It Is Not Always "Every Man For Themselves"

Working as a group is inevitable. It is not something I like to do within my classes but it is something that I have learned to do. I am not about taking leadership and keeping it but rather taking leadership and sharing it. I created the document and shared it with the rest of my group partners. I enjoyed this group work because it was helpful to see other technologies that my group members came up with. As English majors some of us clung to the technologies that we can use in order to define and look for synonyms, those options that are available to us to help assist in our teaching. Others of us focused on the technologies that allow the students to become creative within the classroom rather than the standard projects. This group work gave me good insight to new ideas that I will be able to use within my classroom and change the way that teaching is done. I was very impressed with how little overlap of technologies we had. Even though overlap was acceptable on this assignment I think that our group did an amazing job on finding as many different technologies as we would. When we did repeat them, we all had different reasons for them. I absolutely believe that this is a document that I will hold onto and use in the future, and as a teach player, share it with other teachers that I would be in contact with.

Technology and Book Reports

Having grown up with the boring book report, five paragraphs, 5-7 sentences each, include the author, title, and summary, I have always wondered how we could make this more interesting, more engaging. Not all children like to read as is, and having them then complete a report that bores them is not helping the situation. In my fieldwork class I was lucky enough to see two different ways to create a book report that got the students involved as well as accomplishing the same thing. Not only were they able to read their book, like it, and understand it, but they had a fun time creating an assignment that was going to be worth a large grade.
These students had to create a PowerPoint in which they told the class the name of the boo, the author, the summary, themes, their favorite parts, and feelings that were seen throughout the book. At the end of their PowerPoint they were given creative liberty. Presenting these PowerPoint's on the SmartBoard gave them more liberty than they would have with simply projecting the information on a screen. One create idea that I saw in a few classes was the idea of connecting vocabulary. The students put one column of words and another column of definitions. They students in the audience were picked to come up to the SmartBoard, use the SmartBoard pen and draw a line between the word and the definition that they thought matched. If the pairing was incorrect the presenter was then able to erase the line and let another student try. This taught the students vocabulary, during a presentation, that incorporated technology. Thinking about it from a pedagogical stand point and out push to live up to the technology we have, I was intrigued and through it was a successful project. What impressed me even more was that the students were coming up with their creative idea's thinking about how they could use the SmartBoard to their advantage. 
I was able to see the same teacher, with another class, do a book report but in an entirely different way. This project was called "Book in a Box". The students were to collect items that had to deal with the book and present them to the class explaining their significance. The students loved this because it involved very little writing, they were able to be creative and they enjoyed showing the other students what they had found.
This simply proved one thing to me. There are always two ways to do things. Teachers are able to incorporate technology in amazing ways. Teachers are also able to have students go back in time without technology and find things in the physical world rather than the digital world. They could also turn to the technology of pen and paper and have students write papers. These two projects were not only fun for the students but it made grading fun and easy for the teacher. Technology in classrooms and with students is such a great tool if executed properly and with regards to the students that you, as a teacher, have within your classroom.

Technology in the 1900's to Today

Technology is something that is progressive over time. We did not miraculously have smart boards in classrooms because someone snapped their fingers but because people worked to figure out this technology for years and years. Technologies advancements are unbelievable but in order to understand them we have to look back to the 1900's.
In the world of English we are lucky enough not to bother so much with technology. We love our books, both hard and soft covered and we enjoy writing with pen and paper. Looking back at the YouTube video I realize that English classes can be compared to the 1900's and the idea that pen and paper were their means of writing and communication. Throughout the video I saw a lot of children with pens and paper on their desk ready to write notes and understand material. This was one of the greatest influences throughout history of a form of technology.  The one thing that I noticed and was intrigued by was the television with the words on the screen in order to teach vocabulary. This allowed the students to hear the words but it also took away the need for a teacher. I am not sure that these videos taught much nor entirely caught the children's attention. Also the idea of the teaching machine, I am sure that it was great for English and seeing words and knowing how to spell them but again it takes away the need for a teacher.
In my world of English, I 100% think that the greatest piece of technology and will always stand as the greatest is the use of pen and paper. It allows for expression of oneself and also allows for the teacher to be needed and to have a purpose.I would rather have my students using books and paper and pens rather than looking up the spark-notes in today's world of technology. Students need to learn the material and understand it before they go searching for alternative ways to get around learning the material.

Full understanding from reading a book or
summarized understanding via a screen?

The online article "A Social History of Media, Technology and Schooling" by Vanessa Domine opens up the idea of whether students got anything out of the educational videos. In today's world I wonder if students get anything out of looking at a computer screen. The article worries about the amount of information the students were getting from the educational videos and if they were truly learning anything. As a student, I found it much easier to memorize and learn when I had to write things with pen and paper. The action of writing has been proven to make a difference in retention of information.
The problems lies here, in Chapter two of "Rethinking Technology in Schools". On page 32 of the text it states "The fact that textbooks are generally costly to produce has created a chronic need among school teachers for more affordable means of instruction". Real books and the money for such resources are lacking therefore some teachers these days are going to more video based and online instruction. Within the text it also discusses the "information superhighway" that students and teachers alike must prepare for in the world of the 21st century. As we progress with technology it becomes more difficult and this is why I hold onto the pen, paper, and book idea because it is something that can never change.
My argument unfortunately goes back and forth. Back in the 1900's paper and pencil was used and used successfully as it is today. Both in the 1900's and today books were used when they were available to the teacher. Instructional video still has its skeptics on whether it is effective or not but was used for some time in the 1900's and with the invention of YouTube it has become a very common thing to see within  classrooms of today.

Being Literate Now Including Technological Literacy

"Back in the day", as colloquial as that can sound, there was simply the idea of being literate, being able to read and write. Pen and paper was all that was needed. Today, reading and writing are still a huge part of literacy but it encompasses so many different medias. Not only do we have to learn how to read and write with books, paper, and pencils within a classroom but students today are also expected to know all the details of typing and researching properly. This allows for so many discrepancies in students learning. In my fieldwork classroom I have already witnessed three accounts of plagiarism for a book report assignment. The internet access that they students are capable of using allows for temptations of "copy and paste".  The world that kids are growing up in now is giving them the tools to not have to know much. Students can look up definitions on the internet rather than learning how to use a dictionary and they are able to research summaries of novels rather than actually reading them.

The problem here lies in whether the students understands the material or not. Comprehension is a lacking ability in today's students. The technology that helps students with comprehension is their eyes and a piece of paper and a pencil. Their brains must be worked and push to understand material rather than being pushed to read something off of a screen. As an English teacher, in order for students to understand material, we have to bring it back to the old school way of technology, pen and paper. Students must have the ability to read and comprehend before they have the ability to use a computer and the technology of the day. New technology allows for advancement in teaching and creativity but it is important for teachers to rely on what has worked from the beginning on occasion.