Reflecting on Digital Writing

Prior to taking this class, I rarely wrote. Although it has always been an enjoyable pastime, between school, work, and home, I haven’t been able to write as much as I’d like. As such, I was happy that I was able to sit down, relax, and pen my thoughts, whether it was related to something academically, or personally. This semester, I learned that I really do enjoy writing, but that I need to make time for it. Because blogging was part of an assignment, I knew I had to make time for it every week to complete it. So, for future reference, I know that I can still enjoy writing, but that I need to make time for it, almost as if it was an assignment.

Also during my digital wiring experience, I learned that it is not as hard as it seems. Sometimes I would get caught up in the layout, or the formatting not being exactly right, but after playing with it and pressing buttons that I had no idea of its function, I was able to get the hang of it. Which leads me to my next point, as teachers we should be first a student of a new instruction, before presenting it to our students. I would certainly advise my colleagues that we have to first have to become comfortable with new instruction before we expect our students to be proficient in it.

My biggest challenge this semester was the open posts. My mind is always running a constant race, but when it came time to write an open post, I froze- I had no idea what to write! As a result, instead of allowing student complete free choice, I would give students a short list of ideas, but still give the option to write something of their choice. Overall, my blogging experience was positive, and has encouraged me to continue writing digitally.  

What I learned about Digital Writing

 I enjoyed reading Troy Hicks “The Digital Writing Workshop,” as he offered many practical strategies and examples. Some of the biggest “aha’s” I got from this book are: allowing student choice, encouraging active revision, studying author’s craft, and broadening our understandings of assessment. In my literature circle, we discussed how blogs can be used effectively in the classroom. One of the things we came up with, is that students would be able to virtually respond to other writers. This would help the author by allowing him or her take that feedback, and use it for a future post or to make revisions. Another benefit of using blogs inside the classroom, is that students can create a searchable archive of posts. This way, students will always have access to the work they’ve done, conveniently located in one [digital] space.

 Hicks recommended setting up student blogs through a free service such as Edublogs, or Class Blogmeister, then secondly, integrating a social network with built-in blogging such as Ning.  From a teacher’s standpoint, blogs are a great way to also get students to thinking on higher levels by analyzing, synthesizing, and reflecting on information over time. Hick’s notes, “…the goal is for students to create their own blogs and connect their ideas to those of their peers.” I think this is a powerful quote, because it shows some of the most important things to adolescents: 1) being able to communicate digitally, 2) receiving feedback from their peers (what does “so and so” think about my post?) Through blogging, teachers and students can advance both the teaching and learning of writing.

Fall Back

It’s that time of year again…time to “fall back,” and gain an extra hour of sleep. In previous years, I looked forward to the clocks turning back one hour. As most people say, “Hey, I’ll get an extra hour of sleep, right!?” Wrong! Well, at least in my case, things happened differently this year. Since the clocks went back an hour on Sunday, I have been getting up during my usual “spring forward” time. That means that I, unlike some people, have not had the pleasure of enjoying an extra hour of sleep. Instead, my body has mechanically woken up every morning—an hour early! This is frustrating because as a busy college senior, I thrive from life’s little bonuses such as gaining an extra scoop of rice at Chipotle, and getting an extra 10% off at the Goodwill. In similar fashion, I would also benefit from getting an extra hour of sleep, but unfortunately, my body did not get the memo.

I suppose I could use that time to be productive like getting an assignment done, prep my meals for the day, or work out; but instead, I choose to play the victim role and “play sleep.” This is the state where I am not really sleeping, but instead, allowing my body to think I am resting by just lying there. This is torturous in itself because as I’m lying there, my mind runs a marathon as I think of all the things that needs to be done.  

Hopefully, I can train my body to rest peacefully until it is really time to get up. Until then, I’ll continue to “play sleep.”  

Happy Birthday Daddy...

The month of October was a bit emotional for me; October 13th was my dad's birthday. I remember when I was little, my sister could never remember my dads birthday so he come up with a creative way to where she would never forget. At the time, my sister was four years old so my dad asked her what number did she get when she added 1 and 3. "Four, like me!" she would exclaim. "Exactly," my dad would say. "Now, my birthday is October 13th, like when you add 1 and 3 together." "Ohhh," said my sister. It was as if a light bulb had came on in her head; and since that day, she never  forgot. 

Our father died in 2008 from a heart attack. He had been suffering from kidney failure for a few years, and often struggled with having energy for simple, daily tasks. He would always try to remain in good spirits, but I knew that he was tired and suffering inside. So, when he finally "went home to be with the Lord,"  I was a bit relieved. Sad to see my dad gone, but happy to know that he was no longer suffering. 

This post was just a way for me to further remember the great memories I was able to share with him on this earth. I feel peace about him not being here with us--for I know I will see him again someday. 

"Happy Birthday Daddy."

-Love, your little girl

Using Technology to Amplify Instruction

1) Considering the slide, I am definitely a visitor. Most of the sites listed I have either never heard of or have used them in limited capabilities. The only sites I am familiar with are the more popular sites such as Skype, YouTube, Flickr, Email, Wiki, and Google Docs. Everything is a complete blur! I used technology very lightly. I really only use the computer for academic purposes or for listening to music. I secretly would like to be a tech wiz, however.

2) I could use UStream to show students content-related videos about the lesson and as an easy way to share educational videos. I can use Screencast-o-matic to perhaps screen share with students who are having difficulty viewing or completing an assignment. This way, I can easily show the students (and their parents,) how to navigate through an assignment. It’s like having a personal tutor; the best part is, it is recorded so the student can review as much as he’d like to! I like the idea of Slideshare because it is a great way to share a multimedia presentation through a general online community. This would be effective because the student could take the day’s lesson with them, whereas before, students were limited to just experiencing the slideshow in the classroom.  

