There is so much technology out there, where do you start if you are a teacher of writing? Some believe that you should teach writing the old fashioned way and that is to have students write. That is absolutely true, but today, you need to use the technology that’s available to help students become better writers in today’s challenging environment.
I am a firm believer in spelling tests and having students write some compositions by hand. I also believe in having them use pencil and paper to plan and map out papers, at least initially. There is something in the act of physically picking up a pencil and writing on paper that reinforces lessons, spelling and good writing. That being said, I also believe in embracing technology to enhance my lessons.
The problem is there is so much out and so little time to explore and try out the technologies that I find myself sometimes overwhelmed by the choices and the challenge of making time to actually integrate them into my in person and online classes.
What are some of the things that I use when I teach English and writing?
PowerPoint
People say that PowerPoint is only meant to enhance what a speaker is saying. And that is true if you are giving a speech, but I have found other valuable uses for PowerPoint
Teaching Grammar through Examples
I love PowerPoint simply because I can use it for my grammar lessons so easily. I take exercises and put them in PowerPoint and add timing so that the question or sentence appears first. Then with the click of the mouse, I can make the answers appear once I have given students a chance to answer. I have done all kinds of things such as circling important parts and making items disappear to leave only the correct item up. It forces all eyes to the front of the classroom and keeps students engaged.
Testing Students’ Comprehension through Games
Templates exist online for PowerPoint Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and Pyramid games. Students have a competitive spirit, so after I create the games in PowerPoint, I break them into teams, and they go head-to-head answering questions about grammar, writing or literature. Students who are sometimes totally apathetic about my courses suddenly come alive when these games come out. Just about everyone participates, and we have a chance to review lessons in a fun lively way.
Video and Audio Streaming
For my literature courses, I scour the Internet and my schools’ library databases for video of the stories, plays and poets we cover in class. When it comes to the stories, our discussions center around how each of us may have come up with a different way for portraying the story than what we have just seen. We talk about what would need to be changed in the story because of the difference between print media and video. When it comes to drama, seeing the plays sometimes helps students understand them better. This is especially true with the Shakespearean plays since students often understand it better once they see the actors’ actions accompanying the words. For poetry, audio streaming has spurred lots of discussion because I am often able to find recording by two different readers, and students see how differently they respond to a poem depending on the reader’s voice and pacing. It is especially fun with they get to listen to the poet reading his or her own poem.
Video Capturing
Now, I am rather shy, and I certainly don’t like being filmed, but I have discovered a use for video capturing in my online classrooms. I am more willing to lend my voice and my desktop, and I have used video capturing to show students how to do certain thing on the computer and how to navigate my online classes. I have from the beginning put detailed written directions for the same purpose, but when I added the video capturing to my online classes, I had fewer questions. Offering both written directions and video directions seem to cover my student population. The key with video capturing is to keep it short (under 5 minutes) and to rehearse and keep re-recording until you have a fairly seamless errorless video to show your students.
The Future
Time seems to be my enemy when it comes to innovation, but there are other things I would love to do with my courses to make them come alive for the modern student. I think we still need to have high expectation for them, but they in turn expect us to be aware of the times and to use the same tools that they do. I will keep my eyes open and adopting technology that I think adds value to what I teach.
