Letter to my teacher . . .

Dear Professor Sorenson,

Thank you! I've said it to you many times in person, but I thought it appropriate to address one of my last blog entries for the class to you . . .

As you know, I entered the class with so many fears about technology, and I'd spent a great part of the summer dreading this class . . . not only because I felt completely technologically incompetent, but also because I found technology entirely boring. The entire extent of my knowledge was limited to email, browsing the web, and . . . using Discovery. No joke.

Now, I am able to use Blog, set up a Blog, and attach things through HTML not only to blogs but also to power point presentations, etc. Additionally, I have learned tons of different software products, including but not limited to: Kidspiration/Inspiration, SMART Board, Google Earth, You Tube, S-Present, Flickr, Box.net, Wikis . . . and that is only just the beginning!

I can't believe how much I have learned! Even more, I can't believe how much I have enjoyed the class, and how excited I am not only to use technology I have learned, but to continue learning more myself! Now that I have a solid foundation on Web 2.0, etc., I feel like I know enough to keep teaching myself . . . I know my strengths and weaknesses, and where to go to learn more.

Thank you, Prof. Sorenson, for making technology an exciting thing to learn about! Your passion for technology . . . and your passion for your students . . . was consistently evident throughout the class; you are my Technology Inspiration! I'm so thankful for your patience, your knowledge, your excitement, and your care . . . for the extra hours you put in, the gifts you brought, the food you MADE and bought, and all of the ways you went above and beyond your duty as our teacher. I sincerely wish I could take this class again next semester . . . and every semester, so that I could continue learning more and more about technology. You are such a blessing to me; thanks again!

Hannah Bryant

"Tutors for Toddlers"

"Call it kindercramming," says Pamela Paul in her article "Tutors for Toddlers" in the November 21, 2007 edition of TIME Magazine. She goes on to discuss the increasing desire among parents to educate their children . . . even from ages 3 and 4 . . . to get them a head-start on their education. These parents hope to encourage their children to become "life-long learners" through this process, and believe that they are setting them up for leading jobs in their fields, whether that be business, law, medicine, technology, etc. Consequently, some are paying $125 a month for their children to have a half hour meeting with a tutor each week, memorizing flash cards, learning to read, etc.

I struggle with this idea. Though as an educator myself, I strongly believe in education, I also believe in the institution of the family. I believe that children must have a strong foundation in their home life in order to become healthy and well-functioning adults. I also believe that at a young age, a parent is the most influential adult on a child's life and development. Therefore, a parent reading to his/her child each evening before bed will probably be just as (if not more) effective than spending money on a tutor. I find that our society is often so focused on jetting children forward into adulthood for financial and career success that they lose sight of the importance of CHILDHOOD.

Another critical avenue of learning (perhaps most critical) is simply life-experience. In order to establish children as well-rounded, balanced individuals who are able to learn not only academically, but socially, relationally, and emotionally as well, it is critical to allow them their early years to develop outside of the classroom. I hope that this is only a passing trend, and that the US quickly moves back to foundational faith in the power of family to develop intelligent and amazing adults.

Ridalin: The Drug of Choice!

One of my students got suspended a few weeks ago . . .

Why? Not for violence . . . not for being obnoxious or acting out in class . . . not for being disrespectful . . . not for sexual harassment . . . not for threats or bullying . . . not for getting caught smoking weed . . .

He's "been diagnosed." That's how my students commonly refer to themselves . . . after being told that they are ADHD. And then put on the pill . . . ah, Ridalin, what a joy and blessing to knock the life out of active little 15 year olds . . . of all races, all personalities, all languages. Like a rat tranquilizer, that allows scientists to experiment without the hazard of activity or movement. Thank you, Ridalin, for removing the student's journey towards self-control and maturity. Thank you, Ridalin, for destroying the parents' need for discipline! Thank you, Ridalin, for making possible all of the ridiculous laws about education that have so wonderfully affected my profession! Thank you, Ridalin, for subduing my students (to the point where they cannot think) so that they can more effectively listen! Thank you, Ridalin, for not only enhancing the learning process at schools all throughout America, but thank you even more for enhancing the quality of life of all overly-active students!

Unfortunately, my student was not so thankful for his pill . . . clearly, he did not see all of these wonderful benefits of Ridalin. Consequently, he took it upon himself to find another means of ridding himself of "the drug." What were those means? Well, being the entrepeneur he is, he decided to rid himself of it FOR PROFIT. Yes, that's right . . . he began selling Ridalin. To the "normal kids," the undiagnosed ones, the ones who wanted to take Ridalin for the same reason that alcoholics throughout history have fallen to their drug of choice . . . it sure does feel nice to "be subdued," you know, to block real life out. (To block the teacher out; ironically, paying attention in class is a primary reason that Ridalin is prescribed.)

All excuses and explanations aside, this "diagnosed" student . . . the problem kid with ADHD . . . was kicked out last week for "dealing." Serves him right . . . he's the screw up anyway.

The List . . .

My last post ended with a reference: "Wherever . . . I teach . . ."
Within that single word "wherever," lay worlds within worlds of opportunities and adventures, all pulsating within me, but legless and bleeding . . . waiting to be lived out.

And some was birthed, "The List . . . "

I have always been a dreamer. It drives my parents mad . . . and my closest friends all just laugh . . . because they know that it's only to be expected that if I'm talking about starting health-care clinics inside of Section 9 housing in down-town Seattle one day, it's only expected that I would be speculating about how to lobby for more specific objectives in US foreign policy for food in the Sudan the next week, and the week after that dreaming about my life in the Sudanese refugee camps, and the following week chatting about starting schools for women in Afghanistan and then teaching them the Bible over tea in my house.

It's a wonder that I ever sleep . . . because each of my ideas is fully researched and played out in my head. As I said before, it only naturally drives my parents nuts . . . and they're always reminding me, "Hannah, God has a plan for your life . . . trust Him!" And I always following with the quip, "I do trust God . . . but He never told me not to DREAM!" And I can't help it . . . it's like telling the clouds to stop raining over Seattle. How silly! They'd never be able to get over the mountains if they didn't drop they're load right in our laps.

So over Thanksgiving break, I made a list. It's exclusive . . . only covering the things I've dreamed about since September (i.e.: the last three months). Some of them are more in depth than others, but for the sake of brevity, I will not extrapalate on any of them. It's just a reminder for the days when I feel restless and stressed out. Those are the days I feel dreamless. Dreaming is, for me, a stress-release. (Unfortunately it has the opposite effect on my poor dear mother)!!

