blog from the bog

Siddhartha Wiki

2009-12-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

My final design project can be found at the following link:

Siddhartha Wiki

For this project, students are required to synthesize information on Hinduism & Buddhism in addition to comparing these religions to each other and to their own religion. It is my hope that doing so will be an effective introduction to the novel that is imbued with these religions, and students will have a more sophisticated understanding of the novel and will be empowered with the knowledge to analyze it with sophistication.

Siddhartha Quizlet

2009-12-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hooray! I have just successfully created a set of flashcards to help students to deepen their understanding & analysis of the novel Siddhartha.

Click on this link to see these flashcards.

Project Proposal

2009-11-29T15:18:00.000-08:00

Introduction:

One of my favorite novels to teach in the World Literature class is Herman Hesse's novel Siddhartha. The project that I have in mind within the context of technological pedagogical content knowledge and the design of technologically enhanced learning environments is the creation of a website that explores the topics of this novel and that helps students to relate to it.

Common topics that students will be addressing are as follows:
* The search for spiritual enlightenment
* Inner vs. exterior guidance
* The wisdom of indirection
* The importance of experience
* The search for the meaning of life
* The hero and his quest
* The nature of desire
* The human condition as divine
* Asceticism
* Meditation
* Autonomy
* Alienation
* Rediscovery
* Loss

Problem Statement:

I have taught this novel perhaps six times in the past; however, I discovered that students have a very difficult time relating to it. This is due in part to the lack of exposure and familiarity that they have with the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, in addition to the fact that the book is highly philosophical. I would like to design a website that helps students to master the background knowledge that is necessary in order to have a sophisticated understanding of the novel.

This novel is studied in the Indian Literature unit of the World Literature class. The prior knowledge that students will have pertains to the background information that is provided in the textbook on Indian history. The information in the text is rather limited, hence the need for further study. This project seeks to meet the technological needs of my students that I discovered in my Project Tomorrow research. Also, students will be using the experiences of Siddhartha in order to better understand their own life experiences. Likewise, I have found that my students are rather interested in religions other than their own, and this project will help to better familiarize them with Hinduism and Buddhism-- two religions that they are somewhat familiar with from what they already know from their own life experiences and from their studies in their Theology 12 class, a class that they are required to take in order to graduate and that covers polytheistic faiths. Additionally, this project will be connected to other areas of study in the World literature class, specifically to the following literary texts: Oedipus Rex, the Tao te Ching, the Zen parables, Sundiata, excerpts from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the Iliad, and the Aeneid.

Big Questions:

1. What are the basic premises of Buddhist thought?
2. What are the essential features of a religion?
3. How do a person's personal philosophic and religious beliefs shape her identity and affect her actions?
4. How does a person's life experiences shape who she is?
5. What is a spiritual quest?

General Objectives:

1. To discuss the need for faith & reflection
2. To describe the quest for contentment
3. To discuss the religious background of India
4. To outline the relationship between spiritual leader & disciple
5. To discuss the significance of harmony
6. To characterize altruism & idealism

Content Standards:

The learner will:
1. Use multiple resources to enhance comprehension of vocabulary.
2. Analyze & evaluate the five elements (e.g. plot, character, setting, point of view, & theme) in literary texts.
3. Explain ways characters confront similar situations & conflict.
4. Analyze how an author uses figurative language & literary techniques to shape plot, set meaning, & create style.
5. Compose reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life.
6. Use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, & grammatical conventions of the English language.
7. Compile, organize, & evaluate information, take notes, & summarize findings.
8. Use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers, & style as appropriate to audience & purpose, & use techniques to convey a personal style & voice.
9. Use available technology to compose text.

Results:

* Project: This project requires that students choose quotations that reveal the character of Siddhartha and reflections that discuss the perceptions such a progression gives the reader about the nature and development of Siddhartha. Then students must reflect upon their own significant life experiences that have contributed to their growth as a person. In the past, this has been in booklet or in paper form. However, students will also have the option to choose a 2.0 web application that they would like to use for this project.
* Quiz
* Study guide/worksheets

Resources:

In order to create this website, I will need to find online scholarly resources that pertain to the novel, to Hinduism, and to Buddhism. Some resources that I have been able to find are as follows:

Buddhist studies website
Essentials of Buddhism
Introduction to Buddhism
Introduction to Hinduism
The history of Hinduism

Schedule:

I believe that I have a reasonable plan for completing the project on time. Typically, the Indian literature unit is studied during the sixth-seventh week of the semester, so I plan on implementing this project in April of 2010. Before then, I need to design this website, research scholarly websites, and create assessments (worksheets, quizzes, etc.) that allow for students to use the information that they learn and not just look for it.

