Email...good or bad?

In one of our readings, Sharing the Fun—and the Paper Load, I noticed many similarities to what we have been doing in our class. We are using the internet and technology to communicate with students, making less paperwork for all of us. I understand the importance of this. It can be very overwhelming to constantly be bombarded with draft after draft from some times up to a hundred or more students. This makes communicating much more organized and less time consuming.

However, in my opinion, it isn’t all that it has cracked up to be. Communicating through email may be quicker and more efficient, but it eliminates the personal contact with the student. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but I often find it hard to explain without having the student right in front of me. I always find myself struggling to put into words what needs to be fixed because I am constantly wondering if the student is actually going to understand what I am trying to say or if I should try to explain it in a different way. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but I just feel like I can be a more effective teacher sitting face to face with a student.

And then there are the problems we discussed in the last class. Some students don’t have access to a computer or they have really slow internet. That can prove to make internet discussion a problem. The other problem is that students may expect too much of you, i.e. answering there questions at midnight, expecting a reply in just a few minutes. The important thing is to establish rules and expectations going into the email program.

I guess I still believe that nothing is better than the old fashion way, handing in papers and face to face feedback. Just something for everyone to think about. Let me know what all of you think!!!!!

Writing Center

Alright...so I must say that I was very skeptical about my visit to the Writing Center. Regardless, I made the trip over there on Thursday. I went in with no idea what direction I even wanted to go in with my paper...no paper, no beginning paragraph, no idea, nothing...and they still helped me!!!!

I went in and sat down with Missy's prompt. I explained that we had two choices and I wasn't even sure what choice I wanted to write about. My tutor sat with me for only about 15 minutes, and in that time, I basically planned out my whole entire paper. I found that, like Missy said, sometimes just sitting and talking with someone about your ideas really helps with starting your paper. I found that I really did know what I wanted to write about; I just needed a little encouragement to get started.

After I figured out what I was going to discuss, my tutor helped me plan how I would write my paper. We decided what topics should be included, which were more important than others, which I could leave out, and before I knew it, I was well on my way to a strong paper!

I hope everyone has a successful trip to the writing center like I did! I kind of wish I would have visited a Writing Center four years ago...I think it probably would have made my college career a little less stressful!

Notes from Class 3/26

Class began with group presentations- Natalie, Katrina, and Jenny G. were first to go.
There topic was Pre-writing. Overall, it was a fun lesson. I think that the rest of the class enjoyed "Brainstorming" with Natalie, especially Michelle. (lol) The prompt of the essay was- Qualities of your favorite teacher-
some qualities listed were: Humorous, Sympathetic, Organized, Creative, Intelligent, Involved, Friendly, Passionate, Prepared- Michelle added, HOT.

Jenny G. then introduced the "Web" idea when "Brainstorming"- We choose Physical, Personality, Emotional, Intellectual, Management skills as sub topics. The class then began to build a rough draft off of Jenny G's web with Katrina- we combined the some topics for the essay into 3 basic ones- Physical, personality, traits, and teaching styles.

This ended the lesson. Next up-

Jamie B. and Tara-- Peer Review
They began the lesson with a peer review power point presentation- listing topics to discuss and things to look for while participating in peer review.
1. Read Over Essay
2. Look for Grammar/Spelling
3. Check Content
-clarity, creativity, support, detail, examples, etc.
4. Organization
5.Discussion
-strengths and weaknesses, suggestions
6. Reactions (Tara's Do's and Don'ts)

Do- Review and Edit
Do-Writer: Listen but do not enter into conversation
Do- Ask the writer to explain
Do- Respect the Writer
Remember: Final decisions are up to the writer!

Don't- be rude
Don't-just say this is wrong, offer suggestions
Don't- just correct grammar
Don't- get offended
Remember: If you are confused, always ask the writer to explain

They then presented Skits!!!
Heaven, Joe, and Jamie W. participated
I loved the Harry Potter Topic! Great way to present how to use peer review successfully!
*Used suggestions verse criticizing
* Explanation of reasoning
*What have I learned?

They presented both a positive and negative version of peer review- it gave the class a good idea of how well peer review can work when it is really done right.

Next, the class participated in guided practice session- this ended their lesson!

Natalie R. - then presented her mini-lesson: Point of View
She talked about using 1st, 2nd and 3rd person.
She gave examples of using these POV within sentences, and then had the class- correct sentences in which the wrong pronoun was used.

We did a journal entry- Technology in the Classroom - how we have used it and what we observed. What about your comfort level using different technology? What about in our teaching?


Essay Prompt #4 was handed out- Using the RHS essays on which you've commented analyze your response practices and reflect on your understanding of your effect on student learning?


