Perhaps there is some merit to the act of blogging. For years, I had thought of blogging only as an online diary, but now I see it as something that a teacher can learn from. How can you learn from it? Well, you can learn by reading other teachers blogs and seeing how they handle life in the classroom, you can share lesson plans, and you can share ways that you are helping your classroom advance either through technology or other classroom techniques. I really have learned that there is a lot that can come from looking at your colleagues websites.
I have come to appreciate the ways that technology can be used in a classroom, and even in your personal development. Not only have I had the chance to learn more about my own profession, even in the ways that it can be used in the larger educational spectrum, but also the ways that it is connected to other forms of the arts. I really have been impressed with how useful it is all together. I hope that we, as performance arts teachers, can continue to share our knowledge with each other through things such as blogs and websites.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Opinions
For our class, we were asked to give answers to these prompts:
Comments on three (3) of your colleagues' websites of your choices. What are their best features, what interests you the most, and anything you think they are worthwhile visiting and mentioning. (Make links to their websites if possible in your blog content.)
Your critique of the NYU BlackBoard system. What's its pros and cons? Would you want to use this in your class (either as teacher or student)? (if yes, the same way or different)
I enjoyed looking at three of my classmates websites: Fay, Alison and Teslen. Each website was incredibly different and I really appreciated that. I liked Fay's blog and her opinions, but moreso that she used her website more as a self promotion. That was really interesting. Alison featured a lot of interesting links and pictures relating to dance, something I think people in drama should be more familiar with. Finally, I really liked Teslens site, as she used tables in the creation of her website. That was very interesting.
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~jcs474/projectcreate.html (Teslen)
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~alr356/literacy.html (Alison)
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~jfg296/ (Fay)
As for Blackboard, I like that it is there as a syllabus, so you can constantly reference whatever is due or is the next homework assignment. It also makes communication easier, as you can have discussion boards through your class. For those who do not like to speak up in class, this is a great way to encourage class participation. However, there are students that like to have less of the blackboard system in their classroom and more of the paper aspect. As a teacher and a learner, I am more of a fan of the paper portfolio and notebook, and less of the final outcome being on the internet. However, I am really a fan of having all of the resources available for the class on BlackBoard. Because of that, BlackBoard is a positive and a negative in the classroom, but not one that I would require my students to use, and if I did, I would not require that homework be turned in through blackboard or make mandatory discussions.
Comments on three (3) of your colleagues' websites of your choices. What are their best features, what interests you the most, and anything you think they are worthwhile visiting and mentioning. (Make links to their websites if possible in your blog content.)
Your critique of the NYU BlackBoard system. What's its pros and cons? Would you want to use this in your class (either as teacher or student)? (if yes, the same way or different)
I enjoyed looking at three of my classmates websites: Fay, Alison and Teslen. Each website was incredibly different and I really appreciated that. I liked Fay's blog and her opinions, but moreso that she used her website more as a self promotion. That was really interesting. Alison featured a lot of interesting links and pictures relating to dance, something I think people in drama should be more familiar with. Finally, I really liked Teslens site, as she used tables in the creation of her website. That was very interesting.
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~jcs474/projectcreate.html (Teslen)
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~alr356/literacy.html (Alison)
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~jfg296/ (Fay)
As for Blackboard, I like that it is there as a syllabus, so you can constantly reference whatever is due or is the next homework assignment. It also makes communication easier, as you can have discussion boards through your class. For those who do not like to speak up in class, this is a great way to encourage class participation. However, there are students that like to have less of the blackboard system in their classroom and more of the paper aspect. As a teacher and a learner, I am more of a fan of the paper portfolio and notebook, and less of the final outcome being on the internet. However, I am really a fan of having all of the resources available for the class on BlackBoard. Because of that, BlackBoard is a positive and a negative in the classroom, but not one that I would require my students to use, and if I did, I would not require that homework be turned in through blackboard or make mandatory discussions.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
technology and the class
According to Howard Gardner, the education specialist, there are verious forms of intelligence. These intelligences, known as "multiple intelligences," should be approached by teachers in their lessons. In my studies at Guilford College, as teachers we had to reach all of the intelligences in our lesson plans, and this always seemed difficult. How can a teacher infuse music and visual aspects into a lesson? Throughout this course, I have realized that technology is an awesome way to reach these various intelligences. Through powerpoint presentations, you are using visual in a way that goes beyond the chalk or whiteboard. Through putting music on webpages or allowing students to create their own soundtrack to a presentation, they can use Audacity and place their music on a webpage. By recording presentations outside and then placing them on a Podcast such as Youtube, the students can use the Naturalistic and Visual Intelligence. The list goes on. Once a teacher realizes that technology can help them reach all students in their various learning styles, it might help the teacher to plan their lessons more effectively...but also to help the students learn in a way that they will understand.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Reflective thoughts and discussion from your team project meeting so far.