Qualifications:

I believe that I have the qualifications to complete the project effectively. Since this is a novel that I have taught several times before, I am confident in my knowledge base in addition to my ability to find scholarly resources to help with the project's completion. However, I have never created a WebQuest before, so I will navigate what is referred to as the QuestGarden in order to familiarize myself with the WebQuest. Since the WebQuest requires a subscription, I would rather create an online environment on a website on my own design. Due to the expertise in creating websites that I have gained in this Educational Technology class, I am confident that I can create this website.

Link to My Website

2009-11-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

Here is the link to the website that I created.

Web Log 7

2009-11-02T13:45:00.001-08:00

The following is the webliography for the 2.0 applications that are linked to my class website:

PowerSchool
Powerschool is the online gradebook that is used by all teachers at Saint Joseph Academy. Students are able to view their grades & any comments that the teacher posts pertaining to their progress. This is an excellent way for students to see if they are missing assignments and to see trends in their grades. For example, maybe they will see that if they have several low quiz scores, they need to improve their study skills.

SJA email
The best way to contact me is through the school's email system. Also, through this email account, students may access the GMail website that I have created for the Creative Writing class on which I have posted the class's assignments. This is a website that I update daily and add helpful attachments to frequently.

Turnitin.com
For this class, students must submit their short story, one-act play, and personal essay to this application. In addition to checking the document for plagiarism, this website allows me to provide electronic feedback on a student's work. It also has a peer review function that allows students to give feedback on each others' writing.

Quizlet.com
This application is particularly helpful when students are learning poetry, drama, and short story technical terms. When discussing literature and writing, we need to have a common vocabulary, and this website helps students to reach a mastery of this vocabulary.

Fanfiction.net
This online community is for students who are interested in writing a fictional account of a movie, book, or video game that explores themes and ideas that will not or cannot be explored via the originating medium (definition paraphrased from dictionary.com). While I have a wealth of writing prompts to give students ideas for what to write about, in many cases it is desirable to have a student write about something that is of particular interest to her, such as Twilight, Harry Potter, or an anime graphic novel.

Allpoetry.com
This application allows for students to publish their poetry online; it certainly is exciting & rewarding for students to see their writing published. Also, students can receive feedback from other writers on their writing. An important part of the Creative Writing class is for students to feel comfortable giving & receiving constructive feedback, and this website gives students that opportunity.

Wiggio.com
For several class writing assignments, students are required to collaborate with a partner or a small group. This application would be helpful because it allows for students to communicate via group email, text, and voice messages, host web meetings, conference calls, and chatrooms, keep a shared calendar, store and edit files in one common folder, and keep track of the groups tasks and resources (paraphrased from the wiggio.com website).

Openzine.com
I used this application for my "Project Tomorrow" assessment, and I loved it! Students could use this application for any number of things: creating a fictional newspaper during a historical time period or based on the events of a novel or play, writing in an online environment as opposed to in their journals, or using this application as a way to present the results of their research. The website is particularly appealing because it incorporates text, pictures, and video.

Bookrix.com
Like the Allpoetry.com site, students can publish their writing and build literary networks. However, students can publish more than just poetry on this site; they can also publish essays, short stories, novels, science fiction, fantasy, and children's books. Likewise, they can receive feedback on these.

Online-literature.com
This website is a forum website where students can be part of literary dialogue. This is largely done through blogging and posting comments on others' blogs. They can also get quick feedback on works that they are in the process of writing. Likewise, students can take literary "quizzes" to test their scholarly prowess.

Cogdogroo.wikispaces.com & Go2web20.net
These sites allow for students to find an application that they like best as a means of telling a story in a multimedia environment.

Web Log 6

2009-11-02T12:32:00.000-08:00

In the interest of facilitating the research and design of my web 2.0 class web site, I have interviewed my students, their parents, and my principal about what to include in a course web site. The results are as follows:

Students' feedback:
My students believe that a teacher's website should include:
* notes/PowerPoints
* assignments and explanations for assignments
* a weekly syllabus
* all materials discussed in class
* resources for extensive study
* homework
* study guides
* contact information
* the background of the teacher, such as education
* a section where students can ask and answer questions
* practice quizzes and tests
* works of inspiration
* class expectations
* important textbook excerpts
* pictures and slideshows
* standards of work that teachers would like to see students produce
* printable copies of the worksheets or handouts
* information to help students better understand what they are learning in class
* study tips
* news and current events
* links to tutors
* surprise extra credit
* a summary of what we did in class

However, some additional information that students shared is that they like it when teachers tell them what the homework is during class rather than JUST putting it on the website. Another student stated that "the simpler the better" is a good motto to keep in mind when designing a website, as is "too much information is overwhelming." However, another student says, "I would like teachers to make their websites more colorful." Yet another student shared,"Personally, from experiences, I have learned not to rely on websites. Honestly, I think teachers are doing great jobs on communication and teaching us how to be responsible."

