correspondence courses....

Reading about distance learning and various types of distance learning inspires within me the urge to vent somewhat regarding a correspondence course that I recently completed. My critiques are two-fold. Firstly, and this is a reality that I have had confirmed by friends who have also discovered as much when taking on-line courses, on-line or correspondence courses should carry more of a disclaimer regarding the amount of work involved and the associated difficulties--even for successful students--that come with taking a course that lacks classroom meetings and any type of regulated intermediate deadlines. In my opinion, this is a trap that can lead to disaster, especially in a day and age (not that this is a new development) when procrastination is often the modus operandi, even with successful students. I don't expect on-line courses to change dramatically, but setting up intermediate deadlines and more urgently warning students who are enrolling in such courses as to the inherent risks are both actions that would benefit the students and enhance the effectiveness of the courses. My second critique is more personal, and perhaps should be more explicitly directed at the institution or the professor (both of whom will remain nameless) through which I experienced my recent disappointment. Namely, I do not believe that the grading professor even bothered to read through the entirety of my submitted asszignments when grading them. Of course, I have no way of verifying this as the distance that separated the professor and myself and the structure of communication afforded no two-way communication regarding my realization, but I know for certain that the assignments returned to me contained comments only on the first 1/2 to 2/3s of the text. In my opinion, this practice is utterly unacceptable. I know that I would not stand for such a lacksadaisical response from a professor within a conventional class and I do not see why I should have to tolerate such a lack of input, feedback, and general response in an on-line or correspondence course. If a professor is assigning and requiring the lengthy submissions, then I believe that he should at least grant the student the courtesy of reading and responding to the submissions...especially when the student is almost exclusively responsible for reading, reflecting upon, and assimilating the material at hand. Thus stands my critiques of on-line and correspondence courses stemming from my recent experience with one. I appreciate your time and your allowing me to express my heartfelt frustrations....

a teachertube video....

Though this video deals with a concentration other than English or literature, this video by Jeremy Wetherhold is a brilliant example of a video created from still images and a limited number of sounds. A video of this format could be created in conjunction with any concentration using a program such as windows movie maker. PS I am currently in the midst of a video creation of my own...my directorial debut...and I will be sure to post it upon completion.....

interesting powerpoint presentations....

In searching Dana Huff's outstanding website (http://class.huffenglish.com/), I found a series of wonderful powerpoint presentations that she has created on such topics as Romanticism, the Fireside Poets, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Modernism, and Postmodernism. In order to access the links and the presentations, see the following link: http://class.huffenglish.com/?p=120. While this may be a simple use of powerpoint, it still is a wonderful use of some simple technology. These powerpoint presentations are available on-line, so students can access them before, during, and after, studying the given topics. Worth considering....

a vancouver sunset from creative commons....

When I lived in Vancouver, British Columbia (2003-2004), I was amazed by the sunsets. And while the beauty of Colorado sunsets regularly cause me to gaze toward the mountains while the colors change and the clouds shift, Vancouver's coastal location always left me with the feeling that sunsets may happen everywhere but "the sun sets in Vancouver." This public image of a sunset over English Bay was shot by Rod Templeton and made available through creativecommons. Perhaps it will give you a glimpse as to what inspired my conviction....

a concept map for a digital story....

teaching the human body systems....

After waiting for a week, not a single response was offered to the question that Justin and I posed regarding an interactive website to assist in the teaching of human body systems. I am unsure as to whether our question was too vague, too specific, uninteresting, or what not. So.... We offer our own response. If you have any interest in a cool interactive website to illustrate the various human body systems, see www.innerbody.com. It was a great find.

an instructional software website....

