I am the Lord of My Manor
By Erica Lewis
When first reading about this assignment the first thing that popped into my head was “feudalism.” Let me explain. The history enthusiast in me perceived looking over what I have learned and I pictured myself as the master looking over my peasants working in the feudal lands I owned. The people cultivated my crops and I reaped the benefits as the feudal lord. I know this might sound silly, but in a way this is exactly how I felt throughout the masters program at Michigan State University. Just like on the feudal manor, as the lord I could not have done all this without the help of the people working in the fields. Though I actually benefitted much from these courses, it could never have been possible without the structures and themes that my instructors put in place for the masters program.
Some themes that were particularly important to me pertained to technology, using variety of sources within the classroom, and working towards making literacy achievement obtainable to all students. I never thought that focusing on literacy and special education that I would open up to a world of technology that would enhance my teaching skills and create modern environments for my students. All these things wrapped together to create an experience that was both challenging but worthwhile along the journey to complete my masters degree.
Technology has made a huge impact on me throughout the courses I took to complete my MA degree. I understood technology enough to do interesting things in my classroom but never to the extent of what my courses taught me over the last two years. The things that I learned have the potential to create new, more modern ways of learning. This was something that I had not expected to experience in these courses. I was used to the typical write a paper, post a comment, and respond to posts types of online courses. One particular course, TE 843 Reading, Writing, and Reasoning in Secondary Education, greatly increased the options that can happen in the classroom. Now you can expand as a teacher on the typical discussions you have in class to include new technologies. These strategies that were embedded in technology included creating new ways for students to organize their thoughts and express their ideas in new venues. I was impressed with all the things that were capable with technology. One strategy that I found very useful for both individual and group activities is the website Webspiration.
The website was used in class to create layers that linked to two different readings that we had read in the course. My four group mates each picked a different color and then layered our information together. There were four layers total which related to four weeks worth of assignments. I liked that I could get different viewpoints quickly without having to read a long written essay about the topics we were focusing on. This website is very useful in helping students cultivate their thoughts and organize what they are trying to say. The website creates online concept maps that can be individual based or group based in the sense that multiple people can add to them. I had never used a program like this before and it was so useful in my Social Studies classroom. A lot of times I could create a concept map while connected to the projector as the students gave me ideas or concepts to add. Then I would turn around and print out their class map as a great resource for their notes. I had never thought to do something like this before and in the past if I wanted to compile student information I had to create overheads and then type the ideas up in a note form before printing it for the students. The students can also work in groups creating a color for each of their views so that I can see whose voice is speaking on what ideas.
This same course also taught me to utilize VoiceThread.com. This website allows for a topic to be discussed verbally through recorded messages. I have done two extra credit prompts allowing students to discuss their views on reasons World War I started and on possible solutions during the Great Depression. I had to make sure that all my students had access to the internet to make it fair but it was interesting to listen to the students discuss more in depth what we had discussed in class and also their person viewpoints on the two topics. I would not have had the opportunity to utilize this website had I not taken TE 843 during this process.
The website was used in class to create layers that linked to two different readings that we had read in the course. My four group mates each picked a different color and then layered our information together. There were four layers total which related to four weeks worth of assignments. I liked that I could get different viewpoints quickly without having to read a long written essay about the topics we were focusing on. This website is very useful in helping students cultivate their thoughts and organize what they are trying to say. The website creates online concept maps that can be individual based or group based in the sense that multiple people can add to them. I had never used a program like this before and it was so useful in my Social Studies classroom. A lot of times I could create a concept map while connected to the projector as the students gave me ideas or concepts to add. Then I would turn around and print out their class map as a great resource for their notes. I had never thought to do something like this before and in the past if I wanted to compile student information I had to create overheads and then type the ideas up in a note form before printing it for the students. The students can also work in groups creating a color for each of their views so that I can see whose voice is speaking on what ideas.
This same course also taught me to utilize VoiceThread.com. This website allows for a topic to be discussed verbally through recorded messages. I have done two extra credit prompts allowing students to discuss their views on reasons World War I started and on possible solutions during the Great Depression. I had to make sure that all my students had access to the internet to make it fair but it was interesting to listen to the students discuss more in depth what we had discussed in class and also their person viewpoints on the two topics. I would not have had the opportunity to utilize this website had I not taken TE 843 during this process.