1) Finish my masters in Ed. here at NU while teaching in the area
2) Start a masters in English or TESL at UW while teaching in the area
3) Seminary at Nairobi Evangelical School of Graduate Theology in Kenya
4) Seminary at JETS (Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary) in Jordan
5) Move to Chicago and teach down-town while living with Ric and Jody and doing Seminary at Wheaton
6) Working at New Horizons in Seattle while finishing my master's at NU. Continue building relationships with the women there . . .
7) Moving to Turkey and teaching English
8) Moving to Japan for the JET Program
9) Moving to Afghanistan with Rosa to teach at one of her schools, or again to teach English to women and then invite them to learn Bible at my own home . . .
10) Moving to LA to live close to my little sisters, and teaching in an LA high-school
11) Moving to Portland and teaching there, to be close to my brother and sister-in-law (and soon coming niece or nephew, fingers crossed!!)
12) Moving to Bethel, Alaska and teaching in the rural school district up there to pay off loans while living close to Charly and Roger, Alessandra, and Vanessa.
13) Moving in with mom and dad and teaching English either at my old high-school or at a school in Tacoma.
14) Moving to Ecuador to teach English.
15) Moving to New York for Masters in International Peace Keeping while teaching in a school there.
16) Moving to Tennessee to intern with IHOP (International House of Prayer).
17) Moving to the Sudan to help establish schools in the refugee camps outside of Darfur in association with WOMF, who I have worked with previously.
18) Waitressing at Desert Fire for long enough to pay off debt, and then back-packing around Europe for a few months before applying for a teaching job back here.

Some sound unrealistic and a bit . . . crazy . . . but what is life without a bit of unrealistic and crazy adventure? I think as far as dreaming, realism is what you make it. In other words, unrealistic is only undoable if you don't work towards it. I'm so thankful to live at a time and in a place where the world is literally my oyster . . .

And as I submit my dreams to the Lord, I am fully confident that He will lead me in the fullness of His glory, to know precisely what it is that He is calling me to and how to get there. I'll just keep moving forward as I pray . . . and trust His shepherding rod to guide me! How exciting to be able to dream with Jesus!

I'm a Teacher!!! (Almost)

I still can't BELIEVE that I'm a teacher . . . almost! I can't believe that soon, I'm going to have my own classroom . . .

That I'm going to get to empower other people to THINK, to BECOME, to DISCOVER . . .
That I get to invite them into the worlds of Dickens, Steinbeck, Orwell, Doestovsky, Faulkner, Chekhov, Shakespeare . . . and so many others! Oh, the worlds they don't even know EXIST yet!

Shakespeare . . . I can't believe that I get to teach SHAKESPEARE! It's true; my cooperating teacher Elizabeth Whitfield and I are meeting on Dec. 17th to plan out units on Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," and Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar!!" Yes, "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears . . . I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him . . ." "Brutus was an honorable man . . . " "Et tu, Brutus?" "But Caesar was ambitious . . . "

I love literature . . . where do I even begin? I look back over my life, and the friends that I have met in the novels of these great authors have shaped and molded my life more deeply than many of the people that I speak to and shake hands with. Their sacrifice, their honor, their faithfulness, their passion . . . their betrayal and hurt and confusion.

What an honor to invite others to meet these characters . . . and to ask them to analyze and create, to decide for themselves what they think about justice, about peace and war, about love and trust, about sacrifice. There is a freedom in the beauty of literature that gives me the space (and the responsibility) to invest in the minds and in the hearts of my students TRUTH. To allow them to see the world from a different perspective: to tear apart words and speech and language and structure, and find at the bottom of the barrel the naked beauty that remains.

And to reform that into words of their own. Their own story, their own beliefs. Beauty of Christ, reign supreme in my classroom . . . wherever and whatever I teach, for all time!

Confessions . . .

I have a confession to make. However, I must preface it by first explaining the depth of love that I have both for my family and for Christmas, in order to more clearly reveal how out of character this sort of confession is for me.

I have an older brother and two younger sisters, as well as a mom and dad who have been married for over 25 years now (all the more incredible to me because of all of the hard times I've seen them walk through together). I am passionate about my family, and the older I get (and the less I see them), the more I long for holidays . . . and times to be close to them. As a teenager, I remember yearning for the day when I would finally be released . . . sure that I would only come home out of necessity (and for very short periods of time). Now, my senior year of college, I find myself going home more often than I have in any of the previous three years . . . and milking the hours that I get to spend in conversation with my parents or my youngest sister . . . or anyone at home. I've learned the value of intimacy, and how vulnerability only comes at such an intensely great price. That has taught me to value my family, because they know me. They REALLY know me . . . the dirt and the ugliness as well as the smiles and the joys. And still they love me. And I'm so thankful for that.

I also love Christmas . . . not only because it means time spent with my family, but because it means time spent re-orienting my life. I find holidays, specifically those that are centered on Christ, very valuable in my life. They are a time of reflection . . . to look back over the past year, to look back over past holidays, and to remember the good things that the Lord has done, the hard things that He has pulled me through, and the faithfulness by which He leads and guides me through it all. Additionally, holidays are a time of rest. Not just physical rest, but a time where I can quiet my heart . . . and in that place, find the space to really look at my value system: to see the way that I am orienting my prorities according to the things that I spend my time on. In that way, I am able to realign myself with Christ by weeding out those things that I am prioritizing that I don't truly value, and hopefully investing more in those things I do value. What do I value? Investing in His Kingdom . . . where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves cannot break in and steal. His Kingdom of love, of righteousness, peace, and joy. Of establishing His glory in my land through loving His people with all of my gifts and talents and time. And through this, I am able to exalt Christ during the Christmas season . . . by remembering Him, by looking forward, by telling him in that place of quietness of heart, "Jesus, I love you. Even more than last year . . . forever."

All that said, my confession: I'm excited for Christmas break to be over (and it hasn't even started yet), because I'm SOO excited to start teaching!! I know . . . that's weird.

Class in 5 Years, Take Two!!

So, I wanted to do another blog post about the classroom in five years . . . because class discussion today made me think a little bit differently about it then I did originally. We discussed the differences that technology will make in our society's need for educators. Although that definitely did make me feel afraid at first, I can't foresee technology truly making a huge dent in the teaching industry. I think that, despite the technological advances that the western world especially has made in recent years, people still value relationship and person-to-person connection. My hope and prayer is that this value will not be something that changes within my lifetime.

Like Jenny mentioned in class today, I think that the way that my classroom will appear is highly dependent on where it is that I am teaching. Naturally, the technological resources of a school rest heavily on the availability and economy of that area. If I were to stay in this area, though, i think that my classroom would look far different than I can even imagine. Definitely, I think that we will have SMART Boards in every classroom, and no doubt each of my students will own a lap-top, which will pretty much replace entirely the need for notebooks and taking notes the "old-fashioned" way. Probably, paper usage will be minimal and most student papers will be emailed to me, where I will correct them on-line and email them back.

It was interesting to hear today about the newest classroom technology . . . the blue-tooth phone chip that allows a teacher to write on the SMART Board from anywhere within the classroom. I'm sure that if this is a hit, within five years that will be one more thing that is pretty typical to see in any classroom. Overhead projectors will be as foreign to my students as record-players were to me and my friends.

Technology to me is a world that is just opening up, and it's crazy to imagine all of the new and useful things that may arise within the next couple years. How exciting to think of the resources available to my students . . . but scary at the very same time!

Into the Future . . .

My future is . . . Water lilies!! Just kidding.

