Final Project: Technology Integration Matrix for "Increasing Students' Understanding of Point of View in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Technology Integration Matrix

The Unit Plan that I chose was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and focused on characterization and point of view.  

*Note: The lesson plan I chose was only to help guide my organization and almost all of it was adapted so I could effectively incorporate digital technology. 

Session I:


        This first session focuses on Access, Analyze and Produce sections of the Media Literacy Cycle. After students have completed reading To Kill a Mockingbird, the teacher will begin the lesson with a "Do Now" in which the students are asked to write about what it would be like to live in someone else's life for a day (they would choose the person they would "become" for the day).  This would start off the PowerPoint lecture that would ensue.  The PowerPoint lecture (on a SmartBoard) would include information about characterization (focusing on characters in the novel) and how point of view affects the interpretation of the novel.  The SmartBoard would be used to toggle from presentation to YouTube videos which would give students a visual aids to assist in their understanding of the lecture. This would be the Access portion of the class.
        After the presentation was completed, there would be a large group discussion in regards to the characters of the novel, and how the point of view in which the novel is told helps or hinders the telling of the story.  The SmartBoard would have threads/topics on screen to help students gather ideas to start the discussion.  This large group discussion would focus on the Analyze portion of the Media Literacy Cycle.  The discussion would go from student run to teacher run when it comes time for the Formative Q & A.  This would be done prior to handing out the homework sheet so that I could determine whether or not the students were on par with the lesson for the day/clear up any last minute misunderstandings.  The Homework Handout would be the student's first digital technology interaction of this lesson.  This Produce section asks students to pick a person of their choosing (perhaps the same person they wrote about in their "Do Now"), research them on the internet, and complete the handout.


Session II:


        The second session of this lesson would focus further on Analyzing and Producing sections of the Media Literacy Cycle.  In this session, the Analyze and Produce sections are listed together because I feel that through their activity they are analyzing information in regards to the novel.  Students will be broken into small groups after a brief "reinforcement" lecture about point of view and characterization to make sure that students have the necessary knowledge to move forward with their group projects (The SmartBoard will have the PowerPoint on "repeat" so it will be accessible for the students throughout the class period).  Students will then start creating a blog from one character's point of view, using www.blogger.com as their platform.  In the classroom they would only be asked to produce one blog post so there would (hopefully) be time for students to present their blogs.  The students would use SmartBoard for their presentations and are asked to explain why they chose the format of the blog, what their blog was focusing on (for instance; Scout grappling with attempting to understand issues and events beyond her years), and the language in which they chose to write the blog.  This blog would create a bridge between eras and make the angst and issues of the novel understandable in today's society.  Students will be asked to finish their blogs in alignment with the rubric passed out to them (so they have an idea of how to structure their blogs) and be ready to present them.


Session III:


        This final session would focus on the Communication and Evaluation sections of the Media Literacy Cycle.  The students will present their blogs using the SmartBoard as their presentation tool.  The SmartBoard was chosen because unlike a PowerPoint, the SmartBoard can be manipulated with the interactive "pens" so a student can zoom in/out, drag, and do all kinds of interactive things to their blogs which will enhance their presentations.  After each presentation, the students in the audience will be asked to do a peer-assessment of the group which will be read and used by the teacher to assess the presentations and then furnish a final grade for each group.  
        After the presentations, there will be a Formative Q & A session so I can ascertain whether or not the students gained any knowledge and technical understanding from the group presentations.  The students are encouraged to provide feedback on whether or not they liked the projects (providing they have reasonable opinions to back up their answers) and if they have fully understood the objectives of the lesson.

(15) YouTube in the Classroom

"Dear 40-Year-Old Me..."


