Introduction

I consider myself to be technologically adept; I know my way around a computer, and I often use the internet as a resource for my lesson planning. However, I had not made much use of technology in my classroom.

I know that my students have never known what it's like to live without computers, televisions, or media of almost any kind. They use these things in their daily lives, but how could I use it to enhance their learning?

This semester, I decided to make a conscious effort to incorporate technology into my lessons. I have documented the results in the posts that follow.

Step One: PowerPoint Notes and Vocabulary

PowerPoint has become an invaluable tool in my classroom. I use it to introduce new vocabulary and to give notes. I've even used it to "talk" for me on the days I've lost my voice!

I began using PowerPoint in my theater arts classes in order to enhance the note-taking experience. Since theater is a visual field, I wanted to incorporate visual elements into the notes, in order to give students a firmer grasp of the ideas we talk about.


















Giving notes like this helps me; since I've planned my own notes beforehand, I'm less likely to forget important bits of information.

Receiving notes like this helps my students; they are sure to write down the most important points I want them to know, but the information is still flexible enough that we can open a dialogue when necessary.

I use PowerPoint in my study skills classes to introduce new vocabulary units.

Previously, the students would copy the words and complete the activities associated with the units, then take the test. All of this was done on an individual basis.

There were several problems with this approach:

1. The students would not bother to learn how to pronounce the words, so they were not able to recognize them when they heard them.
2. The students were often unable to use the words correctly. If they didn't fully understand definitions, they would improvise, often with disastrous results.
3. The students did not retain the information after they completed the tests. Their goal was to take the tests, not to learn new words.

I decided to teach vocabulary as a whole class activity. For each word, I would present the part of speech, the definition, a picture, and several sample sentences using the word. After the first few weeks, I also began including other forms of the words, since students would often use a word almost correctly, not knowing how to change the words' tenses as needed.



















Presenting vocabulary with PowerPoint gave me the opportunity to check students' comprehension before they began working with the words individually; it also provided students with an opportunity to ask questions about the words, to check their own comprehension, and to see examples of the words' correct usage. The pictures give students a visual reference when they are trying to remember definitions later.

Since I started introducing vocabulary with this method, my students' test grades have risen. In addition, I've noticed that they have fewer usage errors when writing their sentences or stories. Most importantly, I can review words months after we completed the unit, and students still remember definitions.

I use PowerPoint almost every day in my classroom. It is one of the easiest ways to incorporate technology into the classroom.

Step Two: Music and Movies

Students are not allowed to use their iPods in the classroom, but I am, and I take full advantage of that privilege!

One way that I've used my iPod is by providing background music for reading. Students listen to music when they are doing homework or reading at home; they can have the same experience in my room.

Music can indicate the genre or mood of a story before we even begin reading. For example, when my English I class read Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," I filled my iPod with spooky music, so they could experience the musical equivalent of roaming through the underground catacombs of Paris. Students knew through the musical cues that something strange was going to happen.

Amontillado playlist













iTunes is a great resource for teaching poetry; virtually every classic poem has been made into a song, and there is likely to be a recording of someone reading the poem as well. I used this to my advantage when teaching Poe's "Annabel Lee."

After reading the poem together, we listened to The Cruxshadows' spoken version of the poem. This version uses sound effects in the background, and the reader is very expressive (in a creepy way).

Next, we listened to The Society Islands' song. This version is almost a folk song; it sounds almost like a sweet love story. This offered the class an opportunity to talk about how people interpret poetry differently, and how their own backgrounds and experiences can cause them to have an experience with literature that is unique.

I cannot stress enough that I would never have found any of these songs without iTunes; the search feature is easy enough that I can type in either a title ("Annabel Lee") or a keyword ("scary"), and a great number of songs come up immediately.

In addition to music, iTunes also offers podcasts covering subjects that range from television shows to dating to Chaucer. Though I haven't used podcasts in my classes (yet!), I have a colleague who uses the Grammar Girl podcast as a supplement to her grammar lessons (Grammar Girl offers "quick 'n dirty" tips for remembering grammar rules). Students appreciate the condensed--but practical--grammar rules, and they also like the novelty of having another teacher; sometimes changing the routine just a little can invigorate a lesson.

I often use iTunes during my lesson, but I use YouTube when the lesson is completed; it can help reinforce our reading by giving students a visual adaptation of the literature. For example, I showed

this video after reading "The Cask of Amontillado."