As to my future . . . funny to be writing this, because I just made a list over Thanksgiving weekend (this past one) noting all of the different opportunities I have planned to do during this past semester just NEXT year . . . not even mentioning FIVE YEARS down the road! Right now, it's difficult to think that far in advance . . .

But I have to say, I have definitely been enjoying the journey. I find there's so much freedom in the ability to dream, and trust that God is going to take my hand and lead me . . . regardless of WHERE I end up or WHAT I end up doing. Overseas . . . or down the road . . . teaching . . . or, I don't know . . . becoming a professional water lily gardener . . .

The lilies are there because I've been thinking a lot about that passage in Matthew 6, where Jesus talks about the way that His Father, in such perfect faithfulness, always clothes the flowers of the field with such splendor and grandeur . . . how much more will He clothe me? Therefore, He tells me, set your eyes on God's Kingdom and His righteousness . . . seek His face, and all other things will fall into place as well. I guess that's true whether I'm worried about clothes . . . money . . . or even MY FUTURE!! I trust His will and His shepherding in my life.

That said, I still love dreaming . . . and I think Jesus is all for it, too! So in five years, I hope to be overseas . . . maybe in a refugee camp outside of the Sudan planting schools, or maybe teaching women somewhere deep in the Middle East . . . or maybe even at an inner city school in Chicago after finishing Seminary at Wheaton. That said, I kinda wonder what the technology available to me will be . . .

I wonder if there will be SMART Boards available in places that currently struggle to get even pencils and paper : ) ?

Final Project Reflection

I'm finished with my Final Project!! It's a lesson on Sentence Diagramming and Prepositional Phrases for a 7th Grade English Class. I have already been frustrated a great deal, even though thus far I have mostly only been observing my cooperating teacher, with the lack of knowledge that high-school students have of even minor grammatical concepts. Though the lesson is fairly basic, I think that even my high-school students would benefit from it. The real answer, however, is for the students to get a stronger grammar foundation even from a very young age.

I have really enjoyed putting together this project so far. I have been very frustrated with my You Tube link that doesn't seem to be working right no matter how much I mess with it. But I'm sure that I will learn . . . and now it DOES seem to be working! HOORAY!!

It's been incredible through this process just to see how much I have learned, and what a great platform that provides for me to be able to share knowledge with my students . . . in the hopes that someday they will each be Grammatical Nerds, just like their teacher!!

The three primary types of technology that I used for this lesson are:
1) SMART Board
2) S-Present
3) You Tube.

The SMART Board was something I found very intimidating at the beginning of this semester, but now I feel quite competent and adept in my use of it. I am so excited that I was able to create my own lesson that my students can use with the SMART Board! They can diagram sentences directly on the computer screen using the interactive pens provided.

Secondly, I used a You Tube video within my presentation. Shockingly, I had never used or been exposed to You Tube before this class, except for hearing of it briefly and from a distance from friends, etc. Now, I feel like I can not only look up any kind of video that I would like to use for my class, but I can even link it to a lesson or copy the HTML or URL code to a slide in a presentation . . . like I did for this lesson! I can't believe how easy it is for me now! Pretty soon, maybe I'll even have the courage to MAKE MY OWN VIDEO!!

Finally, and what I am MOST proud of, I used S-Present . . . which is free software that I discovered during the on-line conference! It's power-point software, but SOO much cooler than Microsoft . . . plus it's free, and you can use it to publish your own presentations and then either email them to yourself or someone else, or embed the URL inside of a blog (like I've done here). On S-Present, you can add audio links, video links, or a huge array of clip-art, images from Flikr, etc., or different URL's within the lesson. It's an amazing device that links all the new technology with a power-point presentation . . . so that we can use all of the great software we've learned about in Tech. in Ed. directly in a lesson plan! Plus, it becomes EVEN cooler once you hook it up to SMART Board, because you could link a web-based game right directly onto one of your slides, and then play it on the SMART Board within that slide . . .and then move right on to the next one.

I'm pretty excited about it . . . although I'm sure that there's still plenty I can discover about S-Present, I feel like an accomplished EXPERT when using this software, and I am sure that I will use it for other presentations and lesson plans in the future!! Thanks to the creators of S-Present!!

Technology at Bothell Senior High

It's been interesting to me to observe the utilization of technology in the classes I observe. It appears to me that the Language Arts department within the high-school does not have access to the same technological tools as some of the other departments, for example the maths and sciences. While the science department has SMART Boards that they can access at any time, the English department must make a request to use them. Aside from that, their building is under construction right now . . . which means that all of the classrooms are temporarily located within portables. Therefore, transporting the SMART Boards from classroom to classroom through the rain and wet, bumpy pavement is not only inconvenient, but also not advisable because of the risks that that incurs to ruin the expensive technology. Consequently, my cooperating teacher and the other teachers I have observed in the department have not used the SMART Boards or other forms of interactive technology during my observations, excepting the use of an Elmo on a few different occassions. The digital projector (Elmo) seems to not only be useful but also easily accessible and efficient. We have used that for various lessons on literature, grammar, and drawing inferences about ideas/themes in class readings.

For the last couple of days, I have spent time with various different classes in the library. It has been interesting to see their various levels of comfortability with the computer systems available to them. This morning, the librarian was speaking to me and observed that she finds it very interesting that often, the students with lower GPA's who tend to not be as diligent in class work are the first to run to the computers, whereas those students with higher GPA's tended to use the books more often. She found this interesting, and thought that perhaps the less diligent students found it easier to "hide" behind a computer screen, where they appeared to be working hard when they may have actually been napping. I disagreed with her observation, because I think that they could just as well pull a book off the shelf and appear to be reading when they are actually doing nothing. I think that computers are often a realm where students are able to meet on equal ground, because computers provide for the eclectic interests and intelligences of each individual. It seems that often, technology empowers students who don't succeed as well in other realms to experience success and learning.

Questions for the Panel!

I'm super excited that we're going to get a chance to discuss technology in education with some alumni from Northwest . . . who have now been teaching out in the field . . .
How great to have the perspective of those who are out there now, looking back!!

Some of the question I would love to discuss with them will be:
1) Looking back, what do you wish you would have learned/spent time investing in before you started teaching?

2) What have been some of the most useful/helpful technological tools that you have used in the classroom so far?

3) How do your students respond to technology? How has it enhanced their learning experience?

4) As a teacher, do you feel like you have been well-prepared technologically speaking? Do you feel capable and competent to use technology efficiently and effectively in your classroom?

5) What are some resources that you feel it would be well worth our time to advocate for when we enter the teaching profession?


I'm excited to see where the discussion takes us . . . I'm sure I'll learn a lot and I'm really thankful for their time!!

Reflecting on the SMART Board

Wow! I loved to see all of the variety in presentations on Tuesday night! How awesome to see all of the various ways that SMART Board can be used . . . from "clickies" to Jeapoardy to learning what vowels looks like! It's so exciting to me just to see how useful and helpful it really is as an educator. I love it to for being so applicable to my generation . . . really, it is very entertaining to be able to play interactive games in order to learn lessons, and it makes learning seem so much more fun and . . . adventurous!!