     This empowering video of high school students who are members of the Illinois Safe School Alliance, which is a safe zone for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students is one way that shows how effective "video diaries" can be in the classroom.  These students video taped themselves talking to their 40 year old future selves about what it is like being high school students and being gay.  This video struck a note with me because my best friend is a homosexual and has been mercilessly teased and bullied throughout middle school and high school for her sexual orientation.  These students appear to be empowered by this video, they are strong and have a voice in which they tell their 40 year old selves the heart breaking experiences they have been through - rejection, violence, bullying, exclusion, you name it.
     This video is a great example of self expression.  We tell our students to be themselves and not to be afraid to be who you are, these students took to technology to do just that.  The traditional "Dear ..." letter style was taken and revamped into a video, put on YouTube so that it is not just a "letter" for one reader to experience, but can be experienced by millions who can listen, comment, discuss, and access the creators.  While YouTube may be a bit pervasive for some projects, the video project is a fun and alternative way for students to keep a journal or "write a letter."  If it were my class (English) I would love to have students act out scenes - put a different spin on what they have read by recreating their own interpretation through props, characters, clothing, setting and really have an individual twist on a text.  

(14) Facebook: Too Hot to Handle?

Facebook

HuffingtonPost is on a role for me today!

I am just finishing up reading an article that discusses CONCERNS for Facebook.  The educational highlight is the over-exposure of students' and teachers' lives which is a safety and integrity concern, as well as the ever-present issue of bullying.  

We have discussed the amazing features of Facebook as a learning tool but I think we need to take a hard look at the dark side of Facebook - or any social media before we launch head first into integrating it into our lesson plans.

Facebook is youthful but is has serious consequences when poor judgment is used.  We have even seen where adults make poor judgments and it has cost them careers, friends and family which makes me want to take a deep breath before I start using Facebook again.

If we use Facebook in our lessons we need to be emphatic that it is a tool not a chronological timeline of the students' lives.  Privacy controls need to be read, understood and enforced as well as discussing the potential for bullying. Bullying becomes harder to control when the Internet is involved and I think that we need to discuss with our students cyber bullying before incidents happen, rather than realizing it is an important topic after an incident occurs.

Facebook...you are a cautionary tale.

(13) Digital Technology is the Future

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-p-chavous/in-a-digital-learning-sta_b_1432577.html


     This article sums up our class perfectly! It is a rather short article but it discusses the need to overhaul the education system in America to align it with the digital age that our students are facing.  


     I think this quote from the article sums it up perfectly, "Today, our kids are spending their time with hi-tech video games, on the Internet and mastering smart phone usage. Too often, their knowledge extends beyond even that of their own teachers. Digital learning is the new disruptor and a game changer for education. But, like all innovations, it must be channeled to the end-user's interest.  If we do this digital learning thing right, we won't have to recruit techies from India or China, we can recruit them from the barrio and the hood."  


     Kevin Chavous, the writer of this article sees the imminent need for technology in the classroom, not just for the students, but the teachers need to be able to keep up and understand the digital age.  The NETS-S/NETS-T are essential to this closing the gap of understanding.  Our class has taught us that we need to be in the know, utilizing current technological tools with our lessons, not only for our students who need extra enrichment, but for those who have a knack for technology who may not exactly be equipped with the tools to pursue that interest.

(12) "A Laptop for Every Child" - Far Fetched or Reality?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ketaki-desai/one-laptop-per-child_b_1417801.html

     Once again, the Huffington Post has provided me with an interesting article to debate.  The brain trusts at Carnegie Mellon have come up with a very lofty goal of reaching communities across the world and through companies within the communities they will provide laptops to the students. They provide a multi-step program in order to have the students feel ownership over their technology.  They will have software developers collaborate and offer software to the students and provide the students with an international forum in which they can discuss the benefits and detractors of provided software.
     The idea of the forum is to provide cross-cultural learning, and the laptops provide students education inside and outside of the classroom. That is a nice ideal but it seems far fetched and a bit dangerous.  This forum is more or less the world's biggest chat room and if it is not closely monitored (which then takes away the freedom the students have to interact with each other) then there are many dangers - predators, exploitation, voyeurism/exhibition, so many things that we fight to keep our students away from on a daily basis.
     


     Does this plan seem like a far reaching goal or a sound beginning to a global community for our students?

