Student Teaching and Tech

After last night's discussion in class, I began to think about the role of technology in the clasrroms in which I did student teaching. I was placed at two very different types of schools. During my placements, I realized how technologically savvy students are. Almost every student had a cell phone, which they tried to use in class frequently. The big thing at my high school placement was text messaging. Not every classroom in this school had computers. There was a lab in the library, but it was hard to schedule. But the one thing that stood out to me during student teaching is the students' lack of interest in writing. I think that students need to feel comfortable with writing, and blogs a a great tool to achieve that.

The unit I taught at the high school was on Lord of the Flies. I think that Lord of the Flies is a wonderful book, but many students did not want to read it. I tried to think of ways to get them interested in it and I realized that gang violence would be a good way. Ok I know what you are thinking you can't talk about violence in school, but it really worked. We looked up cases of peer pressure and group/gang violence on the internet. Then, we discussed bum fights and the actual murder of a homeless man. The students read articles that they found online and connected it to Simon's death in Lord of the Flies.
Even though they didn't make imovies or blog about it, which I wish they could have, they were able to use the information on the internet and a present day form of group violence to connect to the text.

Now that I look back on it, I think a blog would have been wonderful for Lord of the Flies. I taught at an inner city district, and I think that they would have been able to write about their connections to the text more freely. Students are comfortable with using the internet. I would say that they prefer it over pen and paper, so wny way that you can bring it into the classroom gives them a more authentic view of the concepts and the literature being taught in class.