Parents' feedback:
"I would like to see links that further explain or show or give examples of the topics covered. It's helpful to have a better idea of what the girls are learning so I can have a more active part in discussion we may have about school work. I think it's more important for the girls to have access to this than I do, but it's nice to have if I am curious about the topic. I like having e-mail as a form of communication with teachers because I can write and send my questions when I have them and the teachers can read and respond to them when they have the time. I find this a more time efficient method than phone calls and notes."

"A teachers website should include links and information to support and enrich classroom instruction, depending on the subject - tutorials, review activities (OK, games!), on-line encyclopedia, atlas, etc. I don't believe a teacher needs to include homework assignments or class notes on the web page. Writing homework assignments is the responsibility of the student. Teachers are busy enough without having to write the homework for the kids and they have classmates for notes. Educational technology is a blessing and a bane."

"I would like teacher to use a web site to post what they are doing and what the home work is and what it was so we can keep tabs on the kids. If it can be made up or not. How to contact them. Up and coming events in the classroom or in the school. What we should be looking for our students to be doing."

"Contact information, Procedures and policies for behavioral expectations, Outline for topics to be covered, due dates of projects, dates when grades will be updated and/are posted. Links: homework helpers or good research sites for topics covered in class."

"The things that would help me to understand what my daughter is learning in your class would be, up and coming projects,homework,any extra credit she could do, and her grades."

"I would like to see a course syllabus, calender with exam dates and course assignments. At the high school level, the exam dates and assignments would be for the students benefit, but it would be helpful information for the parents as well. Pertinent links to web sites related to the course would also be helpful. As a parent, and a former student, I believe technology could be used to set clear expectations between the teacher and the student."

"We like to see the materials they are using, books, computer etc. We also like to see their projects, tests, homework results posted on the computer. Like to continuously be informed on what they are working on in the classroom so we can better assist at home. Mainly to have access to be in touch with the teacher at any given time if needed."

"Actually, just being able to reach you (the teacher) with particular questions- at this point, our daughter should be able to find classwork/homework information herself!"

Principal's feedback:
"Here is just a wild brain storm - take it as such!
* syllabus, grading policy, expectations
* homework
* weekly plans and assignments
* calendar for your class
* best way to contact the teacher (you)
* how student can get extra help if needed
* links to handouts, PowerPoint presentations, etc.
* links to resources that are valuable for your class, e.g. an MLA website, www.freerice.com, turn-it-in
* field trip information and forms
* some sort of welcome to the homepage specifically for parents"

WebLog 5

2009-10-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Questions pertaining to Web 2.0 applications:

1) As a teacher, what range of Web 2.0 applications do you need to integrate into your web presence? I think that my web presence should integrate the Web 2.0 applications that my students frequently use for school, such as Google calendars, Turnitin.com, PowerSchool, & my class websites. I would also like to expose students to Web 2.0 applications that they could use for their own writing, such as Openzine, Comiqs, Glogster, Flicktion, or Dandelife.

2) What are your goals? My goals are to create a web presence that helps to better communicate with my students and to establish an area where they can find information that is helpful to their learning and that better illuminates our curriculum.

3) What are your students’ needs? My students have shared with me that some of their learning needs are to complete more creative assessments-- ones that are not just tests. Students would like information presented in more than just one way, and many students have shared their desire to collaborate with other students on projects.

4) How can you best facilitate communications with your students and their parents? I think that this is currently being done through my class websites and through the school's email system.

5) What about your principal’s expectations and/or concerns? I would think that a concern that my principal would have especially if I were to create a website where students can interact with each other is to make sure that this website was "policed" or that I would make sure that students would not post things that were inappropriate. However, our principal has urged all teachers to create class websites and has urged all teachers to become more technologically savvy in order to better serve the needs of our students.

Project Tomorrow Results

2009-10-19T14:29:00.001-07:00

eblayney - Project Tomorrow

Create Your OpenZine

WebLog 3: Introduction to Project Tomorrow

2009-10-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Research into the digital literacies of my students:

In conducting my research on the digital lives of my students, I am surprised to learn that while most students agree that technology constitutes a large part of their lives, many indicate that it shouldn't. I would like to share some of my students' feedback on the video clip entitled "A Vision of K-12 Students Today." I asked them two questions: 1) What is your reaction to the film clip? In other words, do you think that students today are digital learners? Explain. 2) How can teachers better incorporate technology in their classrooms to better suit your learning needs?

