Technology+in+the+Classroom

Michael Robert and Jeremy Chao
media type="file" key="techintro.mov" width="300" height="300"

Film
Class Website

Film Cameras
SMART Boards Online Grade Books Apps

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 For the last two years, I have been teaching a ninth-grade elective class called visual literacy. When I was interviewed, I was asked if I had a film background and whether I was prepared to teach film in the classroom and with no hesitation, I answered, "absolutely." Though my background in film was limited, I brushed aside any difficulty there would be teaching film analysis to ninth-graders. All I'd have to do was follow the curriculum that would be handed to me on the first day and I'd be all set. If you know anything at all about New York City Schools then you’ve already guessed that there wasn't any curriculum. I had to start from scratch and here’s what I’ve learned. ======

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 There are two main points to remember when teaching film. First, just like with literature, it shouldn’t be about the film itself, but the skills that you are using the film to teach. If done correctly, film can be used to teach literary technique as effectively as a w ork of literature. If you choose to watch the “Godfather,” don’t do it because it’s a classic. Do it because you are teaching characterization and whether Michael is ultimately dynamic or static. Do it because you are teaching motif and the director is shouting at the audience to pay attention when he strategically places those oranges. ======

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 Second, any time a film is playing make sure your students have their notebooks open and are working on an activity that is part of your lesson. I always have my students write an essay response to any film I show in class. I give this worksheet to my students to help them keep track of their ideas. ======

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//Directions: look at the examples of how to turn a topic (issue) into a main idea sentence. Then, based on three issues you have identified, write a main idea sentence for each one that can be a lesson or a warning.// ======


 * ======//Topic (Issue in the film)// ====== || ======//Main Idea (Theme: Statement that serves as a lesson or warning)// ====== ||
 * ======//Example: Friendship// ====== || ======//Sometimes friends do things that disappoint us.// //1.// //2.// //3.// ====== ||

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 Underneath each main idea sentence that they come up with, I tell them to find three examples from the film that supports their main idea. These become the supporting details in the essays they will later write. ======

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 At the beginning of the year, you should distribute grading procedures that your students and their parents/ guardians should sign to indicate that they understand expectations and how their son/ daughter will be evaluated in your class. This is the time to let parents know that you will be showing “R” rated material in your classroom and that their signature is their consent that their son/daughter will be viewing this material in your class. In other words, //CYA//. ======

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 One thing that surprised me was how liberal the New York City Department of Education is about which films are appropriate for the classroom. Films such as "Apocalypse Now," "Do The Right Thing," and "Raising Victor Vargas" are labeled appropriate. Late last year, the Department of Education created the [|"Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Moving Image"]. This is a comprehensive document that discusses how film, television, and animation should be taught in the classroom. Make sure that you clear anything “R” rated that isn't on the “Blueprint” with your administration. Because films with nudity and excessive profane language like "Do The Right Thing" are on the “Blueprint,” you can use this as a reference if you want to show something that’s just as edgy, for example, "Cidade de Deus." ======

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 If you intend to build a class website, the first thing you must decide is what your intentions are. Are you planning to use the website just in your classroom or are you expecting your students to go online at home? Do you have access to the right technology in your class? Is there a computer lab in your school? You must know your students. Do they have computers and internet access at home? Don't assume that they don't. Some of my students have claimed that they can't afford a notebook for my class, but they have three-hundred dollar cell phones. Ask them. ======