The next day in Instructional Design, Prof. Garrett (who was there with her MIT program students on Tuesday night) was commenting on the SMART Board. She was noting how in her early years as a teacher, the administration at her school chose to only provide one single computer for the school. They explained to the teachers that computers were simply a passing phase, and in a few years no one would even use them anymore in education anyway . . . so it was useless to invest a lot of money in them. I laugh to think that that was their perspective at the time . . . how preposterous!! Technology, and specifically computers, have changed education entirely and given my generation, and increasingly for those that follow, opportunities never dreamed of before the era of computers. I projected my thoughts forward into coming years . . . how easy it is for me to be trapped into the same way of thinking: that SMART Boards may be just a passing phase. But then I laugh to think that there's a good chance that in only a few years, every teacher and every classroom will have one and will wonder what teaching was like before they existed.

It's so great that I get to spend time now learning how to be comfortable with it and use it, because each week I grow increasingly aware of its many uses in the classroom . . . and continue to dream up new ways that I can use it to enhance the learning experience of my students, whether in Sciences or in Language Arts. The SMART board is so . . . SMART!!

I felt like the presentations on Tuesday night were really fun, and I learned a lot. I especially enjoyed presenting . . . how amazing that I feel so comfortable using technology that scared me so much only a few weeks ago!!

Assgn #4: Animal and Plant Cell Differences

Biology is so exciting . . . especially when we really get down to the nuts and bolts of life: cells!! It really is astounding to be able to study the building blocks of life, especially when we look at the similarities between the cells of plants and the cells of animals. How fascinating that cells so similar could produce life forms that are so . . . DIFFERENT! What powerful testimony of the intricate design molded by a Creator God. Check out my lesson plan on Animal and Plant Cells, created with the help of SMART Board.

Pay special attention to slide 7, which I created on my own. In this slide, I added links to two internet sites. One of them is a picture of an animal cell with a crossword puzzle directly to the right . . . the other is very similar, except focused on plant cells instead. I found this addition to be helpful to my students, and add a bit more fun to the lesson plan. I additionally asked my students to use the SMART board tools to draw out an animal cell and a plant cell, and then pull down the covering shield to reveal actual photos and see if they were able to highlight the similarities and differences correctly.

My lesson plan designed to identify the differences between Plant and Animal Cells meets the NETS for 9th-12th grade students #8, which is "Select and apply technology tools for research, information analysis, problem solving, and decision making in content learning. (4, 5) " Through class discussion and participation, my students will be able to apply technology which will help in informational analysis and problem solving in the content area of biology. Likewise, it meets these Science GLE's: "1.1 Properties: Understand how properties are used to identify, describe, and categorize substances, materials, and objects; and how characteristics are used to categorize living things. 1.2 Structures: Understand how components, structures, organizations, and interconnections describe systems." Consequently, this lesson plan not only provides for state determined knowledge standards through the content area of science, but also continues to develop my students understanding and use of technology according to state standards.


This SMART board activity involves full class participation. I think that I will begin the lesson with some direct teaching preparation involving what a cell is: the building block of life. I will then explain to my students that, though cells are the smallest living organisms, even they can be further broken down to reveal all of the various organelles that work together to allow the cell to function. From this point, I will transition into the SMART Board activity lesson in order to allow my students to identify the parts of each cell, as well as their functions. We will participate in discussion throughout the lesson, focusing much on the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells. The first time that we go through each slide, I will have the students choose the option of "Click and Reveal" to identify the parts of the cells. After that, we will use the "Drag and Match" option to identify the organelles as a class. We will walk through the entire lesson as a class, though during the crossword puzzle slide I will break the class up into groups of 3 or 4 to work on the puzzle quietly together with the use of their texts. Learning will be assessed through a written quiz given later in the week on the parts and functions of the cells, which will incorporate the various pieces of the SMART Board lesson and will be modeled after the activity done in class.

This lesson is only one of HUNDREDS of examples of how useful the SMART board technology can be in my classroom. I think that my students benefit from this on many levels. Firstly, they are able to interact together as a class, which provides invaluable lessons not only on science and/or language arts, but also on how to work as a team and cooperate in social skills in order to achieve correct answers and work through a lesson. It is also highly interactive, which not only allows the students to participate in the learning process so that they can more deeply grasp the information presented, but also generally makes the information itself more interesting. Besides this, technology benefits my students because it allows them to have more than one teacher: rather than simply providing my own voice and my own lesson plans at all times, technology opens up opportunities for me to use other lesson plans posted on-line (whether through SMART board or not). This allows my students to get several different perspectives, teaching styles, and scopes on science/english. Therefore, their knowledge base will be more rounded and profound because of the opportunities they have to learn from various teachers. In addition, they will learn to begin teaching themselves and eachother. Because of the nature of technology, SMART board empowers students to learn individually and as a group through participating in the lesson in a way which lecture simply does not allow. Therefore, they become their own teachers . . . and, as it is often said, the best way to learn something for yourself is to teach it to another!!

Technology (specifically the SMART Board) is not only helpful . . . it is a necessity in my classroom. Through allowing the students to have a wider knowledge base, other teaching perspectives, an interactive classroom, and empowering them to teach one another, the SMART Board provides for the enhancement of knowledge and education on many levels.

Learning Productivity Software

Wow . . . that's a great question to reflect on: How WILL I assist my students to learn and use productivity software? I laugh to think that most likely in many cases, they will be assisting me to learn and use software more than I them. Even so, I am challenged to think of ways in which I can constantly be striving for and increasing my own knowledge in order to be expanding the knowledge base of my students. I think that the first step in this direction is consistent research on my own part. In order to keep up with the times, it will be necessary for me to devote myself to consistent study of advancement in technology and software development, so that I can provide my students with knowledge about all of the most state-of-the-art technology and software. Opportunities like the K-12 Online Conference are perfect ways for me to enhance my own knowledge and continue increasing my personal understanding of technology.

At the same time, this research and knowledge empowers me to be an advocate at my school for the technology that I hope to make available to my students. In order to get a SMART board in my classroom, it will be necessary for me to prove its usage to the administration. Along those same lines, as I discover new technology and software that will enhance the learning experience of my students, I will need to be the one advocating to the school why it is important, in order to provide my students with the greatest resources in education.

Additionally, I will need to make time for technology in my classroom: not only to use it, but to TEACH it. I believe it is important for me to show passion and excitement about current advancements in technology and software to motivate my students to move forward in it with that same passion and excitement. For those students who may be nervous about using technology, like me, I think that showing them how fun it can be (and how user friendly many software programs are), will make it something that they recognize is not to be feared, but embraced.

The gift of technology is something that I have the opportunity to offer my students through research, advocacy, and passion in the classroom.

Internet Issues for Students

One major problem with the internet for students more recently has been the My Space craze. I think that, because of the nature of high-school students, there is a tendency to feel a false facade of safety and a huge desire for intimacy and acceptance. Because of that, students have a tendency to build their identity through web-based activity, which can then be tracked by various adults and companies . . . or dangerous criminals . . . and end up having severe negative implications for their lives. I have heard stories of employers getting on the internet to check up on future employees my-spaces, and various other scary stories that reveal the dangers of my space. I think that the internet provides a huge weight of freedom that sometimes high-schoolers do not have the maturity to wield responsibly. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor them or assist in safety on some level.