(11) Interactivity #5

     The teacher I interviewed teaches at Princeton Charter School in Princeton, NJ (Mercer County). She acknowledged the differences between public schools and charter schools, particularly how her school teaches one grade level ahead. For example if you teach first grade you are actually teaching your students second grade material. The teacher I interviewed was not at all familiar with the NET-S/NETS-T but her school has just recently looked into them in more detail. She did say that there will probably be an upcoming professional development day dedicated to familiarizing NETS-S/NETS-T with the teachers. Technology is used for enrichment purposes. Since the school has a difficult curriculum there needs to be a lot of reinforcement for the students, and the teacher I interviewed says that technology plays an important part in the day-to-day classwork for students. She also says that since the school attracts a lot of gifted and special needs students they have to be on top of technologies used in schools in order to stay “attractive” and relevant in current school trends. She said that the school provides basic computer classes – learning to navigate the internet, type, using Microsoft applications to do projects and other various computer literacy skills. They use internet clips for current events and to reinforce lessons with visual aids.  I was a bit surprised that the teacher I interviewed was not at all familiar with NETS-S/NETS-T. I had figured with the progressiveness of the school like the one in which she teaches would be already implementing them. I had initially thought that the NETS would be very well known to teachers. As a future educator I would discuss NETS-S and NETS-T and their necessity to be implemented. The world in which students are living today is a very global and technological world. Students need to be kept in the know because if they are left behind my fear is they will be swept up and forgotten. Technological advances affect our schools sharply and our students need to be aware of them in order to thrive in the current school system.

Interactivity #4 Spreadsheet Updated

(10) Insta-book?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/instagram-facebook-acquisition_n_1412623.html


The above article in the Huffington Post talks about how Facebook has purchased Instagram for over $1 Billion.  Why is this article interesting in regards to technology in the classroom? Well at first I was not sure how this would connect to our current course; but then I realized that it is a technology that our future students will be using - there are already over 30 million users of Instagram to date.  The article stresses that Instagram will remain a private entity - users do not have to have a Facebook in order to use Instagram.  For people like me who do not use Facebook but enjoy Instagram, this is a relief.  


We have discussed the potential uses of Facebook in our curriculum - creating Facebook pages for main characters - and how integrating the web tools students use everyday outside of class in class makes technology fun and interactive.  There is a lot of discussion about privacy and photo sharing on Facebook and now that it has acquired Instagram it has come up again.  This is one of those blog posts that cautions future teachers about photo sharing.  I got off of Facebook because of how open and accessible it is to strangers and future employers (let's face it, with the privacy controls changing constantly, who takes care to update them as often as necessary?), and started using Instagram because it was less of an exposition of my life.  


Educators (current and future) need to be aware of these technological pitfalls and celebrate their usefulness but respect their pitfalls and stay away from them.  It will be interesting to see how Instagram changes now that it is in the realm of Facebook.

(9) Autism is Becoming an Epidemic?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/29/health/autism/index.html?hpt=hp_t1


In the article (link above) by Miriam Falco on www.CNN.com, she discusses a 78% increase in the U.S. of children diagnosed with Autism, a SCARY fact for parents and future teachers alike.  


"In 2000 and 2002, the autism estimate was about 1 in 150 children. Two years later 1 in 125 8-year-olds had autism. In 2006, the number was 1 in 110, and the newest data -- from 2008 -- suggests 1 in 88 children have autism" (Falco).  That is an alarming statistic that the CDC provides us with - how do we as teachers prepare for this?


http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110301/news/703019898/


Another news article from the Daily Herald (above) suggests the use of technology in the classroom, specifically an iTouch or iPad to assist teachers enhance the learning of students with Autism.  This article discusses how it helps students cope with their need for structure and Apps that assist with vocabulary and help with social cues.  The Apps offered on the iTouch or iPad help track behavior and diets which is helpful for parents and teachers.

Technology will help teachers and students communicate in alternative ways instead of the traditional roles which will foster learning for students with and without special needs.

(8) "A Modest Proposal" by Andrew Delbanco

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-delbanco/a-modest-proposal_9_b_1382791.html?ref=education&ir=Education


Are lucrative careers in information technology, business, and marketing slighting the importance of humanities in our higher education curriculum?  This article discusses the moral implications of a technologically reliant world.  I would say that since intellectual property rights are constantly being questioned - how to successfully attribute recognition and understand what is plaigerism and what is not.


Delbanco goes on to say that the readings and texts of humanities classes help build a moral standing - seeing how past centuries wrestled with morality.  Imagine how they would view our technology today and how hard they would wrestle with our technological moral questions today.