It's always hard to have groups when the title of "arts" is so wide, and a different person in each arts represents part of the group. Twice now, I have been asked to be in a group and to come up with a project with no parameters. I don't particularly like this, and I don't like working in groups either. Granted, as a teacher you need to know what is going on with different teachers, but for the most part, teaching has parameters in the planning process and is often done individually. This being said, I don't like working in groups, and this time was no less difficult. In fact, given the small spaces and lack of computers, it made planning even harder. I think the idea might be good- it's just not really that feasible to have groups in an arts technology class. However, I think that our group came together relatively well and we have worked to create what I think is going to be an interesting presentation. Allowing for individual creation with a connecting theme and an overall emphasis, our presentation allows each person to show what they have learned without a dependancy on another...which is a lot like what I have noticed in the school system.
It's always hard to have groups when the title of "arts" is so wide, and a different person in each arts represents part of the group. Twice now, I have been asked to be in a group and to come up with a project with no parameters. I don't particularly like this, and I don't like working in groups either. Granted, as a teacher you need to know what is going on with different teachers, but for the most part, teaching has parameters in the planning process and is often done individually. This being said, I don't like working in groups, and this time was no less difficult. In fact, given the small spaces and lack of computers, it made planning even harder. I think the idea might be good- it's just not really that feasible to have groups in an arts technology class. However, I think that our group came together relatively well and we have worked to create what I think is going to be an interesting presentation. Allowing for individual creation with a connecting theme and an overall emphasis, our presentation allows each person to show what they have learned without a dependancy on another...which is a lot like what I have noticed in the school system.
Your opinion about Literacy Education issue in your discipline, and how technology resources can help in Literacy Education, your discipline, or both.
I have never had a lot of experience with drama beyond the performance, and prior to coming to NYU to get my Masters, I had thought that all the literacy drama consisted of was in the reading of plays and books on theatre arts. However, I am much more aware now of not only how the English academic courses fit in to the drama class, but also how drama can incorporate books and stories into its curriculum. Since taking a course in Storytelling, I am much more aware of how much literacy is a part of the bigger curriculum.
Also, in taking this class, I learned a lot through my online search for literacy based drama. I'm not sure how I would use this in my class, as I prefer more performance based drama classes, but I loved that the resources were so easily available. Also, it was really great to find all the different books that can be used in story telling as well as other teachers literacy based drama lessons. All of these resources are so important, and it's great that technology offers easy access to these sites.
I have never had a lot of experience with drama beyond the performance, and prior to coming to NYU to get my Masters, I had thought that all the literacy drama consisted of was in the reading of plays and books on theatre arts. However, I am much more aware now of not only how the English academic courses fit in to the drama class, but also how drama can incorporate books and stories into its curriculum. Since taking a course in Storytelling, I am much more aware of how much literacy is a part of the bigger curriculum.
Also, in taking this class, I learned a lot through my online search for literacy based drama. I'm not sure how I would use this in my class, as I prefer more performance based drama classes, but I loved that the resources were so easily available. Also, it was really great to find all the different books that can be used in story telling as well as other teachers literacy based drama lessons. All of these resources are so important, and it's great that technology offers easy access to these sites.
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