The class watched this video after reading "Annabel Lee."

Each of these videos was produced by high school students; there are hundreds of videos available that match these titles. I chose these particular videos because they use the original texts that we studied in class.

This video gives a fantastic illustration of irony. Once my students watched it, they were able to transfer their knowledge of this concept to the stories we read, and they were able to identify irony in those pieces.



I used YouTube videos in my Theater Arts I classes to give examples of types of propaganda. YouTube has videos of commercials that are as many as thirty years old, and typically these are the most popular with my students (this Bounty commercial was very well-received; in fact, students insisted upon multiple viewings!



When my Theater Arts II class was talking about satire, YouTube was an excellent resource, as there were more than enough parodies of the plays we had already studied; these were often student-produced as well, and that added a level of interest for my theater students.

****** YouTube is blocked in Tipton County schools; to show YouTube videos, I had to download another application, ZillaTube, which converts YouTube videos to other media formats. TeacherTube is like YouTube, but the content is submitted by teachers; this site is accessible in Tipton County and has many fine resources.

In conclusion, both iTunes and YouTube have enhanced my reading instruction, and they have in turn enhanced my students' learning experience.

Step Three: Drama Society blog

I needed a way to communicate with my Drama Society (the school club for students interested in the theater arts). I considered using MySpace, because nearly all of the members have individual MySpace pages, but I rejected that idea because the site is blocked at school. I chose edublogs.org, because its interface is easy to use and because it is accessible at school.

The club meets only once a month, and often information needs to be dispersed to the membership between meetings. The blog is an easy way for Drama Society members to receive new information between meetings. Since they can access the blog from both school and home, they can always know what is happening with the Drama Society.

This blog is not interactive; I do all the updates myself, and there is rarely (if ever) a need for students to leave comments.

Updates are sporadic; I only post I receive new information.

Click here to look at the Drama Society blog.

Step Four: English I blog

I don't use journals in my English classroom. The reason is very simple: I hate grading them.

Still, I know that there is value in asking students to write about what they've read. In keeping with my goal of incorporating technology into the classroom, I created the English I blog.

Click here to see my English I blog.

This is the first time I have invited the students to join me in using technology to enhance their learning experience.

I chose Edublogs.org again, because it is accessible at school; this is important because some students do not have internet access at home.

I post a question every day that we have class, and students are expected to post a comment that answers that question before the next class period.

Here are the advantages of using a blog instead of a journal:

1. It's easy to grade; I just read the comments and give credit to the students who have posted.
2. Students are excited, because they like using the computer.
3. Students don't have to carry any extra materials, and I don't have to keep any extra materials in my room.
4. Students are gaining experience in using technology for work-related tasks.

There are disadvantages as well:
1. Students who don't have internet access find it harder to complete the assignment. (To solve this problem, I have offered my classroom computer after school for those students who need it; in addition, they can use the library computers before and after school.)
2. Students disregard the blog page entirely. (I have found that the same students who do not complete their paper homework also do not complete their blog homework.)

Over the semester, the number of students who post has increased. I have--during class--stressed the importance of answering the blog questions, and I have sent a note to parents about the blog. I now make students write the blog assignment in their agendas every day. In truth, I've found that the ones who do the assignment don't need my reminders, and the ones who don't do the assignment wouldn't do it even if I held their hands on the mouse and typed their answers for them.

One thing I did have to do was model the kind of answer I wanted. Previously, students would respond with one or two word answers, and they either didn't express themselves fully or they created an answer that had little to do with the question. I began to give examples both of the types of answers I did want and didn't want. After a few weeks of this, I noticed a vast improvement in students' comments. I decided then that I would only give examples of what I don't want from now on, and this seems to work well with my students.

I was very excited about the blog when I first began using it; I was sure that the students would embrace it and that they would be excited about using the computer as an extension of the classroom. I have been discouraged from time to time because of the lack of involvement on the students' part, and I've often wondered if it adds anything to their learning experience.

However, I recently had a parent visit my room and tell me how much she appreciated my using the blog as a journal. She stressed the importance of teenagers gaining experience in using the internet, since they will almost certainly have to know something about it in order to succeed in the business world. She really validated my own reasons for introducing the blog, and that has made me more determined to find how I can best use it as a learning tool in my classroom.