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 If your students do not all have internet access but you have technology available in your school, you might consider creating a website and posting an assignment once a week. You can make Friday a technology day and allow them to go online on Friday in your class and complete this assignment. You might choose to post classroom procedures and all extra credit through your site. If students want credit but do not have a computer, you can teach them how to use your school’s technology lab or how to go to their local library to complete their work. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Once you decide how you’re going to use your website in your instruction, you must communicate your expectations to your students and model exactly how to access and utilize the site. I can’t emphasize strongly enough how important it is to slowly and repeatedly show your students how to complete their work on your site. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I created my classroom website for my twelfth-grade English class. This class had twenty-one students who all had a computer and internet access at home. I told them that it was necessary for them to check the site daily as I would post recaps from my classes as well as every assignment. In addition, I told them that I would accept nothing handwritten and that all of their work must be submitted through the site. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Though it may seem like a lot of work, creating a classroom website is easy to do. First, you should create email addresses for all of your students. I used [|Gmail] for several reasons. First, it's free. Second, attached to every Gmail account is a word processing program called [|Googledocs]. This is a great program because it is easy to use and your students will have instant access to a word processing program even if they don't have a computer installed with an expensive program like Microsoft Word at home. Another advantage is that Googledocs saves your work to your e-mail account which means that your students will no longer need a USB drive to save and transport their work to and from school. All they have to do is log into their email accounts from any computer and they will have access to all of their assignments. As a result, you will not have to listen to any more excuses that your students’ papers are saved on their moms’ computer at home. Additionally, there are PowerPoint and Excel programs attached should you wish your students to create presentations for your class. Also, unlike DOE email, Gmail allows for forwarding so that, if your students choose, they can forward their class email to their private accounts so they will not need to check this account every day. Finally, there is a chat function so when your students are working on their papers late at night, they will be able to instant message anyone else from the class who is online working on their papers at the same time to conference. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> When I created my students' accounts I used their first name, underscore, the school's name, and their graduation date. For example Michael_NE2010. MAKE SURE that you do not use your students' full names. In fact, do not use your students' last names at all. This is the internet, after all, and there are a lot of creepy people out there. Though only you and your students will have access to your site, it's smart to be careful. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> There are several places you can go on the internet to build a free site, but the one I recommend is Blogger, operated by Google. Go to [|Blogger] and create a new account. Here are tutorials [|here] and [|here] on how to do it. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> There are many benefits to using a blog in the classroom. First, you can hold your students more accountable because you can create deadlines outside of when your class meets. Many of the seniors in my class were absent at the beginning of the year because they were visiting colleges. Because I utilized the website, I was able to post a recap of what happened in my classes and students were still expected to post their assignments. Second, I made papers due at 11p.m. Sunday nights. Even if students were absent Friday and Monday, they were made aware of the deadline and because their papers are time-stamped, I know if they've been turned in on time. Third, frequently I’ll have my students comment on each other’s work. This gives them access to what others are writing, allows them to share ideas, and builds a collaborative community. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Instead of writing the rules, you can give your students a rule and have them film one student breaking the rule and one obeying the rule. Kinetic learning. Great for visual and auditory learners. Digital pictures as writing prompts. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Cameras can get expensive but I recommend [|Kodak's Zi8 Pocket Video Camera]. It's portable, takes quality film, and costs less than two-hundred dollars. This camera has a thumb drive that flips out of the camera so you don't need to worry about film. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> If you write a grant, you should have little problem finding people will to contribute on [|DonorsChoose.org]. [|Tribeca Film Festival] also does a camera to the classroom grant. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In reading about the increased presence of technology in English classrooms, one complaint has stuck out. Many teachers tend to underutilize the increasingly ubiquitous SMART Boards they have in their classrooms. They become glorified projector screens, used for copying Do Nows, posting homework assignments, flipping through Power Point presentations, and watching videos. Some students become so conditioned that when they enter a classroom with a projector set up, they assume they are just going to watch a movie for the entire period. There are so many other options that go wasted by a majority of teachers. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The lovely thing about SMART Boards is their interactivity. The problem with English classes tends to be a lack thereof. The problem is in finding activities that allow for built in student interactivity. Math and Science classes have so many activities where the SMART Board can be utilized fully, whether filling out equations or discerning appropriate formulas. English instruction can fall by the wayside. Luckily, as a 7th grade ELA teacher, a rather obvious activity was dropped in my lap: editing. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is an entire editing section on the 7th grade New York state ELA tests. In my first year teaching (when I wasn’t given either a SMART Board or a projector), I fought hard to either project my editing exercises on a white wall (which became messy and unreadable), or supply my students with handouts, which they would halfheartedly complete and hand in for my frantic grading. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This year, I was fortunate to share my classroom with a 7th grade Math teacher, who in turn shared his SMART Board and projector with me. This gave me the opportunity to allow for further student involvement. In the weeks and months leading up to the ELA test, I created daily editing handouts for my students to complete as a Do Now. I then turned the projector on and asked for volunteers to use the colored styluses to find the errors and correct them. A once trudging and boring grammar lesson became much more interactive and “fun” for a majority of my students. Plus, I felt I was using the SMART Board as it was intended. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, there are many contingencies outside of a teacher’s hands that limit the effectiveness of a SMART Board. For one, many teachers at my school are given classrooms with installed SMART Boards, but are then given no projectors. At least half a dozen teachers have gone out-of-pocket to purchase a $500 projector for use in their own classrooms. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition, many teachers inherit SMART Boards, projectors, or computers with major glitches or hardware issues. The computer I was issued for use in my classroom (a first generation eMac) is over 8 years old. It runs extremely slow and, worst of all, is unable to run the SMART Board software. I was forced to either abandon the use of the SMART Board in projecting my editing lessons, or bring in my own personal laptop instead. Many times I was forced to project my editing lessons on the board and have my students manually type their changes into my keyboard. Interactive, yes, but not as the manufacturers or the Board of Education would have intended. ======

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> V. ONLINE GRADE BOOKS

A. Introduction

I spent my first year as a teacher with a painstakingly updated paper grade book, with daily rows for Do Nows, homework, class work, participation, quizzes, tests, projects, and anything my students turned in. It was what I thought teachers did. At the end of my first grading period, I sat down to figure out my students’ grades. The amount of menial math I had to do to determine just one student’s grade was aggravating, taking at least ten minutes to calculate.

In addition to being time consuming, I was unable to give my students updated grade reports throughout the grading period. A student would ask me what their grade was, and I would have to give them a range of grades, not pinpointed feedback. Or I could sit down during my lunch, crunch the numbers, and give that student a rough number the next time I saw them. Not very efficient.

After complaining over adult beverages one Friday afternoon, a colleague of mine turned me on to online grade books. One such site, [|engrade], became my go-to grade book. First of all, it’s free, a major selling point for a starting teacher. Other sites, like [|snapgrade], have more available features, but require a paid subscription.

B. Implementation

With engrade, I can allow my students constant knowledge of their current grades. After setting up my rosters, I assign each student an individual access number. This number, along with their class ID, allows students to register for their own free engrade account. From there, students can log in and see how they are doing.

In addition, you can set up how much the different aspects of your classroom are weighted (homework 25%, class work 25%, quizzes 25%, projects 25%, for example). This weighing takes care of the math for you, making grade time as simple as cut and paste.

Also, for students who lack internet access, it only takes a moment to log in, click on a student, and print out an up to date grade report. Student feedback becomes much more immediate and useful.

VI. APPS

With the increasing number of iPods and iPhones on the market, it’s no surprise that “apps” for teachers have begun to appear on iTunes. One such app is called “[|Attendance].” It’s only $3.99, but can be a handy way of keeping track of student attendance, creating spreadsheets of lateness and absences, and sending mass e-mails to students. This is especially useful if you have taken the steps to create gmail accounts for your entire class. With the flick of a thumb, you can let absent students know what work they missed or send out homework, test, or project reminders to the entire class.