Interactivity #5

The teacher that I interviewed is an all grade level high-school Science teacher.  His subject areas consist of Environmental Science, Biology, Earth Science, Physical Science, Chemistry, and Physics.  He teaches at a private school in Parsippany, NJ with most of his students residing in Morris County.  When I asked him if he was familiar with NETS-S/NETS-T, he said he had never heard of it.  We then looked over the standards together and he seemed quietly amused by the information I presented him with.  After reading over about half of the standards he stopped and said that most of the books we get (meaning teachers) now and days have supplemental online education resources.   

He said that although his school does not use NETS-S and NETS-T; they try to consistently use the 'supplemental online education resources' supplied by the textbook company, Glencoe.  He also referred to the online site, teachertube, which I confirmed to using as well.  

I wasn't necessarily surprised that the teacher was unfamiliar with NETS-S/T.  What did come as a bit of a shock was the lack of encouragement I received from him.  Rather than looking at the new information with an open-mind he seemed to trivialize it as something unimportant.  To be frank, it seemed as if he thought the education and production of well-rounded traditional teachers was being lost, and that this newfound technological aspect was alien and an unnecessary priority of mine as an educator going forward.  Although our interaction was friendly, I got the sense that he was weary of my future as an educator.  I was bothered by this, and left feeling cheated that I didn't have more time to prove my capabilities.

As a future educator I would verbalize the benefits of NETS-S and NETS-T.  The standards of NETS are fundamental and necessary in keeping up with the growing use of technology.  Educators and students need to meet these standards to ensure that our students have the proper tools to co-exist in a globally competitive world.  If the school I am at is unfamiliar with NETS, I will decide on meeting with an administrator to set up a staff meeting to overview NETS.  If the administrator does not feel it is necessary, I could show him a lesson plan of mine that meets these important standards. After all, I find it hard to disagree with the foundation that NETS is, "designed to help educators prepare today’s students to be competitive and successful in the digital age."  

American High School's Reading Curriculum: 5th-Grade-Level

The article highlights the expectations ATOS (Advanced Technology for Data-Driven Schools) set in regards to proper reading levels.  Educators are apparently setting the bar too low for students.  With high-schoolers "reading at an average 5th grade level."  As we look back at what we were reading in 5th grade, this stat seems hardly imaginable.  However, with ATOS's readability analyzer, we found out that the top 20 books high-schoolers are reading should appropriately be designated for a 5th-7th grade reading level.  This list includes: Mice of Men (4.5 grade level), Hunger Games (5.3), To Kill a Mockingbird (5.6), and Night (4.3).  So, the question at hand, how does this technological advancement take into consideration the depth of our reading skills?  The article states that, "Renaissance uses an ATOS readability formula that takes into account several predictors: average sentence length, average word length, word difficulty level and total number of words in a book or passage."  

I couldn't settle on the reasoning of this system, so decided to research it myself.  When directed to Renaissance Learning's website you are given the opportunity to actually use this analyzer.  I tested a reading on Althusser, a French Marxist Philosopher that we discussed extensively in my Pursuits of English class (Junior year, which would be grade level 15).  The results concluded that the reading's appropriate level was 16.5.  Which, if I am figuring this correctly, would be a Senior going on to Graduate School.  I chose one of my most dense readings, and as an English major we can expect to be reading some of the more challenging literacies.  Basically, there is a huge disparity between what got me interested in literature, (The Great Gatsby's, etc. which are rated at 5-6 grade levels) to what I am reading at the University level.  Why is this so, and is the ATOS Readability Analyzer really that accurate?

Interactivity #4

My Analysis Map

I chose this particular lesson plan because I feel it encompasses a wide range of technological skills.  Students have the opportunity to exercise these skills after they have learned the background knowledge to how Wikipedia came about and how it continues to flourish.  Through this lesson plan, students are taught to analyze the information they are presented.  As we know, much of what we get from the internet is fallacious information.  The lesson highlighted the importance of citing several different outposts of information to check it's credibility, and bringing them together in a collaborative and accurate manner.  

The gaps in curriculum goals and teaching strategies that I noticed were certain literary aspects.  For example, the lesson plan did not highlight the importances of character and plot development.  Some of the more fundamental literary components could have been touched on more, but overall the lesson plan highlighted a broad range of curriculum goals.  Figurative language was paramount; along with cultural experiences and themes of social issues.  The students worked on their analytical skills, and collaborated towards producing a coherent successful final product.  

The Wiki technology practice was essential in digging into the importance of being discriminatory of the information you receive over the internet.  Students need to be utilizing the internet purposefully, and digesting accurate information.  Otherwise, this beneficial means of attaining information will have a counter-effect and students will be taking in false information. 

Personal insight into the life of a struggling educator.

"Confessions of a 'Bad' Teacher"

I'm wondering how we find a balance, when, if at times we feel as though we have no control in our own classroom. His world came down around him, he felt humiliated to be a considered a 'bad' teacher in a 'good' school. 

Ban on public funding for students who wish to seek higher education

Must watch!


"Telling us that we cannot obtain higher education, that we cannot go to college or community college, even if we work hard and do our best in school, it is crushing dreams, it is crushing goals," says Keish Kim,

Interactivity Three

The group was authentic collaborative in many regards. Given the time constraints and busy schedules that we all possess, it was difficult to meet as a group.  Many of us had work or other responsibilities to tend to.  However, the assignment allowed us to collaborate in a way I’ve yet to encounter as a student.  Opening up our spreadsheet is like opening our own personalized database.  We have a plethora of options to choose from; whether it’s to gain personal knowledge, or as an aid to help in tutoring younger students.  I was really shocked to see how the finished product turned out so resourceful.  

In looking up different links, I noticed that not all of the sites rely directly on teaching English through technology.  If you look closely though, there will always be an interest, a question, or something that invokes thought and can be opened up in an English-based classroom.  

This interactivity shed some light onto the teacher observation I just completed for READ 411.  In my reflection, I felt that my teacher relied too heavily on technology in the classroom, specifically Power Point.  What I’m beginning to understand is that he just overly used one technology.  The Power Point presentation served as a lecture guideline, and I saw the class fall into the same boredom we think of in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The point is, technology wasn’t being used as a catalyst toward intellectual development.  If cites were used like planetlesson and huffenglish I personally believe students would become more involved and interested in pursuing the subject not only in educational spheres but on their own as well. 

"Why Teaching Kids Self-Regulation Skills Is Essential"

How parents and teachers can help students develop digital media learning strategies

This article focuses on the importance of regulating learning strategies in the digital media world.  Technological skills are likely to give students a competitive edge in their prospective work spheres, but handing a student a laptop does not guarantee he/she will use it in a creative or beneficial manner.  When so much information is exposed through technological means, how do we regulate our student's proper usage?  Also, the article talks about promoting self-regulation in our students, where they can use technology self-sufficiently in it's most efficient purposes.  The article gives some advantageous tips we can teach our students in analyzing and reflecting on the information they are exposed to.