MySpace Project Idea

Somewhere on Anne Smith's blog is a post about the day she allowed her students to use their cell phones in class. I don't fully understand what the lesson consisted of (it involved ring tones), but Anne's kids were wildly excited because their cool teacher allowed them to use their favorite technology in the classroom.

I have been trying to design a creative (and yes, cool) project for the independent reading that my kids are required to do each six weeks. The English 10 PLC (good for me--I just used the latest buzz word) has decided to encourage reading for pleasure. The kids read a book of their choice and then complete a project about the book and share it with the the rest of the class.

I kept wondering how I could bring technology into this project. Cell phones weren't calling to me......Then--eureka--I remembered that Lary Kleeman had a student in A.P. English who created a MySpace page for Stephan Daedalus, the protagonist of Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

So I've decided to create a MySpace book report. I'm still working out the kinks. The worst kink is that MySpace is so horrible. (Many parents won't let their kids get near it, and I can't blame them for that.) My project won't involve actually logging on to MySpace. It will borrow the format and the idea of MySpace. The kids will create a MySpace PowerPoint. On various slides, they will create a "space" for the protagonist of the book they're reading. The project will involve quite a bit of writing and creative thinking. They'll also be required to insert quotes from the book. I'm excited about this--and will share what I produce with anyone who's interested in the idea.

One problem: I wish I could log on to MySpace from my computer at school. I've had to do all of the work at home.....

Thinking about blogs again....

I keep wondering how to use blogs with my English 10 students. For their first writing assignment, I had them write a brief personal essay or autobiographical narrative. Several of these papers were remarkable. When students are allowed to write about their own lives, they bring in vivid detail, genuine emotion, and profound insights. The topics are pertinent--the painful effects of divorce, the stress of athletic competition, the dangerous fad of "cutting," near death experiences, the loss of a loved one, and many other amazing subjects.

I'm wondering if a class blog would be a good way for students to share such writings. I am a bit worried about the personal nature of these essays, however. Sometimes teenagers have no sense of propriety, so I would have to advise them carefully. I would probably suggest that they change names and that they don't post anything that could get them in trouble with their parents or the authorities. I wonder if I could get myself in trouble if I allowed students to blog about such issues. What these students write is so thought-provoking and often so wise, that teens could learn life lessons from these papers.

I still need to work out details. I might make it a very open assignment (e.g., all students in the class should post at least one paper they're proud of.) I imagine some kids might post a poem, some a literary analysis, some a personal narrative. Some might scan in a drawing. It could be a "brag board" of sorts. Then, other kids could comment on these posts. I think it sounds scary but exciting.

I'd love feedback.

Awakenings...

Because I’m over fifty, I can remember every step I’ve taken into the world of computers. No step has come naturally for me—but every step has left me in awe.

When computers first arrived at Arapahoe I was reluctant to leave my typewriter. In fact, I was the last person in the English department to switch to the computer. I knew I was in trouble when our supply cabinet ran out of typewriter ribbons, and no one cared (except for me). One day I saw a screen-saver for the first time. It was a fish tank—with colorful fish swimming across the screen and bubbles gently rising from their mouths. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I decided that anything so beautiful couldn’t be evil, and I asked a colleague to help me learn how to use a mouse. She set me up with a tutorial (yes—there was such a thing on those early computers!) and that’s how I learned how to click.

When I typed my first test, I treated the computer like a typewriter. That meant that whenever I approached the end of a line, I would push “Enter.” I also used the space bar to set up columns. The resulting document was a mess, but bit by bit—with much practice and advice from my colleagues—I learned word processing. The first time I printed a document on the school’s brand new laser printer, tears welled in my eyes. The document was just so beautiful. I remember thinking, “This is a miracle.”

This week I felt computer-inspired awe once more. Terry, Lary, and I assigned our A.P. students to read and blog about Act I of Henry IV. This is a very difficult Shakespearean play, with so many characters, historical allusions, and archaic words in the opening scenes that the kids are bamboozled. We asked the students to post their reactions and questions on the class blog and to respond to each other. The night the blogs were due, I logged on and began to read what my class had written. I was excited by the depth of their thinking, by their astute questions, and by their helpful comments to each other. The beauty of the whole thing moved me. I couldn’t sleep that night because I kept thinking about the possibilities that this technology brings to all of us.

Mice, fish bubbles, laser printers, and blogs. These have awakened me.

Reflections on Constructivism

I'm all blogged out, so today I'll write about constructivism (I assume that we don't always need to talk about technology.) In our A.P. classes, Terry, Lary, and I have always handed the class over to the students--it just seems like the right thing to do with students who are so gifted. We conduct the class in seminar fashion. We allow students to select their own books for monthly independent study assignments. We encourage them to explore fresh, original ideas when they write essays. We have them take turns teaching a poem to the rest of the class. The kids are amazing to watch and listen to.

What I've learned more recently, however, is that honors kids aren't the only ones to benefit from this style of teaching. Students in my "regular" classes are also amazing in their depth of insight and in their creativity. When given the chance to work independently and to come up with their own ideas, these kids also perform extremely well. As I grow older and more experienced, I've learned to trust my students more and more and to encourage them to work more independently. That' s not to say that I shut my mouth, however. I love to share ideas with them--but I try not to be oppressive or too dogmatic. I find that when I join them in their discussions and when I ask them sincere questions about issues I don't understand, we all learn so much from each other.

I suspect that good teachers have always been "constructivists." Do you suppose the method seems new and exciting because it has a fancy, polysyllabic name attached to it now?