K-12 On-Line Conference Feedback

I listened to two different teachings that were both posted on Friday, October 18th under the title “The Electric Slide! Twenty-First Century Style."

This teaching was so great and so applicable to my classroom! I'm really excited to use this software. Check out the first session:Electric Slide On-Line Teaching: S-Present. The software was basically an updated form of power-point which allows you to use Web 2.0 tools inside of each slide. There were links that allowed you to post U-Tube videos, Flickr photos, and other web documents directly onto a power-point slide. You could add all sorts of audio and visual things through html or just up-loading them from your computer. It was easy to use and very applicable to the classroom . . . user friendly for sure! I loved it! Plus, you can create your own account and the program teaches you how to use it yourself. Use the link I created below, "S-Present," to access it yourself.

Access the next session, Electric Slide On-Line Teaching: Splashcast, to learn about new software known as Splashcast. Here, you can create and publish your own shows that include music, videos, pictures, and documents that you have retrieved from the internet, or you can even record your own. Once you've published it, the software allows you to add it to wiki's, blogs, or even something like the s-present so that you can use your own video as a part of your presentation. Again, very user friendly and super useful either as a tool for lesson plans or as something that students can participate in themselves! Create your own account using the "Splashcast" link that I have placed below.

S-Present
Splashcast

I loved this conference . . . I found it very useful and I learned a lot that I hope to use not only in my classroom, but even in personal presentations and for later projects in this class. The teaching walked me through basic steps . . . helping me to not only create accounts in each of the two programs, but also feel competent in my ability to use the basic functions of the software. Thanks for providing this for us, Prof. Sorenson!

Assignment # 3

Check out my lesson plan: Racism in Huck Finn

I liked the lesson before . . . but now that I've added a bit of technology to it, I like it even MORE!! Even so, I recognize that for this lesson to actually be of use to my students, there are definitely some newer technological capabilities that would have to be available in my classroom. In the lesson, we used Inspiration technology, and the students all used it individually. That is assuming, then, that I not only have computers available for the use of each of my students, but also that Inspiration software is installed on each of their computers. They also were required to either download photos from the web or use Flickr to download personal photos, so the internet would obviously have to be available to them. Additionally, they would need to use digital cameras in order to use personal photos adapted from Flickr. I also requested that each of the students participate in the class blog to discuss racism, which means that I was assuming the existence of a class blog which all of my students had access to from home.

This definitely changes the learning environment, because it requires even more connections to be made for the student. They are, through technology, able to organize and connect their thoughts on racism as well as those thoughts they shared with the parent/authority figure interviewed with the photos that they have identified. They are also challenged to present those ideas to other classmates using software. Additionally, the class blog allows those students who are more reserved or take longer to develop their thoughts to participate in discussion as well. Technology allows a platform for the students to not only learn about racism, but to develop their own thoughts and concepts through several different means:

1) Visual aids/models

2) Outlining thoughts/concepts

3) Writing their ideas in a blog

4) Presenting their ideas with software through speech

Clearly, the use of technology greatly enhances the learning mastered by each individual student.

Several challenges are faced in bringing this technology into the classroom:

1) Setting up a class blog: requires that I, the teacher, learn how to efficiently set up a blog that all of my students can access and discuss on. It further requires that I can not only teach those of my students who may not know how to use it, but also that I can assist each of my students to access the student blog through passwords, etc. For those students who perhaps don't have computer access at home, I would additionally need to allow them time to access resources in the library.

2) This also requires that my students would have time in class to use the computers, because they not only need to set up Inspiration projects in class, but also need time to share in small groups about their computer projects. Therefore, it would be necessary for me to communicate with other staff in order to provide time for my students to use in the computer lab during my class session.

3) I think the greatest obstacle to overcome would be encouraging the administration to install Inspiration software on all of the computers, so that each student would be able to work individually on the project. To do this, it is necessary for me to show the admin. how necessary this is to the growth of my students, and how much it will benefit and enhance the learning process for them.

NETS for students (Grade 12 proficiency):

3. "Students collaborate in teams to illustrate content related concepts integrating a variety of media (e.g., print,audio, video, graphic, probes,simulations, models) with presentation, word processing, publishing, database, graphics design software, or spreadsheet applications."

4. "Students routinely apply touch typing techniques with advanced facility, accuracy,speed, and efficiency as they complete their assignments."

5. "Students understand and apply advanced software features such as templates and styles to improve the appearance of word processing documents,spreadsheets, and presentations and to provide evidence of learning, productivity, and creativity."

Facebook in TIME

I read an article in TIME Magazine from September 3, 2007 titled, "Why Facebook is the Future: A newtowrk for teens could teach the Net to grow up." The article begins by describing the somewhat disheartening disconnect between Web 2.0's intentions towards connecting real people to real people, and the actual out-play of connecting real people to . . . hackers and psychos. The article moved on to describe Facebook as a safe place for not only teens, but also older people . . . explaining that the fastest growing population of users are not young people, but middle-aged people in their 30's and 40's. It began to explain the reality of connecting people, and almost a euphoric safety that is found in this "Net within a Net . . . that's everything the larger Net is not." Originally created in 2004 by Harvard students wanting to stay in contact, it has now become a connecting place for people of all ages all over. As I was reading the article, I began reflecting on the Digital Divide, and the way that somehow, according to this author, Facebook has seemingly overcome the divide by inviting middle aged people in. I wonder what it is that has made this technology appealing and usable to them . . . whereas places like My Space, and many other Web 2.0 tools, remain on the shelves. Perhaps its the simplicity? The apparent safety? The true desire to keep communities intact from high-school and college and past jobs? It's interesting the true community that people are willing to forsake for this larger pseudo-community provided by the internet. As Grossman muses, "The most important funciton of a social network is connecting people and . . . its second most important function is keeping them apart."

Personal Reflection on On-Line Grading

Wow; gradesource was so awesome!!

I actually just spent some time using simliar technology in my cooperating teacher's classroom. A few weeks ago, she asked me to grade some papers for her and then post the student's grades in her on-line gradebook. She talked about some of the pro's and con's of having the students' grades regularly up-dated and posted for both the students and parents to see:

Pros:
1) Parents and students are not constantly calling in/emailing/asking to see grades; she just refers them to the database.
2) Helps her to stay organized and on-top of things: extra motivation to keep grading up to date.
3) Provides motivation for those students who are striving for a higher grade

Cons:
1) For those parents and students who are hyper-grade conscious, it becomes difficult to hone them away from on-line grading. In other words, the basis of classroom learning is for the student's personal growth, which may or may not be defined by an A. Knowing this, posting grades encourages those parents or students who are totally grade focused to forget the primary purpose of education.
2) Discourages motivation for those students who are already doing well in the class to continue pressing forward when they are already doing great grade-wise.

It was great to hear both sides of the story as far as on-line grading, and also to get some experience into how the system works. I love my cooperating teacher!!