I recently examined the instructional software website of www.riverdeep.com, the website famous for the 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" game that I remember as so interesting when I was a young adolescent. In addition to the afore-mentioned game located under the website's Social Studies heading, instructional software is available for math, reading, science, and various other subjects. As a future English educator, I perused the reading offerings and found the 'Edmark Functional Word Series' that is designed for K-12 students. This product is designed to "teach the functional vocabulary necessary for independent community living" and features specific modules covering the following applicable areas: signs around you; fast food/restaurant words; grocery words; and job/work words. The product comes with over 1200 worksheets to teach and reinforce the various vocabulary words from the lessons. In my opinion, this is certainly a tool that could be utilized in a secondary classroom if a teacher is dealing with ESL students or students that are struggling with vocabulary. As drill-and-practice instructional software, it will provide immediate feedback to students and motivate students to practice through a variety of exercises.

educational technology associations....

In perusing a number of websites for educational technology associations or organizations, I found that each site generally contains a mission statement, conferences sponsored by the association or organization, a library of related publications and journals, and a career center. Though the four associations and organizations that I looked into were all similar, they were slightly different, as exemplified by their respective mission statements: AACE - Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education...the association is an international, educational and professional not-for profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the knowledge, theory, and quality of learning and teaching at all levels with information technology; AECT - Association for Education Communications and Technology...the mission of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology is to promote the effective design and use of technologies in the teaching/learning process, worldwide; ISTE - International Society for Technology in Education...a nonprofit membership organization, ISTE provides leadership and service to improve teaching, learning, and school leadership by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education; ITEA - International Test and Evaluation Association...a professional association, chartered in Washington, D.C. as an educationally oriented, not-for-profit, technical society; that is, the organization is a collection of individuals who have a common interest in the discipline of test and evaluation and who wish to foster, preserve, and advance the art and science of test and evaluation. For more information on any of these societies, see their respective websites....

a great website....

My education technology just alerted me as to this website's existence. It's definitely worth a look if you are an english teacher or merely a recreational reader: www.librarything.com James Folkestad gets credit for this one....

copyright in the classroom....

After having read through a number of websites regarding copyright, I have the following observations: first, I was entirely unaware that my creations were copyrighted; second, I now understand why my professors are so restricted in the length of photocopied sections from texts or even sections of texts that are available to students electronically (e-reserve); and finally I am thankful for these resources regarding copyright rights so that I can avoid getting ensnared in unintentionally violating copyright laws when I am in my own classroom. Good stuff....

a new year...

Well, not really. Rather, a new semester. I am now officially a second-year graduate student; two years from potentially being in my own classroom. Meanwhile, it appears as though my blog from last semester will be resurrected. Just in time for football season. Besides postings from my extra-curricular passions, I'll see if I can't add some new educational materials as I continue along this path of developing my rationale for using technology and integrating technology into my understanding of english education. Thanks for reading along....

Checking back in...

Well, it's been a while, but such is life. This semester has been crazy and while I am excited that there are only three weeks left until it's all over, I am frightened by the thought of how many assignments still linger. To my professors, please don't feel badly exempting me from assignments. To my fellow graduate students, finish strong. Back to it....

Graphic Novels...

Are graphic novels a legitimate form of literacy?

Under construction...

I'm attempting to incorporate more content into my blog...or at least more links to more content. I've added some new links to connect to useful websites (e.g., an etext collection of Shakespeare's works) and I've started to list some teacher websites that I have found interesting or useful. More to follow....

Getting the hang of it....

Now I'm cooking with grease. You now have the ability to access a variety of websites representing two of my alter egos: sports fanatic and graduate student. Enjoy. Also, here's a link to an epitaph website featuring a couple of music videos by the weakerthans: http://www.epitaph.com/artists/artist/137/. They're a fantastic Canadian band I became acquainted with during my time north of the border. Click on the video of Psalm for the Elks Lodge for a look see. More to follow....

Day 2 too

Welp. I sorted that out. It's the beginning of a whole new world....

Day 2

Still trying to get the hang of this. After thinking I had screwed up and created a blog that was inaccessible to even me, I checked my email today to find that I hadn't activated my account. Whew. Now I'm left wishing I had chosen shorter names and such for my account. Today's task will be to try and add a picture to my page. Here goes....

First Post....

So this is what blogging is all about....