The summer of 2011 I took CEP 840 Policy Practices of Perspective Special Education. This class also incorporated the use of technologies that I want to eventually utilize in my classroom. I learned how to properly make a Wiki page on Autism. The Wiki incorporated the basic information pertaining to autism as well as went into further detail on various subjects that could help parents of autistic children. I want to make a Wiki for each one of my classes. So many times I have to discuss “good” versus “bad” websites for research. If I fail to do this as a teacher then sometimes my students come up with some very creative off-the-wall answers. I started to create a Wiki where I can compile certain sites that I want students to utilize for certain assignments. This is a work in progress that I think will be very useful to my students. For example, I had students research origins of religion beyond what the book said and I think if I gave four or five website sources for students to refer to that I could monitor what they were looking at as well as limit those interesting answers. A Wiki would be perfect for this because I can break it down by class and then eventually break each class down by the various assignments that need web sources. CEP 840 helped me realize that Wikis are not just for super high tech people but that with planning and patience anyone can make one to compile information on.
I never expected to utilize my course as much as I have for this program. Literacy is so important to student learning especially in Social Studies because there are a variety of sources to look through each day. TE 836 Awards and Classics in Children’s Literacy and TE 838 Children’s Literature in Film deeply impacted my classroom on a day to day basis. I use some type of source each day in class whether it is a text, novel, video clip, or movie and in the past I had not thought about why I used the resources that I did. In the past I might have taken teacher recommendations or thought creatively about using a resource but these two specific courses showed me a differing viewpoint. I learned that it is important to access what meanings are implied or unintentionally ignored through each medium that you use in the classroom. For example, some texts ignore or stereotype various groups such as women and minorities. I have learned to reevaluate why I use certain sources and how to ensure that my students do not specially look right at those stereotypes. I also learned that there is a world of possibilities for video clips and movies that can enhance the subjects I teach. I always knew not to show movies that strayed from the true stories but did not think of the possible learning opportunities that my students could engage in through these misconceptions.
I used this children's book to help my students understand the depression.
Furthermore, I never even would have imagined using texts such as children’s novels and children’s picture books to help further comprehension on various historical topics. I teach high school students and thought such things would come off as being childish or under their level of understanding but in reality it can influence and heighten their understanding with the correct guidance through the text. I have started to use more children’s books when appropriate to help students learn topics such as life in concentration camps for children, the perspective of immigrants coming to the United States during the 1890’s, and also to emphasize the Great Depression. The simple wording almost makes the pictures in picture books more meaningful to the students because they have the information we have discussed in class and the information from the textbook. They have the ability to pick apart the minute details, find generalizations, and find historical errors through the books as well as get a view of vivid photographs, paintings, or drawings relating to the historical concepts. These two courses opened my eyes to those misconceptions that films can introduce but also that there is a world of possibilities to dive into through film, video clips, and all levels of literature.
Allowing all children to experience literature no matter what level they read at is a huge goal of mine. Part of this masters program has taught me that this is obtainable for students. I have learned many different strategies to help students that are gifted, are struggling, or are special education students. This might pose as a challenge to most teachers. One thing that I have learned from my masters courses is that allowing students to become experts on their readings while letting them choose their specific readings is quite beneficial. I often will provide groups with four different readings. Each student gets to choose the reading they want to read. The readings have a theme in mind that sticks with the subject we are learning about but now the students have control over what they read. Then after they read their section they have the opportunity to become experts on it even if they did not quite one hundred percent understand what they chose to read. They do this by meeting with other students who read the same reading and discussing it in depth further. This allows them to hear different perspectives about what they read and also focus on what they might have missed. It provides the confidence that most students who are weak readers lack and hopefully boosts their confidence for future readings. This is a strategy I might not have done had I not taken these literacy courses. Allowing students to pick either their own reading or pick their own topics for assignments also greatly enhances reading competence. The student again is in control of their reading and if they have that control they are more willing to continue reading for their topic of interest.
What I hope my students learn in my classroom.
I grew up loving to read and never would have thought about how to incorporate technologies into my classroom to promote better literacy comprehension and promote reading. This was just something that I would not have thought possible. Reading is picking a book, text, or section and reading it. This has greatly changed now that I have completed my masters in literacy at Michigan State University. Reading is beyond the words and physical paper that you look at. It includes how to make reading comprehension possible for students who struggle to express themselves when writing an essay or engaging in verbal discussions that happen in typical classrooms. Now I have a plethora of tools that can engage students actively in the reading and comprehension process. Little by little I have started to use these tools in my classroom and seen positive results. Teaching can go beyond the basic text to incorporate films, video clips, and even children’s stories in order to create engaging activities that allow students to understand as well as question various topics in history. Thinking back to my original idea, I am still the lord to my feudal manner. Rather than selfishly keeping all these crops for myself, I want to share what my courses have cultivated by creating the best, most engaging environment for my students.