My thought in how this is relevant to our technology class is - do we really think about the moral implications of the technology we use - or at least how it impacts us in a social or moral way? Over the course of this semester I have been more open to technology in the classroom but I still wonder sometimes whether or not we fully understand the future implications of this technological boom.

Interactivity #4

Interactivity #4 Spreadsheet


     I chose this particular lesson plan because I have noticed that the media has permeated every corner of students' lives.  I feel that students from a young age need to learn how to deconstruct these media messages in order to navigate the truth and stay away from the biases and half-truths that people glean from the media and advertisements.  From a marketing standpoint I also think that it is necessary for students to understand what goes into making a media message and more importantly why the message was created.  The group aspect of this lesson was also appealing because I believe that students need to be able to constructively discuss their opinions and come to a collaboration authentically without a lot of teacher's influence.  The small oral presentation also forces students to logically explain their opinions to their classmates.
     My standards and strategies do not perfectly align but there could be a case made for each strategy and it would quasi-fit into a standard.  The technologies that I listed were the ideal technologies that I would have in my classroom, however there will be many instances when I do not have the necessary technology at my fingertips.  I would not be 100% guaranteed classroom internet availability for all of my students simultaneously.  There may not be a projector to project my PowerPoint so there may be a chance that I could not show a commercial, I would have to only use still images of media messages.
     I think that this lesson is pretty comprehensive in regards to state standards. In recreating the lesson I tried to hit a variety of standards, to mix up the lesson itself and to make sure students experience different ways of learning - through reading, public speaking and a writing assignment.  I think it would be extremely difficult to hit every objective but a sampling of them is helpful.  I think that Reading and comprehension standards were extremely focal to this lesson.  Language and Speaking were also key - there is a certain language to media messages and that was translated into the students' oral presentations.

Navigating the Digital Waters of Scholarly Journals

From Information to Knowledge: Also in Science


This article discusses the merit of publishing scholarly journals online and how protecting intellectual property is not the only problem.  Reissuing articles - reworking them so they look like new information (plaigerism) is becoming a hazard to the Science community.


Why is this important to education? Students do all types of research online - for papers, current events, articles, etc.and they must be able to tackle the job of figuring out whether or not their research is authentic, stolen, of poor quality - any number of landmines students must be wary of when they conduct online research. In today's society since there is a heavier reliance on internet research, students should be taught how to properly navigate the internet for optimal research.








...Thank you again to Huffingtonpost.com for providing me with a great/interesting article!! 

Interactivity #3

Google Spreadsheet of Technologies for English Content Area    


 I felt that it was very much an individual event.  There was initial interaction as to who was going to set up the spread sheet and how to input the data but after we set up the Google Spreadsheet it was very much an individual task.  We did not split the research into any sections, we all did our own research.  There was no set structure for inputting data, we did that at our leisure.  It was easier to make the interactivity more individual because of time conflicts with class and work schedules.

     I think that we made a pretty decent list - there were certainly technologies that I had never thought of, so I think we tried thinking outside of the box.  They would all relate well to the English content area.  I particularly like the "Apps" section of our Spreadsheet.  Being new to the iPhone it was really fun to research apps that would aid a student in an English class.  The apps like the "Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms" would have been something I would have LOVED in high school to help me from confusing the literary terms.  

     We had a section called "Assessment" in our Spreadsheet and it gave examples of things such as online tests and online rubrics that students and teachers could use to assess themselves/the students throughout a lesson.  That would be extremely helpful in the CURR314 class.  The "turnitin" website is a useful tool for teachers since plagiarism is an unfortunate epidemic in classrooms.  In regards to READ411, the column "Homework Tools and Test Prep" had 2 entries - "Analogy of the Day" would be an interesting "Do Now" for teachers to ask students to write about and "Vocabulary Enrichment" would help students in regards to test preparation as well as reinforcing the vocabulary of the lesson.

Technology: Too Invasive?

This Forbes article about how Target tracks its customers' purchases seems helpful on the surface - doling out coupons for things you use/could potentially use, but in reality it is very invasive to the general public.  So the question I am posing is - does technology sometimes allow companies to get too invasive into the general public's lives?


Forbes Article

Just a Thought

Even though this is an article regarding parents it can be helpful in the classroom too to think about this as we are teaching...


