NSF - Rockford School District
Spring 2003 Discipline Updates: English, Advanced, Middle
February 1, 2003, Reavis Hall 308Using Computers to Teach Writing -- Day and Hoffman
All times are approximate! We'll decide as a group how much time to take on each activity.8 AM: Session 1. Introductions and needs assessment. Progress reports on your projects and recent developments.
Introductions
What content are you expected to teach and what teaching strategies do you use in your classes?
What standards do you most need help with fulfilling? What activities would you most like to try out?
9 AM: Ten minute break
9:10 AM: Session 2. Generating Ideas: Hands on Activities You Can Try
Prewriting, Freewriting, Blindwriting, Clustering.Investigate software:
Rosemary West's Poetry Generator and Electric Mind
Investigate methods for using basic software tools for idea generation
10:10 AM: Ten minute break
10:20 AM: Session 3. Brainstorming with Chat SoftwareLog in to WebBoard and open our conference, which will be called "February 1st brainstorm chat"
Collaborative response on WebBoard on a prompt "What technologies would you like to use in your classes, and what questions and problems do you have. Be sure to read the posts of your colleagues and respond to them.
IRC chat: think about creative ways to use this synchronous chat with your students. What advantages and problems might you encounter.
Demonstration of MOO
12:00 - 1 PM: Lunch
1 PM: Session 4. Drafting and Revising ActivitiesWe will be using the tools in Microsoft Word to show how computers help with drafting revising and editing. Using multitasking, outlining, "find and replace" and "insert comments" in the drafting process.
2 PM: Ten minute break
2:10 PM: Session 5. Editing and Commenting with MS Word
Embedding Comments
Drafting in different colors
Tracking changes
Search and replace
Grammar checkers
Choose from any of the essays below to work on revising.
Example One Example Two Example Three Example Four Example Five
3:10 PM: Ten minute break
3:20 PM: Session 6. Final investigations, wrap up questions and comments, and fill out evaluation form
February 15, 2003, Reavis Hall 308Hoffman
Using Computers to Improve Fluency and Critical Thinking
8:00: Session 1: Getting reacquainted and recap of what we learned last time (Review the outline of our last session above)Research Assistant (by popular request)
8:50: Ten minute break
9:00: Session 2: Internal E-mail ActivitiesOpen up WebBoard and log in with the user name and password you used last time.
Scroll to the bottom of the left hand (yellow) screen and click on our conference, called "Rockford Middle Level Two." Click on the message called "greetings" and reply to it to introduce yourself electronically.Once we have done our introductions, click on the message called "Peer response practice" and read the instructions carefully before beginning. You might want to print them out if they seem to complex to remember.
9:50: Ten minute break
10:00: Session 3: External E-mail activitiesTake a few minutes to read some of and skim the rest of my article, "Writing in the Matrix: Students Tapping the Living Database on the Computer Network." (If it gives you a headache and seems like too much for me to ask, OK! You can read the short version, but it's a little outdated (^_^) Read until you have two or three questions you want to ask, but not more than about 10 minutes. We'll then discuss the possibilities not only for students, but for our own professional development to read and exchange ideas in online discussion groups.
Next, browse the NCTE-Talk discussion group's January 2003 archives to see if you can find discussion of issues relevant to you. Jot down what you find, along with a few questions to ask about this discussion group. This would be a logical kind of group for you to join to explore ideas and get outside support for your questions and problems as a teacher. Finally, take a look at some of the options for other discussion groups on the NCTE lists page.
10:50: Ten minute break
11:00: Session 4: Critical Thinking and the InternetExplore my Critical Thinking and the Internet Workshop page, and read "The Internet Produces a Global Village of Village Idiots" by Richard John Neuhaus. We'll discuss the pitfalls and promises of the Internet, especially in educational settings.
Then, let's review web evaluation techniques to help ourselves and our students use the Internet critically. Bring up my Evaluating Web Pages for Research page, and follow my instructions.
(Note, we may not finish before lunch, depending upon how much we have to say, but that's OK!)
12:00: Lunch!
1:00 Session 5: Netiquette and Online WritingExplore the netiquette sites below and make your own list of important rules to follow.
Boston College Netiquette Page
Then, let's try to discuss the following questions:
- Which are more important for our students, and which for us as professionals?
- How, when, and by whom should these rules be taught?
- How is the Internet changing writing and communication? Where do we draw the line?
1:50: Ten minute break
2:00: Session 6: Grammar OnlineDiscuss your experiences with learning and teaching grammar, and then explore the following links.
Charles Darling's Guide to Grammar and Writing
Then, let's try to answer the following questions:
- How should grammar be introduced to Middle School students?
- What resources on the web seem most helpful and why?
- What do we mean by "teaching grammar in context"?
2:50: Ten minute break
3:00: Session 7: Explore more of the links below, brainstorm on modules, ask questions, and fill out evaluation sheets.
Some further resources:1. Ideas for English class activities, stand-alone or non-networked computers:
Lorrie Felts’ compilation of activities from the Teacher to Teacher mailing list
Strategies on how to organize equal sharing of one computer in the Language arts classroom.
Jeanine DuBois: Going Solo: Creative Ideas for the One-Computer Classroom
Good ideas for having students use online resources such as almanacs and encyclopedias, create multimedia presentations, and even games.
Serena Roberts’ One Computer Classroom
A theoretical overview, as well as activities using skills tests, college test preparation banks, brainstorming software such as Inspiration, and a link to a bank of collaborative activities you can borrow.
Janine Lim’s The One Computer Classroom
Information on using offline browsers such as WebWhacker, ideas for class projects, links to educational software sites, teacher aids, and class management tools.
2. Ideas for English class activities on the Internet or in networked classrooms:A case study and model web site for those interested in using the Internet in high school English classes. Be sure to look at some of the published reviews, look through the course syllaweb, and browse through some of the amazing online reference materials.
Nancy Patterson's Middle School Student Web Sites
Like Ted, Nancy is another pioneer in using the Internet and the Web to their fullest in the secondary language arts classroom. Check out what her students have done!
3. General resources for English and Composition Teachers:The National Council of Teachers of English Home Page
Links to standards, position statements, guidelines, articles, references, discussions, and much more.
The NCTE Assembly on Computers in English
The group within NCTE concerned solely with using computers and the Internet. Check out the links to the ACE Journal.
Created by Michael Day
January 25, 2002
Last update, February 1, 2003
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