Inspiration/Kidspiration

In my last blog, I added a link to a project I created using Inspiration. I really enjoyed working with the software last week; I feel like it really would be a positive tool for me as a Language Arts teacher. It's great to use a tool that encourages students to build models and connect ideas in a way that organizes their thoughts and helps them to communicate clearly about concepts. Today in Dr. Kobashigawa's Multicultural Education class, she was explaining to us that in her graduate level work, she and her peers were often instructed to do projects similar to the one that I did on Inspiration (except on paper), because they were told that if you are not able to visually model your ideas, you are probably not able to fully grasp or explain them in your mind because they are lacking in organization. I feel like Inspiration would be a great place for my students to build similar models, hone down organizational skills, and brain-storm for major papers and projects using conceptual models.

Shakespare Diagram: My First Inspiration!!

William Shakespeare INSPIRES me!! Look at some basic information about him on this Inspiration file that I set up to view pictures about him, his works, his family, and the history of the Elizabethan Era!

http://www.box.net/shared/o11bq4klvv

My Cooperating Teacher's Class Blog Tool

I just spent quite a bit of time on the Class Blog for one of the English/Language Arts sections that my cooperating teacher teaches. The teacher, Elizabeth Whitfield, posted some information for the students (including a poem, a picture, and some related info) on the Jena 6 issue, and asked them to respond. She urged them to include information about justice, equality, racism, and how those issues are dealt with by contemporary society.

The students were required to respond; therefore, as is typical, some took it seriously, while others did not. Some of them provided very insightful and well thought out responses . . . I found it really great to read specifically from some of the students who are more reserved in the class-room setting. The blog tool is so helpful for those with more timid personality types, because it provides space for them to think and organize their thoughts, as well as giving them an unlimited amount of time to consider what they would like to say before posting it. It's great to have that kind of structure and safety around classroom discussions!

I love that the blog provides them with a space to share thoughts as well as enhancing their writing skills, and it's a place where they can read and listen to others, and respond without the fear of interruptions, interjections, or confrontational rejection. I think at the same time that it's more stretching for those students who don't want their words published, and hanging out in public space for all to see . . . when spoken words are not able to occupy space and remain for viewing by the public eye.

The class blog is a great tool on many different levels, then . . . to share ideas, to provide structure and safety in conversation, to enhance writing tools, and to encourage students to be able to publish their own thoughts and ideas without fear.

Attached Web-Site Resources and Uses

At the top of my list is the "Parent Resources" category. I don't intend to use these in my class specifically, but I do hope that parents of my students will visit my web-site as well and become engaged in their students' learning processes. I really appreciated that the second link, which I titled "Parent information," not only gave tips for how to build a healthy relationship with the child's teacher, but also provided research on the benefits that a child-parent relationship has on a student's learning process. The other web-site, "Kid Info," can be beneficial to both parent and teacher in providing resources regarding the students.

My second category is titled "Teacher Resources," and is primarily for my own personal informaiton. It gives information not only on lesson plans and ideas for the classroom, but also ways to help parents become involved in the learning process. I also listed a few different teacher associations which will benefit me through providing support and union information.

Next, I have "English in the Community!" Here, I provided a few different opportunities for my students to get their writing out into the public: one, through the Senior Essay Writing Contest, and the other through "Poetry on Buses." This is a program that King County has developed to allow youth to have their writings published on public buses. I also linked a few theatres in the area, in the hopes that my students will not only discover a passion for literature, but also discover a passion for THEATRE, and get involved in viewing community dramas.

After that, I have provided links to the libraries. I linked both the King County Public Library System, and also the Bothell Senior High School Library System. My intention is to encourage my students to learn how to use their resources and not only check out books, but also use the journal articles for research and all the information available to them through the library systems.

Following the libraries, I have several resources on Grammar. I've provided grammar rules, sentence structure, comma rules, and definitions for parts of speech. Grammar is something that I really want to focus on with my students, because I feel that structure is critical to both understanding, interpreting, and writing the English language. I've provided these resources so that my students always have them available for review and for reference during writing papers. I hope to provide a lot of exercises on these in class . . . both definitions, games, and sentence diagramming workshops.

Next, I have some links to web-sites which show the rules on how to format different style papers, as well as links to a dictionary and a thesauraus. This is to encourage the use of great vocabulary and diction, as well as again to encourage my students to become strong writers with the ability to check out their writing styles and formats at all times from my web-site. I hope to especially focus on MLA formatting, and assist my students to embrace this style firmly before going on to college.

Finally, I have listed the web-sites for several different authors which we will be reading throughout the school year. I do this firstly so that the students can get a background/bibliography on who the authors are: where they came from, when they lived. This gives the students a better foundation for interpreting the literature they are reading. Additionally, my hope is that my students will use these links to read more of the works of specific authors that they most enjoyed, in order to increase the breadth of their knowledge and understanding of literature.

Overall, I am pleased with the work that I put into this assignment. I feel that I have a well-rounded base of web-sites which will provide for the needs of all three members of the learning triangle: my students, their parents, and me (the educator). I hope that they find it useful as well!

Web 2.0 in the Classroom!

I am so excited about Web 2.0, and all of the opportunities that it affords me to enhance learning in the classroom! Google Earth will be a great asset . . . I even think about reading major works of literature, for example, Homer's the Iliad and the Odyssey, and being able to track down realistic settings that the characters lived within. We could travel to Troy, and kind of get an idea of the area where all of the great battles took place. Or, we could take a look at the Mississippi River from Huckleberry Finn, and discover the location of all of Huck and Jim's adventures.
Also, wikki's provide so many avenues for learning and discovery: I could use one similar to the way we have in this class, requiring students to sign up for projects, etc. through a wikki. Or I could use it for class discussion/participation, posting an on-line question or topic and requiring all students to respond.
Using skype to have discussions with people from over-seas, etc. is another really exciting idea. It would be great not only to connect with authors/politicians, but even students in cross-cultural settings. Maybe English speakers overseas . . . discuss novels with them, etc.
And too, pod-casting is GREAT! I would love to use that for speech . . . not only does it provide an avenue for students to post their ideas on-line through their own voices, but it also provides space for personal critique. One of the most powerful aspects of growth in speech is through listening to your own voice, and identifying strengths and weaknesses in order to build on your communicative ability. I would love to practice exercises in this!
I could even plan for group projects in which conferences are conducted on-line . . . students are required to "teach" a certain novel/grammar lesson/etc. through pod-casting and set it up/post it as a professional conference.
I love all of the different tools that I'm only JUST being introduced to through Web 2.0: I look forward to growing more familiar with them in the future, because I know that technology is the future for my students!

Spell with Flickr!!

Thoughs on Digital Projectors . . .

Last Friday, September 21st, I was walking by a Biology class on Bothell Senior High-School campus, where I am doing my student-teaching observations. I happened to stick my head into the door, which was open, and I saw the biology teacher using a digital projector. I've only seen one before: Prof. Garrett showed our class how to use them one day in Instructional Design very briefly. I thought it was really neat the day she first showed it, but it was a totally different thing to see it actually being used in a classroom setting.

