Standards of Learning

For purposes of this course, I will be using VA SOLs for high school English, primarily 10th and 11th grade. High school learners include students with many different preferred learning styles that they have become accustomed to over the years. These learning styles include visual, verbal and physical learners, as well as independent and social learners. Technology provides a great tool to include all learning styles in the classroom. For example, having students participate in an online discussion allows students to work independently on their own answer, but also respond to others, incorporating social skills. The teacher could also post responses in a graphic and share this graphic during class, appealing to visual learners. Throughout the semester, I plan on using the skills and ideas presented in ED554 to find ways to use technology to appeal to all learning styles for high school English students.

Giving Reluctant Students a Voice

R. Redekopp and E. Bourbonniere's article "Giving Reluctant Students a Voice" addresses the way that technology, blog specifically, can provide students with an outlet to share their thoughts if they normally do not feel comfortable participating in class discussion. In one of my classes last semester, we spent time discussing this so I was already familiar with the idea. Online blogs, discussion forums and other tools allow students to feel safe and more protected from ridicule than they would in a regular classroom discussion. As Redekopp and Bourbonniere point out in their article, a classroom discussion via blogging gives one reluctant student the confidence to disagree with a point made by his or her classmate. The confidence and security felt by students participating in online discussions allows for a much more thorough classroom discussion. When the teacher brings these ideas back into the classroom by reading posts aloud, it bridges technology with the standard classroom format.

Will Richardson

I've spent the morning exploring Will Richardson's blog (willrichardson.com) and reading his various posts attempting to answer "What happens to schools and classrooms and learning in a 2.0 world?" After beginning to read his blog, it becomes immediately evident that Will is extremely knowledgeable about both technology and education. Although his well-informed stance is appealing, I was drawn to this blog more due to the passion that Will demonstrates towards his subject. According to the "About" section, Will has two middle-school aged children and his posts demonstrate his desire to make sure that his sons are receiving the best possible education. Although many people have passion for education, it is not as common to find writers with equal passion for education and technology, making Will Richardson's blog a refreshing read.