Hello everyone! My name is Cindy and I'm a student Cal State Northridge. Like many other students at CSUN, I transferred from a community college. Even though I don't lead the most exciting life, I still try to have fun in my own ways. There's nothing I love more than going to the movies, visiting the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, and catching the latest episode of "Ghost Hunters" on the Sci Fi Channel. Also, when I have time, I'll have lunch with a few of my friends from high school. Well enough about of how I spend my free time. You're probably wondering what I'm doing at Cal State Northridge, right? Well maybe not, but I'll still go ahead and tell you why.
I'm currently attempting to pass the English Subject Matter program in hopes of eventually becoming a middle school or high school teacher. Even though I remember what a tough time some kids gave the teacher back when in school, I still want to be a teacher. I have to admit though that I'm well aware that not every student will like my class or care what I have to say. This may be because they think that English is a boring subject. After all, many figure that it consists of nothing but reading "boring" stories. Then again, I can't blame some of the students for thinking this, especially with the tendency of some schools to use the same stories over and over again. Despite this though, there are some students who will fall in love with reading and may even go on to be the teachers of tomorrow! There are other students though who may never have read a non-school related book before. There are also some students, who might do the reading but feel confused and are too shy to speak up. Even though I don't want to sound idealistic, I think that it is possible to reach out to different learning ways in which students learn. Luckily technology is able to lend a hand.
Aside from reading out loud or showing film clips, Power Point presentations may combine the best of both worlds. A Power Point presentation can allow a teacher to put up not only written text, but visual and auditory text as well. I'll never forget how helpful it was when my Shakespeare teacher showed video clips from the play "Richard III". Not only was it entertaining to see the action and hear the dialogue, but it helped me to better understand the play. So through the use of a Power Point presentation that consists of pictures, video clips, and audio clips, a teacher might be able to better help their students understand the text. So even though I'm not exactly the most technologically saavy person, I hope I can learn enough in order to create Power Point presentations that will help my future students.
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I'm not really into Sci-Fi, but I did make sure to watch their version of "The Wizard of Oz" via "Tin Man" that was really fun to watch. At least you will be saavy enough to make a neat and reliable web site. I had one teacher make his students go to his website in order to get his syllabus. That was cool because his website was about him and his beliefs (allowing us to learn about him).
ReplyDeletePower Points are really cool too! The idea of your teacher doing one for Henry III makes a lot of sense with the harder plays and texts. In order to attract the students of the 21st century to writers from the 15th, 16th and 17th century could be an icon used in their every day life--- technology!
I am so excited to make a website and power points, etc. mainly because I haven't done so in a very long time and it should be interesting. So I may just be asking you questions on how to!!! :)
See you in class...
Hi there Cindy! I think that you have to have a certain something inside of you, in order to become a teacher. I think you have to be somewhat idealistic in order to take on the challenge of teaching students.(Being idealistic isn't necessarily a bad thing!)
ReplyDeleteWhile you mentioned how some kids might find a particular text "boring," I think it's important to try new ways of engaging them, such as technology (PowerPoint etc). Your Shakespeare story is the same as mine! From my understanding, Romeo and Juliet is a big text in the ninth grade curriculum; I would totally use film clips to help demonstrate the play. When it comes to Shakespeare especially, you can't just read the words withou some kind of accompanying visual. In high school, I was a T.A. for a freshman classroom and the teacher showed them clips from the 1990s R+J movie with Leo DiCaprio. =]
I completely agree with PowerPoint/videos to help teach Shakespeare. His plays were meant to be seen, even if it meant an interpretation by the actor/actress. However, I havn't really found any use for PowerPoint besides this. The only experiences I have had with PowerPoint was portrayed perfectly in a Bio class I had. The teacher lectured right off of the slides, with ahrdly anything new to add besides what was being projected. It is so boring to hear the same thing as what you are reading.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with using new literature in classrooms. I'm an avid believer in the classics, but today's generation of kids are wither having a difficult time with this material or just cannot relate to it. Technology is growing exponentially, so novels about a family during wartime Amsterdam or a Puritan village may not be getting through to them. Updated, relevant, and most importantly rich, literature is out there, and maybe its about time that it come to the fore-front of assigned reading.
Hey, yeah I would have to agree that the PowerPoint presentations incorporate and stimulate the different senses making learning a different and a refreshing way to learn. And yes that would also be great if you can incorporate video clips as well. In one of my comm classes I remember groups using remote operated software that enabled you to transition smoothly from a PowerPoint presentation to a video clip instantly it was this 3-dimensional cube that rotated that might be pretty cool, I think some kids may be engaged by not taking too long to load a video clip manually and therefore lose their interest and focus. But yes, I think you’re absolutely right technology is a good thing that will reinforce the lesson learned thru the other senses audio-visual etc. Hate to rant, but I also agree with you that as teachers we should become technology literate so that we can be in touch with later generations, totally agree with you.
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