reflection #9

In my instructional design class, we had to make a "family plan" which was a letter or some form of communication to the parents/guardians of my students.  For younger students (elementary), making an updated weekly letter would be a good idea, but also a waste of paper.  For high school students, who usually don't show parents any form of paper or letters, an electronic "letter" to parents would be ideal. Parents who want to stay involved and connected to their child's life and schoolwork can check a blog. Type in the address and look at the assignments, and see any updates or notifications that I may need to tell the parents.  In Inst. Design, my "class" read a graphic/shocking poem "Barbie Doll" and my professor suggested that it is important to notify parents/guardians of graphic material or subject matter that will be discussed, seen, or read in class.  That would be really important to notify parents, and doing it on a blog would be an effective way.

week #11

As an English teacher, my prospective students will be using Microsoft works very often.
Microsoft Word: write an essay, and use correct MLA format.
PowerPoint: create a presentation of a poet to show to class
Excel: create a spreadsheet documenting the results of a survey taken for a project, create a graph and pie chart.

reflection #8

Last class I really enjoyed looking through other classmates' toolboxes.  I found a lot of interesting sites.  However, being a secondary education major, most of those sites, albeit really "cool" would not work for high school students.  However, I found some good sites that would apply to me.  Those sites, such as http://teachershare.scholastic.com/ helped me when I needed ideas for a lesson plan that I was supposed to prepare for another class.  I browsed websites to get ideas, and tweaked and changed things to create a lesson. I just learned my first CASE lesson (copy and steal everything).  Not everything on these sites will be helpful, but... I can get ideas, and change them to fit the needs of my classroom/lesson plan, etc. 

#12 Plagiarism and the Internet

After reading Klausman's article titled, "Teaching About Plagiarism in the Age of the Internet" I thought about my own education, and what I defined as plagiarism.  Klausman pointed out that currently, students no longer use paper forms of media/sources, but mostly electronic sources.  It is very popular to "Google" or "Bing" a subject and find information, and use that information.  However, I find that students, at least at college level are smart enough to know how to cite the author's work.  I learned before high school what a works cited or bibliography was.  I also learned that Wikipedia is not a reliable source, and should NEVER be cited in an academic paper.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY. Always a major subject in school.  This subject was on every syllabus, and the teacher or professor warned students that if there was any plagiarism or academic dishonesty then the result would be a failed grade in the class.  I remember this always struck fear inside of me when I would research, for fear I would commit plagiarism and not realize it.  I could not understand why teachers encouraged students to research, but terrified them of committing plagiarism.  Are we not supposed to share what we have found? Yes, but a student cannot claim the findings as his or her own, but must cite or accredit or attribute to someone or some cite.  Usually, after a quote, it should be properly cited. If students cite their work, there should be no problem.

Klausman stated that there are three types of plagiarism:

1. direct plagiarism: which is the classic idea of plagiarism, copying word for word what an author wrote
2. paraphrased plagiarism in which a student changes some of the words of a quote 
3. patchwork plagiarism in which uses author's original words, and mix with student's original words

My question is, so what is correct? If we cite everything, and put quotations around every direct quote, and attribute and give credit to any idea or phrase that is not our own, is it still plagiarism?
For example:
According to SOME PUBLISHED JOURNAL, "Blah blah... so and so... means this, then this means that" which means.... such and such (AUTHOR DATE). 

Is that plagiarism? if you quote it? Klausman seemed as though any work that is put into your paper is plagiarism. I understand his concepts, and how easy it is to copy words from a text online, but if we cite and quote from the text, can we still use it without failing the class and committing the forbidden, "ACADEMIC DISHONESTY"? 

Teacher Toolbox Assignment three

One of my college professors had this acronym for teachers: CASE meaning copy and steal everything.  As teachers, we have busy lives, and cannot reinvent the wheel everyday for our class.  Therefore, it is important to have and utilize resources.

Top Three Favorite Tools/Resources

• http://teachershare.scholastic.com/ Sponsored by SCHOLASTIC, this allows teachers to share lesson plans, and submit feedback.  And share classroom resources.
• Google Maps  When studying about a specific area in class, I can type in the location and bring an actual visual/photo of the location. For example if my students are studying Russian Literature, I can type in Moscow, and bring up pictures of the buildings and streets in Moscow, this allows students to connect to the literature on a new level.
• Noodletools This site shows how students can correctly cite their work.  This cite has MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, and so on.  Citing work can be hard for students to figure out.  This tool guides students how to correctly format their bibliography or works cited.  Simply click on the NoodleBib Express, and it will ask questions about the source you are citing. And guide the student through a correctly formatted works cited. 

Week #10 Educational Blog

I was looking for some high school blogs on edublog, the blog for students and teachers.  I was looking for some high school blogs, and I found this one, The Geeks From Down the Street  What I found interesting about this blog is it is for Mr. Borges, and his classroom.  The blog is visually appealing.  It has a light blue color, and one single background image.  Everything is neatly organized.  He has the posts (either from him or students) on the left on the page, then three additional columns:

• Pages-- This includes his About Mr. Borges and this page, photos of classroom, podcasting, social responsibility, Podcasts, Assignments, Discussion, Online Literature, Online Drama, Online English, with various subcategories, Online Mathematics, Online Media Studies, and lastly, he has a small list of "What a Teach Finds Interesting Online" which includes "Super Mario Awesomeness" and "Star Wars T-Shirt Logo Spacebook."  He definitely is very organized. Has everything his students might need to succeed in his class, as well as things they might find entertaining (at the bottom though)
• Who's Reading? and has a map of every location in the world that has read or viewed this blog. And a blog roll that has a list of blogs and links that connect with his blog, other class blogs, teachers from around the world, different schools, etc.
  -He also has links for Parents and Educators
  -And an archive to find older blog entries
• Lastly, he has a contact page, which includes ways to register or sign in, and comment on his blog, his Twitter account, and various links to charities, and why it is a social responsibility to help others

If I was a student, I would be greatly interested in his blog.  I like how organized his blog is, and how he included various resources for his students.  He definitely appeals to students by using funny things that are popular, such as zombies, Star Wars, and Super Mario.  I really appreciate his column dedicated to charities. His title is Social Responsibility (psst... these aren't ads, they're a way of life!) and provides numerous images and links to different charities.  It encourages high schoolers to become involved with their world, socially aware, and responsible citizens.

I want my class blogs to be visually stimulating, but not cluttered.  And to be organized would be a great skill. To learn how to add pages, and links without making the page too long or extremely cluttered.  His page is very organized. If I need something it is clearly marked, and I can click on the link that leads to another page.

Technology Project Introduction

Welcome Miss Buhler's Junior AP Literature Class!
Here is a podcast of the Technology Project for this year:


This podcast has the complete description of your Technology Project for this quarter. Students will be working in groups for a mass media project focusing on biases found in mass media. Students will create a blog reporting their findings.  At the end of the project students will present a multimedia presentation.

Here is a written version of the podcast:

Students will participate in a mass media project locating and analyzing biases in mass media forms, such as fashion magazines, advertisements, newspaper, online forms of media, and other forms of mass media.

Students will be working in groups of two to three students each, and will create a blog per group.  This blog will document research, and allow access for the teacher, and other students to comment and add input to project.

Students will write a “Predictions Post” before starting project about what they anticipate to learn in this lesson.

Students will be required to post their progress weekly, in updates, reflections, and research findings. I encourage students to post feedback and input on other group projects in the class.  The class blog will have a link to every group’s blog.

After four weeks of research, students will design a presentation using a multimedia form, (PowerPoint, SMART Board presentation, video, podcast, etc).