Chapter 14

This chapter’s concern for technology in the English classroom and finding unique ways of integrating said technology comes to me at a perfect time because I happen to be taking Instructional Technology right now, and we discuss many of the things described in the chapter. In my class, we went in-depth with such activities as blogging, discussion boards, digital story-telling, and many of the other ways that technology can be utilized in any content course. The chapter we read for today was more detailed on podcasts and wikibook, which we did not talk about as much in my education class. The section of the chapter addressing the use of podcasts and how it benefitted both the teacher and the students was vastly informative for me, since I never thought of the ways that podcasts could be used in the classroom. In fact, I was kind of unsure of what exactly podcasts were, but now that I have a clearer vision I think that I will be able to make use of this type of technology in my future English classroom. Another technology-related activity that I would love to use in my classroom is the book trailer. I know how creative kids can get, and how much they love going to the movies and watching various TV programs. The book trailer will allow the students to share the book they read as well as dabble in movie making and inventing their version of a movie trailer. As the shy girl in the chapter exemplified, book trailers are a way to let the quiet student speak out in a unique way. These activities are remarkable, as I myself have never done any of these things in my high school or middle school classes, and I will be sure to allow my students to share in these new, creative ways of learning so as to further their literacy and increase their motivation to learn.