Are We Raising a Generation of Helpless Kids?

Interactivy #2

       The focus of the video was on instructional television and its advantages. There was little discussion about the way it can enhance an English classroom, but very focused on the Mathematics and Science content areas. Since it is well known that the United States values a Math and Science curriculum, it seems that an English content area teacher is left to figure out technological tools in the classroom by themselves.

       The technology I would pick would be the television. Since it's inception into the home it has been a source of information. Different means of information have been introduced into classrooms since the construction of common schools. Pamphlets, flyers, posters, and so forth were the starting point. Then came the introduction of the television into the classroom (Domine 31-32). 

       This introduction of the television changed the ways in which information was relayed to students. Moving images, words and the ability to see beyond the classroom are some of the capabilities the television has to offer. That is the pipe dream of the TV in the classroom. Unfortunately, like many other great ideas, when used improperly they can get a bad reputation. Television use inside of the classroom has been linked with capitalistic consumerism. Supporters of the protectionist perspective see technology in schools as a proponent for media to bias the students (Domine 36-37). An example of the feared media infiltration and propaganda in schools would be the Channel One news program. “Protestors of Channel One argued that the two minutes of commercial advertising violated students' civil rights. Educator and activist Jonathan Kozol called Channel One nothing more than a corporate rain on education” (Domine 38).

       This technological advancement seems to have had the biggest impact on my content area. The television was the start of all of the other technologies in a classroom. As a future English teacher, the computer seems to be a good way to reinforce certain materials like watching a play that we are reading in class on TV or gaining relevant contemporary information through TV channels. The argument that television is a proponent of propaganda can actually be helpful in an English class. While yes, advertising that targets students is not the best way to utilize technology, it can be helpful to teach different English lessons. The suggestion of teaching students how to decode these media messages would correlate well in an English classroom and could be incorporated well into lessons.

This image is appropriate because in a classroom technology can be very overwhelming.  This can be the case if the teacher is not adequately prepared or able to make technology a seamless part of the everyday classroom curriculum.

WORKS CITED

Domine, Vanessa Elaine. Rethinking technology in schools primer. New York: Peter Lang, 2009. Print.

Interactivity #1

My 3 most influential communication technologies are:

1. Cell Phone


2. Email


3. Skype




     In the video regarding Olivia, she came across as a technologically savvy 17 year-old-girl.  This doesn't come as much of a surprise in today's society, however Olivia's socio-economic status has proven a hindrance to her learning/interacting with technology. She does not always have access to a computer (there is one in her building with limited hours of accessibility) and can go to other places - such as the Apple Store - to take photos of herself and put them on her MySpace page.  She admitted to constantly being on her cell phone - a way to check her MySpace and communicate with friends and family.  Remarkably, Olivia is mainly self-taught in regards to learning all of the technologies she uses on a daily basis.  Her love of social media is a continuing trend among young adults - the easier way to communicate the better.  Olivia reacts like any other 17 year-old reacts to technology, regardless of her socio-economic status.
     As a future teacher, I will have to be mindful of my students and understand that not all students in my classroom will have the means to access computers on a regular basis.  In planning lessons I will have to either utilize my school's resources in order for students to complete assigned tasks or figure out some other way for the assignments to be completed. 


     In the video "Learning to Change, Changing to Learn" the children all expressed their ideas of what technology means to them.  In regards to learning, they use technology to type papers, do research, communicate with friends and teachers, to create projects - videos or movies - design art projects and other digital medias, one girl even learned Japanese using her computer.


     The way in which I learn new information has been streamlined greatly by the aid of my iPhone.  I have the internet, email, music, newspapers, search sites, etc. at my fingertips.  I never have to leave my apartment in order to learn anything - which has aided in my access to information, but boosted my laziness of experiencing moments for myself.
     Like Olivia and the kids in the "Learning to Change, Changing to Learn" video, I am always hooked to my social media sites - Twitter and Facebook especially.  I use my computer for communication - Skype being the best way to talk to people far away.  My cell phone is attached to my person as well, it rarely if ever is beyond visibility and it is used as an alarm clock, an iPod, a mode of various communication - phone, email, skype - and for taking pictures and typing documents.