The teacher was using it to project notes on photosynthesis onto a large projector screen, and was able to freeze her writing while removing the sheet she was writing on. She had a picture of the leaves that she was describing projected along-side her writing.

As I walked away from the classroom, I was struck by how much the classroom and teaching itself has changed only in the last five years since I graduated. Technology empowers teachers to unfold information effectively and efficiently. It likewise empowers students to grapple with ideas and take hold of information in ways that are often much more interactive than previous generations allowed. With the advance of technology, communicative ability of expression and creativity is likewise enhanced . . . and only provides a stronger foundation for the students of today to lead into tomorrow.

I love SMART Board!

I have to be honest . . . the SMART Board made me pretty nervous at first. It's big . . . and intimidating . . . and intelligent . . . but I guess the key is that I just have to be SMARTer than the Board. And now, I love it!

It's great to have the opportunity to play around with it during class; there are so many different features that we have only begun to tap into. It's fun inventing and creating with so many other pre-teachers who are all kind of in the same boat as far as dreaming about ways to use it in the classroom.

At the high-school I'm observing at, I asked if SMART Boards were available for the use of the teachers. Currently, I was told that there are a few different SMART Boards mostly located in the science dept. and the technology/graphics dept. However, the school is currently under-going a lot of construction . . . they are constructing a complete new building, and hoping to place SMART Boards in every class-room! How exciting!!

So, as far as English/Lanuage Arts . . . I can use the Board for writing queues, grammar exercises, brain-storming ideas for papers, diagramming sentences, etc. And there are SO many games that I can use the SMART Board to form for the class as well!!

In Biology/Anatomy and Physiology, the sky's the LIMIT as far as all of the ways I could use it! I could project a map of the human body on it . . . different systems, and use the pens to highlight, circle, identify different areas or regions. I could project pictures of eco-systems, rock layers, oh . . . all sorts of different things . . . and use the SMART Board to ask my students to identify different things on the projected pictures. We could probably even make interactive tutorial videos!

And these are only a few of the grass-roots level ideas. I'm excited to continue learning more about the SMART Board so that I can cast even more vision as I identify various different functions that it serves. Yeah for SMART Boards!

Is Technology Important in the Classroom?

1. Yes. Definitely. In fact, in this generation, a classroom that lacks technology is most likely not benefitting its students or allowing them to acquire cultural proficiency on any great scale. Within middle and upper class society, almost all jobs in professional arenas require the use of technology, and more than likely are looking for employees who have attained some measure of technological rhetoric. Consequently, a classroom without technology is a classroom that is not preparing students for holistic success in society and life.

Understanding this basic premise, we can see that technology not only aids in learning but is critical to learning. Computers, power points, SMART board, and other such tools greatly implement the effective teaching and learning of basic skills involving reading, writing, math, history, the sciences, etc. Even more, technology stands alone as an entirely new subject that is equally vital to the success of students. Knowledge acquired in any of these other basic subjects is nearly irrelevant without a student who is capable of communicating that knowledge through the use of current technology.

2. Fortunately, many students are learning much about technology outside of the classroom which can then be incorporated into the classroom setting. They are learning technology through the use of resources at home: computers, the internet, technological programs, video-games, software, and various other tools. I hope to tap into the knowledge they already possess and allow them to continue developing it by remaining "technologically relevant." I desire to use a SMART board for classroom lessons, perhaps to set up classroom discussions via the internet and some sort of class blog, to acquire classroom software to expand their knowledge of the sciences and grammar, and to allow them freedom to produce videos, etc. for class projects in order to integrate technology and learning.

3. Although I have not begun doing classroom observations at this point, I have been informed that I will begin Practicum I at Bothell High School. Because I have not yet had the opportunity to visit the classroom, I am not sure what level of technology that my students have access to. However, reading about the 3 Tiers of Technological Use in the Classroom was very informative. I am intrigued by the ideas mentioned in Tier 3, especially the concept of allowing students to "invent products through programming." I am not sure what the "Marco Polo" software is, but it was referred to in each of the 3 Tiers as a Teacher Lesson Resource, and I would love to learn more about it. I think it would be incredible to use on-line tools to provide lessons and activities for my students. The only difficulty I can foresee with this level of technological advancement is a fear of leaving behind those students who may not have computer/internet access at home.

4. I enjoyed looking at the GLE's for technology in education, and I have come up with a variety of lessons that I could incorporate into meeting these standards:

A) "Reading GLE 3.3.1 - Apply appropriate reading strategies for interpreting technical and non-technical documents used in job-related settings.
Read professional-level materials, including electronic information, that match career or academic interests and demonstrate understanding of the content."

To incorporate this GLE into my classroom, I could assign a class project based on identifying a career that my students are interested in researching. I could ask them to research 3 different sources on-line, and provide information on the web-site's credibility. Then, I could ask them to set up a web-site which incorporates the information that they have accumulated, why the career interests them, and steps that they would need to take in order to enter the specified career of their choice.

B) "Writing GLE 1.3.1 - Revises text, including changes in words, sentences, paragraphs, and ideas.
Selects and uses effective revision tools or strategies based on project (e.g., sentence analysis form, revision criteria checklist, “find-and- replace” or “track changes” functions of word processing program)."

In order to teach my students about writing in technology, I can assign class papers in which I require them not only to use such things as the grammar and spell check, but also require them to post their papers on our classroom blog. At that point, I could require them to take part in peer-editing, and use the high-lighting and editing tools on the word processor which would allow them to make and track changes in one another's papers, while learning about grammar and writing structures as well.

C) "Writing GLE 1.5.1 - Publishes in formats that are appropriate for specific audiences and purposes.
Selects from a variety of publishing options keeping in mind audience and purpose (e.g., website, literary magazines, blogs, local newspaper).
Publishes using a range of graphics and illustrative material (e.g., time lines, flow charts, political cartoons, diagrams)."

This GLE excites me because I can learn alongside my students! I can require them to use Microsoft tools outside of a simple word processor, such as Power Point, Excel, and other resources in order to develop various projects that they can then share with the class. I would love to also assign them topics which would encourage them to learn how to incorporate short videos/music/etc. into their learning. I feel that these would benefit their development of technological skills and also be entertaining and fun for them.

5) For spreadsheet concerning Technological Competency, see:

http://www.box.net/shared/1c07tln3mv

Sample Writings . . .

I don't just teach writing . . . I LOVE writing!! Want to read some samples of what I write in my free time?

http://hannahjbryant.googlepages.com/home

Ingraham High School: Home of the Rams

The Ingraham Rams

"Since the Fall of 1959, North Seattle’s Ingraham High School has helped develop
the knowledge, skills and attitudes of tens of thousands of Seattle-area youth.
We take great pride in our history and alumni, as well as our safe and positive
school climate. Come see why Ingraham is becomingSeattle’s new School of Choice." http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/ingraham/

My favorite part about Ingraham's web-site was the Daily Bulletin! Lists of clubs and activities, ways to get involved, and up-coming events, along with the daily lunch menu and a quote from Mother Teresa, characterized the Ram's news . . . all infused with school pride. It made me excited to get involved and be a part of the student's lives and community.

