test indicate that my strengths lie in the Intrapersonal, followed closely by Rhythmic, and Verbal areas. Judging from the MI descriptions at Walter McKenzie's Surfaquarium site, I'd say that the characteristics associated with these areas are pretty spot-on. Examples of some of these characteristics include an awareness of one's thought process, a regulation of one's thoughts, actions and behaviors, a sense of one's morals - basically, Intrapersonal people really know themselves quite well inside and out. Characteristics of Rhythmic intelligence include seeking out and identifying with patterns and a heightened listening ability. And finally, Verbal or linguistic intelligences include the ability to express oneself orally and in writing, a pretty accurate description for me, a writer.

Discuss which of the core characteristics best describe you and your learning style.

I found the descriptions to be quite accurate. For example, I know my self pretty well, and I like working alone. I am very Type-A about my projects, and I fear having to give up that power over the quality of a project if I'm put into a group. (Hate group work!) I also prefer assessment that allows for either creativity or writing, since I believe I express myself best in writing (especially storytelling). I find it easy to apply rules and skills involved in language to a variety of different disciplines: I hate any types of tests that rely on logic, one-correct-answer, or multiple choice. If I am allowed to explain myself or explain how I came to the conclusion that I did, I feel as though 1) I am learning something and 2) I am being fairly assessed.

Discuss what students with this type of intelligence enjoy, are like, or tend to do within classroom settings.

Intrapersonal learners are communicators, they express strong likes/dislikes, show confidence, and relate to others based on a sense of themselves. Linguistic learners enjoy and are skilled at expressing their learning through discussion and essays, they enjoy word play, and are good storytellers who use descriptive language.

Discuss how you will support this type of intelligence within your classroom and within your teaching.

For all learners, I will offer students a variety of activities and assessment tools so that they don't feel as though they are being misunderstood and I will differentiate instruction so that learners of all intelligences will have the opportunity to flourish. When working with Intrapersonal learners (and all learners, for that matter) I will ask students to set goals for themselves and reflect on their own learning and I will involve students in the development of the assessment we use in the class.

I'm also a proponent of online forums for student work: blogs, wikis, websites. I feel that all students can benefit from having a wider audience for their work (especially Intrapersonal students who might not feel comfortable sharing their work aloud or face-to-face).

For Linguistic learners, I will utilize journals, promote opportunities for writing in different genres/styles, I will include oral storytelling and emphasize the importance of preserving different forms of storytelling, and I will provide a small library of quality young adult literature for all of my students and will work with individuals to come up with other reading suggestions.

Discuss what technologies stimulate this type of intelligence.

For Intrapersonal learners: class discussion, real time projects, digital portfolios, self-assessment, journals, and YA lit.

For Linguistic learners: newspapers, magazines, and web-based publishing are fantastic tools.

And finally, discuss how you might impact student learning by applying your understanding of learning styles and multiple intelligences within your classroom.

As I said in the post before this one, I feel that it's important for me to be cognizant of the variety of ways that exist to teach a concept. I hope to affect student learning by changing things up, offering choice, and realizing that just because a student doesn't understand a concept when I teach it one way, that doesn't mean they won't understand it if we try a different tactic.