Step Five: Interactive PowerPoint Quiz

To further increase students’ personal interaction with technology, I created an internet quiz using PowerPoint. I learned several new skills while creating the quiz, such as how to create and manage hyperlinks in a logical sequence. I uploaded it to the school’s server and gave my students the web address.

The quiz was created for my Theater Arts II class. I used this quiz as in introduction to a unit on Greek Theatre. It tests students’ prior knowledge and provides them with new information. After taking the quiz, students had an idea what we would be talking about during the unit.

The quiz was a great success in my class. The students enjoyed working on the computer, and since there was no grade attached, they were able to answer honestly, without fear of losing points. Later, students could use the quiz to test their knowledge, and to remind them of what they had learned, from any computer.

I was very happy with how the quiz worked with my class. I often give pre-tests before a unit, but this was a new and—to my students—more fun way to achieve the same goals that a pre-test does.

Step Six: Internet Scavenger Hunt/WebQuest

Sometimes I don’t want to teach through a lecture; at these times, it’s a good idea to give students an internet scavenger hunt or webquest. These tools require the student to take full responsibility for his learning experience; he must find the information, absorb it, paraphrase it, and demonstrate his comprehension of it.

To introduce O. Henry to my English I class, I created this internet scavenger hunt. It requires students to collect information, then share what they have learned in a group. The group must then categorize the information and present it in a graphic organizer.

For my own part, I had to use all of the technological skills I had gained during the semester. I also stretched myself by incorporating other resources that I hadn’t used in class before: rubrics and graphic organizers. Finding a way to put all of these elements together proved to be somewhat challenging, but I am very proud of the end product.

In creating the scavenger hunt, I first had to do the research myself. I found this useful because it showed me how my students might search for answers, and I was able to choose appropriate websites with a discerning eye. I selected six websites and asked questions that would require the learner to go through all of the websites in order to complete the task. I made sure that each question could be sorted into one of four categories. I divided the questions into three separate lists, which I would use later to divide students into groups.

Once the students answer, share, and sort the information, they need to find a way to present it. Because my purpose was to avoid a lecture, I decided that a graphic organizer would be the perfect method to display the information the students had gathered. I had to find some that would be appropriate for the project, and I included links so that students would have some guidance in creating their presentations.

I used this lesson in my English class yesterday, and here are the things I would do if I decided to use another web-based lesson:

1. Set aside at least thirty minutes to explain to students how to use the internet. Teach difficult terminology such as keyword search, sidebar, and double-click.
2. Remind students every three minutes that they will have to search the websites; the answers will not be written word-for-word or in the order in which I asked the questions.
3. Remind students that a question that cannot be answered on website might be answered on another.
4. Explain—in detail—the concept of categories.
5. Explain—in detail—the concept of sharing answers within a group.
6. Define graphic organizer.

In short, a complete lesson that takes students through the process step-by-step would be very useful.

Here are the things I liked about the lesson:

1. It does force students take an active role in the learning process; they are too eager to absorb and regurgitate the information I give them. Having them do the research themselves gives them practice in critical thinking, and having them sort and present the information exercises their higher-order thinking skills.
2. The lesson can be adapted to almost any unit. It can definitely be used to introduce authors (I want to re-use it—-with some revisions—-when students study Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet).
3. Frankly, the assignment itself is awesome. I am so proud of it, from the conception of the idea to its completion. I not only used skills I already had, but I had to acquire new ones that will be useful in the future.

Conclusion

Though I feel that I have at least managed to increase my use of technology in the classroom, I know that there are so many more resources that I have not yet used, and that these resources may make a difference in a student's comprehension, or even his perception of school in general.

I also need to remember that students, though they may use their own computers on a daily basis, do not have the same knowledge I do, and that they may need explicit instructions and demonstrations in order to successfully make use of the technology themselves. I've been reminded that students are often reluctant to make use of new and unfamiliar learning opportunities. Still, I'm even more certain of the importance of helping students use technology to enhance their education.

I feel that I have moved beyond the traditional lecture-review-test method of teaching, but my students are not as eager to move past these boundaries as I am. I am more determined than ever to help students become more active participants in their schooling, and I am excited about all of the opportunities that technology in the classroom offers.

On the whole, I am glad that I made an effort to learn how to incorporate technology into my classes. I think that this decision has helped me to become a better teacher, and it has helped my students to become better learners.