I also found the pictures on the Homepage very appealing; cheer squad photos, funny friends, and class-room snapshots gave any viewer a bit of insight into the lives of Ingraham students. It's very clearly a highly multi-cultural school, and I again got the idea that the Rams really took pride in their school and their community.

I really appreciated also that the school had a lot of information on PTSA, which is the Parent Teacher Student Association. Clearly, the institution really values holistic education and desires to build a learning community not only between teacher and student, but also between parent and teacher, and parent and student. I definitely agree with and support this model of education.

Although the web-site was well organized and had a lot of information on sports, events, academics, and student life, the school's demographics were not listed on the web-site at all (or at least not easy to find). I felt that adding those would be helpful, not only for teachers but even more for parents who are looking into schools and interested in the educational health of the institution they choose for their own children.

All in all, I felt that the web-site provided a lot of seeker-friendly information, and a welcoming atmosphere for parents and students to become involved in the education that Ingraham high-school offers. I look forward to hopefully building relationships with both teachers and students in the Rams' community!

The Digital DIVIDE!!

Contemporary western society is saturated with technology. Social and economic realities are engrossed with technological advances that have apparently paved the way into the future for my generation, and even more for the generation immediately following my own. However, though I often feel quite drowned in the wake of all these fundamental changes to education, communication, and society as a whole, I am well aware that I am not the only one who is feeling my way through digital darkness. Technology has fundamentally transformed society, and, in so doing, has torn asunder two cultures: the digitally fluent . . . and all who came before. After reading Prensky's article "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants," I emerged with three questions: am I a native or an immigrant; is it healthy and beneficial for students to learn primarily through video games; and what is the role of "legacy" content in "future" learning?



According to Prensky, a new generation has emerged: the "N (net) - generation" or the "D (digital) - generation. He explains that these new digital learners have grown up in a world of technology, where television has for the most part completely replaced book learning, and the internet provides learner's primary source for information and research while encyclopedias and the Dewey Decimal System are as dead as Latin. However, as I read through his article, I found myself repeatedly questioning whether I was a part of this generation, or the one that came before. I remember life without the internet, but only vaguely. And even if it cost me my life, I could not tell you what 500-600 stands for in the Dewey Decimal System. Though I grew up with a deep love for reading and consider myself fluent in the classics, I am likewise enclosed in a media-driven society and I am well aware of popular television shows and sufficiently scripted in film and music. Though I am not by any means a technological guru, I feel comfortable and quite dependent on computer language and technology. I will admit that I find a world without computers, or even without my cell phone, quite frightening and night-marish. Therefore, I cannot entirely associate with those of the past generation. At the same time, I feel that my learning style has been molded by a society not yet technologically savy, and therefore my teaching models are stuck in the past century. At the same time, I am well aware that the average high-school freshman knows literally worlds more than I can even fit my mind around as far as computer programming and state-of-the-art technology. Where do I fit, then? Am I a Digital Native . . . or a Digital Immigrant? Or would I be considered an outsider: born into the old world, but who has lived in this new digital realm for long enough to have only a small accent?



My second question: is it really a reality to think that students will learn better if all of their lesson plans are forged into video-games? Call me old fashioned, but I definitely struggle with this idea. I will admit, video-games have never been an addiction (or even much of an interest) of mine; however, I find it difficult to believe that effective learning can take place strictly in video-game settings. Prensky believes, "We need to invent Digital Native methodologies for all subjects, at all levels, using our students to guide us. The process has already begun – I know college professors inventing games for teaching subjects ranging from math to engineering to the Spanish Inquisition." I agree that video-games can be a great supplement to teaching; however, I struggle with the idea of using them as the primary content matter. I understand his premise that the minds of student's in this generation are fundamentally different because of the technology that they have been saturated with. Still, technological advancement should not be equated with complete technological dependency. I fear that students who become too relient upon the technology of their environment will become lazy, and unable to exercise full mental capacity because their computers become, in essence, their brains.



This, then, leads me to my third question: what is the role of "legacy" content in "future" learning. Prensky sub-divides content areas into that of legacy: past learning pre-digital revolution, and future: obviously future learning during and post-digital revolution. I am well aware that changes in the fundamental structure of the education system will take a very long time (much longer, in fact, than would be ideal for today's learners). However, as we (as educators) begin to mold structures and organize frame-work for the "future learning" of the "N-gen," I am interested to know what role past learning content will play. Reading is clearly still necessary, but what about writing? Will computer screens replace our students need for paper and pen? And what about cursive? What need do we have for scripted writing when type is the future of learning, and even digital signatures can be created technologically. What is the role of text books, when the internet is literally right at our finger tips? And who needs higher level math classes when computers are so much more efficient than mentally sweating through the quadratic formula? However, I feel that I speak for all Digital Immigrants when I express my fear and even frustration with the fact that, though technology is great, we will surely lose many valued educational tools through the transformation into this new digital world. Just as ancient oral story-tellers were able to memorize an unbelievable amount of information before the development of written language, so we who were and are forced to learn in a more tedious and perhaps less efficient manner also take with us something that those who are handed everything through technology will never experience.

In my struggle, then, to grapple through this digital divide and the pros and cons faced by the "N-gen" and new educational models catered to their needs, I find myself wavering back and forth. Looking ahead to the future, I definitely see a lot of bright and positive potential to the changes happening in educaiton. At the same time, I feel that somethings may be sacrificed through the digital divide that future generations may really mourn the loss of.

. . . Therefore, I Teach!

Every individual has at some moment or another experienced a moment of revelation. Most of us have experienced this countless times throughout life . . . the moment of discovery when what once did not make sense becomes strikingly clear, and understanding happens. I love that moment, and I love helping other people to discover revelation. I want to be a teacher because I deeply enjoy people, and I know that I want to spend my life working with young people. I love helping people to become; I love influencing them and assisting them to identify who they are. I love challenging them to find their dreams and that unique place where gifts and passions collide. I want my students to reach out for those things, and I want the broken ones who have no support and encouragement to know that someone believes in them.
Specifically, I want to be an English teacher because I believe in the power of language and communication. I believe that language empowers people to develop their thoughts about their humanity and their world-view, and to communicate those thoughts with the world through writing and speech. Likewise, reading develops an individual’s understanding of the thoughts and ideas men and women of every nation and generation have held. Even more, language allows people to know God through His Word, His communicative expression to mankind.
I believe that teaching will be the most difficult task that I have yet faced, and I take the role very seriously. It fills me with awe and sometimes fright to recognize the power that a teacher has to influence his or her students, and I pray that the Lord will guide me with integrity and humility to lead my students in love and truth. However, as I continue to look back over my life and grapple with my humanity and my inclinations, it becomes increasingly apparent that the place where my giftings and passions collide is teaching. I find my life and my identity in my Lord Jesus, and I know that He created me with purpose and glory in mind. I have made a choice that in my life, I will delight in God in all circumstances. I find my highest joy in teaching. For me, then, to teach unto Christ is to bring the highest glory to Christ; therefore, I teach.