REMINDERS:
Essay #3-
April 2nd: Writing Center conference done by next Wednesday- Essay emailed to Missy
April 2nd: UNIT PLANS DUE on LIVE TEXT NEXT WEDNESDAY at 11:59pm
-make sure you include Rubric - on how you will grade the essay

NO CLASS APRIL 9th- Due to RHS video cam conferences

Go to Missy's Office: 3202 C Faner Hall for conferences

Group Projects

I wanted to post on the idea of group projects considering we are about to present on Wednesday. Fortunately, my group works well together, but not every experience is going to end up that way. Therefore, if I say anything negative, it is relating to past experience, not the current group teaching we are participating in.

The idea of group projects actually falls hand-in-hand with the topic of our current presentation: peer review. Both of these activities require teamwork that does not always exist. Just as in peer review, members of the group do not always participate at an equal level. There will always be a slacker, there will always be an overachiever, and there will always be the student that does not care either way. I, personally, have always been the overachiever, but recently I pondered upon a new idea.

I was sitting in one of my classes, and we were told to form groups. Of course, I started off offering my input and being the recorder, but then I sat back and realized that I was doing everything while everyone else just sat there really. I became more than frustrated, and now I am sitting here wondering if I should just become the slacker. It seems a lot easier, don't you think?

Although I am thinking about stepping back and becoming the underachiever, I know that I never will. Fortunately or unfortunately, I enjoy getting good grades, and if my group is suffering, I will always pick up the slack. However, there are still students that would prefer to be carried along. So as teachers, how do we handle this? Is it the right idea to have one of each catagory in a group? Or should we put all the slackers in one group, the ones who don't really care in another, and the overachievers in the next? I actually have no idea. So please, someone tell me what a teacher should do to erase this problem in group work!!! No, seriously, please....let me know. :)

*~*TaRa*~*

Where do we draw the limit on creativity?

While reading the selected assignment- "Breaking the Rules in Style," I became super excited. After years and years of continually writing- I find the usual mundane style, boring. I hate to write essays for my literature classes... It is just blah! So, when I began to read this selection, I immediately thought WOW! I am a firm believer in creativity. As the author, Tom Romano states: "For years I've sought to free students from restrictions, to create an atmosphere that removes impediments to exploration and communication." Writing should be full of freedom, of exploration, and of communication. I think that writing should be full of these techniques because it gives our students a wider view of the writing style. By breaking the rules and following these ideas listed within the selection -sentence fragments, double voice, meandering sentences, and crots to list a few- the freedom of expression is everywhere! I think that by giving our students the option to write like this will expand their view to what writing truly is. It will also give them the ability to write freely without the feeling of the "need to hold back" due to anxiety over the repercussions of stepping out of bounds. I would much rather read a flamboyant, out there article- than some blah, blah article in which the everyday style is employed. I do agree that there is an appropriate place for these styles and that one should make it a point to teach to their students- the right and wrongs of using these styles- but, it is still inevitably important to allow the students to censor themselves. They should have the choice of when to and when not to use these strategies. Overall, this article was wonderful! I really enjoyed reading the examples and I hope to one day implement these ideas into my classroom!

**Just a little Note: I am in EDUC 313 this semster. My CT uses a magazine called- Teen Ink within her classroom as a supplemental teaching tool. (This magazine publishes essays, poems, art, and pictures from high schools all over the country.) She uses it to teach various aspects of writing. She will have her students read the articles and then will have them analyze them for different styles, techniques, etc. She has found this to be very beneficial. Often times, the ways in which the students writing appears in Teen Ink follow many of the guidelines in which this "Breaking the Rules in Style" article describes. I really suggest taking a look at the website to this magazine- becuase it really is a great tool for teaching writing to teenagers: www.teenink.com

March 19, the class in review

Kevin here. For March 19, we met in a media room in Faner to present our mini grammar lessons. First to go was Heaven, who presented on the simple sentence. Heaven used the the dry erase board and delivered a straightforward and effective lesson. I went next and muddled through the comma splice. I hope I didn't bore you guys too much and that it was at least, entertaining, if not somewhat informative. Joe used power point and the smart board to inform us of run-on sentences, they just keep going, and going, and going... and he did well also. Lastly. Jamie delivered what we all voted to be the best lesson of the night- plurals. Her use of a game with words and plural endings was fun and got us all involved. She also used the smart board as well as power point.
After our presentations, we were instructed by Dr. Phegley to pull up the Robinson School papers on our computers and to find an essay that offered repetitive grammatical errors. Joe, Jamie, and Michelle taught on sentence fragments while Jaime, Jennifer, and myself taught the class about tense. All in all, I think we all did very well in our teaching endeavors, and I believe those folks who were absent for this class missed out on some really entertaining and informative lessons. That about covers it. Everyone have a great week, and I hope to see you on Wednesday-Kevin

Teaching Scenario

You've just collected journals containing two weeks' worth of entries. One of your students, who is typically reserved but does quality work, has written some things are quite disconcerting. His writing seems disjointed and contains some violent images. What do you do? How do you determine whether the student has crossed the line from creative expression to the potential for alarming behavior?