I have reproduced some of the responses that I found to be particularly startling or intriguing.

QUESTION #1 FEEDBACK RESULTS:

"I agree with this video to some extent. Digital learning is important, especially with the continuously growing technology, but the big picture is that we need hands on, engaging learning that helps students to better understand concepts, whether it's digital learning or not. If you do not thoroughly understand a concept, you won't retain the information. I think a better way for them to have made this video would have been to allow the students to orally express their feelings on the matter. After all, isn't the point to get students to think? It makes it seem as if the students have become computers themselves, only holding up statistics and not uttering a single word. That is not what the digital age is about. It's about being more engaged and formulating meaningful thoughts."

"I don't really agree with this film. As if children don't spend enough time using technology, people want to put more technological stuff into their lives? It is not going to kill them or ruin their futures to look at a book once in awhile instead of an iPod or cellphone, and they are not going to die from actually writing with a pencil and not typing on a computer. Kids don't need more technology; they already spend more than enough time with in."

"Learning is not the same as using technology to think and do for you. Technology is good when students can access more information and do more application. However, it is not good when technology takes over the learning process. We need teachers (humans) to teach us how to be part of society. We need physical social contact. We need to experience the world outside of Facebook. Gaming for three hours is not good."

"I agree to an extent. I think that we have so many options and tools available to us, so old teaching methods seem boring. But then again, I find that reading books and literature is so important! ... What I feel is best is to incorporate both methods. Reaching out to help all styles of learning is key, and what we do need to acknowledge is that our world is changing, so our teaching curriculum and methods need to as well."

QUESTION #2 FEEDBACK RESULTS:

"I think [teachers] need to take more of a creative [approach]. For example, video games: some can be educational. I believe an effective way of teaching is to teach without necessarily letting [students] know they are being taught. Blogs are good ideas... so are allowing kids to make shows and movies."

"Teachers could better incorporate technology in the classroom by playing games and doing things that help students to understand things more. There shouldn't just be a PowerPoint full of notes."

"Teachers can start off by getting the students' ideas on how to incorporate technology in the classroom. So then the teachers will see [students'] perspectives on learning."

"I think teachers can better incorporate technology in the classroom by what they are doing now. Allowing us to use computers as resources for projects is the best use. We don't need to use technology in the classroom as much as we need to use it outside of the classroom."

"If we constantly use laptops, I doubt most of us are working like we really should, but with a pen and paper we can. We have no choice but to do the work. Let us take digital pictures and add them into our story. Tell a story through digital pictures and then actually write a story to it. Let us interpret what it means."

Closing thoughts:

When discussing the video clip with my classes, I thought that one of my students shared a very significant realization. To paraphrase, she said that the students from 20 years ago are really no different than the students of today, that kids don't change, and regardless of the technology and bells and whistles that a teacher uses, students would rather be anywhere else than school. More important than technology is trying to access the deep and sometimes hard-to-access pool of student motivation. I am reminded that technology is not an end, but a means to an end. It is one of many tools that teachers can use to try to inspire student motivation.

WebLog2

2009-09-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

The articles by Prensky and Alderman about how to effectively teach by using technology pose some intriguing suggestions and observations. Being a teacher who is a bit wary of technology, I found the following to ring true: "In general, students are learning, adopting, and using technology at a much more rapid pace than their teachers, and many teachers are highly fearful of the technologies that the students take for granted" (Prensky 40). As fearful as I may be, the fact remains that these technologies are here to stay and that students will need these technologies in order to be successful in their future careers. Relatedly, Alderman warns us that "Conventional text-bound teaching in the content areas belies how contemporary youths locate and use information that has relevance for them" (17). I know that my students are far more proficient than myself in these technologies, so this is surely daunting. Also, because the list of professional responsibilities is so frequently getting longer and longer, finding the time to invest in learning new technologies is a challenge. Likewise, as Prensky asserts, "Teachers... rarely benefit from learning to use... the emerging technologies themselves. The reason is simple: excepting a great deal of passion and time devoted, they will always be behind the curve in the use of the technologies-- and most importantly, behind their own students, 'looking stupid'" (41).