3) I have used the site “Good Reads” before for another assignment, and I must say, I enjoyed using it as a resource. I wanted to learn what other titles might be related to Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” and used this site to provide recommendations. Not only does “Good Reads” gives the user recommendations, it also has useful and powerful attributes such as trivia, quotes, and quizzes. In this aspect, it can benefit both the student and the teacher in the sense that the student can get more information on the book he reads, and the teacher benefits by allowing the student creative control over their learning. Reader Two is new to me. I’ve never heard of it or used it academically. Although, in exploring the site, I’ve realized how beneficial this can be to students and extending learning beyond the classroom. For instance, this website makes it easier for readers all across the world to connect through books. As such, students learn to build and engage in online communities; a place where they can comment and discus happenings of the book. Also, similar to “Good Reads,” “Reader Two,” also recommends books based on a specific book or genre. I find this website to be useful in today’s digital classroom. In terms of multi-media presentations, I endorse Prezi. I’ve toyed with Prezi in the past and like the easiness and seamlessness associated with creating a presentation. It is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. I think students would enjoy using Prezi as fun interactive way to create presentations. It is similar to PowerPoint in terms of creating a multimedia presentation, but differs in the sense that it offers cutting edge by allowing users to creative presentations on a virtual canvas.

4) What I noticed most is that most of the top pieces of technology that is being uses, are mainstream, popular forms of social media. Sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Google, and PowerPoint, are all sources that teachers and students are likely to be familiar with. In this sense, teachers and students can interact together and engage in new ways.

5) When choosing to integrate technology, I need to consider how my students will benefit from that particular piece of technology. I need to first think about what level of higher order thinking I want my students to think on, and then choose an appropriate form of technology. Teachers should always know the learning objective and then choose appropriate forms of technology that will supplement that learning.

6) Based on my explorations today, I think I will continue to explore ways that students can become actively a part of online communities in an academic manner. The truth is, there are so many resources that teachers can use to help students become more active and interested in learning that for me, it can appear overwhelming at times. I assume I will have to just take it one day at a time and connect each assignment with an appropriate technology-based mode of instruction.

Ice Cream Island

Since I have complete control over the writing prompt this week, I decided to delve into my creativeness and conjure up fun topic. Are you ready for my insanely awesome prompt? Ok, here it goes: “The people of ‘Ice cream Island’ are in desperate need of new ice cream flavors. Create one or two new flavors. Be creative!”

Before we move any further, I have a confession to make. I lied; I did not creative this incredibly awesome prompt all by myself. I actually stole this writing prompt from my supervising teacher. This was the writing prompt for the class this week. For the first five minutes of class, students write a response based on the writing prompt. It really gets their attention and is a great way to transition a new class period into the learning environment.

Based on the students’ responses, they really enjoyed creating new ice cream flavors. While I was interested in hearing some of the more non-favorable flavors, most [American] students chose combinations of things they enjoyed eating; jolly ranchers, skittles, m&m’s, and even ‘Taki’(hot chili peppered chips,) flavored ice cream. On the other hand, the ESOL students chose fruit combinations that are found in their home counties: mango, pineapple, coconut, and papaya.

There were just a few questionable flavors that will always stick out to me. One girl in particular chose bacon and syrup flavored ice cream. Initially, I thought this was a weird combination but as I’m typing this, I’m getting more of a craving for bacon, syrup and pancakes! I guess this ice cream flavor could work after all!

All of the flavors I’ve talked about until now are nothing compared to what one student suggested: cannibal flavored ice cream! Ewwwww, puuueeek! Can you imagine eating bits of flesh, drenched in blood and crushed bones?!? I’m getting sick just thinking about it…

All in all, I enjoyed hearing the pleasant and unpleasant responses from the students and learned that not all ice cream flavors are created equal.

By the way, for those of you wondering, Ice cream Island does exist. It is discreetly nestled between ‘Hot dog Heaven’ and ‘Pancake plaza.’ I was lucky enough to find a rare photo of the island:

Miranda who? Oh, Miranda Writes...

Greetings! I am a super duper senior at UCF majoring in English Education. I am excited about graduating and finally being able to move on with my life! For anyone who knows my story, it has been a looooooooooong process, and the completion of my bachelor’s degree will afford me to doing things that I’ve always wanted to do. I am looking forward to becoming a “young professional,” and exploring new possibilities and opportunities amongst my professional network.

I chose to become an English teacher because I have always loved to read and write (how many times have you heard that before?) But no, really, I truly always loved to read and write. Reading always whisked me away on an adventure, while writing always allowed me to express myself to the highest degree. I’ve also always enjoyed working with adolescents. This has really been a passion of mines since in high school, as I enjoy mentoring and being a role model to particularly at-risk youth.

In the future, I would like to move away from the academic part of teaching, and exercise my role as a youth advocate. I would love to one day work as a liaison between a student’s home and school life. I believe that at-risk students can be academically successful, if their basic needs are met and they are emotionally, mentally, and physically stable. In simple terms, if a student is happy in their lives outside of school, they will be more eager and willing to perform well academically.

I look forward to a semester of blogging, jogging, clogging, and anything else that rhymes with blogging.

*Disclaimer*

Unlike some of my classmates, I have decided not to succumb to the imaginary pressure of revealing my identity. Besides, what’s the point of having an anonymous blog if you’re not gonna remain anonymous!? Any hoot, if anyone figures out my identity, I will personally write you a check for a gazillion dollars. 

Yours truly,

Miranda Writes