Speaking of the Internet

There are any number of ways the Internet can be used as an educational tool for high school students. Among other things, the internet is a research tool, a productivity tool and a powerful communications tool. Thinking specifically about the subject area of Speech, the internet provides an amazing multitude of resources in just those three areas.

The internet is a multifaceted research tool. Students can use the Net to locate ideas for speech topics. They can search online databases for quality speech content. With the Internet, speech students also have access to resources such as "Debate pedia" -- a site designed to encourage thoughtful, honest debate on current affairs.

As a productivity tool, the internet is wide-ranging. Students have the ability to produce speeches in different formats including the use of multimedia. Speech students can use resources that can aid in composition such as "the Easy Essay." Through a series of questions, the "Easy Essay" site guides learners through the process of creating various types of compositions.

The internet is a versatile communications tool. Students can find examples of well-written speeches to compare and contrast to their own. Work can be filed and stored on the Net, allowing learners to easily collaborate and interact with peers. Students have access to communication resources such as "My Own Journal," a free personal database for writing projects, and of course . . . the talking web tool, "I Speech."

Considering the myriad of ways the Internet could also be utilized for cultural study and problem solving, the possibilities of incorporating Net technology into a high school speech class are virtually endless!


NOTE: This reflection was written using the composition generator at "Easy Essay."

Spread the Word

Spreadsheets are a powerful learning tool for mathematics. But as Niess, Lee and Kajder point out, the technology is a "cognitive tool that can enhance student learning of content material in many different content areas." The technology can be enormously useful in communication arts. This investigation of spreadsheets includes a brief overview, a look at technology standards and potential applications in a high school speech class.

In Guiding Learning with Technology, the spreadsheet is defined as is "a tool for collecting, displaying, and analyzing information." The text goes on to say that as students work through different problems, "they begin to recognize that spreadsheets are more than mathematical tools." Students start to see spreadsheet software as a technology to explore social, ethical, and human issues. Understood in this way, the spreadsheet is a multifaceted communication arts tool. Spreadsheet software is a productivity tool, a problem-solving tool and a communication tool as well.

Working with a spreadsheet increases productivity because the speed of making complex calculations saves time. The ripple effect of a spreadsheet allows the user to change one bit of data and instantly see the recalculated results.

Solving problems and making sound decisions are vital in the area of speech - communications. Through the use of spreadsheets, students are able to see patterns and relationships between concepts involved within the larger subject of their learning task. Decision-making is aided by the ability to analyze and interpret information through the manipulation of data on the fly.

Spreadsheets communicate information through various types of charts and graphs. As a communications tool, spreadsheet software can obviously be used to create visual aids for speeches and presentations.

Spreadsheets could be used in any number of ways for high school speech class. One way is to use the tool to develop persuasive arguments on the pro or con side of a debate topic. Spreadsheets allow a student to ask "What if?"  Spreadsheets are also tools for analyzing and interpreting speeches.

Teaching Strategies -- Pop Quiz!

1. Today's diverse, urban classroom requires diverse, techno-infused teaching strategies.

TRUE      FALSE


2. These rapid changes in technology -- change what we know about learners.

TRUE      FALSE


3. There are four, general instructional strategies.

TRUE      FALSE


4. Five specific learning "Achievement Targets" have been identified.

TRUE      FALSE


5. The 'Lab Approach' makes it dificult to accurately assess student learning.

TRUE      FALSE


6. "Hope" is not a strategy.

TRUE      FALSE

Learning How Technology Uses You

An Associated Press article reports that the "social media blackout" at a small Pennsylvania college won over skeptics, with many students reporting better classroom concentration and less stress during the weeklong experiment.

Less stress.

Only twenty-three percent of students approved before the blackout which temporarily blocked sites like Twitter and Facebook on campus. Forty-two percent of students ended up supporting the exercise. Provost Eric Darr told the AP,"Even though people initially were angry -- even the most cranky student had to admit some good came out of it."

The lesson, once again, seems to be: we will either learn to properly use technology or we will be used by it.

Net Gains

What is Blogging?

Blogging is online journal writing. The word is a combination of "web" and "log."

What is Blogger?

Blogger.com is one of several popular websites that facilitate blogging.

What is FeedBurner?

FeedBurner -- now part of the Google domain -- is about "measuring, managing, and monetizing" blogs and other syndicated content. It's a single application in which a blog can be distributed in real-time to a number of endpoints.

Three Excellent Education Blogs

TWO CENTS WORTH

David Warlick says his site is "a diary of my greater mind, my experiences, observations, and reflections, mixed in with the responses of an eclectic community of readers — who are often the smarter part of me." A wide variety of teaching topics are covered. The archives date back to 2007 and include such titles as 10 Ways to Promote Learning Lifestyle in Your School, A New Kind of Math and Technology & Teaching.

RECORDED BOOKS K-12

This is a blog by audiobook publisher, Recorded Books. There are informative articles and lots of links to multimedia. It features plenty of free downloads for teachers, including audio book excerpts and lesson plans.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE TRENCHES

Julia Osteen, a teacher from Norcross, GA. is the blogger. She is a Junior High language arts teacher and a Technology Instructional Lead Teacher at Greater Atlanta Christian School. Reflections from the Trenches is filled with articles about integrating technology into the classroom. The writing is excellent and the ideas and observations are superb.

Power Up with these
Technology Resource Assistance Links

• TechGrants is a program of the TechFoundation that provides nonprofits with access to capital for technology needs.
  
  
• Computers For Learning transfers excess government computer equipment to schools and educational organizations. Federal agencies use the CFL website to distribute computers at no cost to recipients.
  
  
• The Computer Recycling Center recycles used computers and donates them to public schools, teachers, and community nonprofits through their Computers and Education program.
  
  
• The Community Technology Empowerment Project bridges the “digital divide” for new Immigrants and low-income communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul. AmeriCorps members help youth and adults use technology to better access social, civic, educational and economic opportunities.
  

MFT Tentative Deal

Leaders of the Minneapolis teachers union and school district are finally prepared to vote on a tentative agreement for a new teachers contract. Negotiations have dragged on for a year and a half.


The teachers and the school board are expected to vote on the proposed contract in January. The deal would cover the previous and current school years, and would expire this summer.