However, I am comforted to know that perhaps I needn't be proficient in these new technologies myself. Prensky's theory pertaining to a "useful division of labor" maintains that the role of the teacher should be as more of a guide: "Teachers need to work with students to understand how the technologies work, what they offer, and to understand how to include them in assignments. Students need to do the work of actually producing things in these technologies and media" (42). Certainly, effective learning is student-centered. However, as a teacher, I begin to immediately wonder how these kinds of assignments will be assessed. Prensky answers, "...teachers and students need to work together to create evaluation criteria and rubrics, and to make and understand the distinctions that relate to quality. Teachers also need to help students apply technologies wisely to real problems, and to reflect and search for the deeper issues that the technologies raise, and to bring up and discuss these issues with students" (42). I think as teachers, we can get too used to the fact the "we're the ones in charge," but I like Prensky's ideas to work collaboratively with students on how to incorporate these technologies, and Alderman's theory that we need to ask the students we teach for their "input into how, or for that matter whether their online literacies should be embraced in the regular curriculum" makes much sense (18); so often we forget to ask our students about how they can learn best. Perhaps, as teachers, we have been holding on to a power that is not rightfully ours; I do not doubt that so much will be transformed and improved when we give a little of our own power back and return it to its rightful owners—our students. This seems not only reasonable, but also highly desirable and necessary.

Weblog 1: Introductory Survey

2009-09-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Personal information:
#1-4 can be found under my profile information.

Learning Style and more:
5. In order for me to feel comfortable taking intellectual risks in a classroom, I need to feel safe. I need to know that the people in the class are open-minded and willing to consider multiple points of view. Any time you take a risk, failure or "being wrong" may result, so I need to know that I can have the freedom to risk failure and have the opportunity to try again.

6. As a student, I learn best by example, demonstration, and class discussion (especially when the discussion involves everyone in the class). The first thing I do when I do not understand something is to try to reorganize the information so that I can understand it, or I ask an outside person for help. Though I would describe myself as contemplative and sometimes silent in class, I am a very active listener, which I also think is a kind of participation; if everyone was talking, who would be listening? I have always been a conscientious student, though I especially appreciate reading and projects that are relevant and engaging. Lastly, as part of our end of the year evaluation here at Saint Joe's, we are required to complete a candid and reflective self-assessment; reflecting on your own teaching is such an important part of being a professional and being an educator.

7. Well, I think many people in the class would agree with me when I say that this school year is going to be a difficult one for so many of us. Most of us are teaching new classes that we've never taught before (in the interests of "challenging ourselves"), it seems that our list of "professional responsibilites" gets longer and longer every year, and the morale of the troops is quite low.

Technology Section:

8. I believe that the most important technological invention in history, by far, is the internet. The people who have internet access can find any information they need at their fingertips (knowledge is in everyone's hands, not just people with access to books) and the world of communication has been revolutionized. The internet is efficient and easy.

9. List of technologies that I believe are essential to my life:
car
electricity
indoor plumbing
medicine
*computer

10. In relation to technology, after a typical school day, I use various technologies in my home, such as the telephone, electricity, indoor plumbing, clean running water, and the internet. I use the microwave, the stove, and the refrigerator. While I do not have cable, I do use the t.v. for watching dvds.

11. I think cell phones can be used inappropriately by students and teachers alike both in and out of school, and I believe that cell phones are also promoted excessively by the media. Students can text each other answers to questions, and cell phone use during class is distracting for both students and teachers alike. While cell phones are a great convenience, I can remember numerous occasions, personally, when I have been out with friends and they spend the entire night checking their phones, which I think, when done excessively, is really rude. Frequent distractions tend to disrupt socialization.

Also, I think that PowerPoint can be overused in many classrooms. With all its animation, clip art, and font choices, it is difficult to see PowerPoint as anything but a glorified overhead.

12. DO: We need to complete projects that we can use in our current classes that we teach OR that we will teach some time this year. Also, I would like to have class discussions/professional dialogue about key issues pertaining to technology. I do not doubt that I can learn much from both my teacher and my peers alike. STUDY: We need to study current event articles on the use/misuse of technology in the modern classroom; we need to be informed of up-do-date information in this arena since technology is always changing. BE: We need to be supportive of each other and be open-minded. We need to be diligent. We need to be critical thinkers. We need to be reflective. We need to be willing to try out different technologies. AVOID: We need to avoid completing projects that we do not use in our classrooms.

About Dr. Shutkin:

13. Regarding questions I would like to ask Dr. Shutkin: What is the value of promoting the use of technology in our classrooms? Do we use technology to make our lessons more entertaining? Do you think that a good teacher has to be a good entertainer? Or do we use technology for a different reason than that of entertaining our students?

2009-08-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

this is a picture of baby t-rex duking it out with stegasaurus at the vatican.

A haiku for technology.

2009-08-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

technology makes

me nervous--stomach hurts, it

might be an ulcer